Detroit Red Wings are busy scoreboard-watching with playoffs at stake: 'Human nature'
Watching the scoreboard these days is, as Derek Lalonde put it, human nature.
The Detroit Red Wings (37-30-8) are enmeshed in an extremely tight race for the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference with the end of the season just two weeks away. They don't play again until Friday, against the New York Rangers, and three days idle means seeing other teams move around in the standings.
"You always want to determine your own fate, and that seems to be the position we're in right now," Patrick Kane said Wednesday. "It feels good, but, with seven games left, and with what's up for grabs, you're definitely watching games and just kind of seeing what's going on around the league. It seems we've been getting a little bit of help lately, so it's on us, now."
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That help Kane referenced was the Buffalo Sabres beating Washington on Tuesday, keeping the Capitals at 82 points. That's the same amount the Wings have, but the Capitals have a game in hand, so sit in the last wild-card spot. That same night, however, the New York Islanders won, putting them right behind the Wings with 81 points. The Pittsburgh Penguins won, too, reaching 79 points. And the two points banked by the Sabres — who the Wings host Sunday — gives Buffalo 77 points.
"I'm watching a lot of hockey anyways, so I like to keep up with what's going on," Alex DeBrincat said. "At the same time, we have to focus more on ourselves than anyone else. We battled on the road. That's a good road trip for us, getting four points, and now hopefully we can take advantage of home ice. That's going to be big during this stretch. We play some good teams, so we have to really focus."
The Wings play the Capitals on Tuesday, then play on the road against the Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs, and finish up April 15 and 16 with a pair of games against the Montreal Canadiens, home and away, respectively.
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The Wings are coming off an uplifting 4-2 victory on Monday at the Tampa Bay Lightning, finally banking two points from a solid team performance. That came after earning a point at the Florida Panthers, and at Washington, to go 1-2-2 on a trip where every opponent was playoff-caliber. Add that to their 21-11-5 record at Little Caesars Arena, plus getting a little breather, and the Wings are feeling optimistic about their chances.
"It's an opportunity for a bit of a reset, especially after that road trip, which was very difficult," Lalonde said. "It was such a high to get a point in Florida, the win in Tampa. So a reset is good, but you want to take a little of that momentum and energy from that win in Tampa, and it doesn't get easier with playing arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference on Friday. But, it's about us and just trying to eat points. I give our guys a ton of credit. They battled. They made the uncomfortable look comfortable in that trip. They took points in three of the last four games and it put them in a spot to stay in this, which is a really good sign. Now it's what we do with it come Friday."
Lalonde called it "human nature," to watch for the results of other games, given how much some of them directly impact the Wings. "This is all healthy, great experiences," Lalonde said. "These games take a different level to them. You can just feel the intensity of those last couple games, what's at stake, and the way our guys are approaching it.
"I stood here three months ago saying we're going to need every single point possible, and that it was going to go down to the very last game, the very last period, and it's starting to look that way."
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If the standings remain this tight, there's a chance the Wings won't know if they made it until April 17, because the Penguins and Islanders play that night.
"I think everyone is putting it all on the line, so yeah, you never know what can happen in this league," Kane said. "Teams get hot, teams sneak into the playoffs. That's what it's all about, trying to get into the playoffs right now."
Rasmussen out Friday (at least)
The Red Wings face an immediate playoff push without Michael Rasmussen.
He will be unavailable for their game Friday against the New York Rangers, Lalonde said Wednesday, adding that it is unlikely Rasmussen will be available as soon as Sunday, when the Wings host the Buffalo Sabres.
Rasmussen left in the third period of Monday's 4-2 victory at the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 6-foot-6 forward has 13 goals and 20 assists in 75 games. He has played mostly on the wing, but can also play center and take faceoffs, and he's a regular on the penalty kill.
In his absence, Joe Veleno is slated to play in Rasmussen's spot on the line with Andrew Copp and Christian Fischer, and Daniel Sprong is to re-enter the lineup on a line with Austin Czarnik and Robby Fabbri.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her @helenestjames.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
Next up: Rangers
Matchup: Red Wings (37-30-8) vs. N.Y. Rangers (50-21-4 entering Wednesday).
Faceoff: 7 p.m. Friday; Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.
TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit Extra; WXYT-FM (97.1).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Yes, Detroit Red Wings are scoreboard-watching with playoffs at stake
