Detroit City Wire

The Detroit Red Wings are entering a pivotal April as they aim to secure a Stanley Cup Playoffs berth. Their path to the playoffs requires navigating a challenging schedule comprised of nine games, six on the road and three at Little Caesars Arena, all against playoff-bound teams. As of late March, five teams in the Eastern Conference were separated by a mere three points for the remaining Wild-Card spot, intensifying the competition.

"It is what it is, right? Like after [Saturday’s win], now we’re going into it," said Patrick Kane regarding their upcoming fixtures. "We were talking about it…you win one game, you're one point out. Suddenly, the Rangers and Canadiens win, and you’re three points out. So that's just kind of the nature of the situation we're in. You can look at it and study it, but it comes down to winning hockey games ourselves. Obviously, we're going to need to have a good record here down the stretch, but we need to focus on tomorrow and try to try to get the two points."

The Red Wings are set to face the surging St. Louis Blues, who are on a nine-game winning streak, on Tuesday night at the Enterprise Center. "They’ve won nine in a row, and someone's probably going to stop that at some point," commented Kane about the Blues. "Hopefully, it's us and it gives us a lot of momentum and confidence the rest of the way. It’ll be a great test for us. They’re firing on all cylinders right now."

Head coach Todd McLellan praised Blues' head coach Jim Montgomery, stating, "My son played for him for three years at [the University of Denver], so I got to know him pretty well. If there was a coach that Tyson could go back and play for, it's probably him, so he's done a real good job with his team."

Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin shed light on the team's strategy against St. Louis. "I think they forecheck really hard," Larkin said. "We saw some video this morning, and we're going to have to be ready for that. We're going to have to break the puck out well."

McLellan emphasized the need for cohesive team play. "I thought when we were winning more than we were losing, we played more as five instead of four or three in both zones," he explained. "Whether it was the forecheck or breakout, you have to be connected on both sides of the puck."