The focus was on the positive.
The Detroit Red Wings go into their last four games having been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs for a seventh straight season, but pushing it till the last week of the season means the rebuild is going in the right direction.
“We are all realistic that playoff hope faded a little ways back, but as a group, they decided to make these important games and play the right way,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “And I think that will go a long ways for them.”
Dylan Larkin expressed disappointment, but also pride after the Wings lost, 7-6, in a shootout to the Buffalo Sabres.
“I think there is certainly more hope for next season,” he said. “I’m really proud of our group to hang in there as long as we did. I don’t think you can foresee the way things would go after the deadline. Not many teams really took a hold of those last two wild-card spots and it still was a battle. I’m really proud of the guys, even the way we battled tonight, it didn’t go our way and we kept hanging around, kept scoring big goals.”
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Larkin matched his career high when he scored his 32nd goal Thursday. But one of the biggest goals of the night came when Jonatan Berggren pulled the Wings within 6-5 with 12 minutes to go in the third period — to score at such a crucial time is a huge learning experience for the 22-year-old rookie. Simon Edvinsson, a rookie defenseman playing in just his seventh game, contributed his second goal.
“It’s great experience for those guys,” Larkin said. “Berggie has been with us a little longer than Simon, but I’ve been really impressed with both those guys. They’ve come in and just worked and it’s exciting for the future.”
Already at 35-33-10, the Wings will finish with their most points — at least 80 — since their playoff drought began in 2017. They were inside the playoff picture on Feb. 23 after winning seven of eight games, but two blowout losses to the Ottawa Senators confirmed to general manager Steve Yzerman that he should stick to his plans. He traded forwards Tyler Bertuzzi, Oskar Sundqvist and Jakub Vrana, and defenseman Filip Hronek that week. Around the same time, the Wings lost Michael Rasmussen to a season-ending injury, followed shortly afterward by Robby Fabbri.
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“I have no problem admitting that this has been extremely difficult,” Lalonde said. “We didn’t expect not to be here, but the way we were trending — a handful of days before the deadline, we had won seven of eight and we were above the playoff line, and we had games in hand. I mean, we were in such a good position. And then within a week, we did the right thing, 100%, with what we were up against within this division, but within one week, we flip out, through injury and trade, six, seven core guys.
“We were eliminated in our [78th] game, and especially with what happened at the deadline, guys kept battling. No doubt a positive on the big picture.”
Lalonde called Thursday’s outcome, “a good point.” Goaltender Ville Husso was uncharacteristically porous, but the Wings rallied from 4-2 and 6-4 deficits to push the playoff-chasing Sabres past regulation. It gave the Wings nine points of a possible 12 points over their past six games. Although it hasn’t helped the organization’s draft lottery odds, this late push matters within the locker room.
“This team could have easily, and maybe should have, just quit,” Lalonde said. “And they actually went the other way. That’s points in five of our last six, and we are going through playoff teams playing for their lives and a couple of the best teams in the league. This is very important going into next year. You don’t improve 20 points to make the playoffs. You do improve eight, you do improve 10, 12, with the right growth from the group. You want to be knocking on that door. And I think this group is trying to set that up.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
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Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.