Red Wings nearing playoff elimination; what's the 'tragic number?'
If Detroit Red Wings lose their next two games, and the Ottawa Senators win their next one, the Wings are eliminated from NHL playoff race − again.
When practice ended on Wednesday, April 8, the Detroit Red Wings - most of them anyway - gathered around coach Todd McLellan. His message to them was typically direct, all the more so as the Wings have only four games left on the schedule – the next coming against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday (7 p. m.
, FanDuel Sports Network Detroit). "I told them what I thought of their game yesterday, which was pretty damn good," McLellan said Wednesday. "Also reminded them of where we are.
" Where the Wings are is in dire straits. HARSH REALITY: Red Wings on dim playoff hopes: 'Pretty much have to win out' Red Wings remaining schedule Their "tragic number" – the number of their losses and Ottawa Senators victories combined needed to eliminate them from the playoff chase – dropped to three after Tuesday's home loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. In the most immediate terms, that means if they lose to the Flyers, and the Senators defeat the already-eliminated Florida Panthers (also on Thursday), then the Wings will be out of the postseason with another loss, whether it's on Saturday, when the New Jersey Devils are in town for the regular-season finale at Little Caesars Arena, or on the road Monday at the Tampa Bay Lightning or April 15 at the Panthers.
Or, even if the Wings win all those after a loss to the Flyers, they'd be done with a Senators win over the New York Islanders on Saturday, over the Devils on Sunday, or over the already-eliminated Toronto Maple Leafs on April 15. "We're still in this and we're in this together," Moritz Seider said. "That should be the mindset and that's how we should approach every single day and don't have to worry about anything else but getting points.