Detroit still has path to playoffs
The path to the playoffs the Red Wings have been talking so much about in recent days, it’s pretty clear now.
Saturday’s 5-4 overtime victory over Toronto made it so, in dramatic fashion.
The Wings, Washington and Philadelphia all have 87 points, but Washington holds the tiebreaker and is in the second and final Eastern Conference wildcard spot. The Wings have two games left, both against Montreal. Washington has to play Boston and Philadelphia (the only game the Flyers have left).
If the Wings win two games
and Washington loses one, the Wings are in the playoffs, ending a seven-year drought. If the Wings lose in regulation once, they’re eliminated, since they lose tiebreakers to both Washington and Philadelphia.
“We kept it saying it, we needed two points (a victory),” said captain Dylan Larkin, who scored Saturday’s game-winning goal, on a power play 41 seconds into overtime. “We’ve been fighting for our lives. The sacrifice and attitude of the guys has been unbelievable. We got rewarded for all the hard work that we’ve done the last stretch here, where we haven’t been getting rewarded.”
The Wings have played Montreal twice this season, each team winning once in overtime. Larkin has been in the same role for the last seven seasons with the Wings, playing the role of spoiler. To win twice isn’t going to be easy.
“We need four (points),” Larkin said. “We got Montreal and man, that’s dangerous the way they’ve been going. We’ve been in that position that they’re in. It’s a whole different ballgame to what we’ve been playing, these playoff-style games. We need to show up and have our foot on the gas and that’s