The Free Press’s Helene St. James and MLive’s Ansar Khan weigh in on the Red Wings’ 4-2 loss to Utah Hockey Club last night, with St. James wondering aloud whether the Red Wings are repeating last year’s floundering March full of losses that cost them a playoff spot…
“We just can’t find a win,” captain Dylan Larkin said after Thursday’s 4-2 loss to the Utah Hockey Club. “We’ve lost not playing well and we’ve lost playing well. We’re losing in different ways. You look at the big picture and kind of zoom out a little bit, it’s four games.”
It’s four games, but it’s four games in the stretch run, the phase of the NHL season when good teams separate from the lesser ones and cross the finish line to the postseason. That stretch run only has 20 games remaining, and only seven of those are at home — and the next one is on the road, against the elite Washington Capitals, the same day as the NHL trade deadline.
(That would be this evening at 7 PM EST on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Monumental Sports/Sportsnet Pacific/Sportsnet 360/TVA Sports/97.1 FM)…
“You zoom out from Christmas time,” Larkin said. “We talked about it as a group, how far we’ve come. We didn’t really see ourselves in this position, but we put the work in and we got ourselves here. I feel we’ve made a case to continue to push this thing and keep playing for the playoffs and get in.”
[Coach Todd] McLellan spoke earlier this week about how at this time of year, “we have to expect tighter checking and a little more grind to the games. It’s supposed to feel hard, it’s supposed to hurt a little bit, it’s supposed to stress you a little bit, it’s supposed to stretch you to the max in whatever way, shape or form during the game, and we’re learning that.”
But is the lesson sinking in fast enough?
MLive’s Khan also took note of McLellan’s comments regarding the imminent trade deadline, which hits today at 3 PM EST:
“It’s not just a short-term look and it’s not just a long-term look,” McLellan said. “It’s looking at the group as a whole and can we find players that fit our team better? Can we find players that will make us better now? Can we find players that will help us with chemistry? That’s all talked about all the time. So, (the slide) doesn’t necessarily change the approach, in my opinion.”
The Red Wings were flirting with a playoff spot in 2023 before back-to-back decisive losses in Ottawa prompted Yzerman to trade key players Tyler Bertuzzi and Filip Hronek for first-round picks days before the deadline.
Last year the Red Wings were in the midst of a seven-game losing streak during the trade deadline and Yzerman stood pat. They had an eight-point cushion in the playoff chase before missing out on the final day.
“I don’t know the past. I only know the past few months,” McLellan said. “And I can tell you the group genuinely cares. I’ve been around teams where they just don’t believe they care. Sometimes I think they care too much and they tighten up and they’re afraid to swing the bat, if you will, which isn’t a bad thing because they’re into it. There’s passion on the bench. There’s a lot of self-frustration that comes out. I’m not sure that’s always a good thing.
“I like to think that we’ve learned from the past. We’re mentally stronger. And if you’re going to go back two years, the team is significantly different now than it was then and including last year. I think we’re our own group and we’re going to write our own story.”
St. James also looped back with another story about the trade deadline…
The NHL trade deadline — which arrives this year Friday at 3 p.m. — can be a stressful time around the league. General managers, like the Detroit Red Wings’ Steve Yzerman, are trying to fill needs: In his case, depth on defense and at center. Some players, like Kane in February 2023, are debating whether to go to a new team — provided they have the gravitas in the first place to demand control over any trade deal.
“Even if your name isn’t involved, you definitely pay attention this time of year,” Kane said.
…
The Wings lost two players who had a lot of that over the past two months. At the start of January, veteran defenseman Jeff Petry sustained an undisclosed injury for which he ended up undergoing surgery in early February, with an expected recovery time of 6-8 weeks. That has left William Lagesson, a 29-year-old who has appeared in 102 career NHL games, getting ice time — and, in turn, has put pressure on Yzerman to bring in someone new.
The other big injury came on Feb. 22, when Andrew Copp rushed into a scrum and ended up tearing his left pectoral muscle, leading to surgery a few days later, with a recovery period of 4-6 months. J.T. Compher stepped into the second-line center spot, and Marco Kasper was moved off the wing to play his natural center position — but again, if Yzerman could trade for a center, it would ease the concerns over depth.
What makes a trade hard is that of course, an asset has to be given up in return. The Wings aren’t in position to surrender top young players or prospects and still need their first-round picks to advance the rebuild. But after eight years of not making the playoffs, and with the Wings starting the week of the trade deadline inside the playoff picture, there’s increased pressure on Yzerman to make a move.
You get the picture…
