Remember those two seven-game winning streaks that brought in the Todd McLellan era? Yep, so do I. But I’ll also be lying that it feels more like a distant memory these days, given how poorly the Red Wings have played since the figurative ‘eve’ of the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Currently, the Red Wings find themselves tied for fifth place in the Atlantic Division with 66 points heading into Tuesday’s slate of games. But when you factor in tiebreakers, they’ve dropped to sixth, and that’s a tragedy in and of itself.
In their last 10 games, the Wings are 2-7-1, with just five points to show for it, 25 goals for, and 39 goals allowed. Unless something changes, they’ve shown us that they got beginner’s luck and not much else. And at their current trajectory, a ninth-straight season without a playoff berth looms.
At least the Red Wings aren’t the most downtrodden franchise in the Atlantic
At this point, the Wings and their fans need to be grateful for the Buffalo Sabres continued existence. Not only have the Wings passed up the Sabres in their respective rebuilds, but they’ve proven to be the better team head-to-head, taking five of the previous seven matchups.
While the Wings are near the bottom of the Atlantic (again) with 66 points, they’re still 10 ahead of the Blue and Gold. This means, despite the increasing likelihood of their current playoff drought extending to nine seasons, the Wings probably aren’t finishing in the Atlantic’s basement.
Plus, that drought’s nowhere near Buffalo’s, which is going on 14 seasons. Yeah, this may sound highly negative, but is there any reason to be positive these days about this floundering franchise? One in which general manager Steve Yzerman could find his job at stake if this poor play continues?
Another Atlantic division rival might be lapping the Red Wings
Enter the Ottawa Senators, who prior to Tuesday’s games sit in the top wild card spot with 71 points. Not long ago, the Wings looked destined to snag that same spot in the standings, except they’ve faced nothing but trouble over the past month.
Even worse, the Wings have struggled in their three matchups this season against the Senators, taking just one game in what has been a series of defensive struggles. For a team like the Sens, it’s been defense first, and the simple approach has worked for a team with a rookie coach that seemingly lacks talent when you take a long look at them.
Over the past few years, the burning question has been which team, the Sabres, Senators, or Red Wings, would end their playoff drought first. Yeah, it’s come down to the Senators and Wings and for a while, everything looked as if it were going in Detroit’s favor.
But now, it’s clearer - the Red Wings have become the same old Red Wings of recent seasons again. The Senators look like they’re on the verge of taking over that No. 1 wild card spot for themselves if they enjoy one good run.
And if that becomes the case Wings fans everywhere can at least thank fate they haven’t sunk to the Sabres level just yet. And maybe that’ll be the case if they can pull off one more win against their Atlantic Division rivals tomorrow.