Detroit Red Wings show Steve Yzerman vs. Avs how they've graduated to near-playoff status

Did you catch that, Steve Yzerman?

Did you see what your Detroit Red Wings did to the mighty Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena?

Did you see them claw back against one of the NHL’s best teams? Did you see them end a 10-game losing streak to your erstwhile archrivals? Did you see someone throw an octopus on the ice after Dylan Larkin helped send the game to overtime in the third period?

More importantly, did you hear Patrick Kane say “it felt like a playoff game” after he scored the winner in OT?

Because that’s exactly what the 2-1 comeback victory felt like: a playoff game against a high-caliber playoff team.

It was a game that was ultimately won by a team worthy of playoff spot, especially if Yzerman can make a move or two that will nudge them even closer with the March 8 trade deadline exactly two weeks away.

“That was a huge win, a great atmosphere,” said Larkin, who assisted on Kane’s goal. “Our fans were unbelievable and, you know, it’s just a special win, a huge win for our hockey team.”

Yzerman likes to gauge the Wings based on their outings against top-tier teams or teams he considers their equivalents. Honestly, it has felt like a sliding scale too often with a blurry line that seems to move when Yzerman finds it convenient to justify selling off.

But this year feels different. It looks different.

Even with the win, the Wings aren’t on the level of the Avs, who have one of the NHL’s most potent offenses led by dazzling Hart Trophy and Ross Trophy candidate Nathan McKinnon.

He spotted his team a 1-0 lead early in the second period with his 34th goal and 93rd point when he went top shelf from in close on Alex Lyon during Colorado’s frantic, sustained attack that resembled a game of bubble hockey.

The Wings fought back from being outplayed and outshot in the first period, 11-5. They outshot the Avs, 11-9, in the second period without finding the net.

They continued the attack in an evenly matched third period, until Larkin scored on the power play. His 25th goal came from the slot off a nice feed from David Perron.

But frankly the Avs looked like the better team most of the night. They’re faster, better on the forecheck and nearly won with a backup goalie making his eighth career start. McKinnon is among the NHL’s very best players and dangerous dynamos on short list with Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov and Auston Matthews. He’s a big reason why the Avs entered tied for the second-most goals in the NHL.

McKinnon’s linemate Mikko Rantanen is right behind him with 29 goals and 72 points. Add Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Cale Makar and it’s easy to see why the Avs are fighting the Dallas Stars for the Central Division title, while the Wings are fighting for their wild-card playoff lives.

Yet the Wings did what they needed to do Thursday. They didn’t make too many mistakes that led to easy offense for one of the NHL’s most dangerous teams. They won their third straight game, notching six big points after stumbling at the start of their western trip last week.

Last year, the Wings were in similar position before the trade deadline. But Yzerman didn’t like what he saw in losses to Ottawa and pulled the plug on the season by selling. I still don’t get it. As Ottawa goes, so go the Wings?

But Yzerman probably saw more than that. He probably saw what coach Derek Lalonde admitted Thursday about last season’s squad.

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“Last year, we were pushing towards that playoff line for the deadline,” he said. “I think it was a huge overachievement from the group. This year, it just doesn't feel like that.”

Lalonde pointed out the most obvious difference: depth. The Wings don’t have elite talent at any position. But they have good-to-very-good talent throughout the roster. The Wings have a top-10 offense, which they have achieved by spreading the puck around. Kane’s goal made him the 12th Wing to score at least 10 goals this season. The Avs, by comparison, get 30% of their scoring from McKinnon and Rantanen.

I’m not sure which source of production is better suited to playoff success. But having a deep and versatile team like the Wings do generally leads to good things, like Thursday’s league-leading 10th third-period comeback win.

“I thought from the second (period) on, I thought we were a pretty good team,” Lalonde said, “And I think we got what we deserved, so the full two points.”

Lalonde didn’t always feel that way last season. But last season he didn’t have Kane or Alex DeBrincat or a key depth forward like Daniel Sprong who made the small and big differences in tight games against the kind of opponent they faced Thursday night.

“I can't tell you,” Lalonde said, “how many times last year we would leave a game feeling really good about our team game, and we were one goal outside of this.”

On one special night that felt like a lot of special nights used to feel around Hockeytown, Lalonde wasn’t the only one who left feeling good about the game, plus the two big points the Wings earned and what they proved to their general manager.

Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings show Steve Yzerman they're absolutely playoff ready