The Detroit Red Wings began their home-and-home series against the Washington Capitals on the right foot, enjoying a 5-2 victory at Capital One Arena with the special added element of multiple players bringing their moms along the way.
Detroit built up a 4-0 lead by the midway point of the second period thanks to tallies from John Leonard, James van Riemsdyk, Elmer Soderblom, and Moritz Seider.
While the Capitals eventually managed to halve Detroit's lead, Dylan Larkin iced the matinee affair with an empty-net goal late in regulation.
For Leonard, it was his first goal with the Red Wings in his third game since being called up from the Grand Rapids Griffins to substitute for the injured Patrick Kane.
Just 65 seconds into the contest, Leonard banged home the rebound of defenseman Simon Edvinsson's shot from the slot past goaltender Logan Thompson for the opening goal.
1:05 in, Leonard has his first as a Red Wing! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/dcMD3pSKMb
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 20, 2025
It was Leonard’s seventh NHL goal and his first since the 2023–24 season, when he was a member of the Arizona Coyotes.
Before this season, Leonard, a 2018 Draft pick (182nd overall) of the San Jose Sharks, had appeared in 70 NHL games with the Sharks, Nashville Predators, and Coyotes before signing a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings during the offseason.
"It's really cool to be a part of. From the first day I got here, everyone has been awesome to me, whether it was just saying hi or talking about hockey, different situations, and systems," he said of his experience with Detroit so far. "It's been a lot of fun, and a lot of credit to those guys. It's been easy."
Leonard was the AHL's leading goal scorer with 19 goals in 20 games played before he received the call that he was on his way for his debut in the Winged Wheel earlier this week.
An injury to his brother Ryan Leonard, a forward with the Capitals, prevented what would have been the first head-to-head matchup between the two brothers with their Mom watching.
"He was able to swing by the hotel, obviously we had the Moms' trip, and we had dinner last night," John said of his brother Ryan. "He swung by the hotel about 45 minutes before dinner, and I got to catch up with him, which was great."
Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.
"Yeah, it would have been really cool (to play against him)," Leonard said. "He's six years younger, so we've never had the chance to play with each other or against. But it was still really cool to play against the team and have a bunch of family (in attendance)."
Detroit's victory helped them improve to 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, and 2-1 since Leonard entered the lineup.
"It was a good team win, obviously it was good to get the lead early and tack on a couple more," he said of the win. "You know they were going to have that push, which they did, but for the most part overall, we did a good job of weathering it."
Leonard and the Red Wings will once again face the Capitals on Sunday afternoon, this time at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Face-off is scheduled for just after 1:00 p.m. ET.
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.