The Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals will cap off their season series on Tuesday night in what has been billed as both teams’ most important game of the season. The shift in playoff qualification odds for either side is massive with a regulation win and a regulation loss could almost doom each to an early offseason.
Detroit, like Washington, has been off since Sunday. While the Capitals have lost six in a row, the Red Wings aren’t taking them lightly.
“They’re going to be as desperate as us over there so we’ll be ready right at the start of the game,” Red Wings forward Robby Fabbri said Tuesday. “[Our] group has done a great job of having fun with it. This organization here has been wanting to have these games for a while now ever since I’ve been here. We’re all having fun with it. This is why we play. This is the best time of hockey.”
The Red Wings have missed the postseason for seven consecutive years coming into this season. They have not finished higher than fifth in their division during those years. For a frame of reference, the last time Detroit did qualify for the playoffs, Pavel Datsyuk played his final year in the NHL (2015-16).
Little Caesar’s Arena, which opened in 2017, has never hosted a Red Wings playoff game. The drought for the NHL’s third-most successful club in history (11 Stanley Cups) has been long and has the team’s players pulling up scores from around the league in hopes that they can end it.
“We pay close attention to the standings and where we’re at all throughout the year,” forward Joe Veleno said Monday. “It’s been a mindset and goal of ours to obviously play competitive hockey, but get into the playoffs.
“It’s fun to be part of these games. It’s what we want as players and what we dream of is to play meaningful games. We got another opportunity. We’re going to come out strong. I’m really confident with our team and that the guys in our locker room will pull through.”
Detroit has been uneven in their last ten games, going 4-4-2 during that stretch. But, those four wins are just one fewer than the number of wins that fellow wild card hopefuls Washington (3-5-2) and Philadelphia (2-5-3) have combined for (5) in their last 10 games.
Just a short time ago, both of those Metropolitan Division squads sat above the Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. Now the roles have reversed as Detroit and Pittsburgh have found some consistency.
“You got to take care of your own business,” Lalonde said. “Look at Pittsburgh, the heater it’s on. Washington had its run. We’ve taken care of our business of late and find ourselves waking up this morning over the (playoff) line. So of course, we’ll root for specific teams down the stretch for a little help but it’s still going to be about us.
“I think we’ve done a good job of staying even-keeled. We’ve had talks of how important the actual games are and the growth of this group – ups and downs. You beat the Islanders, you’re on such a high at home, then you lose in Nashville after playing well, beat Tampa it’s a high, find a way to lose to the Rangers – low. Played a great game the other day it’s a high.”
The Red Wings downed the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 on Sunday afternoon to vault back into a playoff spot. With a regulation win over the Capitals, they’d be sitting at 86 points and still in full control of their destiny if they can win out their final four games.
Even gaining just a point would be good for Detroit as it would separate them from the Penguins (84 points) and Capitals by one point. In that case, they would also still hold their playoff position even if the Flyers win their game on Tuesday as Detroit will still own a game in hand and be tied at 85 points.
“Every play and minute out there matters,” defenseman Simon Edvinsson said Monday. “Everything around it has been a level up. I think the way we’re going right now with our team game improving, so if we keep going like this, we have a good chance to reach the playoffs.”
Detroit has nine players on their roster that have already hit at least the 40-point mark. They are led by a high-powered trio that includes Lucas Raymond (63 points), Dylan Larkin (62 points), and Alex DeBrincat (60 points).
Among those three players, DeBrincat has the most playoff experience. The 26-year-old winger got into nine postseason games with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2019-20 campaign.
“It’s tough, but I mean they’re easy games to get up for, obviously,” DeBrincat said. “We know what we have to do and it’s fun to play in these games, I think. You wake up with a little bit of extra buzz in your morning and just getting ready to go.”
Coming into Tuesday night, the Red Wings could be without number one defenseman Moritz Seider. The big German has the flu and did not participate in Detroit’s morning skate. Lalonde expects Seider to play against Washington but may switch other portions of his roster around.
“May tinker with some lines a little bit,” Lalonde said. “(Sunday) was a little specific with some matchups, which the guys handled extremely well. We’ll play that out.”
If Seider cannot go, Jake Walman will likely fill in for him as he did during the morning practice. Detroit will also be without center Michael Rasmussen due to an upper-body injury.
Alex Lyon is the expected starter in net for the Red Wings. He has been the goalie of record for Detroit in both prior meetings with the Capitals. On the season he has amassed a 20-17-4 record with a 2.98 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage, and two shutouts.
The Capitals and Red Wings last met on March 26 at Capital One Arena. After sensational three-on-three play from Hendrix Lapierre, Dylan Strome scored the game-winning goal 1:55 into overtime to give the Capitals a 4-3 victory. Per Capitals PR, the Capitals are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games at Detroit and have a record of 6-2-0 at Little Caesars Arena. They’ve earned one point in 17 of their last 20 games against the Red Wings (14-3-3) overall.
Puck drop between the two teams is set for 7 pm.
