The Detroit Red Wings haven’t been in this good a position in five years.
With 33 games to play, they stand seven points out of a wild-card playoff spot, and to even be in the postseason conversation is a refreshing change after such a painful stretch. It’s one that has nagged at captain Dylan Larkin, who hasn’t been in the playoffs since he was a rookie in 2015-16. Now he can walk into Little Caesars Arena and actually want to look at where the Wings (22-21-6) are the standings.
“We have them in the locker room and everyone is aware of the position we’re in, and everyone should be,” Larkin said after contributing three assists in Saturday’s 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. “We’re right there, and we haven’t been there in a couple seasons. It’s been a while. This is exciting, this is why you play.
“I’ve seen it here, playoff time in Detroit. ‘April in the D,’ they call it. It’s just the most exciting time to be a Red Wing. The city gets behind you — they’ve been great all year, but it picks up to another level, and I think the guys realize what’s at stake every night, and we’re really trying to rally around it.”
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To be clear: It will be a Herculean labor for the Wings to advance out of the regular season. They have three games left against each of the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers, two against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes, and one against the Boston Bruins — that’s 14 games against six squads ahead of the Wings in the Eastern point totals. The Bruins have three games in hand, too — but they are vulnerable: Over the past week, goalie Tuukka Rask, the franchise wins leader, has retired, Patrice Bergeron has a head injury, and Brad Marchand is appealing a six-game suspension for attacking Penguins goalie Tristan Jerry.
But this is a more talented, more confident Wings team than the ones that have simmered toward the bottom of the standings in recent seasons. General manager Steve Yzerman has done a masterful job since taking over the rebuild in April 2019, and his best move has been drafting defenseman Moritz Seider that summer. Take this week’s games against the Flyers as a snapshot: On Wednesday, he played keep-away with the puck for more than a minute on a penalty kill; then, on Saturday, his command of the puck during a power play led to the winning goal. Forward Lucas Raymond and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, also rookies this season, have made a difference, but Seider is the difference.
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“I like to temper everything because it’s really important to understand every player needs to grow, and certainly young players need to continue to grow, but if we’re being honest, his impact has been huge,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “He’s had a huge impact on us having success. That’s the reality of it. I’m not going to pretend it’s not the case. Do I think Moritz can continue to get better? Absolutely. I actually think he has gotten better. It’s still a balance of knowing how much he can bite off, but listen, we’re a better hockey team since he’s entered our lineup, there’s zero doubt (of) that.”
Seider, 20, ranks fourth on the team with 32 points in 49 games. Raymond, 19, has been terrific (38 points in 49 games) but Seider plays a more difficult position; that should earn him the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. He has invigorated the power play, where he leads the team with 14 points.
“He’s done a great job,” Larkin said. “We’re going to need him to continue to do that and more and do it in his own way. As the games pick up here and as we push, the competition keeps getting better. The game gets faster and more physical.
“Before the break, we played Pittsburgh and Toronto, and I was really impressed. He had a tough couple matchups and did really well. He’s done it consistently and he’s done a great job, and we are really going to need him to take a step and I think he has it in him.”
The Wings have a .510 points percentage, their highest through 49 games since 2015-16, when they were at .500. Through 34 games last season (the prorated equivalent for the shortened 56-game schedule), they were at .353. Through 49 games in 2019-20, they were at .286, with a .439 mark in 2018-19 and .490 in 2017-18.
The games are going to get more intense as teams battle for playoff positioning, but for a change, that will include the Wings.
“It’s a better spot, certainly,” Blashill said. “We’ve been in the other spot, and that’s a grind. We’ve got 30-some games left here and let’s push as hard as we can. We’ve got a tough schedule, we’ve got hard teams to play against. We’ve certainly got to keep getting better. But you have to learn lessons while you win, too. Let’s go to Minnesota and play a really good game and try to continue to put heat on those teams that are above us.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.