Overview
- Detroit lost 5-4 to Minnesota, following Sunday’s rally that tied the game before Kirill Kaprizov finished a hat trick on a late power play after a Patrick Kane penalty.
- The Red Wings trail the Senators by two points for the final wild-card spot, and Ottawa holds the tiebreaker that would favor them if the teams finish level.
- Models such as MoneyPuck now put Detroit’s playoff odds near 15%, reflecting a 4-6-0 stretch over the last 10 games and one win in the last five.
- Slow starts keep sinking Detroit, with only eight shots through two periods Sunday and a bad line change preceding Minnesota’s fourth goal, after falling behind by three or more in five of the last seven games.
- Five games remain starting Tuesday against Columbus, then Philadelphia, New Jersey, Tampa Bay and Florida, and Detroit likely needs to win most of them to stay in the race.