Just like in today’s solar eclipse, the alignment is perfect for the Detroit Red Wings when it comes to qualifying for the playoffs after a seven-season absence.

Their Sunday win against Buffalo, coupled with Washington’s overtime loss to Ottawa, put the Red Wings in the Eastern Conference’s second wildcard spot by a point over the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. The Red Wings play Washington Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena. Detroit plays the Penguins in Pittsburgh Thursday. Those two games will say much about Detroit’s playoff chances.

What it means: If the Red Wings win their last five games (against Washington, Pittsburgh, Toronto and two games against Montreal), they need no help. They would be in the playoffs.  Detroit also would get in if it matches the best record of the wildcard contenders. In other words, if the best record among contenders is 3-2 and Detroit matches that record, then they would qualify.

The Red Wings, Capitals, Penguins and New York Islanders have five games left. The Flyers, who have lost seven games in a row, have four games remaining. The Capitals have lost six in a row.  The Red Wings are 4-3-2 in their last nine. The Penguins are playing the best hockey in 6-0-1 in their last seven. The Islanders have lost five of their last six.

“This is what it’s about this time of year,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “We haven’t been here in eight years. Now only have we gotten here, our guys have worked their butts off to get here and we’ve earned it. I’m excited to see how we handle it.”

The New York Islanders, in a qualifying spot because they are in third place in the Metropolitan Division, could provide a complication for Detroit because the Islanders are one point ahead of the Red Wings. If a team passes the Islanders for third, New York moves into the wildcard race.  If, or when, the Islanders and Red Wings lose, the point becomes an issue.

One thought around the league is the Red Wings will get in if they beat Washington and Pittsburgh this week.

Tiebreaker Disadvantage

Detroit technically have a long-shot chance of earning the first wildcard position in the Eastern Conference. The Lightning, holding the first wildcard spot, have a nine-point lead over Detroit. That means if the Lightning earns one point or Detroit fails to earn two points, the Red Wings are eliminated from consideration for the first wildcard.

Something to keep in mind: the first NHL tiebreaker for playoff consideration is regulation wins. As of this morning, the Capitals, Penguins and Flyers have the tiebreaker advantage over Detroit. The Red Wings have the tiebreaker over the Islanders.

If Detroit earns the No. 8 seed  wildcard spot, the team will likely meet the New York Rangers in the opening round of the playoffs. They have a three-point lead (110 to 107) over the Boston Bruins for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Both teams have four games remaining. The Rangers own the tiebreaker over the Bruins.

In this season, Detroit is 0-3 against the Rangers and 2-2 versus the Bruins.

The post Latest Red Wings Playoff Scenario: They Control Their Destiny appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

The messiness of the Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk departures from Calgary reminded NHL team executives that dealing with pending free agents can be perilous. The Pittsburgh Penguins likely talked about the Flames situation before starting contract talks with goalie Tristan Jarry.

Much discussion is taking place about the need to deal with a UFA a year before he can leave. If a general manager senses it will be a struggle to re-sign the player, he can trade him for full value, like the Flames did with Tkachuk.

With that in mind, Pittsburgh venerable writer Dave Molinari takes a deep dive into whether the Pittsburgh Penguins have seen enough of goalie Jarry to justify a long-term commitment.

Jarry, 27, will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. He has had impressive performances for the Penguins. But his sample size is still relatively small. Molinari looks at it from all of the different angles.

**Keep an eye on **
With the @DallasStars signing RFA G Oettinger to 3Yr X 4M contract extension, next up is RFA F Jason Robertson. These are 2 franchise pillars for Dallas, and they will be for @usahockey in future Tournaments as well. @espn @NHL @NHLNetwork #HockeyTwitter

— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) September 1, 2022

In Case You Missed It

Members of Russian media are being critical of Igor Larionov for signing his son to play on his team in the Kontinental Hockey League.

Three players with one-time ties to the Detroit Red Wings’ organization are bucking trends by playing in the Kontinental Hockey League this season.

What the Detroit Red Wings need to do to get back in the playoffs after a six-season absence. (DHN+)

The Red Wings were once intrigued about Albin Grewe, but his time as a prospect has essentially run out.

Hockey Now Network

Boston: New Bruins coaches will be looking for more offense out of Tomas Nosek this season. Boston Bruins.

Montreal: The Canadiens may be closing in a new four-year deal with center Kirby Dach. Montreal Canadiens.

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New York: Islanders fans will appreciate new defenseman Alexander Romanov for his passionate playing style and big hits. He brings energy to his team. Stefen Rosner writes that Romanov will wear No. 28 this season. New York Islanders

Philadelphia: Flyers player Scott Laughton’s big reveal was that his marriage is real, but the wedding was fake.  Philadelphia Flyers

The post The Daily: Are Penguins Comfortable Giving Jarry Lengthy Deal? Real Marriage, Fake Wedding for Laughton appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

When Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill saw the San Jose Sharks defeated the Arizona Coyotes in an 8-7 shootout Tuesday, he wasn’t surprised by the number of goals.

“When you’re off for a long period of time, things can be chaotic,”  Jeff Blashill said.

He expects the post-Christmas NHL to look more disorganized than usual until teams rediscover their defensive rhythm.

“When you’ve been off an awful long time, your defensive habits aren’t as good,” Blashill said. “It’s just like when you don’t practice much. Your defensive habits aren’t as good. So now you got a whole league whose defensive habits aren’t quite there. When that happens, I think you see higher scores.”

That’s been true thus far. Of the first nine games played after the COVID-induced break,  the winning team scored four goals or more goals in seven of those games.

This is not good news for the Red Wings:  Before the break, the Red Wings gave up the third-most dangerous scoring chances among all 32 NHL teams.

