Detroit Red Wings wakeup call too late in loss to Ottawa Senators
Detroit Red Wings score: After trailing 3-0 in the second to bring out the boos, the Wings scored twice to make it a game, then lost to Ottawa, 3-2.
Among the Detroit Red Wings' advantages were the return of their captain plus an opponent that had played the night before and was forced to field two defensemen making their NHL debuts. All that, and the Wings were the team booed in teh second period at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday, March 24, when the Ottawa Senators racked up two goals inside two minutes. The emotion and energy that marked the first two games of this homestand didn't appear until the third period, when the Wings – at least in spurts – looked more like a team fighting for its playoff hopes.
It wasn't enough. The Wings fell, 3-2, losing at home for a second straight game. Detroit Red Wings playoff picture The Wings fell to 38-25-8, and the Senators moved to 85 points, clearing the 84-point Wings in the standings, with Detroit now having to climb over two teams to reach the second wild-card berth.
DIMMING HOPES: NHL playoff window for Detroit Red Wings growing tighter Next up for the Red Wings It’s a matchup of the NHL teams with the longest active playoff droughts, as the Wings head to Buffalo, New York to face the Sabres on Friday (7 p. m. , FanDuel Sports Network Detroit).
Of course, the Sabres have been the NHL’s hottest team for nearly three months in climbing atop the Atlantic Division; their 14-year drought is a virtual lock to come to an end next month. The Wings, meanwhile, sit at nine years. Dylan Larkin returns Captain Dylan Larkin reappeared after missing seven games nursing a lower-body injury suffered March 6 when he pulled up to take a shot and his right leg buckled awkwardly.