The Detroit Red Wings are past the halfway point, but as the All-Star break nears, it's an excellent time to take a look at the teams' performance. Through 44 games of the 2023-24 season, the team is 23-16-5, holding the third spot in the Atlantic Division. If the season ended today, they would control the third playoff spot in the Atlantic.
It's a far cry from where the Detroit Red Wings were in December after their historically bad stretch of games. Dylan Larkin spoke about the lag expected and struggles he thought the Sweden Trip might bring, and he was right. However, Detroit was able to get back on track. They turned the page heading into the new year and have been on a role.
In January, Detroit is undefeated in regulation, with a 6-0-1 record. The loss comes after they fell to the red-hot Edmonton Oilers in overtime. Detroit stole Wednesday night's game from the Panthers, grabbing two points with the overtime win, helping in the Divisional race.
It's been good to see Detroit start figuring things out, especially when it seemed that their playoff hopes were dead after December. They have launched themselves back into the race with the way things stand. Detroit boasts 51 points through 44 games, with a 39.2% chance of making the playoffs, according to MoneyPuck dot com—a low percentage, but still a chance nonetheless.
At the halfway mark, the Detroit Red Wings are fighting.
Last season, the Detroit Red Wings fought to stay alive in the postseason race. They ultimately fell out of the race, but things got interesting around the All-Star break last year. The Red Wings had put themselves into a spot where they had a minimal chance of making it, but a chance nonetheless.
In 2023-24, they have a much more realistic chance of making the playoffs, and they are indeed not backing down. The Red Wings have been playing exceptionally well as of late and are continuing to try to knock off opponents to vault them up the standings. Within the Atlantic, they have a seven-point gap between themselves and the second-place Panthers. But, at the same time, they have just a one- and two-point lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning.
It will be a battle, but the Red Wings will push for a playoff appearance in 2023-24. It would be a massive step in the right direction. Whether Steve Yzerman is being "patient" or not, this could be the year to snap the playoff drought brought to Detroit by this rebuild and get back on track.
The Red Wings have a busy stretch leading up to the All-Star break. They have six games left on the slate before the break. They'll be on the road against Carolina this Friday in a tough match-up with the Hurricanes. They'll have five home games after that, leading into the all-star game.
They have a couple of tough and formidable opponents. But with a 6-0-1 record heading into it, the Red Wings are hoping to make some ground up on the competition and keep themselves in playoff shape. At this point, the playoffs are not out of the question, and we could be a postseason team when all is said and done.
Detroit's had some ups and downs in the first half, but they can pick up a big second half, add some points, and push their way into the playoffs. Don't count Detroit out quite yet. They're going to fight.