The Daily: Red Wings Need Help From Bruins; Penguins Pull Ned

Detroit Red Wings fans have two games to worry about on Monday. If the Red Wings take care of their business Monday and beat the Montreal Canadiens at Little Caesars Arena, they still need the Bruins to beat Washington to move into the second Eastern Conference wildcard spot. Detroit has another game in Montreal on Tuesday. Detroit has beaten Montreal once in overtime and lost once in OT in two meetings this season.

The Monday scenario is only possible because the Red Wings rose up Saturday to pull off a 5-4 overtime win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bob Duff offered a good read on the victory, which included Detroit building, and then losing, a three-goal lead.

Duff called the game the “Cliff Notes” of the Detroit season.

“The resilience that this club continues to display once again rose to the fore to save the day . . . and the season, for that matter,” Duff wrote.

Dylan Larkin scored in OT for what may be the biggest goal of his career.

“You can’t feel any better,” Larkin said. “I knew Kaner was gonna look for that play. Just had to have my stick on the ice and he was gonna hit it. I didn’t even see it go in but I just saw Kaner. All the big moments he’s had in his his career, to see how excited he was, see all the boys rush over. Man, what a feeling.”

The Red Wings continued to play without injured Michael Rasmussen and Andrew Copp. They are key players for Detroit’s penalty killing and checking strategy. Copp has a broken cheekbone and Rasmussen’s injury has been called an upper body issue. The Red Wings have the day off today, meaning there will be no update until Monday morning.

DYLAN LARKIN 🚨 Potentially season saving goal. Unbelievable. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/LlS6lpGpDU

— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) April 14, 2024

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

• Defenseman Shai Buium, a Red Wings second-round draft pick, earned his second NCAA title playing with Denver. Two years, he was on the team with Detroit prospects Carter Mazur and Antti Tuomisto.
• Why the NHL tiebreakers work against coach Derek Lalonde’s Detroit squad.
• Ville Husso tried to play a game with the Grand Rapids Griffins as a step toward returning to the Red Wings’ lineup. But he had a setback in the pregame warmup and didn’t play.
• Paywall story: Tim Robinson wrote about Axel Sandin Pellikka’s impressive season, noting that he wouldn’t even be in the sport if his grandfather hadn’t intervened when he was young.  To subscribe, click here.Use the promo code kevin10 to get $10 off the yearly subscription price.

Red Wings Next Game

The Red Wings are tied with the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers for the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. Each team has 87 points. Both the Capitals and Flyers have a tiebreaker advantage (regulation wins) over Detroit. The Flyers have one game remaining, while Detroit and Washington have two. What it means: If the Red Wings win both of their remaining games against the Montreal Canadiens, they still need help. To qualify for the playoffs in that scenario, the Red Wings still would need the Capitals to earn three or fewer points in their two remaining games.

Hockey Now Network

Colorado: Defenseman Sean Behrens (drafted 61st overall in 2021) is on the Denver team that just won their second NCAA tournament in three years. He has 31 points in 44 games. Will the Colorado Avalanche sign him? Evan Rawal has the story.

Chicago: The Chicago Blackhawks signed creative college forward Frank Nazar out of Michigan. It’s possible he will get a game or games with the Blackhawks. Nazar had 41 points in 41 games with the Wolverines.

Florida: Sam Reinhart scored in overtime to give Sergei Bobrovsky the win his 700th career NHL game in goal. The Florida Panthers are now guaranteed home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Nashville: Nobody should overlook the Nashville Predators as a playoff threat. They have learned much during this journey to the post season.

Pittsburgh: Why did the Pittsburgh Penguins pull former Red Wings goalie Alex Nedeljkovic in the loss to the Boston Bruins. Dan Kingerski has the story.

San Jose: The San Jose Sharks‘ 6-2 loss to the Minnesota assures them the best draft lottery odds for the hope of drafting Macklin Celebrin.