Another early one today, and there’s not much to be said that hasn’t been covered in the previous few game day posts. The Red Wings came out with a remarkably poor effort against the worst team in the Eastern Conference, and their backup goalie no less (granted a likely Hall of Famer), to squander an excellent opportunity to advance their playoff chances.
It’s a loss that definitely feels worse than the actual outcome, but we have to look at the standings, and the Red Wings are still alive as far as the numbers are concerned. Ottawa, Boston, Columbus and the Islanders all lost yesterday, but Philadelphia and Washington did not, so the Red Wings remain tied for the second Wild Card. The Senators still hold the tiebreaker among the four total teams currently sitting at 88 points, along with Detroit, Philadelphia and Columbus. Those Metro teams are also chasing the Isles, who have 89 points, and Washington has quietly entered the mix at 87.
Quite a cluster, leaving the Red Wings with no option but to win many hockey games as quickly as they can. After yesterday afternoon’s letdown, they are now faced with a visit from the Minnesota Wild, who are among the top five Stanley Cup favorites after adding Quinn Hughes early in the season and bolstering their lineup with several other moves at the trade deadline. It’s not going to be easy.
I’m not ready to write the season off until the standings say I need to. But the effort level is just not where it needs to be right now, save for the Buffalo game and about 2/3rds of the most recent Flyers game.
A few odds and ends to wrap this one up. The Red Wings announced a three-year entry-level contract for Noah Dower Nilsson this morning. The 20-year-old 2023 third-round pick has spent the last two seasons with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League, notching 16 points this season. He’s on the smaller side, but was considered a deviation from the “responsible two-way player” type that Detroit has targeted so frequently at recent drafts. There’s some high-end skill there, and now he’ll get an opportunity to play a bit more with the Griffins starting next season (if not sooner) rather than the SHL, which doesn’t typically give big minutes to young players. Worth noting that older brother Liam is a former Red Wings prospect who finished second in scoring in the Swedish Allsvenskan (just under the SHL) — wonder if the team has continued to keep tabs on him and has any interest in seeing him play with his brother.
Swedes are ruling the day for Grand Rapids, who are rolling again with five-straight wins and saw both Eddie Genborg and Anton Johansson score their first AHL goals yesterday. I only mention all this because there are quite a few guys I think this fanbase would be content to never see play again, so here’s hoping we get a big summer from some of these prospects, regardless of this season’s outcome.
How to Watch
Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
TV: TNT/TruTV/HBO Max
Radio: 97.1 The Ticket
Red Wings Projected Lineup
Finnie – Larkin – Kasper
DeBrincat – Copp – Kane
Perron – Compher – Raymond
van Riemsdyk – Rasmussen – Shine
Johansson – Seider
Edvinsson – Bernard-Docker
Chiarot – Sandin-Pellikka
Talbot
Gibson
Wild Projected Lineup
Kaprizov – Hartman – Zuccarello
Johansson – Eriksson Ek – Boldy
Trenin – Yurov – Tarasenko
N. Foligno – McCarron – M. Foligno
Hughes – Faber
Brodin – Spurgeon
Middleton – Bogosian
Gustavsson
Walstedt
Rooting Guide: Florida over Pittsburgh, Philly over Boston (I guess?), Carolina over Ottawa, Rangers over Washington
