Heading into Tuesday night’s slate of games, the Detroit Red Wings aren’t out of it yet. With 70 points in 67 games, they’re just one point and one game less in hand behind their Atlantic Division rival, the Montreal Canadiens, to move into the runner-up position for that second wild card spot.
With 72 points in 68 games, the New York Rangers find themselves occupying the second spot in the wild card. And while they have a two-point lead on the Red Wings, the Wings have a game in hand.
That’s the good news in this scenario, but the bad news is this: There’s no way the Wings are finishing the season in the Atlantic Division’s top three. The Florida Panthers have 85 points while the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning are battling it out with 83 points. Toronto and Tampa also have 67 games under their belt, while Florida has 68.
The Red Wings can make a push for the first wild card, but…
So, why can’t the Red Wings snag the first wild card spot in the East? With 77 points and a game in hand on the Wings sits another familiar face, the Ottawa Senators. Yeah, those Senators that few may have given much of an opportunity to reside anywhere but the Atlantic Division’s basement in 2024-25.
Still, the Sens, with a 7-2-1 record and a six-game winning streak heading into Tuesday night, look like the East’s hottest team next to the Carolina Hurricanes, another team the Wings became familiar with. Overall, it would take a massive meltdown from the Sens for the Wings to even have a prayer in catching them with one month to go in the season.
So, that leaves the Red Wings battling it out with New York, Montreal, the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Boston Bruins, and the New York Islanders for that final playoff spot. The Rangers look far and away like the biggest threat right now, as everything seems to be finally coming together for the Blueshirts through what has been a rougher-than-expected season.
The most unfortunate aspect of the Red Wings situation is…
Go back just one month, and the Red Wings looked poised to control their own destiny. Now, as the weather breaks from winter to spring, it looks like the Red Wings broke down as a hockey team. No longer is this group in control of its own destiny, and what’s even worse is that the Rangers look like they’ve gotten their act together at the worst possible time while the Canadiens are surging with a 7-1-2 record in their last 10.
Another seven-game winning streak isn’t needed just yet, but as you can clearly see with the data spilled out in this article, that six-game losing streak the Red Wings decided to embark on hurt them way, way more than even a pessimistic fan may think. If the Wings won just two games in that span, they’d at least find themselves within striking distance of Ottawa.
But, that’s not the case, and the Wings will find themselves playing from behind if they make matters worse for themselves this week when they’re on the road. At 14-14-3, they’re not awful when playing outside their home arena, but if there’s ever a time to bring the A-Game, it’s now.