In the Red Wings' locker room, it depends who you ask. Lucas Raymond says the tailspins of the past two seasons are not "on our minds." Moritz Seider says "of course," in the back of their brains, those wounds still sting. The Red Wings re-learned "a stinging lesson" last Saturday night, said Todd McLellan, that every play is precious when points are at a premium.
After imploring the Wings to play f**kin' hockey! at the start of his tenure, McLellan is reminding them as they enter the stretch run, "You also have to manage hockey."
"And a prime example is the winning goal the other night. That situation could have been handled over and over again way differently," McLellan said.
It wasn't the missed call that was on McLellan's mind two days later, even if
Justin Danforth got away with a high stick on Simon Edvinsson as he split two defenseman, broke in alone and buried his own rebound to lift the Blue Jackets to a second straight victory over Detroit. It was the breakdown that allowed Danforth to even sniff the puck in the first place, at a critical juncture of a tie game.
"Can’t just let the game slip," said Seider.
The Wings have willed themselves back into the playoff race under McLellan. Whether they finish the race for the first time in nine years will hinge largely on the next month. They didn't have the legs two years ago after briefly pulling into a playoff spot in February. Last year, their legs just gave out.
Detroit went 16-5-2 in January and February and held a seven-point edge on a playoff spot through 60 games, only to collapse in March when Dylan Larkin went down with an injury. This season, Detroit went 15-5-2 in January and February and holds a two-point edge on a playoff spot through 60 games.
"Everyone in here is very determined and very aware of the situation and what we need to do, and very focused on completing the task," said Raymond.
"And now every game really matters," said Seider. "We gotta come up with points, and we’re playing some good opponents now."
They're playing a lot of them, in fact. The Wings' remaining schedule is the hardest in the NHL. 15 of their next 16 games come against teams that are currently either in the playoffs or within two points of a playoff spot. Only one of their final 22 games is against a team that is presently more than three points out of the race. And five of their final six come on the road. There will be no freebies.
"These are the fun games to play, coming down the stretch and chasing a playoff spot," said Raymond. "We did it last year, obviously didn’t go our way, and this year everyone is very eager for it to go our way. You can’t not like it: awesome atmosphere, every game means a lot, especially the position we’re in, so everyone’s just excited to get going."
Really, the Red Wings have to keep it going, whether or not Friday's trade deadline jolts the lineup. Any moves on the part of Steve Yzerman will likely be limited to the margins of the roster, perhaps a veteran defenseman to stabilize the blueline, maybe a versatile forward to compensate for the loss of Andrew Copp. Yzerman's biggest move this season probably came behind the bench.
Moving month has arrived. Though Detroit ceded ground to Columbus last week for the top wild card spot, the Wings played well in the rematch. They responded to a public challenge from their coach and what McLellan called some "honest conversations" after a lackluster showing last Thursday. Detroit dominated the puck, the shots and the scoring chances, "but it’s the small, small details that count," said Raymond. "Managing your game."
The Red Wings believe this is the year their playoff drought comes to an end. Why? "Just the locker room, to be honest," said Seider. "We have a lot of good talent, we know what it takes. Obviously we’ve been in this situation, and right now we’re in a better spot than last year. So why not this year?"
The standings would dispute Seider's claim. The growth the Red Wings have made as a group under McLellan would support it, coupled with the rise of individuals like Raymond, Edvinsson, Marco Kasper and Seider himself. The last two years helped strengthen the team's backbone, which will be tested over the next several weeks.
"Competitive character and competitive stamina are two things that I think about a lot, and I think we have a lot of that in this room," said goaltender Alex Lyon. "And that’s important. We’re led by a great captain, and Todd’s job has spoken for itself over the last two months, so everybody just has to trust each other."
Together, Lyon and Cam Talbot need to raise their play. They've combined for a save percentage of .857 in five games out of the 4 Nations break, fifth worst in the NHL. McLellan has recently asked for one more save per game, and said Monday that both goalies can be better: "I think we’re going to see it, and we’re going to need it."
Had the Red Wings had a healthy Larkin last March, the drought would likely already be over. But that's life on the NHL bubble, where one setback can burst a team's hopes. It was Lyon who noted Monday, "We’re probably not going to have everyone healthy through the end of the year, and you have to acknowledge that as a reality."
"Knock on wood, obviously you don’t want that, but there’s going to be very difficult times ahead and we’re going to go through stretches that are mentally tough. And if you’re not prepared for that and you think it’s going to be easy -- as you probably know with your job as well -- when you get too far ahead of yourself, that’s when things go bad," he said. "It's sort of that expecting the worst (mentality), but also enjoying the grind and enjoying the adversity."
Last year, 16-5-2 in January and February became 3-9-2 in March. What will become of 15-5-2 this year? The playoffs are calling on the other side of this month, and it's on the Red Wings to answer. The recipe is simple, said Seider, "get more points and win more games. That's as easy as it is."
It will be much harder in reality, which is just fine for a hungry group of players.
"You talk about playoffs, but realistically, if you go through all this hard work and you're lucky enough to make the playoffs, you’re just rewarded with more difficult games," said Lyon. "So, the work doesn’t necessarily stop there."
The Red Wings hope the grind is just beginning.