DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings are under .500 and four points out of a playoff spot as we head toward the new year.
Coach Jeff Blashill's squad (12-13-7, 31 points) is chasing the Boston Bruins (35 points) for the 3rd spot in the Atlantic Division. A 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night was helpful, but that came after a tough 3-2 overtime loss to the Bruins. That game against Boston could come back to haunt the Red Wings during the second half of the season.
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Here's what's on the schedule the next two weeks:
- 7 p.m. Tuesday -- Red Wings @ Islanders
- 8 p.m. Wednesday -- Red Wings @ Flyers
- 1 p.m. Saturday -- Red Wings @ Bruins
- 7 p.m. Dec. 27 -- Red Wings @ Devils
- 7:30 p.m. Dec. 29 -- Rangers @ Red Wings
- 7 p.m. Dec. 31 -- Penguins @ Red Wings
Notice there are no losing teams on this schedule. That's a total 12 points available to the Red Wings before the new year. They somehow need to salvage at least 8 points and must beat the Bruins on Saturday.
Take a look at the Eastern Conference standings:
Atlantic Division
Metropolitan Division
Wild Card
- Pittsburgh -- 37 points
- Philadelphia -- 35 points
- Carolina -- 35 points
- Montreal -- 32 points
- Detroit -- 12 wins, 31 points
- Ottawa -- 29 points
- Florida -- 29 points
- Buffalo -- 23 points
So there it is: Things are not looking good for the Red Wings. Sneaking into the playoffs seems to be getting more difficult each passing week as the Wild Card spots require more points. The final spot in the Atlantic Division is their best option but that will be hotly contested.
If you'd like to see the team tank for a better draft pick, that doesn't appear to be working out. Right now the Red Wings are 12 points ahead of last place in the league.
Could we see Detroit make some roster moves soon?
Larkin, Mantha leading team in points
If Detroit has any hope for a playoff berth this season they will need forwards Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha to have a superb second half. Larkin leads the team with 19 assists but has struggled to find the back of the net with just 5 goals in 32 games played. More goals from the man they call "D-Boss" could be the difference in some of these 1-goal losses.
Mantha leads the team with 12 goals but he has not scored in 7 games. He doesn't have a goal in the month of December. Actually, Mantha has not registered a point since Nov. 30. His team absolutely cannot afford that kind of slump from him.
Luckily for the Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar has started scoring at a better rate. He has 5 goals in his past 12 games.
Howard will be key in second half
It goes without saying goalie Jimmy Howard could be the real difference for the Red Wings in the second half. Howard has managed a 10-9-6 record and .908 save percentage on a losing team. He has shown flashes of brilliance this season but has gotten atrocious goal support from his teammates.
Howard does not have a shutout this season. He'll need about 20 in the second half if his team continues to fail in front of him.