5 months ago
- Red Wings
- Published: Jan. 01, 2026, 6:01 a.m.
DETROIT – Mason Appleton has thing against his erstwhile teammates. Some of them are his champion buddies and galore of them were astatine his location for meal Tuesday night.
But aft scoring what proved to beryllium nan winning extremity Wednesday in nan Detroit Red Wings’ 2-1 triumph complete nan Winnipeg Jets astatine Little Caesars Arena, Appleton admitted it was satisfying.
“Yeah, a lot,” he said. “Feels good.
“That was evidently a funny goal, really it goes in, but it feels bully to people against nan aged team,”
After Dylan Larkin opened nan scoring pinch a power-play extremity astatine 8:22 of nan first period, Appleton scored his 5th extremity of nan play and 2nd successful arsenic galore games astatine 14:46. His changeable from successful tight bounced successful disconnected goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and defenseman Luke Schenn.
The Red Wings (24-13-4) withstood a precocious push by nan Jets and closed retired nan almanac twelvemonth connected a 11-3-2 run. They reached nan midway people of nan play starring nan Atlantic Division pinch 49 points, tied for nan astir successful nan Eastern Conference.
John Gibson made 23 saves to amended to 9-1-0 successful his past 10 starts.
Like Gibson, Appleton is besides successful his first play pinch nan Red Wings, and he’s playing a cardinal domiciled among nan bottom-six forwards. He missed 10 games astatine nan commencement of December owed to an injury.
“Mase is an important portion of our lucky club,” coach Todd McLellan said. “We missed him erstwhile he wasn’t successful nan lineup for a batch of things that possibly you don’t moreover spot connected nan ice. He’s really bully connected nan bench. He’s bully successful nan locker room. You tin show he’s been astir winning teams because he has immoderate winning habits. When he plays, he has them, but he besides has them nan measurement he speaks, nan measurement he carries himself. (That’s) going to swipe disconnected connected different players, too.”
Appleton, who played 2 seasons astatine Michigan State, spent 7 years successful Winnipeg, pinch a little stint successful Seattle sandwiched successful between. The Red Wings signed him to a two-year statement successful nan offseason ($2.9 cardinal mean yearly value).
“I wouldn’t person said it beforehand, but I don’t really for illustration playing my aged team,” Appleton said. “It’s conscionable benignant of a weird feeling, but it’s much weird before. Once nan puck drops, it’s wholly fine, but it’s conscionable starring up to it. You’re texting your buddies, and past you spell to meal pinch them, and past you sewage to effort to termination them erstwhile you get connected nan ice. It’s benignant of a weird concept, but arsenic athletes, you sewage to beryllium capable to flip that move and it’s america against them, truthful evidently ace happy pinch nan result. But gladsome nan game’s over.”
He described nan modulation from friend to foe.
“There was much friends banter beforehand and past arsenic nan tensions power up a small bit, I deliberation it benignant of gets much quiet,” Appleton said. “Then you commencement hating each different a bit. But I’ll opportunity bye to them each and we’ll beryllium fine.”
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