Red Wings Week Ahead: Schedule and Storylines – Squandered Chances, ASP Recalled & More – The Hockey Writers – Detroit Red Wings

As the regular season comes down to its final five games for the Detroit Red Wings, the team heads into this week (April 6-12) on the outside looking in for a playoff spot. They will face a tough schedule again this week against teams they are battling with in the standings, and will need something to change if they want to end their nine-year playoff drought.

The Tiebreaker Trap

While the point totals are identical, the standings reflect a hidden hurdle for the Red Wings: regulation wins (RW). In the event of a tie at the end of the season, the league prioritizes wins earned without the help of overtime or a shootout. This situation is something that Red Wings fans know quite a bit about after seeing this play out when they missed out on a playoff spot due to regulation wins in the 2023-24 season.

Essentially, the Red Wings don’t just need to win; they need to win decisively. Relying on the “loser point” or shootout heroics might keep them in the conversation, but without a surge in 60-minute victories, they risk losing a tiebreaker that could haunt the offseason. Every game this week is, quite literally, a four-point swing in a race where the tiebreaker acts as an invisible opponent.

A Weekend of Missed Opportunities

The momentum stalled over a frustrating 48-hour stretch on the road. The 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers on April 4 was a disciplined, if uninspiring, affair in which the Red Wings struggled to generate high-danger scoring chances. However, the 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Wild the following day was a much more bitter pill to swallow.

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Despite a spirited late-game surge that showcased the offensive depth this roster is capable of, the Red Wings couldn’t overcome a hat trick by the Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov. It was a game defined by small lapses in coverage and a failure to contain elite talent at pivotal moments. In a playoff race this tight, emotional residue is a luxury the Red Wings cannot afford and will need to quickly move on from and forget.

Stability Between the Pipes

One of the more intriguing storylines to emerge from the matchup against the Wild was the return of Cam Talbot. After serving as the backup to John Gibson for 14 consecutive starts — a stretch dating back to early March — the veteran finally got the nod.

While the five goals against don’t look particularly sharp on a stat sheet, the decision to start Talbot indicates a coaching staff looking for a spark or, perhaps, trying to manage Gibson’s workload before a grueling final stretch. Whether Talbot sees more action this week remains to be seen, but having a veteran presence with postseason experience available is a vital insurance policy for a team that has looked defensively porous at times over the last fortnight.

Sandin Pellikka Back in the Lineup, But For How Long?

The front office has also been active in fine-tuning the blue line. The emergency recall of Axel Sandin-Pellikka on April 4 came on the heels of deadline acquisition Justin Faulk being injured. In the two games this past week after being recalled, Sandin-Pellikka looked more confident in his all-around game and was impactful from the backend of the ice for the Red Wings in the offensive zone. He showed signs of being the player that many had hoped he could be throughout his rookie season after being sent back to the American Hockey League (AHL) following his ice-time being slashed after the trade deadline.

The question now becomes how long Faulk will be out of the lineup, and when he does return, will Sandin-Pellikka stick with the NHL club? With the team in dire straits and trying to push for a playoff spot, the young Swedish-born defenseman could very easily stick in the lineup over someone like Jacob Bernard-Docker.

The Week Ahead: No Easy Outs

Last week was no easy task for the Red Wings with the teams they played, and this week will be no different. They will be playing two teams they are directly fighting for a spot in the wild card standings: the Philadelphia Flyers and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Red Wings Schedule April 6-12

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