DETROIT \u2013 The Detroit Red Wings\u2019 march to the playoffs took a wrong turn in March a year ago and they came up excruciatingly short.<\/p>\n
Lessons were learned. Now they will try to make sure history doesn\u2019t repeat itself as they find themselves in a similar spot.<\/p>\n
The Red Wings can\u2019t let back-to-back losses to Columbus lead to a longer skid like the seven-game losing streak they couldn\u2019t recover from last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the experience from last year is big and just shows the importance of every game and every point,\u201d Lucas Raymond said. \u201cThese are the fun games to play coming down the stretch, chasing a playoff spot. That\u2019s the way you have to look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Red Wings (30-24-6, 66 points) dropped two points behind the Blue Jackets and into the second wild card spot following their 5-3 outdoor loss Saturday at Ohio Stadium. No surprise that it\u2019s a tight multi-team race with Friday\u2019s trade deadline approaching. Ottawa, the New York Rangers and Boston are two points behind the Red Wings, with Montreal, Philadelphia and the New York Islanders not far behind.<\/p>\n
The Red Wings host Carolina (Tuesday at 7, FanDuel Sports Network) and Utah (Thursday at 7, FSD) prior to Friday\u2019s 3 p.m. trade deadline.<\/p>\n
Whether general manager Steve Yzerman buys (their needs are a second- or third-line center and a bottom-four or depth defenseman) or stands pat, players realize the urgency.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to get points even when we don\u2019t play the best,\u201d Moritz Seider said. \u201cEven if the game is not going our way, we got to find ways to stay in the fight. Perfect example was (Saturday), we got to find a way to get at least one point heading into overtime. Can\u2019t just let the game slip.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Red Wings erased a two-goal deficit in the third period before a breakdown led to the winning goal with 2:17 remaining. They were encouraged, however, after outshooting Columbus 46-21.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we replicate that game with that (number) of shots, I think we\u2019re going to win a lot of hockey games,\u201d Raymond said. \u201cBut it\u2019s small, small details that count, managing your game. We had a ton of looks, me included, that should have been put in the net. It\u2019s just about executing and I think we\u2019ll be in a good spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coach Todd McLellan called Saturday\u2019s game a \u201c48-hour game.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were obviously not who we wanted to be in Game 1,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just didn\u2019t play well man-to-man. We had to wait almost 48 hours to get that next chance and there were some honest conversations we had, there was some video, there was a good practice and then the distraction of the outdoor game. All those variables went into play and I thought we played a hell of game in Columbus. We lost, we gave up four goals \u2013 the empty-netter is irrelevant \u2013 but four goals is too many. Yet, that 48-hour game was really good for us to go through. Disappointed in the outcome in both games. Disappointed in the input in the first game, but not the second.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rasmussen out: Michael Rasmussen (upper-body injury) skated again Monday but has not been involved in contact and McLellan said he will miss his third game in a row Tuesday.<\/p>\n
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