Detroit Red Wings Last Game is NOT Make or Break

Neal Ruhl and Darren McCarty discuss why the Detroit Red Wings season does not hang in the balance depending on the result of their final game. Do you agree or is it a failure if they don't make the playoffs? Like, Subscribe and leave your comment below!
#DetroitRedWings #NHL #WoodwardSports #RedWings #LGRW #Hockey #DylanLarkin #PatrickKane #LucasRaymond
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[@phillipstankey8881]

Losing two to Arizona and one to SJ with Larkin out is what killed the playoff chances.

[@Ryan-yi5ro]

Garbage Patch curse.

[@spencerdobkin9479]

Getting 0 pts in 7 games, losing 7 in a row if they don't get in is why they miss it. They could def win tonight though. Last night was huge.

[@bradmaguire9611]

Garbage patch fans😂, Raymond showed he's a top 6 now, edvinson got playing time in important games, stop being babies, this is the same trajectory as the lions in 2022. Go troll some other teams.

[@yzerab19]

Or the 4-0 blown lead vs the sharks at the beginning of the season.

[@tkorreck]

Last I looked, chances aren’t killed

[@marcoericadrian]

you know what fans, I get the up and downs, but I gotta say this team brought me the most joy in many years. me and my 3 sons were jumping around the living room last night and I will never forget that moment

[@SirCJ11]

That’s awesome! Playoffs or not that game was EPIC

[@thenickfoxx]

I nearly shed a tear lol. It's been so long since we've played meaningful games this late in the season. We are consistently getting better year to year and that's all we can ask for.

[@BWyatt76]

6:56 Yzerman has been great at seeing talent in the draft. Raymond, Seider, and Edvinsson are here because of Yzerman Who in their right mind thought the Wings would be better than Tampa, Toronto, Boston, and Florida right now? I think fighting for a Wild Card in 2024, is where the Wings should be. They're right on track.

[@mattmcnick]

finally someone else with a brain in these comment sections

[@joebrissette7676]

The absurd thing is that even with only having two of Yzerman's picks having played more than 25 games at this point, we're playing for a spot in the playoffs tonight. With a 23 year old holding down our top D-line, and 22 year old Lucas Raymond ascending to stardom before our very eyes. Yzerman's specialty is drafting, and it definitely shows. His picks that have seen extended time in the NHL have been electric. And we're sitting on a completely revamped prospect pool that is largely considered around top 1-3 in the league. And that overhaul has happened so quickly that it's actually causing a bit of a clog because we have too many good guys trying to come up. The most insane thing, however, is that even with Yzerman's specialty being drafting, we're fighting for a playoff spot tonight with only, I believe, three draft picks playing. He's got us on the edge of the playoffs with a team very largely constructed of trades and free agency (and Dylan Larkin of course), and we're still heading into 2024-25 with the 6th most cap space in the league at $26.5m, while sitting comfortably on top of the aforementioned top 1-3 prospect pool. The fact that we're all so passionate about possibly missing the playoffs shows something, though. This season has reminded people that this is Hockeytown. And the electric reactions to Raymond's goals last night proves that.

[@TheLarknessMonster]

To put this in perspective for people, the NHL team with the most Stanley Cup wins in the last 30 years are the Detroit Red Wings. I get that since Datsyuk and Zetterberg retired the Wings have been trash and it's been hard, but the teams got promise and this is the first time I can say we have really good future young guys on the team. If we don't make the playoffs I personally still call this season a success. It's been a giant step in the right direction, we see glimmers of greatness that often get overshadowed by 5-10 game stretches where we don't play well, which is to be expected with a team trying to exit a rebuild phase. As Yzerman would say, we still have work to do.

[@zeppelinbaby3]

Spoken by someone with common sense and some hockey knowledge

[@thenickfoxx]

Exactly. Since 2019 when Stevie took over, we've been on a consistent, steady incline in the standings. That's success. There are teams that fluctuate every year with zero consistency, that's not us. Nice to see other fans with a brain out here.

