The Wings are coming off a four day break, a luxury they won’t have for the rest of the season. The break follows a 6-1 win over the Ottawa Senators Thursday night. Johan Franzen scored a hat-trick and Jonas Gustavsson turned away 37 of 38 shots in the win. The Sens played better than the score might suggest, but the Wings pounced on every opportunity to put the puck in the net.
Once the Winged Wheel returns to action Tuesday night against the Devils, the schedule does not let up for the rest of the month. The Wings will only have two consecutive days off on one occasion in March. With that said, the start to this busy stretch will be key. What happens over the next week against the Devils (twice) the Avalanche, and the Rangers could very well dictate what this month in Motown will look like.
The playoff race in the East isn’t getting any easier with four teams within three points of the Red Wings for the last Wild Card spot. On the other half of the standings, it isn’t out of the question for the Wings to catch the Leafs or the Lightning, even the Habs could be caught. The Wings have at least a game in hand on all the teams that surround them in the standings.
Deadline day is fast approaching and what the Wings will do remains to be seen. Reports indicate that the Wings have interest in a number of players including Ryan Kesler, Thomas Vanek, Ales Hemsky, Andy MacDonald and Henrik Tallinder. Another interesting rumor has Jaromir Jagr coming to Detroit. Should that happen, the Wings might be the best in the league if challenged to a game of keep-away.
The Wings take on the Devils twice this week. New Jersey is three points back of Detroit and have two less games left to catch them. The second lowest scoring team in the league will be hungry for wins to keep themselves in the playoff hunt. More on the Devils to follow tomorrow!