The Detroit Red Wings’ postseason hopes are fading fast after the team looked poised to make a return to the playoffs approximately one month ago.
Detroit (33-31-6, 72 points) lost nine of its 11 previous games before posting a 5-1 victory at Utah on Monday night.
The Red Wings wrap up a four-game road trip at the surging Colorado Avalanche (43-25-3, 89 points) on Tuesday night in Denver.
The trip started with a 4-1 loss at Washington on March 18 and will end in Denver against a team that was a heated rival when they were both in the Western Conference.
Five years after their last postseason meeting in 2008, the Red Wings moved to the Eastern Conference and the rivalry has cooled considerably.
So has Detroit’s dominance. The Red Wings haven’t been to the playoffs since 2016, and coach Todd McLellan said his players need to do little things better if they want to end the drought.
“We talk about it, wanting to be in the playoffs, but we’re not sure we always want to be in the shooting lanes, we’re not sure we — and it’s not everybody — but picking and choosing do we really want to do it around the net, do we really want to be hit by the puck. Do we want to do the board work when it’s hard?” he said.
Detroit is young, led by Lucas Raymond’s 70 points (24 goals, 46 assists). Captain Dylan Larkin has 62 points (28 goals, 34 assists) and Alex DeBrincat is third with 61 points (team-leading 33 goals, 28 assists).
Petr Mrazek, who left Monday’s game after a collision just 1:38 into the first period, won’t play against Colorado, McLellan told reporters after the game. Cam Talbot likely will get the start in net.
The Avalanche have made the playoffs for seven straight seasons and won it all in 2021-22. They remade a chunk of their roster this season to make another run at a Stanley Cup, and the deals appear to be paying dividends. Colorado is 10-1-1 in its past 12 games and sits in third place in the Central Division.
The roster changes have enhanced a strong nucleus, led by Nathan MacKinnon, whose 105 points (28 goals, 77 assists) are the most in the NHL. Cale Makar leads all defensemen in scoring with 81 points (26 goals, 55 assists) and Martin Necas has 75 points (24 goals, 51 assists) split between the Carolina Hurricanes and Avalanche.
Center Ross Colton has broken out of a midseason funk with 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in his past 12 games, giving the Avalanche scoring from the bottom six forwards.
“You just want to do whatever you can to help the team produce and win,” Colton said. “If you get two points that’s all that matters, but you want to contribute. And for a while, it felt like things just weren’t going our way.”
Colorado’s Sam Girard is expected to miss his third straight game with an undisclosed injury. Fellow defenseman Erik Johnson also is nursing an undisclosed injury.
–Field Level Media
