The Detroit Red Wings are collapsing. After another strong start to the NHL season, Detroit is out of the Stanley Cup playoffs with five games remaining. The Red Wings are two points behind the Ottawa Senators and their Stanley Cup playoff hopes are fading fast.
As of Monday, April 6, Detroit has a record of 4–6–0 in the last 10 games, with only one win in the last five games. In a 4–1 loss against the Minnesota Wild on Easter Sunday, the Red Wings equalized in the third period. Then, Red Wings forward Patrick Kane committed an selfish penalty, leading to a Minnesota power play goal.
After the Senators defeated the Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit is now two points out of the wild card picture without a tiebreaker. Now, the Red Wings need to win at least four of their next five games to make the Stanley Cup playoffs
Detroit Red Wings playoff approach, five games left in 2026
There's an important week of NHL games coming up in Detroit. The Red Wings will need to win at least four games to overtake the Senators. Since Ottawa has the tiebreaker, Detroit needs to earn three more points over the organization in the next five games.
The Red Wings play the Columbus Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers to conclude the regular season. Detroit needs to win games against non-playoff teams, New Jersey and Florida, while looking to win two of three against Columbus, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay.
The biggest issue for the Red Wings is the remaining schedule for the Senators. Ottawa plays New Jersey, Florida, Tampa, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Islanders. Currently four out of five teams are not in the playoffs. Granted, New York is also on the playoff bubble.
If the Senators win four of their next five games, they will advance to the playoffs, even if the Red Wings win all five games. This means Detroit does not need Ottawa to win more than three games if the team can consistently move up in the standings. However, this is only the senators' angle.
The Red Wings will need to get past the Blue Jackets, possibly needing a win on Tuesday night. Detroit also needs to overcome the Islanders, who have a point in an additional matchup. However, Detroit has lost four of its last five games, and its record since the Olympic break is 8-9-3. The goaltending is sluggish while the offensive team is struggling to score in five-on-five play.
Time is running out, and if the Red Wings don't turn the clock around on Tuesday night, their season will end in five games.
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