DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings were out of a playoff spot one week ago. Today, they lead the Atlantic Division.

The Eastern Conference is tighter than usual, nearly one-quarter of the way through the season.

“You look at the standings and if you’re on top of the mountain, you’re really not on top of the mountain,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “You’re in the middle of the forest.

“It’s so tight. There may be a little changing of the guard. Some of the powerhouses may be getting a little older. Some of the teams that were trying to climb that mountain may be catching up. But it’s only 20 games. That’s why when you get into those last 10 or 12 games and you’re six or eight points in or out, that’s a significant number to make up with three-point nights.”

The Red Wings (12-7-1) are off to their best 20-game start since 2011-12, when they had the same record.

They host the New York Islanders Thursday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network) and they realize their margin for error is thin.

“You have to manage every segment and get the best out of your team and we’re trying to do that,” McLellan said. “We’ll start a new 10-game (segment) tomorrow and it’s important that we take more points than we give away.”

The Red Wings are slightly better offensively (3.00 goals per game vs. 2.87) and defensively (3.10 goals against per game vs. 3.16) than where they finished last season. Their power play hasn’t been as strong but it’s still effective at 21.7 percent. Their penalty kill has been much better, from a league-worst 70.1 percent to a respectable 80.4 percent.

“Some of the goals that we set out heading into the season, looking for improvement on the penalty kill, that for the most part has happened,” McLellan said. “We’ve had a couple of bad nights, but for the most part, it’s been pretty solid. The power play has been up and down a little bit. We still want to be better five-on-five.

“The consistency — we seem to ride waves and then crash. Even within games. We’ve got to become more consistent. We’ve shown signs of being resilient. But we have a lot of work to do still and that’s why there’s a lot of season left.”

McLellan realizes traditionally strong Atlantic clubs like Florida, Tampa Bay and Toronto are bound to improve. His team must keep pace.

“There’s some teams that are missing some key players right now that you normally slot them in, (like) the Stanley cup champs from the past two years (the Panthers),” McLellan said. “You put a couple players back into their lineup and I think they’re in a certain situation. But injuries will dictate where teams go, and the schedule. Who can handle it better than others maybe will dictate.”

Statistics have long shown that teams occupying a playoff spot on Thanksgiving, with a couple of exceptions, generally make the playoffs.

“I think the numbers stack up and the percentages say there’s a lot to that, but it’s not 100 percent accurate,” McLellan said. “And this year it’s probably going to get tested based on where we’re at.”

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