Red Wings Week Ahead: Schedule & Storylines- Larkin Makes History, Improvements Needed & More – The Hockey Writers –

In their first games after the Olympic break, the Detroit Red Wings split their two games last week (Feb. 23- March 1). They continue to battle it out with their Atlantic Division foes, as they look to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and general manager (GM) Steve Yzerman surely will work the phones as the trade deadline grows near. This week (March 2- March 8), the Red Wings are in action four times as they look to continue finding their stride after a couple of weeks without game action.

Larkin Makes Red Wings History

In the Red Wings’ 2-1 overtime win on Feb. 26 over the Ottawa Senators, Dylan Larkin set the organization’s all-time record of overtime goals. With his 13th overtime goal, Larkin passed Sergei Fedorov to take over the top spot in organization history. He scored both goals for the team in the win and clearly rode the momentum of his play at the Olympics with the United States in the two games this past week.

If Larkin can continue his strong play on the top line, it will go a long way toward helping the Red Wings end their playoff drought and reach a career-high in points individually for the team’s captain. He is currently on pace for 74 points, which would top his current career-high of 70 last season.

Five-on-Five Play Needs to Step Up

While the Red Wings continue to find themselves in the mix for one of the top spots in the Atlantic, they are doing so in spite of their five-on-five offensive numbers. They have struggled throughout the season with even-strength goals, and that has been even more pronounced dating back to before the Olympic break. In their last five games, they have scored only four times at even-strength and currently sit in the middle of the pack league-wide in that department (132).

Related: Red Wings Entering Uncharted Territory at the Trade Deadline

The power play has done its job this season, sitting in the top-10 league-wide, but if the Red Wings want to make the playoffs and a potential run in said playoffs, they will need to step up their play in the offensive zone during five-on-five play, and that begins in their four games this week.

Who Steps Up Offensively?

With the five-on-five offense struggling, there are plenty of spots throughout the lineup where the Red Wings need to get more from. Patrick Kane ended his goal drought in the 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 28, but there are more players who need to step up. With four games that could prove to be pivotal ones for the playoff race, players like Marco Kasper, Andrew Copp, JT Compher, and Emmitt Finnie are amongst those who need to step up their game offensively to help take the load off the top two lines.

When the Red Wings have been most successful, they have gotten production top-to-bottom in their lineup, and they have not had that much since the calendar flipped to 2026. They do not need their depth players to light the world on fire, but they need them to at least give the lineup something. As the trade deadline is just around the corner, seeing what happens with the bottom two lines could be something that ends up dictating what Yzerman does trade-wise.

Red Wings Schedule (March 2- March 8)