Red Wings clinging to 'hope' with another season slipping away

They were one shift, one shot, one stop shy of potentially saving their season. Instead, the Red Wings may have let another one slip away.

The defeat was evident in Dylan Larkin's eyes after the Red Wings' 4-3 shootout loss to Columbus in which they surrendered the tying goal with 16 seconds to go. The despair was audible in his voice when he said, "I hope that’s not the one, and I hope the Minnesota one is not the one that’s the final nail in the coffin. I hope we get some help."

Detroit's captain, who shoulders the burden of a franchise-worst playoff drought, shook his head and added, "That’s a letdown, in tough fashion again. Played a good 57 minutes, good overtime -- not much to say right now.”

Larkin is right. The Red Wings played pretty well in their biggest game of the year, Larkin in particular on his bad knee. They mostly met the moment. They responded well after rookie Axel Sandin-Pellikka committed a careless turnover behind his own net that spotted the Blue Jackets an early lead, showing more mettle than they have through most of their extended slide. It's just a shame they didn't show it any earlier.

They tied it midway through the first on a power play goal by Larkin, took the lead in the second on a terrific rush by Justin Faulk, and retook the lead late in the third on another goal by their big trade deadline acquisition, this time on a bomb from the point off a face-off win. Before Faulk's second goal, the Wings' much-maligned penalty kill wiped out a double-minor on Ben Chiarot. They didn't dominate the game, but they were the much better team in the third in a fight for the final playoff spot in the East.

And they had most of the chances in overtime. But it's points over process at this time of year, the result the only thing that matters.

"I liked our effort tonight," said McLellan. "I didn’t like, we didn’t like going down 1-0 that quick. But in the past few weeks when that’s happened, we’ve gone away for a little while and all of the sudden (the deficit) is two or three. And I thought we performed well and got ourselves back into the game. Not a lot of complaints about the effort, the intensity. It felt like a pretty even game, a lot of battles, a lot of blocked shots. Those are all good signs for our team."

J.T. Compher had one of his best nights of the season at the face-off dot, until he didn't. He had won seven of nine draws before his last one in regulation, including a couple that the Red Wings really needed in the final minute with some tired legs on the ice and the Blue Jackets playing six on five. But he lost the one they needed most, and seconds later the game was tied. Three consecutive icings ultimately doomed Detroit.

"We had opportunities to get the puck out and do it the right way and have a little bit of poise when the net is empty and put the game away," said Larkin. "We chopped it around. J.T. was so good on face-offs and of course the one that we don’t get, it’s in the back of our net."

"But that’s the way it goes," said head coach Todd McLellan. "And really, the only chance we gave up 6 on 5 was that opportunity. So, it wasn’t our night."

And it's no longer their season. It frankly hasn't been for the last two months. The Wings were tied with the Hurricanes and Lightning for the most wins in the East on Jan. 25. They have eight wins in 25 games since, tied for the fewest in the East. They've picked up five of the last 18 points in front of them, and 10 of the last 28, both fewest in the East. John Gibson has faltered, and the floor beneath the Red Wings has fallen through. This was always the concern for a team that's been outplayed at five-on-five for most of the season, and for a goalie carrying a heavy workload with a recent history of injuries.

The Red Wings are now effectively four points behind the Senators for the final wild card spot in the East with four games to play -- given Ottawa's hold on the tiebreaker -- not to mention one point behind the Blue Jackets and tied with the Islanders. They have been jumped by the Flyers, who come to Detroit Thursday night.

"We felt we had to go a certain record. And we pretty much gotta win out," Larkin said. "That’s what it is. We just gotta keep playing, and win, and put ourselves in as good a spot as we can, and get help."

So, a lot has to happen for a team that hasn't been able to make much happen for itself. The Senators and Flyers both won Tuesday night, strengthening their grip on their respective playoff spots. The Red Wings had every chance to win, and took another crushing loss on the heels of a 5-4 defeat to the Wild on Easter that was decided in the final two minutes.

Compher could have sealed it at the dot. Any number of Wings could have won it in overtime, from Larkin to Lucas Raymond to Andrew Copp to Alex DeBrincat, when it felt like they never relinquished the puck. Gibson could have clinched it with a save in the shootout after Patrick Kane and DeBrincat had given Detroit the lead; earlier in the year, he probably would have made the extra save they needed in regulation.

But at each turn, the Wings failed to finish the job, which is exactly what this core of players is becoming known for at this juncture of the year.

"There’s still points on the table," said McLellan. "We have to come back and have a good practice (Wednesday) and get ready to play Philly. We’re in must-win territory now, so we’re still there."

They're still here, sliding toward their 10th straight playoff miss and their fourth straight due to a late-season tailspin. But this hasn't been a nosedive so much as a long, slow spiral that nobody's been able to stop. It's been less sudden than in years past and probably more alarming, definitely more damning of the current roster after Steve Yzerman -- who's far from blameless himself -- invested in the team at the trade deadline for the first time in his seven-year tenure as GM.

It didn't help that the Red Wings lost Larkin for a couple weeks immediately thereafter, but they were already losing ground. And Larkin, if everyone's being held accountable here, was hardly driving play before his knee injury. He was better on Tuesday night and he's scored some clutch goals over the course of this season, but in his last 40 games, dating back to Dec. 11, Larkin has as many five-on-five goals (1) and as many five-on-five points (5) as Luke Glendening. He ranks outside the NHL's top 50 forwards in points per game over the last two seasons.

If that's your No. 1 center -- there isn't one in the pipeline -- it's time to ponder a difficult move, either involving Larkin himself or the players and prospects around him to acquire the help that he needs. It was once fair to expect Detroit's ceiling to rise with Larkin's, certainly a few seasons ago when he signed his eight-year extension at the age of 26. But an 11-year vet who turns 30 this summer doesn't have much more room to grow.

For now, the Red Wings are stuck seeking help in the standings. They will likely need four straight wins to close the season and some assistance around the league, a familiar team in an all-too-familiar place, backs against the wall, looking for a hand.