It seems as if the ides of March come for the Red Wings each year, and even when the team knows that its coming, nothing they do seems to fix the issue. Coming into March the Red Wings sat inside the eastern conference playoff picture not exactly comfortably, due to a tight Atlantic division race, but were competing night in and night out with the rest of the top teams in the league.
Now, as the month comes to a close, the team has dropped out of the playoff picture, with their hopes pinned on a resurgent team after the return of a few key players from injury.
Down, not out
The Red Wings were once again quiet at the NHL in season trade deadline, with only David Perron, a third line wing and Justin Faulk, a second pairing defenseman, coming in. The losses the Red Wings incurred that week, were much greater, though most of them weren't due to trades. Dylan Larkin, Andrew Copp, and Michael Rasmussen all went down with injuries in the games following the trade deadline, leaving Detroit without most of the spine of their offense.
All told, the team sits four points behind Boston for the first wild card spot (a team they recently lost to, by the way). The New York Islanders sit three points ahead of the Red Wings with just 11 games left in the season as well. However, the Red Wings have also gotten Copp and Larkin back in recent days. If the Red Wings want to get back in the dance, they need significant contributions, and significant gains in the standings, over the the next few days.
Copp returned after sitting just over a week, netting two points in his last three games. Larkin scored a goal in his return from injury against the Ottawa Senators, though the team still lost 3-2. The team still needs to solidify their team defense, however, and not be reliant on John Gibson being able to start every game and play out of his skull.
Countdown
With only 11 games left, the Red Wings find themselves in need of a win streak, or some help from other teams if they want to get into the dance after being rejected for nearly a decade. The Buffalo Sabres, toting a gaggle of top first round picks that they have drafted and developed, along with a former Red Wings goalie, have managed to find themselves as the top seed in this year's playoff picture.
Buffalo is the only team in the NHL who hasn't been to the playoffs for a longer amount of time than the Red Wings, and it looks like that's going to change that year, if the Red Wings don't make it.
That's a top spot no one wants to be in, and with their first round choice for this year's draft gone, the pressure is on for the Red Wings to perform now if they want to keep the fanbase from open revolt.