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It’s over.
Well, it’s not officially over, but you know it’s only a matter of time until the Detroit Red Wings are eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 1989-90 season.
So what is left to play for as time runs out?
Plenty, if you ask the Red Wings.
“First of all, we’ve got to know this isn’t OK,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said of missing the playoffs. “If you don’t want to be here again, you better make sure we continue to get better, and you better make sure our approach is the right way, so the culture maintains.
“There’s organizations where they’ve lost culture, they’ve missed the playoffs and they’ve missed it 10 straight years. We don’t want to be in this position again. This isn’t OK. That’s the approach we’re taking every day.”
As to those conspiracy theorists who think the Wings should be finding ways to deliberately lose games and therefore increase their odds of winning the NHL entry draft lottery, well that just isn’t happening.
“The leagues (all pro leagues) have a done a good job of not rewarding the team that finishes last by creating a lottery,” Detroit left-winger Justin Abdelkader said. “So, you hope there is no tanking going for that first pick.
“There is so much parity in the league. The last place team can beat the first place team on any given night. Teams are going to play hard. Guys are going to play hard. There are all kinds of moving parts on rosters, young guys are coming up, guys who are are fighting for positions and roster spots for the following year.”
In fact, the Wings are 3-1 in their last four games. They’ve scored 13 goals in that span and have allowed just four goals in their last three games. They’ve counted recent victories over the Atlantic Division-leading Montreal Canadiens and the Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks. The powerplay has clicked at 60 per cent (six-for-20) over the past six games.
“No one in any locker room or on any team is trying to tank a season or go for a draft pick,” Abdelkader said. “We are all prideful, we are going to play hard each and every day and try and win.
“That’s what we’re instructed to do. That’s what we’ve been taught to do since the day we played our first game. You line up against the guy across from you and you have to beat him to win. And that’s what we’ll continue to do each and every day.”
Helm Status
The Wings won’t likely make a decision until prior to game time Friday on whether forward Darren Helm, who’s missed the last two games with a lower body injury, will suit up against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“It’s possible,” was all Blashill would say. “We’ll make the decision tomorrow.
“There was no contact really, today, so it’ll still be a decision tomorrow.”
Minor Matters
The end of the junior hockey regular season means that Red Wings prospects will slowly begin to find their way to Detroit’s farm system.
Forward Givani Smith and defenseman Filip Hronek have both been recalled to the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins.
Both Smith’s (Guelph Storm) and Hronek’s (Saginaw Spirit) teams missed the OHL playoffs.
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