[@ImGettinWeird]

Last game of the season, buzzer beater to tie, got the bare minimum point needed, still got the extra point , but didn't make it because the flyers gave up an empty netter in a tied game allowed the caps in. I was predicting the wings made it this year, but for everyone who doubted them, the wings sure proved this year that they're a playoff contender going forward. Tonight was disappointing but I'm happy with the season. I hope Kane sees the hunger this team has and stays during the off season.

[@thenickfoxx]

@@ImGettinWeird intelligent fan alert

[@ImGettinWeird]

@@thenickfoxx it's hard to deny the obvious improvement. Look at the devils last year, we passed them up this year, and everyone said the sabres and Ottawa were gonna be better than the wings still this year. It's the first time in a long time wings fans can even talk about playoffs this late in the season

[@ericross9393]

Lifelong Wings fans should not be satisfied with being three wins out of a guaranteed sixth or seventh place. Those games were lost in part from bad coaching decisions. Given the enormous win streaks all season, this should not come down to the last game of the season. However, the last two games have been awesome and I think they will still get it done .

[@Miller13RWBD]

bad coaching decisions?? please clarify.

[@thenickfoxx]

The fact we are 1 game away from the playoffs is a success. Seeing as we weren't even supposed to be here as we're still just barely squeaking out of the rebuild. Be mad all you want. But since 2019 when Stevie took over, we've been on a steady incline every.single.year. Don't tell us what we should and should not be satisfied with. Now, if we miss the playoffs next year, there is an issue. But this year was a success.

[@Mtzrlein]

This team is giving me an ulcer, but it reminds me of Fedorov. When they wanna turn it on, they’re the best team in the league. When they get discouraged, they start comfort eating their gloves… but five seasons ago they set NHL records for being bad. Now we are fighting for a playoff spot. I love this team even if they are emotionally abusive.

[@gerrietpowrie4932]

I was bummed that we just missed the playoffs this year, but damn pround of this teams improvements, we had this year. Depending on how the offseason goes and how healthy the players are next season, we could be around 100 point team next year. Yzerman has been doing an amazing job to get the Red Wings where we are today.

[@timothywright778]

the depressing thing is that there will almost certainly be a regression next year, if for no other reason than that Kane will be gone. Falling short of high expectations will make next season tough to stomach.

[@markhertlein4726]

Believe in Steve...tho, Uncle Fester might have to go...

[@spencerdobkin9479]

AMAZING COMEBACK. The only complaint I have about last night is they need to change the goal song to Van Halen or something! It was a huge moment and it proved they have some fight with what they did the last two games but ultimately if they don't get in it's a failure with that 9 pt cushion. That's the bottom line. I do think they have a good chance of winning tonight because they have some momentum now. Have they made progress? Absolutely.

[@MichaelPowers-kq5gv]

Regardless of the outcome tonight, this was a good season. We took the next step and are in the play off conversation right down to the last game. LGRW and Flyers tonight :D

[@gerrietpowrie4932]

The players learned valuable lessons this season and will use those lessons to be more successful next year and push into the playoffs next season

[@Azotherian]

I am proud of where the Wings are in the time that Yzerman has been as GM. He took a team in a bad spot with the draft and our prospects because of Holland and has pulled off an amazing turn around during our rebuild. LGRW!!

[@kawboy1444]

Agreed. Even more so when you consider no luck in the draft lottery

[@LionClaw865]

I agree Neal . That hot their moment wven of they dont make the playoffs. Much more satisfying then laying down.

[@johngolfer9244]

They were 7 - 13 in their last 20 games. Lost to AZ twice and the Caps twice in that stretch. Even a split with each team would have gotten us there. Next year ....

[@Ryan-yi5ro]

You think they will remove the garbage patch curse next year to make the playoffs? I doubt it.

