1985–86 Detroit Red Wings season
No R Date Score Opponent Record
1 T October 10 , 1985 6-6 OT Minnesota North Stars ( 1985-86 ) 0-0-1
2 L October 12 , 1985 2-9 Boston Bruins ( 1985-86 ) 0-1-1
3 L October 14 , 1985 1-6 @ Buffalo Sabres ( 1985-86 ) 0-2-1
4 L October 16 , 1985 3-4 Winnipeg Jets ( 1985-86 ) 0-3-1
5 L October 17 , 1985 1-10 @ Minnesota North Stars ( 1985-86 ) 0-4-1
6 L October 19 , 1985 2-6 Chicago Black Hawks ( 1985-86 ) 0-5-1
7 L October 23 , 1985 0-5 Vancouver Canucks ( 1985-86 ) 0-6-1
8 L October 26 , 1985 4-7 @ Calgary Flames ( 1985-86 ) 0-7-1
9 L October 27 , 1985 3-5 @ Winnipeg Jets ( 1985-86 ) 0-8-1
10 W October 30 , 1985 6-3 Pittsburgh Penguins ( 1985-86 ) 1-8-1
11 T October 31 , 1985 2-2 OT @ New Jersey Devils ( 1985-86 ) 1-8-2
12 T November 2 , 1985 5-5 OT @ St. Louis Blues ( 1985-86 ) 1-8-3
13 W November 6 , 1985 4-2 St. Louis Blues ( 1985-86 ) 2-8-3
14 T November 8 , 1985 3-3 OT Toronto Maple Leafs ( 1985-86 ) 2-8-4
15 L November 11 , 1985 0-5 @ Vancouver Canucks ( 1985-86 ) 2-9-4
16 W November 13 , 1985 7-2 @ Los Angeles Kings ( 1985-86 ) 3-9-4
17 W November 16 , 1985 4-2 @ Minnesota North Stars ( 1985-86 ) 4-9-4
18 L November 19 , 1985 5-7 Vancouver Canucks ( 1985-86 ) 4-10-4
19 L November 21 , 1985 4-5 OT Los Angeles Kings ( 1985-86 ) 4-11-4
20 L November 23 , 1985 3-9 @ Toronto Maple Leafs ( 1985-86 ) 4-12-4
Schedule and results
The 1985-86 season is the team's 60th season, their 54th season as the Red Wings. This is the first of two seasons in which Red Wings games would air in the Detroit area on then-independent WXON-TV (now MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYD) channel 20 before returning to WKBD channel 50 (then a Fox station, now with The CW) for the 1987-88 season after the two-year break. It is also the first of 11 seasons with current NBC sportscaster Dave Strader as the Red Wings' television play-by-play announcer, joining him as color commentator and analyst is former Red Wings right wing man Mickey Redmond. It is unknown at this time if this is Redmond's first season as analyst, but when the games moved to WKBD in 1987, they went along with them. Also, the Red Wings played their first game with Hall of Famer Brad Park as their head coach on December 31, 1985. This was Park's only season as a head coach in the NHL, replacing current Buffalo Sabres radio and television color analyst Harry Neale, who was fired after 35 games. Park had retired as a player during the previous season. The Red Wings finished dead last in the Norris Division, the Clarence Campbell Conference, and in the entire National Hockey League with a record of 17 wins, 57 losses and 6 ties, failing to make the playoffs with only 40 points. It is the worst record in franchise history; the Red Wings finished the season with the fewest goals scored of all NHL teams, the most goals against, and the most penalty minutes. Since this time, the Red Wings would miss the playoffs only one more time, that was the 1989-90 season.