The Detroit Red Wings’ recent cold streak has fans dreading another March meltdown. Injuries have begun to pile up, and inconsistency has reared its ugly head.
But before fans grab their torches and pitchforks, there might actually be a plausible explanation for the Wings’ downturn. And it has nothing to do with their play. It actually has more to do with the way the season was scheduled.
Insider Elliotte Friedman touched on the matter in Monday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast. During the show, Friedman offered the following thought on why the Red Wings have suddenly started to go south:
“Someone sent me a note… they kind of hinted to me that the Red Wings are like being held together by duct tape, string, and glue.”
That’s quite a revealing statement.
As the saying goes, “it’s not what you know, it’s what you don’t know.” And we don’t know how many guys in the Red Wings’ lineup are just holding on. We know the guys that are hurt. They’re out of the lineup and working to get back into the mix.
But when you think about the guys that might be banged, but still healthy enough to play, it makes you wonder just how bad the situation is for the club.
Friedman added one more thought:
“They keep bringing guys up and down from Grand Rapids. I think the Red Wings… they are on fumes.”
If that’s the case, those fumes might not be enough to keep the Wings in a playoff spot this season.
Playoff race getting too close for comfort for Red Wings
Monday night’s 5-2 win over the Flames was a very good step forward. The win got Detroit to 82 points on the season, vaulting them into the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Granted, they are one point ahead of the Boston Bruins, three points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and five points ahead of the Ottawa Senators.
All of those teams have games in hand on the Red Wings. The Bruins have one, while the Blue Jackets and Senators have two apiece.
That situation could make the wild card race airtight. It’s worth pointing out that the Red Wings will face all those teams down the stretch. They play the Bruins on March 21, the Senators on March 24, and the Blue Jackets on April 7. Those matchups are must-win games, especially if the race continues to be this tight.
It’s also worth underscoring that the Red Wings have three more games against the Philadelphia Flyers, and one more against the Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild, and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Aside from a couple of tilts against non-playoff teams, the rest of the road ahead won’t be easy for the Red Wings.
Even assuming they make it into the postseason, will the team have any gas left for the playoffs? Perhaps the idea is to get in and then figure out the rest once the playoffs begin.