Rumor of the Day

Vancouver Canucks will have salary cap issues this offseason. Director of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford will have some challenging decisions. Ian MacIntyre writes that forward Brock Boeser as the most likely trade candidate. 

Around the NHL

Detroit: Opponents know all about Lucas Raymond now and they are concentrating defensive coverage on him. But Raymond has also successfully altered his game too. The DHN story about Five Red Wings Storylines goes into detail about it.

NYI: The Islanders could also move players on the NHL trade market. Could the struggling Semyon Varlamov be a trade possibility for the New York Islanders?

Washington: Evgeny Kuznetsov delivered for The Washington Capitals in a 5-3 triumph against Nashville. The Caps need Kuznetsov to keep his game at a high level in the second half of the season.

Carolina: The Carolina Hurricanes ruffled feathers and made waves in the offseason when they overpaid Jesperi Kotkaniemi to lure him from the Montreal Canadiens. Kotkaniemi has seven goals. GM Don Waddell discussed the Kotkaniemi move with TSN.

Florida: The New York Rangers fell to the Florida Panthers, 4-3.

Pittsburgh: Full video included. Evgeni Malkin had some fun with media while reporting he will be playing again in seven to 10 days. It was his choice to rest and come back for the playoffs instead of having surgery last season, and he’s not thinking about money,

“I’m a pretty rich guy,” joked Evgeni Malkin. 

The post The Daily: Jeff Blashill says Post-Break NHL Could Be Chaotic appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

When Marc-Andre Fleury clears the puck away from his crease, he always gets good wood on it. Literally.

The veteran Chicago Blackhawks player is one of only three NHL goalies still using a wooden stick. Five years ago, half of the NHL goalies were using the wood stick with foam injected in the blade. They are called “foam core” sticks. Today, the NHL is down to Fleury, Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Brian Elliot and Buffalo Sabres goalie Dustin Tokarski. The remainder of the goalies have switched to modern composite.

Scott Woodley wrote a well-researched story for NHL.com detailing why the three guys are holding out. Tokarski is still using an older wooden stick from Warrior. When Warrior announced it was shutting down the Finnish factory where the wooden sticks are made,  some goalies bought 200 of them. “I don’t think I’d ever switch,” Elliot said. ”

Meanwhile, COVID dominates the other news around the NHL as teams try to figure out how to keep the virus out of their dressing rooms. But there was major news in Winnipeg as Paul Maurice stepped down as head coach. That means that five NHL teams (Vancouver, Chicago, Philadelphia, Florida and Winnipeg) have a coach who didn’t start the season with them.

Stay tuned because we may not be done with coaching changes. And make sure you check out Moritz Seider’s puck juggling below.

New record? #LGRW pic.twitter.com/GQUo0Pd3zg

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 11, 2021

Around the NHL

Detroit:  With Paul Maurice stepping down in Winnipeg, Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill is now second in seniority among active NHL coaches with their current teams.  It’s an amazing feat, considering that Blashill has only made the playoffs once in six seasons behind the bench.

Florida: COVID has overrun the Panthers. George Richards provides details of the Panthers’ shutdown.

Montreal: Habs’ game with the Boston Bruins has been cancelled.

Pittsburgh: Hockey Now Editor-in-chief Dan Kingerski offers a report card for the Penguins’ triumph against the Sabres.

San Jose: Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng provides the lowdown on why Bob Boughner changed up the Sharks’ defense pairings.

Toronto: If the Canucks can defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday, then the Canucks will be at .500 for the first time since October. 

Winnipeg: The Jets start the post-Paul Maurice era with a loss to the Washington Capitals.

The post The Daily: Mark-Andre Fleury Among Three Wooden Goalie Sticks Holdouts appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Over the past 51 years, Tony Esposito (Chicago Blackhawks, 1969-70) is the only goalie to record 15 shutouts in a season. He is one of four goalies in NHL history to do it.

The Blackhawks announced Tuesday Esposito died after battling pancreatic cancer.

After being selected in the NHL intra-league draft from the Montreal Canadiens, Esposito won the Vezina and the Calder Trophy in his first season. Frank Brimsek, Tom Barrasso and Ed Belfour also accomplished the rare double.

Tony Esposito is Phil Esposito’s younger brother. The two never played on the same NHL team together. In Tony’s first NHL start, Montreal and Boston tied 2-2. Phil scored both goals for the Bruins. In his first Stanley Cup series in 1970, Tony and the Blackhawks swept the Red Wings. All four games finished with a final score of 4-2.

The New York Times offered a comprehensive obituary:

If a Hall of Famer can be underrated, this is the one. After the #Blackhawks glory years, Tony Esposito made the playoffs 7 straight years ON HIS OWN. Never really recognized for how great he was when the Hawks were terrible. Amazing performer. Thanks for the memories. RIP Tony-O pic.twitter.com/sb3sb8sPan

— Barry Rozner (@BarryRozner) August 10, 2021

Tony Esposito was the victim on both the final regular-season and playoff goals tallied by Gordie Howe during his Red Wings career.

Rumor of the Day

Now that the Rangers have extended Igor Shesterkin’s contract, the big question is whether the Rangers will move backup goalie Alexandar Georgiev. A few teams are interested in Georgiev as a potential starting goalie.

Around the NHL

Toronto: Sportsnet reports the Toronto Marlies hired a goalie coach on Sunday and then fired him by Tuesday. He allegedly “liked” racist tweets and social media posts supporting the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol and anti-vax sentiments. 

Detroit: The Detroit Red Wings and Jakub Vrana agreed to a three-year deal to avoid arbitration. 

Boston: Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy cleared up confusion about what happened in the David Krejci situation

The post Kevin’s Morning Hash: Georgiev Possible Trade Bait and Bruins Clean up Krejci Fallout appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.