In case you’re new to hockey or are just following the Red Wings for the first time after a long layoff, your team is playing tomorrow evening in the Stadium Series. Long story short, this is an outdoor game played in a pro or college sports stadium and since this one’s in Columbus, you all know where it’s happening.
Yep, at Ohio Stadium, the Horseshoe, home of the Buckeyes, a college sports team that isn’t too popular in Michigan. The implications can definitely raise some red flags in terms of focus, with a crowd of 90,000 expected to be on hand.
But the Red Wings can’t afford to let that happen. Losers of three of their last five, including on Thursday night to Columbus, Detroit must find a way to get back on track and in a game full of distractions, it’s easy to fall behind. But they need to know what they’re playing for.
Blue Jackets are surprisingly a major threat to the Red Wings
Of every team in the Eastern Conference, the Columbus Blue Jackets were the last team I’d have pegged in here. But right now, you can argue that there isn’t another wild card contender out there factoring in as a bigger threat to unseat the Wings.
Right now, the Blue Jackets are in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division with 66 points, which ties them with Detroit. If the Wings mess this up and lose in regulation, it may only put them two points behind Columbus, but one can’t help but wonder if the wheels are starting to fall off after what was a red-hot start to the Todd McLellan era.
And yeah, I know, even the best teams out there lose four out of six games - should the Wings drop tomorrow’s contest - with one loss coming in overtime. But we also need to remember that the Wings blew that overtime loss vs. the Wild, before they built a substantial lead vs. the Anaheim Ducks and let them back into the game.
This isn’t what a team like the Red Wings, who, by the way, hit a skid late last season that they recovered from too late and missed the playoffs. So, you can see why I’m concerned here and that this squad must focus on treating this like it’s just another game and nothing more. They should be doing that in the first place, but the sense of urgency needs to be a little higher here.
Red Wings are about to get tested following Stadium Series
Another reason the stakes are so high in this Blue Jackets game? Momentum. The Wings need momentum heading into the next and perhaps most important leg of the season. In March, they’re facing the Carolina Hurricanes twice, the Ottawa Senators, the Washington Capitals, and the Vegas Golden Knights.
It’s not the kind of schedule I’d like to see from a team that has performed well in a couple of stretches this season but has, overall, been average, at best. That said, a loss will give them four in their last six, and with a tough schedule brewing, the mystique and uniqueness of the Stadium Series cannot distract them from what should be the No. 1 goal - get back to the playoffs.