Red Wings find themselves in unusual position

Although the Red Wings are not out of the playoff picture (in fact they are currently in eighth place in the Western Conference), they are in some unusual territory. The Red Wings are usually sitting either at or close to the top of the Western Conference at this point in the year. They have finished first in the Central Division for the last eight years, and haven't missed the playoffs since the '89-'90 season. They would usually be described as the hunted, but at this point in time they are the hunters. They have been plagued by injuries this whole season, including losing top superstars like Johan Franzen and Niklas Kronwall for extended periods of time. Despite the injuries, the Wings are still in the thick of things, but they need to scrap for every point they can get. The Wings have only won two games in their last five, but they have gotten six points out of it. They have been playing tough and that should help later in the season. The next eight games can really help out the Wings standings, they have five games against teams that are ahead of them in the Western Conference (also one of those eight is against the defending Stanley Cup champions). If the Wings can get some kind of win streak going they can find themselves in a very good position as they head into the Olympic break.