NBCSN will continue its coverage of the 2015-16 campaign tonight when the Detroit Red Wings host the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7:30 p.m. ET. If you want to watch the game online, you can do so here.
The Detroit Red Wings are in a great spot when it comes to the Eastern Conference playoff picture, but they can’t afford to let their current slide continue much further.
They currently own one of the two Wild Card spots in the conference, and there’s some breathing room between themselves and the teams trying to catch them.
Detroit is also trailing the Lightning and Bruins by one point for second and third place in the Atlantic Division.
The Wings have been outscored 14-6 during their four-game losing streak, and it’s not hard to see why.
They’ve been forced to play without Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson, and some of the players who are healthy just haven’t been producing.
Gustav Nyquist, who scored 27 goals in 2014-15, hasn’t scored in 10 games, while Tomas Tatar, who had 29 goals last season, has two goals in his last 16 contests.
Both players have seen a reduction in ice time of late.
“The other side of it is they have to go out and scream at me that they want to play more,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said, per the Detroit News. “I didn’t think they screamed at me they want to play more. That’s one way to make sure you get more ice time.”
The Columbus Blue Jackets have been one of the biggest disappointements of the 2015-16 season.
They’re currently in 15th place in the East, but they’re coming off an impressive 6-4 win over the Boston Bruins on Monday night.
The Jackets aren’t mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but it’s nearly impossible to overcome a 13-point deficit over the final 22 games of the regular season.
It’s safe to say they’re in “spoiler mode”.