As a season riddled with injuries comes to a close, the Detroit Red Wings find themselves in a new position, fighting for a playoff seed. Rather than comfortably trying not to lose the President’s Trophy, the Wings are vying for the final few spots in the West along with five other teams, the Nashville Predators, Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, and Minnesota Wild. Although this seems like a surprise to the many casual hockey fans, I, personally, am shocked they are even in the playoff picture.

With Filppula, Franzen, Williams, Cleary, Lilja and Kronwall out for an extended period at the start of the year, I don’t think many experts could foresee this surge at the end of the year. The team struggled through the mid-months and players slowly crept back into the lineup come February, where the Olympic break stalled the return to the NHL. After a good Olympic “preseason” for a player like Franzen, it was time to make a playoff run.

Here we are now in the midst of the first Red Wing playoff run I have seen in my lifetime. The team finally resembles the Red Wings I’ve loved, and with two solid victories over Minnesota and Chicago behind them, I see a strong run coming in the near future.