Detroit — The common theme around the Red Wings in recent days has been about the necessity of putting together a win streak and bolstering their playoff positioning.
The Wings are seven points behind Pittsburgh for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with three teams between them. So the Wings need some good fortune on their side, and hope the teams ahead of them begin to lose games.
But most importantly, the Wings need to win games.
They’ve won their last two games, including a 5-2 victory Saturday over Vancouver. Now, Detroit is on to a five-game road trip through western Canada, Seattle and ending up in Washington D.C., that’ll most likely determine whether this Red Wings roster will stay in the playoff race, or not.
“We’re a team, we’ve talked about where we’ve been flirting with .500 most of the year,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “We’ve been unable to put a big streak together. We have to be good every night to win. I understand that’s the way we are built, what we are. The top teams in the league can have an off night and win, but that’s not who we are.
“This will be a really tough road trip. Good teams, two we just beat.”
What gives the Wings confidence heading into this trip is the way they’ve played in the first three games since coming off the All-Star break.
The Wings opened with a 5-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, but felt they did enough good things to warrant a better fate.
Then, a 2-1 victory over Calgary that definitely stayed close to the defensive identity the Wings want to establish. Similarly, in the win against Vancouver, the Wings used the formula that often has brought positive results for them this season.
“Edmonton, nights like that are going to go that way sometimes,” captain Dylan Larkin said. “The last two games have been huge, huge for our confidence.
“Our identity is sacrificing the body, playing with intensity, managing the puck and playing within our structure. That’ when we’re real good. When we’re successful we have to do that, and especially in road games.
“We really need to bring it (Monday) against Vancouver and start this road trip on the right foot, and get those three, four, five wins in a row.”
The Wings are 9-9-5 on the road this season. While not dominant, they have shown the ability to win, or at least earn points, which has gone a long way keeping them in the playoff chase.
It’s a difference from the last several seasons, where the Wings were being viewed as major sellers at the trade deadline already, looking to sell off prospective free agents and building toward the future.
This season’s trade deadline is March 3. General manager Steve Yzerman still is likely to pursue some moves, but a good run by the Wings these next several weeks could affect Yzerman’s thinking.
In seasons past, there may have been talk about putting together a win streak this late in the season and getting back in the playoff chase, but given the rosters, few people really believed it was possible.
Yzerman’s moves last summer, signing and acquiring veterans who have Stanley Cup experience (David Perron, Ben Chiarot. Olli Maatta), has instilled a belief in the Wings.
This particular Wings roster has more talent, young players maturing rapidly, veteran talent that was lacking in seasons past, and as mentioned, that valuable winning pedigree and experience.
You still don’t sense the Wings are totally out of it, just yet. They don’t, either.
“Our room is pretty close,” Larkin said. “They brought an attitude to our room that we’ll talk about what we need to do and we hadn’t done that before (in seasons past). We set goals and talk about what we need to get there. We need a lot of wins, but there hasn’t been one guy who doesn’t seem like he’s not going for it, and that’s very refreshing.”
Red Wings at Canucks
▶ Faceoff: 10 p.m., Monday, Rogers Arena, Vancouver
▶ TV/radio: BSD/97.1 FM
▶ Outlook: The Canucks (21-28-4) host the Wings in the back end of a two-games-in-three-days set between the teams, this time in Vancouver. … The Wings open a rigorous five-game, nine-day road trip, after defeating Vancouver 5-2 Saturday at LCA. … Dearborn native C Dakota Joshua (eight goals, 13 points) is establishing himself as a sturdy defensive forward for Vancouver.
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tkulfan