Detroit Red Wings see their playoff chase boosted by Petr Mrázek, Lucas Raymond
One of their top scorers breaking out of a drought and their newest goaltender imbuing a sense of confidence is giving the Detroit Red Wings renewed hope.
They remain on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture — with three teams to jump just to get into a wild-card spot — but maybe the past week can be something to build off. The Wings (32-29-6, 70 points) play their next four games on the road, starting Tuesday at the Washington Capitals, but do so coming off having shut out the Vegas Golden Knights, 3-0, at Little Caesars Arena Sunday.
Beyond the result, what stood out was Lucas Raymond scoring a goal for the first time in 11 games. Raymond was a linchpin in last year's race towards a playoff spot, cramming 12 points into the last eight games, with eight of those points over the last four games of the 2023-24 season.
Sunday's goal was Raymond's 22nd of this season.
"You could feel a sense of relief for Lucas after he scored," coach Todd McLellan said. "When players that score often go in a dry spell, there’s a lot of weight on their shoulders and they begin to focus on that instead of some other things that they need to be doing.
"I’m not sure if Razor got to that point or not, but perhaps this will help him clear things up .He can shoot the puck and he’s a smart player and gritty and all that, but when he’s skating, he’s so much effective, and maybe that goal will free him up a little bit more and we’ll get him back on a regular basis."
Raymond's goal helped the Wings win for the second time in three games. The Golden Knights were not at their best, playing for the third time in four days and second on the weekend, but the Wings desperately needed the two points, starved after recently enduring a stretch of six straight losses in regulation.
Sunday's victory, along with the 7-3 drubbing of the lowly Buffalo Sabres on March 12, both featured trade-deadline acquisition Petr Mrázek in net. He's started three straight — and likely to start again Tuesday in Washington — posting a 2.01 goals-against average and .920 save percentage since essentially displacing both Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon.
"His performance was excellent," McLellan said. "They didn’t have many shots but they had some difficult ones that got through traffic and it was last-minute type saves and then they scrambled around the paint. I thought he handled it well.
"He’s giving us some confidence. This is not a swing at the other two goalies, but you just feel it on the bench. When a save is made, the energy that’s on the bench right now, with Petr in the pipes — even when the puck goes in, there’s not a big sag. We sense that, we feel it."
For Mrázek, bumped from the rotation after the Chicago Blackhawks acquired Spencer Knight shortly before the trade deadline, getting to play meaningful games is his own rejuvenation.
"Playing those three games in a row definitely helps," he said. "I hadn’t played for a while before and once you’re playing, you get your confidence back, your swagger back. I felt every game I’ve played, better and better.
"When you’re battling for a playoff spot, that’s the best time of the year. We know where we are right now. The excitement, it’s not just me, it’s around the room every day. We know what we’re signed up for, we know what we have left in 15 games. That’s the excitement for us and we’re looking forward to the challenge."
A challenge it will be: The Wings have just five games left at home, and 14 of their 15 games are against opponents above them in the standings.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings playoff chase: Petr Mrázek gives team confidence
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