Nhl Playoff Odds and a Late Collapse Leave Detroit Facing a Fragile Finish
DETROIT — The nhl playoff odds keep getting narrower, and for the Red Wings, Tuesday’s loss felt like another chance slipping through the ice. With 21 seconds left in regulation and a 3-2 lead in hand, Detroit was close to a result that could have steadied a season still searching for traction.
Instead, Columbus tied the game in the final moments and finished the comeback in a shootout, turning what had been a promising home night into another reminder of how little room remains. The Red Wings are now four games from the end of a season that has been defined as much by late breakdowns as by missed chances.
What happened in the final seconds?
Detroit had the defensive-zone faceoff, the lead and the clock on its side. Then Sean Monahan won the draw for Columbus, a set play unfolded quickly, and Adam Fantilli scored to tie the game with 17 seconds left. Five minutes of three-on-three overtime and five rounds of a shootout followed, and Charlie Coyle scored the winner for Columbus.
Dylan Larkin did not hide the frustration afterward. “That’s a letdown, ” he said. “And (in) tough fashion again. Played good 57 minutes, and a good overtime. Not much (positive) to say right now. ”
Head coach Todd McLellan took a slightly broader view, saying, “I liked our effort tonight. ” He pointed to the difference between this game and several others in recent weeks, when early setbacks turned into larger problems. On Tuesday, Detroit stayed in the game, battled, and still left with only one point.
Why does this result matter beyond one night?
Because the margin is now so thin that every late mistake carries more weight. The Red Wings are three points behind Ottawa with four games left, and they no longer have a path through the regulation-wins tiebreaker. That makes the deficit effectively four points, which is a difficult gap with so little time left.
The nhl playoff odds reflect that reality. As of late Tuesday night, Moneypuck had Detroit at 6. 3 percent. That number is not the story by itself, but it matches the mood around the team: a season that once held promise now feels like it is being decided one shift, one faceoff, one late defensive error at a time.
This was also a more competitive showing than some of Detroit’s recent defeats. Yet that can make the outcome sting more, not less. When a team plays well enough to win and still loses, the result can feel like a verdict on the stretch run.
Where have the Red Wings struggled most?
Two mistakes stood out on Tuesday. Axel Sandin-Pellikka turned the puck over behind Detroit’s net just two minutes in, helping create an early deficit. Later, David Perron took two second-period penalties, and one of them set up a Columbus power-play goal.
Those plays fit a broader pattern that has pushed Detroit into this position. Over the last two weeks, the Red Wings have had nights when one lapse has led to another, and games have moved away from them before they could recover. They also have not been able to make up for earlier losses that came with larger margins or weaker starts.
The larger picture is what makes the nhl playoff odds so hard to ignore. Detroit has spent too much of the stretch chasing games instead of controlling them, and even when the effort has improved, the results have not always followed.
What are the Red Wings trying to hold onto now?
There is still a small opening, and the team has not been eliminated. The point from Tuesday means the Red Wings cannot be eliminated Thursday against Philadelphia, which at least preserves the possibility of a late push.
McLellan said the team’s energy and game management were better than in previous outings, calling the second period “pretty even” and noting the “battles” and “blocked shots” as positive signs. Those details matter because they suggest the group is still competing, even as the standings tell a harsh story.
For Detroit, the task now is not to rewrite the season in one night. It is to keep surviving long enough for the final week to matter. The nhl playoff odds remain low, but the Red Wings are still playing for the chance to make that number feel less final.
Image caption: Nhl Playoff Odds narrow further after Detroit’s late collapse against Columbus left the Red Wings with only a slim path forward.
