Without Even Playing, Detroit Moves Into The Playoffs

With an off-night on Monday, the Wings still managed to move into 8th place in the Western Conference thanks to a St. Louis Blues victory over the slumping Calgary Flames. In losing their 6th straight game the Flames now have played more games than the Wings with the same number of points, thus bumping them down to 9th in the West.


Aside from San Jose and Chicago, the West is still pretty tight. If the Wings can put together a decent winning streak similar to what the Canucks and Avalanche have done, they'll be right back near the top of the conference where they belong. With players like Kronwall, Lilja, Williams, and maybe even Franzen set to return shortly, this group will have the players needed to make a strong push in the second half of the season.

It's never a great strategy, but in addition to winning some games of our own, we need to rely on some unlikely allies to help us out. For example, tonight, I will be a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs. (that just felt wrong typing it) The Leafs are playing the Kings, and a Leafs win in regulation combined with a Wings victory over the Coyotes will provide some breathing room in 8th over Calgary, as well as pull us closer to two of the teams we are chasing. It's a big night, and I hope the boys know it.