[@heresJohnny73]

It's Larkin if we lose Larkin we fall apart for the month he gets injured December 9th last 11 we were 7-2-2 next 11 we were 3-8 next 11 after that 8-2-1 he gets injured March 2nd last 13 we were 9-3-1 next 13 3-8-2 and so far they're 4-2-1 since hopefully 5-2-1 later tonight

[@socialmediag5485]

Most of the roster won’t even be here in 3 years so I’m not getting carried away with this season one way or another . It’s time to bring in the kids next season , enough overriping for 5 years

[@19HuskyWolf70]

Progressing Next step add BIG D-Man Edge Winger GRIT

[@MPDLR]

During our WIN streak I said it, and I still say it now: New Coach for sure. A Babcock minus the sicko factor. Someone who doesn't say "this is not a must win, it's a must play well". Someone who has FIRE....notice Islanders after Patrick Roy came? Flyers after Torts came? REAL COACH ASAP. That will improve defensive play and intensity - and that alone meant playoffs this year. Then - a REAL GOALIE. I know it's hard. And if Stevie's plan is to wait for Cossa then I respect that. IF we make playoffs this is still my stance. IF we pass 1st round I would have to re-think my coach stance but I don't see it. This guy is a better Blashill. In the end, both men should be Cub Scout moms and would be marvelous at it. ALSO.....a fighter. YES we need it. Lucas, Dylan getting shoved around? No more. If you touch one of our stars - well, we got someone who has a screw loose and he will come say hello.

[@imampedup7787]

Ahhh this aged like fine wine coming from a caps fan better luck next year red wings 😂

[@daussamp8054]

D MACK. Let's be real. Last game against Colorado we passed the puck like we were watching 2002 team. Then. We tanked. That's hard for everyone that never really played. Human nature. You can't show excellence and then not absent scrutiny.

[@kevinrenn9123]

sometimes I think Darren MC is the Ozzy Osbourne of hockey but then there are days where I think he's the Neil deGrasse Tyson. lol, I'd love to have a few bears with him and find out which one it is

[@70Eldo]

They are getting better and building for 10 years in the future but 5 years is a long time in any sport to get to where they are. I think they should have been at this point last year. Next year they should be in the playoffs and at least one series win. I am not sold on Uncle Fester being the coach to lead this team, he is a great technician but not a strong leader ala Dan Campbell.

[@jimmyysimpsonn]

Love the showtime D mac!!

[@jjcalvillo]

Peeps are impatient because the the collapse. Anyone calling for Yzerman’s head is dense, but I’m wondering if they didn’t want to pay what they needed for a good coach.

[@jamesbowen8960]

I still love the Red Wings. I still support Steve Yzerman 100%.

[@pmills076]

All you yzerplan haters don't realize what a disaster he inherited. Guess how many players Holland drafted out of the 64 he drafted are currently NHL players. A whooping 6 players. Yzerman is setting this team up for a great future. We were basically an expansion team. That is how bad the wings were. They have grown. The wings will be great again very soon.

[@TheOuterDrive]

Great game, but that should be LCA every day in the playoffs. It's depressing that we couldn't get just 1 more point all season...Assuming any team will make the playoffs next year is foolish. These opportunities are rare..

[@datcrazywhiteboy6205]

Calm down, this isn't google

[@tomfilipiak3511]

As a Chicago 75 year old hockey goof ball,truth,you would not even be were you are without,Patrick Kane!He is MONEY!So enjoy your fire brewed Strohs,and Detroit style pizza,which,I love better then Chicago deep dish,but any way,bring back the Production line,and hire Mike Luucci as enforcer,and put Sawchuk in net!

[@heresJohnny73]

Nah we don't need kane we were doing good before he joined and were doing goog after he joined who we need is Larkin he got injured to start December 5-9-1 and March 3-9-2 excluding those months we went 32-14-6 stretch that over 82 games its 1st in the division at 110

[@jakerux6092]

The Wings got 8/28 possible points in the 14 games Larkin missed. That translates to the worst points percentage in hockey. Big offseason for Yzerman to upgrade the roster with very little salary to do it.

[@maxsharp9807]

You mean by very little salary that we have the 6th most cap space🤣. Do some research before you write something stupid please.

[@pmills076]

He's gonna have 30 mil in cap space this off season.

[@BWyatt76]

Sure I'll love to make the playoffs, but 99.9% of the time, the last spot in the playoffs doesn't go anywhere. If we don't make it, it's not the end of the world. The 2024-25 season starts in October The team is getting better every year, that's the main thing.

[@Staticseven]

Copp hasn't been helping. Rather see the same lines that played in the Toronto game.

