Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings Still Alive in Playoff Race no Team Wants to Win
Detroit is 3-11 over past 14 games
Every team in the chase for the second Wild Card in the NHL’s Eastern Conference appears to be doing their utmost to keep the Detroit Red Wings in the race.
Well, every team except the Red Wings, that is.
Thursday, Detroit fell behind 3-0 and despite a spirited rally, lost 4-3 to the Ottawa Senators.
https://t.co/4wwD31nsqb pic.twitter.com/fkaSbj3xau
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) March 28, 2025
It was the club’s fourth loss in five games and 11th over the last 14 contests.
The Wings are also 2-5-1 over their last eight home games.
“We haven’t been good enough there, and we know it,” Detroit forward Lucas Raymond said. “And it’s about taking care of those opportunities and building off of it.”
Other Teams Keeping Red Wings In Race
Luckily for the Red Wings, building success doesn’t appear to be a priority for any of the teams in pursuit of the second Wild Card in the East.
Montreal, holder of the eighth seed, has lost two in a row. The Canadiens are 3-3-4 in their last 10 games. Among the other teams ahead of the Wings, none of the New York Islanders (4-3-3), New York Rangers (3-6-1) or Columbus Blue Jackets (2-7-1) are displaying a determination to make that playoff spot their own.
It’s leaving the Red Wings within striking distance despite the team’s own woes. Detroit is just three points behind Montreal.
That’s the good news. The bad news? At some point, the Red Wings must starting putting some wins together. Detroit has won back-to-back games just once in the past 18 games.
The Eastern Conference Wild Card race between the Habs, Islanders, Rangers, Blue Jackets, and Red Wings: pic.twitter.com/NYXKxqP6j6
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) March 28, 2025
“Our inability to win and everybody else around us losing, yeah, it keeps us right where we are, but the clock is ticking,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said. “So that’s what ends up happening. You run out of time unless you take advantage of somebody else’s mistakes, and we haven’t been able to do that over the last little bit.”
Opportunity to get back on the winning track couldn’t be knocking more loudly for the Wings than it is heading into their next game. Saturday, Detroit is home to the free spot on the NHL bingo card, the Boston Bruins.
Boston is 0-6-1 over the past seven games. The Bruins have allowed five or more goals in five of those losses.
If the Wings can’t beat Boston, they might as well take the skates off and go home.
