The Daily: Red Wings’ Loss Could’ve Been Worse; Flyers Get Goalie?

Detroit Hockey Now’s Tim Robinson pointed out that the Detroit Red Wings’ only good fortune Thursday night is that their rivals for an Eastern Conference wildcard position all were performing as badly as they were

The Washington Capitals, holding a two-point lead over Detroit, fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1, while the Philadelphia Flyers lost 4-1 to the Montreal Canadiens. The Flyers are currently in third place in the Metropolitan Division. They hold a one-point lead over the Capitals. Should Washington pass Philadelphia for third, the Flyers will be competing with Detroit for a wildcard position.

The Capitals have another challenging game Saturday against the Boston Bruins. The Flyers have an easier game Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Detroit plays at Florida Saturday and at Tampa Bay Monday.  The Red Wings will be underdogs in both games. After those games, the Red Wings will only have seven games remaining. They are running out of time.

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

• Red Wings playoff hopes are on the line in Saturday’s game against the Florida Panthers and Monday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
• The Grand Rapids Griffins have qualified for the playoffs in the American Hockey League for the first time since 2019.
• Paywall story: GM Steve Yzerman is pleased with the progress young defensemen Antti Tuomisto and William Wallinder are making. To subscribe click here.To get $10 off the yearly subscription rate, use the promo code Kevin10
• Detroit’s 2023 first rounder Axel Sandin Pellikka scored an overtime goal in the Swedish Hockey League playoffs.

Red Wings Next Game

Coach Derek Lalonde’s Red Wings face the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Fla. on Saturday.  Detroit is 0-2-1 on this five-game road trip against teams with better records. The Red Wings have been shut out four times this month, including twice in the past three games.

Hockey Now Network

Chicago: Nate Brown offers Chicago Blackhawks fans some potential draft targets to watch besides Macklin Celebrini.

Colorado: Nathan MacKinnon’s historic streak of points in 35 consecutive home games ended in the Colorado Avalanche‘s shootout loss to the New York Rangers.

New Jersey: Former New Jersey Devils goalie Vitek Vanecek doesn’t want to talk about the time he spent in New Jersey.

Philadelphia:  CSKA Moscow terminated goalie Ivan Fedotov’s contract, perhaps clearing the way for him to join the Philadelphia Flyers. Some details still need to be worked out.

Pittsburgh: Dave Molinari explains why the Pittsburgh Penguins may have had a “bad” win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The win, coupled with other results, means there are now 10 teams below them in the NHL standings. The Penguins need to finish in the bottom 10 to be able to keep their first round draft pick. They traded that pick to San Jose in the Erik Karlsson deal. But it was bottom 10 “protected.” That means they can delay the first round pick payment until next season if they finish that low.