[@anthonyclark9441]

I'm more than satisfied. They have improved massively over last Season, and have been every year of Stevie's tenure. We COULD BE Buffalo. We COULD BE Ottawa. We COULD BE SAN JOSE.

[@TrevWire]

Lalonde is to be held accountable for coachable lapses, namely defense and perhaps getting the most out of players when he needs to. Calling for Yzerman’s head is ridiculous. The middle six of this team will probably look different next season, hopefully they don’t take a step back.

[@Luke13753]

They won but aren’t going to the playoffs 😢

[@topedaddy7838]

Always...... LGRW 🐙

[@rdspam]

Please feel free to lose then.

[@Staticseven]

Copp makes me nervous

[@daussamp8054]

Don't start your format with if we loose tonight, Don't become atomic destruction. Let people be. You are not a influence kid. Speak for yourself. God I love and respect you but doing emotional control is way to transparent. People are intelligent. At least some. 😊

[@henrymoon6351]

lalonde was not ready for the bigtime. many successful head coaches failed in their first gig, example joe torre...he needs to go

[@davidlaitinen2699]

Also, I think Derek LaLonde needs to go. When Larkin went down with injury being the only thing that turned us into losers from the winners we were beforehand. I say that's on coaching cause those stretches were what made us slump and if we make it into the playoffs it's by the grace of almighty God.

[@spencerdobkin9479]

He needs to be fired but I have a feeling Ghostiebere may have saved his job with that leap to hold the puck in. They could def win tonight.

[@mattmcnick]

lmaooo grace of god yeah cause hes out there pulling strings for the stanley cup playoffs. also lalonde is not getting fired so give it a rest.. hes getting his last year of his contact with higher expectations for next year. if he cant move the needle next year then it would be justified

[@oldjarhead386]

Look at the last several years. The improvement has only been marginal. The team is not improving like they should be. It’s on Yzerman and the coaching.

[@evanferris5035]

Wings are overrated. Their toxic fanbse deserves this. It's a win for the league.

[@joshsampson8951]

Lalonde didn’t sign Justin Holl or trade for Petry. Wait to bring up Simon for far too long. There are obvious holes in this lineup. I’m not sure how Lalonde coaches a team with no impact centers beyond Larkin. Those losing streaks without him show it. Also Yzerman has done the best he can do, he’s had negative lottery luck. Yzerman has crushed first round picks thus far. Beyond that it’s a little meh. I’m for giving both some more time.

[@joebrissette7676]

One of the reasons our prospect pool is so respected now is because he's had several promising picks outside the first round. The issue is that first round players usually have less edges to round out so they come into the league quicker. Several of Yzerman's more anticipated prospects were outside the first round. For example: Wallinder (2nd), Augustine (2nd), Buium (2nd), Gibson (2nd), Hanas (2nd), Buchelnikov (2nd), Johansson (2nd), Mazur (3rd), Lombardi (4th), Red Savage (4th), and Soderblom (5th). The pool has turned over so quick in fact that there's a clog, and a lot of these guys are just waiting to trickle in.

[@datcrazywhiteboy6205]

👻🐙👻🐙👻🐙👻🐙👻

[@Workingman22]

Caps aren't losing to philly so another failed season where the wings shit the bed when they had an 8 point lead and they shit themselves AGAIN.

[@scottritcey5166]

Wow they beat a 29th place team at home and went down 4-1. Yeah celebrate

[@davidlaitinen2699]

You see, how I know Washington will do it is when they beat Boston 2-0 and we have to beat Montreal... In overtime.

[@yzerab19]

I watched both games. Boston didn't play half their roster. They had 8 shots through 2 periods. More reason to hate the Bs. Montreal had 50 blocked shots..capitals didn't even have to sweat so it may be over for us. They won't be tired

[@tomfilipiak3511]

Philly,will win,But I think Montreal will too!

