As the Detroit Red Wings resume their 2013-14 season, the remaining schedule looks more like a sprint than a marathon.
The Red Wings' return to action is highlighted by back-to-back games on the road Wednesday and Thursday (at Montreal and Ottawa, respectively), followed by a March schedule that will see them play 15 games in 26 days.
With just a fingernail's grasp on the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, Detroit will need something close to a good luck charm to earn enough points over their remaining 24 games to qualify for the postseason.
That good luck charm may just turn out to be the guy behind the bench.
Mike Babcock, fresh off his second straight Olympic gold medal, will need to find a way to motivate a team that remains an odd patchwork of ailing veterans and unproven youngsters to play better and more consistently than they have all season.
If the Red Wings make the playoffs, it will be because they finished the season playing as a team greater than the sum of its parts—that’s a trick only a coach can pull off.
Realistically, the Red Wings w ...
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Article written by Matt Hutter
Only Mike Babcock Can Extend the Detroit Red Wings’ 22-Year Playoff Streak
February 25th, 2014 by Matt Hutter Leave a reply »
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