The Red Wings blew up a bit playing the Predators tonight

When the Detroit Red Wings lost Michael Rasmussen to injury and then traded away Tyler BertuzziOskar Sundqvist and Jakub Vrana, the remaining players seemed to have played shorthanded.

But Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said Sunday after a 5-3 win against Boston that the team’s focus and outlook had returned to normal.

“This past week we had one game against Chicago where we had two days of practice, before and after, where it was a pretty big thing for us to reset and get our minds focused on what we need to do to finish the season.” Larkin said. “The emotions are kind of behind us and we can just play.”

The Red Wings were a bit busy in tonight’s game against Nashville. 3 players decide the game time. Everyone was expected to play, but it’s wait and see.
Listen to the game at 19:45 @971theticketxyt

– Ken Kal (@KenKalDRW) March 14, 2023

The Red Wings’ 3-6-1 record over their last 10 games has put a stop to playoff talk. But the Red Wings still have a long shot. If the Red Wings (30-27-9) beat the Nashville Predators tonight (8 p.m. ET) on the road, they would be just five points behind the empty-handed New York Islanders for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.

Coach Derek Lalonde said this morning that three unknown Red Wings have medical issues today, and each is a game-time decision. Even assuming they are ready to play, the Red Wings called up Matt Luff from the Grand Rapids Griffins just in case.

Surging Predators

Beating the Predators is no simple task: Nashville is 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. The Predators are six points out of the playoffs and have three games to play on both current wild card teams (Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets).

Detroit has been the better scoring team, but not by much. The Red Wings are 22nd at 2.98 and the Predators are 25th at 2.84. The Red Wings have been better on the power play, especially lately. They go into this game with power play goals in three straight games.

The Predators have one of the most consistent netminders in the league in Juuse Saros. According to IcyData.com, he is sixth in the NHL with 17.37 goals blocked, more than the average NHL netminder. In contrast, Detroit netminder Ville Husso, who had a strong season, is -4.18. Nashville is fifth in team save percentage (.913), while Detroit (.896) is 20th.

The Red Wings are trying to piece together the idea of ​​success in the face of end-of-season personnel spending.

Larkin said: “I think it’s even more fun to win without those guys showing how much character there is in the dressing room to really push here towards the end of the season.”