Red Wings Faithful Sure That Sky is Falling

Detroit Red Wings fans awoke this morning in the worst possible of moods for a sports fan base. Excitement has long since evaporated. While there are pockets of anger visible, for the most part, even this trait is fading.

Hopelessness, despair, and perhaps worst of all, acceptance, are the emotions of the day most evident among the Hockeytown faithful.

“Playoff chances are long gone,” read Red Wings fan Ronnie White’s post on Facebook.

Long gone? Really?

Look, we get the angst you’re feeling. It’s understandable. This is not a group with a track record of getting things done in the clutch.

Detroit is 0-2-1 so far on this season-long five-game road trip. The Red Wings squandered a third-period lead and lost 4-3 in overtime at Washington. They failed to score in the other two games. And they’ve surrendered eight goals over the past two setbacks.

“Damn, I miss Jonathan Ericsson on the blueline,” posted Red Wings Brasil on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. “Yep. That’s where we’re at.

Damn, I miss Johnathan Ericsson on the blueline.
Yep. That's where we are at.#LGRW#RedWings

— Red Wings Brasil (@RedWingsBR) March 29, 2024

Looking ahead to games against the Florida Panthers (Saturday, 12:30 p.m.) and Tampa Bay Lightning (Monday, 7 p.m.), the horizon certainly does appear to be offering nothing but bleakness.

“It puts a lot of pressure on us,” Red Wings forward Christian Fischer admitted to Bally Sports Detroit. “Tampa and Florida coming up are two really good teams, playoff teams.”

That’s why you all need to step back and encompass the bigger picture. Both Washington and Philadelphia also lost Thursday night.

Over? No, it isn’t over. Detroit is only two points in arrears to the Capitals. One Red Wings win, coupled with a Washington loss, and the fellows with the winged wheel on their chests are back in the playoff picture.

Red Wings Still In With A Chance

What we’re saying, in the immortal words of Lloyd Christmas, is that there’s still a chance. And unlike his dream of dating Lauren Holly’s character in Dumb And Dumber, in this instance, that chance holds some vailidity.

Don’t take our word for it, though. Listen to what Red Wings supporter Justin Madden posted to the Detroit Red Wings true fan page on Facebook.

“We are not the only team with a tough schedule,” Madden noted. “The Caps don’t have it easy, either. People need to chill out.”

Look, we’re not here trying to sugarcoat things.

“We’ve had some pretty good moments in this stretch,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “Unfortunately, we’re 1-2-1 in our last four.”

Is it bad right now? For sure.

The thing is, it really could be a whole lot worse. So there’s that.