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The NHL All-Star break over, the Detroit Red Wings must now get down to business of trying to repair the damage that they’ve done to their playoff hopes through the first 49 games of the season.
“I think everyone knows what’s in store for us here and what the future has in store for us,” forward Andreas Athanasiou told reporters. “I think everyone knows what they have to do individually.
“As a team I think it’s something we’re going to work on every day and just take it one day at a time.”
The Wings, playoff participants every season since 1990-91, currently sit 14th overall in the Eastern Conference and seven points in arrears of a playoff spot as they prepare for Tuesday’s game at Joe Louis Arena against the New Jersey Devils.
“Every game from now on is huge,” forward Dylan Larkin said. “We’re trying to catch teams, and obviously we’re tied with teams. I think we’re tied with the team we’re playing tomorrow night, so it starts the first game back.”
How they will achieve this goal is something the Wings have talked about plenty, but acting on their words with any sort of consistency has proven elusive.
“We have our work cut out for us, that’s for sure,” goalie Jimmy Howard said. “We’ve been in playoff hockey for quite a while. We have to find a way to just go out there and get two points every single night. The important thing is getting two points in regulation.”
How they will make that happen is a blueprint that they’ve often discussed this season but rarely implemented, other than during a six-game winning streak back in October.
“There’s no reason why we couldn’t (do that again),” Howard said. “We’ve done it once already this season at the beginning of the year. It’s just that we need everything to come together all at once.
“We need a goalie to get hot, we have to play well in our defensive zone and figure out a way to get the power play going.”
Larkin didn’t pull any punches when assessing what it’s going to take for the Wings to extend their playoff appearance streak to 26 seasons.
“We’ve got to be consistently playing like we know we can,” Larkin said. “When we’re on, we’re a dangerous team. We need to flip a switch permanently until the end of the season.
“I think for us we feel a little comfortable and then we come out and lose a few games and we get back to where it’s must win time.
“Right now it’s must win time for us.”
Howard’s Plan
Larkin will be back Tuesday following a two-game absence with an upper body injury and Howard (knee) also was back with the team on the ice Monday, looking ahead to his own rehab mission.
“I feel good,” Howard said. “I feel excited to be back out there with the guys and look forward to getting down to (AHL GRand Rapids) and playing (on a rehab assignment). I’m not really sure when that’s going to happen just yet, but right now it feels good just to be back out there.
“I’m going to play two (games) down there, we just don’t know which ones. I don’t want to say something and then not follow up on it. We’ll just leave it at that right now.
“I had some really good skates leading up to the break. I skated once over the break. I felt good there, no issues with the knee whatsoever. Now it’s just to get out there and practice really hard with the guys and see how it responds there and if it responds good through the week, I’ll head down there.”
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