With a bit more than a week before the second half of the 2024-25 season starts again, the Detroit Red Wings are playing good hockey. So much so that they have got themselves back into the wild card race. Forwards Lucas Raymond (Sweden) and Dylan Larkin (U.S.A.) will be competing in the 4-Nations tournament from February 12-20 and this will give other Red WIngs players a needed break to rest up.
After the 2024-25 season resumes, Detroit will have 27 games left in the season. However, 15 of those games will be on the road, where the Red Wings have a 13-10-3 record this season. It will be a tough uphill battle, but if Detroiot can acquire 75% of the points remaining or better, they may be able to sneak into the playoffs. This is going to be difficult, not because of the schedule but the opposition on the said schedule.
Current Situation
At the time of the break, the Red Wings sit with a record of 28-22-5 for 61 points and hold the last wild card spot. The first two months of the season were bad for Detroit. No excuses, just bad. Then General Manager Steve Yzerman fired Head Coach Derek Lalonde and replaced him with veteran Todd McLellan.
The Red Wings found new life and went on a tear, making a serious run, and reclaiming, a playoff spot for the time being. Under McLellan, they are 15-5-1 and are one of the hottest teams in the league. They have to not only continue their hot play but turn it up a notch and grab some much needed points in the last two months of the season. Building off of a hot ending to the first half could put the Red Wings in a great position as the playoffs near.
A look ahead
The rest of Detroit's schedule is brutal and one of the hardest schedules to close out the season. They play the Carolina Hurricanes three times. They play the Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets, Utah Hockey Club. Washington Capitals, Ottawa Senators, Vegas Golden Knights, and Florida Panthers each twice.
The Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Colorado Avalanche, Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadians. Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils, and Toronto Maple Leafs, play Detroit once on the remaining schedule.
While 13 of these teams are currently in a playoff spot, this situation should be no surprise to Detroit, They were in a similar position last season and missed the playoffs by a single point as the Capitals grabbed the last spot.
Detroit and McLellan have something cooking. They are a different team with him behind the bench. The Red Wings have found new life and want to take advantage of that new found momentum. The rest of the schedule is filled with playoff-type teams that should give Detroit some much needed playoff competition.
Two telling tales to how far Detroit can do depends on the 4-Nations tournament and the trade deadline. If Detroit's Larkin and Sweden's Raymond stay healthy and the Wings make moves at the deadline, ths could be a dangerous team.
However, if Larkin or Raymond get hurt and Detroit misses the playoffs period, they cannot make a run if either one of those players are out of the lineup; they do not have the depth to do so. Detroit has a chance to do something special. It is going to take everyone to play at an elite level this next 60 days to ensure they grab a playoff spot. If the teams plays .600 or better they could make things interesting. Anything .500 or below then the team will miss the playoffs once again.