{"id":545089,"date":"2026-04-07T07:07:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T07:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/545089\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T07:07:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T07:07:14","slug":"slumping-jackets-wings-meet-with-playoff-spot-within-reach-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/545089\/","title":{"rendered":"Slumping Jackets, Wings Meet With Playoff Spot Within Reach"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AThe intense battle between the slumping Blue Jackets and Red Wings is captured in a cubist, geometric illustration that reflects the high stakes and desperate need for a win by both teams.Columbus Today<\/p>\n

The Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings, two struggling Eastern Conference teams, will face off on Tuesday night as they try to keep their fading playoff hopes alive. The Blue Jackets have lost six straight games, while the Red Wings have dropped six of their last eight. Both teams are looking to turn things around and secure a postseason berth.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

The Blue Jackets and Red Wings are in a tight race for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. With only a few games left in the regular season, this matchup could have a significant impact on their chances of making the playoffs. A win for either team could give them a much-needed boost in the standings.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

The Blue Jackets’ offense has stalled during their recent slide, scoring a total of just 10 goals in the last six games. Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness has called on his team to change their mindset and be more aggressive in their approach. Meanwhile, the Red Wings rallied from a 4-1 deficit against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, but a late penalty by Patrick Kane led to the game-winning goal for the Wild. Red Wings coach Todd McLellan has expressed frustration with his team’s tendency to crumble when things don’t go their way.<\/p>\n

The Blue Jackets and Red Wings will face off on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.The Blue Jackets lost at home to the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on Saturday, April 5, 2026.The Red Wings rallied from a 4-1 deficit against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, April 6, 2026.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

Zach Werenski<\/p>\n

A defenseman for the Columbus Blue Jackets who believes the team can turn things around and make the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Rick Bowness<\/p>\n

The head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who has called on his team to change their mindset and be more aggressive.<\/p>\n

Patrick Kane<\/a><\/p>\n

A forward for the Detroit Red Wings who took a costly penalty late in the game against the Minnesota Wild.<\/p>\n

Todd McLellan<\/p>\n

The head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, who has expressed frustration with his team’s tendency to crumble when things don’t go their way.<\/p>\n

J.T. Compher<\/p>\n

A center for the Detroit Red Wings who believes the team needs to play with the same intensity they showed in the third period for the entire game.<\/p>\n

Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a>
\n What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ll just keep our conversation in here because we’re a better team than what we’ve shown and just talked about it. We’re not eliminated. We’re still in it and I believe in this group. I believe we can get it done and it’s just doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Zach Werenski, Defenseman, Columbus Blue Jackets<\/p>\n

\u201cWe create the second most chances on the forecheck in the entire league. Yet we want to get inside the blue line and make cute little plays against good teams that aren’t working. And they’re not working. So, I have to get after them. They’ve got to change their mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Rick Bowness, Head Coach, Columbus Blue Jackets<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get the comeback and take a penalty 150 feet from our net not even in the play. It hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Todd McLellan, Head Coach, Detroit Red Wings<\/p>\n

\u201c(We need to) play like we did in the third period more of the game. We gave ourselves a chance. If we start better, it makes a little easier on us. The way we played in the third, we have to play for the rest of the games remaining.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 J.T. Compher, Center, Detroit Red Wings<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

The Blue Jackets and Red Wings will face off again on Thursday, April 9, 2026, in a crucial game that could have major implications for their playoff hopes.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

This matchup between the struggling Blue Jackets and Red Wings highlights the tight race for playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. Both teams will need to find a way to turn their recent slumps around and play with a renewed sense of urgency if they want to secure a postseason berth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a The intense battle between the slumping Blue Jackets and Red…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545090,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5108],"tags":[3644,5180,897,230,5179,5,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-545089","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-columbus-blue-jackets","8":"tag-blue-jackets","9":"tag-bluejackets","10":"tag-columbus","11":"tag-columbus-blue-jackets","12":"tag-columbusbluejackets","13":"tag-hockey","14":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}