The Detroit Red Wings are coming off a tough home loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Red Wings carried the play for nearly the entire game, but goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stole the show with a 45-save shutout. Vasilevskiy looked like a Hall Of Fame netminder Saturday night, and it was a great test for Detroit. This young Red Wings team saw what playoff hockey looks like.
The Detroit Red Wings battled all night long but couldn’t find a way to solve the Stanley Cup-winning goaltender. Next up for Detroit is a back-to-back in Ottawa Monday and Tuesday. One of these is a make-up game from earlier this year when a game needed to be postponed due to a winter storm. After splitting with the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning at home last week, it’s imperative that the Red Wings sweep these next two games in Ottawa.
The Red Wings are currently fourth in the wild card hunt, five points behind the New York Islanders, who control the first wild card position, and two points behind the Buffalo Sabres for the second wild card position. The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently one point ahead of Detroit but play Sunday night against the Lightning, so things are really tight at the moment, and there is not much room for error leading up to the NHL trade deadline.
Steve Yzerman has a difficult decision to make ahead of the deadline. Do the Detroit Red Wings stand pat, buy, or sell?
Ahead of the deadline, Detroit plays two games in Ottawa, as I previously mentioned, and a home game on Thursday against the Seattle Kraken. This upcoming three-game stretch should dictate what Yzerman will elect to do ahead of Friday’s 3 pm Est. deadline. If the Red Wings happen to lose the next three, making it four in a row, don’t be surprised if Yzerman sells. If Detroit wins two of three, perhaps Detroit buys cautiously or stands pat.
If the Detroit Red Wings opt to buy, here are four names to watch before the trade deadline.