The Detroit Red Wings have reached a defining stretch of their schedule, one that will likely determine whether the organization finally snaps its nearly decade-long playoff drought or once again falls short.
After being (for the most part) healthy all season, the timing of this string of injuries could hardly be worse. Detroit is navigating this portion of the year without Dylan Larkin and Andrew Copp, and now also without Michael Rasmussen, leaving head coach Todd McLellan searching for stability down the middle and enough consistent offense to bank points while the lineup is shorthanded.
Even at full(ish) strength, scoring has rarely been Detroit’s calling card. With Larkin in the lineup, the Red Wings still ranked 29th in five-on-five offense, and they’ve spent most of the season living on the wrong side of the goal differential ledger. That reality is now front and center: if Detroit is going to stay afloat without its top two centers for at least another week-plus, it will need its best finishers to turn limited opportunities into real damage.
Max Bultman of The Athletic highlighted that, during the first half of the season, Detroit’s power play covered for a lot of uneven five-on-five stretches. From October through January, the Red Wings converted at a strong 25.2%. Since January, that figure has dropped to under 17%, and over the first two-plus weeks of March, it’s cratered to a sub-10% success rate.
When the special teams well dries up that quickly, the math becomes unforgiving. Detroit has to manufacture more at five-on-five, or it risks watching its playoff hopes leak away game by game.
Who has to drive the Red Wings' offense right now?
Detroit’s margin is thin enough that it may require a handful of individuals to step up and tilt the ice. Monday delivered exactly that, with Patrick Kane scoring twice and putting the attack on his back in a 5–2 win over Calgary. At 37, it’s unrealistic to expect Kane to be an every-night engine, but he’s still skilled enough to swing games in short bursts. Despite recent criticism, Kane still displays elite vision and creativity and is someone the Red Wings rely on heavily on their power play. Just because he's not scoring a ton of power-play goals doesn't mean he isn't effective. He's an elite passer and is also relied heavily on his zone entries, helping the unit get set up in the offensive zone while maintaining puck possession.
Alex DeBrincat is the other obvious pressure point. Detroit will need his finishing and playmaking to hold steady through a demanding run of upcoming games against Montreal, Boston, Ottawa, Buffalo, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. On Monday, DeBrincat set the table with three assists. J.T. Compher, who centered that line, added a pair of helpers of his own. DeBrincat’s season-long production supports the ask: 33 goals and 69 points in 68 games, including 12 points over his past nine. But in this stretch, Detroit doesn’t just need him to be “good.” It needs him to be a reliable game-changer.
Lucas Raymond, meanwhile, has to find a more consistent gear. He’s Detroit’s top forward, and until Larkin returns, that can’t something he does on occasion. He has to be consistent night in and night out. Raymond has produced 21 goals and 67 points in 66 games, but his recent stretch underscores the issue. He has just two goals and five points over his past nine games. If the Red Wings are going to survive the current injury storm, they needs their top-end talent to drive results from the top down, especially with the power play no longer providing easy outs.
How the depth can help
Yes, the spotlight naturally shifts to the supporting cast when a team loses key centers—Compher, David Perron, Marco Kasper and others will all be asked to absorb harder minutes and contribute. But the bigger truth is simpler: shorthanded teams don’t string together wins because their depth becomes elite overnight. They do it when their best players keep producing, their role players avoid giving games away, and the team finds just enough structure to live with low-event hockey until reinforcements arrive.
Red Wings have additional backup from the back end
There is help, at least stylistically, on the back end. The addition of Justin Faulk gives Detroit another capable defender who can move pucks and support the attack, complementing Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson. For a team searching for cleaner breakouts and more five-on-five creation, that matters. The challenge is timing: this group needs to gel quickly, because the schedule won’t wait for chemistry to develop.
Ultimately, Detroit’s path is narrow but visible. If the Red Wings can stabilize the middle of the lineup with Compher, Emmitt Finnie, and Marco Kasper for another week-plus, and get steady contributions from Kane, DeBrincat, and demand more night-to-night dominance from Raymond, they can survive long enough to welcome Larkin back into a race that’s still within reach. But the numbers don’t lie: a team sitting 29th in five-on-five offense can’t afford a power play running under 10%. If Detroit wants a postseason spot, the urgency isn’t just in the standings; it has to show up on the scoreboard, right now.