Scoreboard Watching and Home Sweet Home: A Rangers-Red Wings Game Day Notebook
A game day notebook ahead of tonight's game between the New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings. featuring a look at the Red Wings' playoff-race pressure and their success at home.
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports - Scoreboard Watching and Home Sweet Home: A Rangers-Red Wings Game Day NotebookRight now, four teams are within two points of the second Eastern Conference wild card spot, a race that could come down to the final weeks of the season. Given the drama, Derek Lalonde expects his Red Wings team to scoreboard watch this last stretch of the season.
In fact, he encourages it.
“I think it’s human nature now to scoreboard watch,” Lalonde said Wednesday. “This is all healthy, great experiences. These games take a different level to them. ... You can just feel the intensity of those last couple of games and what’s at stake and the way our guys are approaching it.”
The intensity and stress of chasing the postseason cannot be simulated in any other environment. Detroit has a roster of veterans, but it is one that features young and playoff-inexperienced pillars such as Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider and even the somewhat playoff-familiar Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat. For these players, the final stretch of a playoff push gives them familiarity with the expectations of earning postseason hockey.
Such a situation offers a chance for some redemption. Despite all the trials the Red Wings went through — an abysmal March included — they’re still in the hunt. This is a symptom of the number of teams vying for that final playoff spot, cannibalizing each other as one team has yet to pull away from the pack.
“I think we've been very fortunate to still be in this situation,” Lalonde said Friday. “That (playoff-clinching) number is hanging around I still think probably low 90s mid 90s. … I think a lot of teams are beating each other keeping that number around there. But again, for us to come off the road trip we just had, the type of opponent we just had, and to be sitting here to have an ability to control our own destiny is certainly a position we’re happy to be in. Now, it’s what we do with it.”
The Lineup
With a chance to reset, the Red Wings are a little healthier. Michael Rasmussen is still out with the injury that made him leave Monday’s game in Tampa Bay. Lalonde characterized it as a day-to-day injury, but ruled him out for Friday early in the week. At practice, the forward lines stayed similar to their road trip form, with Joe Veleno promoted to the third line and Daniel Sprong brought in from being scratched.
With three days off between games, Detroit also tinkered with its power play after going 3-for-16 in its last five games. Getting some goals off the man advantage could be a big scoring boost in the final seven games.
In net, the Red Wings continue to lean on Alex Lyon, who just became the team’s Masterton Trophy nominee this morning. Lyon faces a tough test against the Rangers offense, with multiple talented shooters including Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider. The last time Detroit played the Rangers — way back in November — Ville Husso stopped 38 of 41 shots he faced in a 3-2 loss.
Home Sweet Home
Ending their last road trip on a high note against Tampa Bay, the Red Wings were nonetheless happy to be back home. That’s not just because they get to play in front of a friendly crowd. Throughout a five-game road trip, they muddled through the flu that went around the locker room. Surely it feels better to be at home than to try to shake an illness in a hotel room, but the three-day break also gives them some benefits on the ice other than their health and well-being.
Lalonde acknowledged the matchup advantages and the effect of a friendly crowd for his team. And while an optional skate day gave his players a chance to heal up, he also used practices to get the Red Wings prepared for this home stretch of the season.
“Unique part of the schedule, we haven’t had a breather like this in a while,” Lalonde said Wednesday. (It’s an) opportunity for a little bit of a reset, especially after that road trip, which was very difficult — which we knew all along was going to be difficult. … The reset’s good but you kinda want to take a little bit of that momentum and energy from that win in Tampa, and it doesn’t get any easier playing arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference on Friday.”
At home, it should be a little bit easier for Detroit to handle the Rangers with the advantages in home-ice matchups and crowd energy. The effect is palpable for the Red Wings, who are 1-7-2 in their past 10 road games but are 7-3-0 in their past 10 home games.
“That’s how you get ahead — you take care of home ice,” Lalonde said. “And for the most part, we’ve done a good job with that.”
The Red Wings need all the advantages they can accumulate against New York, which has gone 11-3-0 in the past 14 games.
Where to Watch
Tonight’s game starts at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Bally Sports Detroit Extra. ESPN+ and Hulu will stream the game, too.
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