The Daily: Red Wings Faithful Would Love to Cancel Crosby; McCarty a Stunner in Ring

Playing the spoiler isn’t a role that the Detroit Red Wings are embracing. Putting Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on the sidelines for the Stanley Cup playoffs, that’s a notion that all of Hockeytown can get behind.

The Penguins, who are at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, find themselves one point out of an Eastern Conference Wild Card spot with three games to play. A loss to Detroit won’t eliminate the Penguins, but it would leave them teetering on the brink of extinction.

“We’re playing a really good Pittsburgh team fighting for their playoff lives, the superstar power they have, the difference-makers they have,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “I think there will be more at stake with the fact we beat them last week. I think we’ll get their best and it’ll force us to go to another level with our game.”

As for ending Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes, Lalonde doesn’t see that factor as a motivator for his team.

“Probably not the spoiler-type role,” he said. “I don’t know if the guys really concern themselves with that.”

McCarty Making An Impact

Making his debut with Impact Wrestling, Darren McCarty, a four-time Stanley Cup champion with the Red Wings, was also a winner in the ring. Part of a six-man tag team, McCarty combined with Tommy Dreamer and Yuya Uemora to defeat Bully Ray and the Good Hands.

STUNNER CONNECTS! @THETOMMYDREAMER, @Im_YuyaUemura and @DarrenMcCarty4 get the W!#IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/JoVswXVjqD

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) April 7, 2023

The match ending saw McCarty delivering a double clothesline to the Good Hands tandem. He then hit Bully Ray with a stunner before pinning him for the win.

Lombardi Tallies Again

Red Wings draft pick Amadeus Lombardi opened the scoring with his third goal of the series as the Flint Firebirds were staving off elimination from the OHL playoffs with a 5-2 victory over the Saginaw Spirit on Friday.

Amadeus Lombardi: VERY good at hockey 🔥

The @DetroitRedWings prospect finds the back of the net yet again to give the @FlintFirebirds their first lead of the night at the Dow.#OHLPlayoffs | #FLNTvsSAG pic.twitter.com/ghy1VLgoOv

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 7, 2023

Sagniaw is leading the best-of-seven series 3-2. Game 6 goes Saturday in Flint.

Mazur Scores Another

One day after the Red Wings were officially eliminated from the NHL playoffs, the Grand Rapids Griffins were suffering the same fate at the AHL level. A 3-1 loss to the Manitoba Moose on Friday put the Griffins out of the Calder Cup playoffs for the second year in a row.

On a positive note, winger Carter Mazur scored the Grand Rapids goals. The Detroit draft pick has 3-2-5 totals in five games since turning pro.

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

• He’s not officially on the roster, but goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic remains with the Red Wings
• Even though they tied the Dead Wings era for playoff futility, this Detroit squad is on the rise
• The Red Wings power play is humming since Alex Chiasson’s arrival in town
• Captain Dylan Larkin is seeing a mixture of disappointment and hope in Detroit’s latest postseason miss

Red Wings Next Game

Detroit will play host to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a Saturday matinee game (1 p.m. ET). Detroit is 2-0 against Pittsburgh this season and has scored 12 goals over the two games.

Hockey Now Network

Pittsburgh: The Pittsburgh Penguins are recalling forward Alex Nylander for Saturday afternoon’s game against the Red Wings.

Florida: Alex Lyon was making a club-record 56 saves as he won his fifth straight game in goal for the Florida Panthers.

Boston: Jim Montgomery, coach of the Boston Bruins, is comparing the dominance of David Pastrnak to that of legendary Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez.

Philadelphia: In Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars, Carter Hart was back in next for the Philadelphia Flyers following a five-game injury absence.

Montreal: Several Montreal Canadiens prospects were advancing to the next round of the CHL playoffs.

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Vegas: Injured goaltender Adin Hill was given a conditioning assignment to AHL Henderson by the Vegas Golden Knights.

San Jose: San Jose Sharks prospect Danil Guschin was playing five games in six nights this past week.

Calgary: A 3-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets was huge in keeping the playoff hopes of the Calgary Flames alive.

Colorado: Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche is the third Finnish NHLer to record a 50-goal season.

Los Angeles: Is it time for the Los Angeles Kings to shuffle their forward lines in order to recapture their scoring depth?