The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn and Sean Gentille have posted a set of power rankings in which each team asks Santa Claus for a present, and here’s their take on the Red Wings’ situation:
Record: 14-13-3
Last Week: 20
Dom rank: 23
Sean rank: 23Dear Santa,
I know I’m a goalie. I like being a goalie very much and I’m happy when my teammates score. But I want to score, too. Please give me an NHL goal.
Thank you, Alex
We’ve watched Marc-Andre Fleury try, openly and desperately, to score on an empty net for nearly two decades. The try-hard crown now belongs to Alex Nedeljkovic, who got a taste of it in the ECHL and AHL and has been chasing it ever since. He talked about going for it this week against the Islanders, and it’s far from the first time it’s come up. So, let’s get him one. Things are going pretty well otherwise in Detroit; the Calder candidates look great, and they’re no longer in immediate danger to screw up their draft spot with a playoff run.
Continued; and that’s pretty lame of them to jab at the Wings’ unrealistic playoff chances, but there we are.
The team has to “Think” they can make the playoffs but it is a long shot at best.