The Eastern Conference standings look like this today…
But you should not be surprised if the Wings “fall out of the playoff picture” before the Four Nations break, mostly because most NHL teams have several games during the balance of this week.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, for example, have 3 games, playing on Thursday vs. Ottawa, Saturday in Detroit, and Sunday in Montreal.
With the Boston Bruins also on the Wings’ trail, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses where the Wings stand as they accrue “games in hand” on other teams between Wednesday night and Saturday:
The Red Wings went 7-2-1 in their past 10 games and lost ground to the New York Islanders (8-2) in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They only gained one point on the Ottawa Senators (7-3).
How tight is the race in East? Six teams are within five points of each other fighting for third place in the Atlantic Division and two wildcard spots.
None of those teams had fewer than 10 points over the past 10 games.
Tonight, the Boston Bruins can move into a playoff spot if they earn one point against the New York Rangers. The idle Red Wings cannot fall out of the playoffs tonight.
Continued; Detroit’s going into the break with 54 games played; by Sunday, Tampa will have played 55, and most of the Eastern Conference’s other teams have at least 2 games remaining on their schedule.
So don’t despair if the Islanders or Blue Jackets gain ground on Detroit–the Wings will make up their games after the break.
