If the Detroit Red Wings are going to extend their streak of consecutive playoff appearances to an even quarter century, they need to make their points.

A dozen of them, history would suggest.

“There was a number at the start of the year, I forget what it was – 96, 98 – if we get that number, historically we should be in,” Detroit defenseman Kyle Quincey explained, though he missed his point by a point.

You could say that 97 is a lucky number as far as the Wings are concerned. They ended their 42-year Stanley Cup drought in the spring of 1997 and in NHL history, no team that’s accumulated 97 regular-season points has ever failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

That means Detroit, currently with 85 points, would require another 12 to assure a 25th straight season in the playoffs.

“So if we win six out of eight we should be fine,” Quincey said.

This is nothing new to the Wings, who’ve battled down to the wire for a playoff position the previous several seasons.

“It’s a little bit the same,” Quincey said. “We’re on the outside looking in. In the past we were always on the inside kind of fending off the teams.”

Though tied in points with the Philadelphia Flyers, the Flyers hold the tiebreaker for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff position, the second wildcard spot. But the Wings are also just one point behind the Boston Bruins for third place in the Atlantic Division.

“We’re right there,” Quincey said, thinking back on past scraps for playoff spots the Wings have waged.

“Columbus (two seasons ago) was the one that sticks out. Twenty-three out of 24 games they won. You just keep watching them chip away at the lead and they came up a point short.

“We had to win the last game of the year (in Dallas). It’s going to come down to the last game, either way. Hopefully we can get a cushion and know if we win that game, we’re in, instead of having to look around at the scoreboard.”

Scoreboard watching isn’t going well for the Wings. After beating Montreal 4-3 Thursday to briefly assume eighth place, the Wings looked on as Colorado squandered a 2-1 third-period lead and lost to the Flyers.

“Yeah my Avs couldn’t help us out,” joked Quincey, who makes his off-season home in Denver. “I think it was the first time Red Wings fans were cheering for the Avs like that.

“No, we’re not getting much help. We know, we’ve all been saying that it’s in our hands. We know if we win, not all the games but most of them coming down the stretch, we should be OK.”

Powering Up
Detroit’s oft-maligned power play has scored goals in three straight games and the Wings are four-for-eight with the man advantage during those three games.

A strong net-front presence and an overall more aggressive approach is making the difference for the Detroit power play.

“I think we’ve had a better attack mentality,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “We’ve done a better job of getting it and attacking the net and trying to get the puck back and attacking the net.

“That’s how you have long-term success, that’s how they had success here on the power play a year ago. It’s not something new but sometimes it starts to click a little bit and you gain confidence on it and it seems like our power play is gaining confidence.”

Kronwall Rests
Minus-six the past two games and just three games into a return from a weeklong absence due to a knee injury, defenseman Niklas Kronwall was given the day off Friday.

“Today was a maintenance day,” Blashill said. “We expect him to be able to play (Saturday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Joe Louis Arena) but we’ll evaluate that tomorrow.”

Saarijarvi Promoted
The Red Wings recalled defenseman Vili Saarijarvi from the Flint Firebirds after the Firebirds failed to qualify for the Ontario Hockey League playoffs and assigned him to the Grand Rapids Griffins, their American Hockey League club.

Saarijarvi, 18, Detroit’s second choice (73rd overall) in the 2015 NHL entry draft, finished third on the Firebirds with 12-31-43 totals and his 31 assists were second best on the team. He also helped Finland win the gold medal at the world junior championship.

Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer