The window has not completely shut on the Detroit Red Wings’ playoff chances, but the gap to the windowsill is shrinking fast and about to be latched.
Chasing the No. 2 wild-card spot held by the hot Montreal Canadiens, Detroit will complete a Sunshine State back-to-back set when it faces the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night.
Unless the Red Wings (36-35-7, 79 points) win their last four games, the Canadiens (39-30-9, 87 points) drop their final four, and other results go the right way, Detroit is staring at a ninth consecutive season without making the postseason.
On Thursday night in Sunrise, Fla., the Red Wings grabbed a 1-0 first-period lead on Alex DeBrincat’s club-best 36th goal as he tries to reach 40 for the third time in his eight-year career.
However, the Florida Panthers displayed the kind of defense that led them to their first Stanley Cup title last season, tallying four unanswered goals and limiting Detroit to 23 shots on goal in a 4-1 victory.
The result means the Red Wings’ chase is just about over.
“For the past couple weeks, we’re watching the standings and were right there,” DeBrincat said, according to NHL.com. “It’s tough. We still got to come out ready to play and give it our best shot. We still have an opportunity, so just go out and win the rest of the games.”
The Lightning (45-26-7, 97 points) did themselves no favors in their previous outing, the opener of a four-game homestand.
Known for getting off to fast starts recently, Tampa Bay uncharacteristically fell behind by a pair of goals in the first 3:33 as the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs rebounded from a 3-1 road defeat against the Panthers the night before.
The Lightning battled back in the matchup of the Atlantic Division’s top two clubs, tying the game twice and forcing overtime.
Each side had great scoring chances in the extra session, but Matthew Knies completed his second career hat trick as the Maple Leafs (48-26-4, 100 points) emerged with a 4-3 win Wednesday and a three-point lead over Tampa Bay in the standings.
“An embarrassing first 3 1/2 minutes,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “It was unfortunate. (Toronto) was a team coming off a back-to-back. We’d just come off an eight-day road trip, we got in super late and came to play a game. (Historically), that’s proven to be tough. But it didn’t stay the way we came out. For 57 minutes, we leaned on them.”
The Lightning have four games remaining as they try to catch the Leafs and remain ahead of the third-place Panthers (46-29-4, 96 points). Tampa Bay leads Florida by one point in the race to have home-ice advantage in a potential opening-round playoff matchup of in-state rivals.
After facing the Red Wings, Tampa Bay will host the Buffalo Sabres and the Panthers. The Lightning will close the regular season with a road game against the New York Rangers.
In the race for the Art Ross Trophy (NHL points leader), Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov (34 goals, 82 assists) and the Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon (32, 84) are tied for first with 116 points apiece.
–Field Level Media