[@andybaker4450]

Only 10 or 15 more years to go #Yzerplan

[@socialmediag5485]

Fans got they’re payoff lmao this guy’s a clown

[@florida1289]

SY biggest fail has been in year 5 he has 2 back up goalies. Where Washington is able to win 2-1 Detroit must score 4 to get it to OT and 5 to win. This is 100% on SY. His desire to sign old men to long contracts has killed this franchise. He's done the exact same thing Ken Holland did...no different. I'm done with Yzerman b.s. process...get younger even if it takes another few years before you start winning, Sebastian Cossa and several others better be on this team next year. Having said all that I have no faith in SY... he will go out and sign old men to massive deals like he always does

[@hughjanus8600]

It’s make or break for yzerman

[@achillesninja]

No it's not lmao

[@mattmcnick]

lol get a clue buddy

[@datcrazywhiteboy6205]

Don't blink

[@michaela5461]

DUUUURRRR im Darren McCarty smoking pot for breakfast DUHHHHH DUUUURRRR

[@ryandewan7755]

are we happy with the state of the franchise!? we haven't made the playoffs in 8 years!!!! NO

[@caleb-dx7yd]

It literally is make or break. Derek needs to be fired. First off, his language every game is “we are lucky to be in this position. At the start of the season we were bid to get 7th in our division.” This mindset is terrible considering we should have easily got the first wild card spot. Also, it took Derek how long to realize that Alex should play with Dylan vs Kane. As soon as the lines changed resulted in Alex getting points and scoring goals again.

[@mattmcnick]

hes not getting fired, give it a rest. all hes saying is that nobody thought the wings would be there, they were always a bubble team and the expectation wasnt even playoffs this year except from clueless fans. the wings are where they should be at best so look at the bigger picture. they are playing meaningful games for the first time in 7/8 years and youre just a fairweather fan

[@TG-ct2uw]

This for sure. We need Jim Mora....You play to win the game... It doesn't matter where you were chosen to be at the beginning of the season, its where you are today and that is what you need to coach. If you go and tell the players, we weren't supposed to be here, its like telling them, you, as their coach, do not believe that they were good enough to be where they are today. Get out of town because that is a losers mentality and it not needed as a coach. You were also not expected to sign a future HOF player in the middle of the season, which gave you another weapon either, but you did.

[@mattmcnick]

@@TG-ct2uw you have no idea whats being said in the locker room, you have no idea what conversations are like between lalonde and yzerman. there is no clue into the dynamics here so if it was really a problem then lalonde would have been shown the door. you can tell how tight the group is and as a team they are not playing into the loser mentality like you say. hes been saying all year they arent good enough to get by on skill alone and how much extra work they need with the details of their game. clearly theres a lot of faith in that locker room if you have been paying even 10% attention

[@caleb-dx7yd]

@@mattmcnick you are delusional buddy. Nice talking points copied and pasted. Typical NPC. If you honestly think that taking some BS % predictions, before the season even starts then you deserve to be in chains as a slave. You’re literally eating up all the sloppy talking points. Those predictions were made before we acquired Kane. The fact of the matter is the wings had a substantial cushy lead and they had many trash teams over a stretch and lost every game including to Arizona twice. I’m a fair weather fan? Buddy, you don’t even know me but what I will say is I have been a fan of one hockey team my whole life and that’s been the Detroit redwings. I just attended the lighting wings game in Tampa and wings fans took over the arena. I was at the very last game played at the Joe Louis arena which was a playoff game (25 years across the redwings logo) against the lighting. Stop spewing vomit and accept the fact that our head coach is a moron that has been talking like it makes sense that we are even in this situation.

[@mgtowdadYouTubeSucksCoxks]

I would question anybody who expected the Red Wings to make the playoffs, let alone win a Stanley Cup. Most of us knew this was a season to transition to next season, more successfully. Anyone who is not happy with our progress, likely does not understand hockey.

[@massivecumshot]

You don't build a Giza Pyramid or a space program or a hockey dynasty in a year. Slow, consistent progress always lasts longer than desperate quick moves. Steve's goal is not 1 playoff season but a DECADE of success and that means finding a winning strategy, building a dynamic team of rooks, youngsters and vets thru draft, free agency and trade, always keeping an eye out for new talent that fills your gaps. Boston and Florida aren't getting any younger and we have a pipeline of talent at most positions. I think we're right where we need to be at this point in the rebuild. At least we're not Toronto.