The Red Wings and New York Islanders are both chasing a wild card spot, and they'll face off tonight in a significant game. Today's game day notebook focuses on the pressure of the playoff race, as well as Patrick Roy's changes on Long Island.
If every game this time of year is a big one for the Red Wings, tonight’s is even bigger.
Against a New York Islanders team that’s trying to usurp Detroit’s playoff position, three points back in the wild card race with a game at hand, winning this game would give the Red Wings a far better chance at clinching the second wild card down the stretch.
With that comes pressure.
“Such an emotional roller coaster coaster,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “There’s some emotional fatigue. There's obviously some physical fatigue, this time of year guys are battling through injury. I think it’s just narrowing the focus — too much going on in your head.”
Maybe that has to do with the Red Wings’ struggles of late. Maybe the unrelenting weight of playoff hopes has taken an ironic effect — obsession turning into a barrier more than a path.
“I would love to come out and play a simple first period. The first period’s been an issue for us and it could be just what you talked about, just there’s literally too much going on in each individual’s head and their team game. So I mean, we rep the same, they see the same clips, it’s just a matter of executing out there, so probably just narrowing the focus tonight.”
So the goal of the Red Wings, with such an important game against the Islanders, is to treat it the same as any other. But it’s not like any other game.
Without dripping into the pool of coach speak, Detroit can’t treat this game any differently than its other games because it really just needs wins right now. With two wins in the past three games, the Red Wings might’ve turned a corner, but getting distracted by where the Islanders are at could put Detroit right back in its slump.
“It’s still about the team that takes care of their own business,” Lalonde said, “And that’s what we're trying to do.”
Trial and error come hand-in-hand, and that’s a position both teams understand well. While the Red Wings have won as of late, they earned a seven-game losing streak just a few games ago. The Islanders, meanwhile, have dropped five straight with just six goals in that span.
In a duel of two imperfect teams, the team that can minimize its flaws stands to win it. That’s why Detroit’s first period matters, that’s why its defense matters and that’s why its compete level matters.
After all, in what’s becoming a motto of sorts around the Red Wings’ dressing room, this position is what they play for.
“I think the fun is coming to the rink with an opportunity,” Lalonde said. “Here we are with a handful of games. We haven’t been in this situation in almost seven, eight years. So that’s the fun part of it. You’re in it. You’re in the battle. You’re scoreboard watching a little bit — it’s the reality of it just being in a playoff race. It’s going to grow our guys, so this is exciting and this is good and this is what you play for — these moments. Since I’ve been here, we put everything into being in this position and now we’re here.”
The Lineup
Tonight might be a big game for an entirely different reason than the opponent: Dylan Larkin could theoretically come back.
There’s a caveat to that. He needed to undergo an evaluation after morning skate, and Lalonde said the results won’t be known until the afternoon. After skating the past couple practices, though, it’s an encouraging sign that Larkin might be able to go. Detroit has sorely missed his play pretty much every game since he’s been absent, and the juice he can bring back for a playoff push is immeasurable.
Jake Walman remains out with a lower body injury this game, but Simon Edvinsson proved serviceable in the top four on Tuesday. Now repeating the success becomes his task.
“There's more intensity to it, there's more pressure to it,” Lalonde said of Edvinsson performing well in a playoff-like atmosphere in Tuesday’s comeback overtime win. “Obviously with Walman out he’s in a top four role. So this is a positive, he performed very well the other day. Now, we look for some consistency in that performance.”
Lalonde also said Thursday that members of the team have been playing through illness this past stretch, including Michael Rasmussen. However, this doesn’t seem likely to change up the lines. Overall, the lineup will probably look like it did against Columbus on Tuesday.
For the Islanders, they’re expected to skate out looking like this:
Patrick Roy Bringing New Systems to New York
Firing Lane Lambert and hiring Patrick Roy was supposed to give the Islanders a boost, but that improvement wasn’t just a kick in the rear. Rather, Roy brought specific structural tweaks with him to the Islanders that seem to have paid off during his early tenure.
The way he’s implemented such changes has impressed Derek Lalonde.
“(They’re) a little more aggressive on the forecheck for sure, a little different look in the D zone,” Lalonde said. “He’s done a good job, it’s tough to implement this time of year. And I know the Islanders … they don't practice a ton. I think they really value energy. They’re one of those teams around the league, they just don’t practice a lot because they value energy.”
That’s a philosophical difference for Detroit, which values hard and educational practices. Even before back-to-backs and long road trips, Lalonde and his coaching staff break out the whistles and whiteboards for some teaching. This reflects the younger elements of the team compared to an Islanders squad that’s been largely veteran the past few seasons, but it also shows how different organizations and coaches approach implementing adjustments throughout the year.
“We're the opposite. We want to practice as much as possible. We’re still trying to grow this,” Lalonde said before shifting gears toward the Islanders. “I just think it’s taking a little bit of time to grow up of course, like you can see (Roy’s) imprint in it. You can see his intensity in it. I love being in a type of game like this this time of year.”
Different teams require different amounts of practice time, but Roy has made a defensive overhaul for the Islanders while working with less runway. For example, he flipped them from zone defense to man midway through the season, turning tendencies on their head in the process.
Whereas Lalonde has had the luxury of really focusing on muscle memory and habits, Roy is introducing a lot of concepts with less time. Given the difference and the success, Lalonde seems to admire Roy’s progress.
Where to Watch
Tonight’s game starts at 7 p.m. ET. Bally Sports Detroit will air the game on television, while it can be streamed out of market on ESPN+ and Hulu.