When you’re up 5-2 in the final six minutes of a game, you really should win that game. That’s why I was completely relaxed as the Wings entered the final six minutes of their game against the New York Islanders on Friday. I already had a name and image for the post-game report. So when the Isles climbed back into the game with four goals on the same 5-minute major powerplay, my mouth was agape.

Let me be clear on this: this loss was not on Tyler Bertuzzi. He did an incredibly stupid thing by retaliating to Cal Clutterbuck’s unprompted shove, but the Wings penalty kill completely collapsed. It was the icing on the disappointing cake that was their week.

After losing in heartbreaking fashion against the Florida Panthers last Saturday, the Wings were looking to bounce back against another division rival in the Boston Bruins. They had built great momentum in their win against the San Jose Sharks and their game against the Panthers, but they came out completely flat against the Bruins in a 3-2 loss. Even with Brad Marchand out of the lineup, they walked all over the Wings, out-shooting them 22-10 and out-attempting them 40-21 at 5v5 through the first two periods. The Wings had a better third period, but it wasn’t enough to come back. They had goals from Martin Frk and Frans Nielsen.

In the Islanders, the Wings had an opponent who they are battling with in the race for the final Wild Card spot. What was really heartbreaking about this loss is that Detroit completely out-played the Isles for most of the game. In one of their best first periods of the season, scoring three unanswered goals. They continued their dominance in the second period, out-shooting the Islanders 9-1 and out-attempting them 22-5 at 5v5. It was the third period where it all went sideways as the Islanders came out hungry, scoring in the opening minutes to start to close the gap. I’m not going to go through the collapse. Tom Mitsos did a great job of breaking it down yesterday.

What a week from our captain as Zetterberg put up four points in the 7-6 OT loss against the Islanders. It’s amazing to me how he always manages to turn his game up in the second half of the year. Or maybe he stays the same and everyone around him starts to slow down. Whatever it is, Zetterberg is damn impressive for a 37-year-old.

Frk is enjoying a bit of a hot streak right now as he scored in each game this week. One of his goals was on the powerplay. Anthony Mantha got back on the board this week as well, putting up two goals against the Islanders. The kids have been pretty quiet lately, so it’s nice to see them producing again.

A couple disappointments who are not on the pointboard this week are Andreas Athanasiou and Tomas Tatar. With the trade deadline approaching, both of these players have been theorized to be available. They need to be playing at their best offensively if we want to maximize a return on them. More than that, though, they are two of the Wings best shooters and the team needs them to be producing in order to win games.

If Henrik Zetterberg keeps up this amazing play, he’s going to surpass Dylan Larkin for the team lead in points any game now. He’s currently on pace for 58 points. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him break the 60 point barrier for the second season in a row.

Also of note is Martin Frk breaking the 20 point marker in his rookie season. He’s having a much more productive season than I thought he would. My bad take for the season was that Frk would be waived early and clear. He’s obviously proved me wrong.

Detroit is definitely going to lose one of their top-5 point leaders at the trade deadline in Mike Green. What happens when he’s gone? Who is going to fill that points gap? It’s not going to be Nick Jensen or Xavier Ouellet and it’s certainly not going to be a call-up from Grand Rapids. The answer is no one. Green is helping this team tread water. When he’s gone, that’s when the Fallin’ is really going to start.

The Wings managed some consistent play over the last couple of weeks, but it completely plummeted against the Panthers. That’s why losing that game hurt so much. They held on all game and had the chance to steal a win.

That big line at the end is the game against the Islanders. It was probably their best possession game of the season. What a brutal way for it to end. That being said, it was one of the more exciting endings we’ve had all season.

Tyler Bertuzzi had a rough week, but he still managed to put a point up as he assisted on one of Frk’s goals. Anthony Mantha looks really good at the top of this chart. He’s been playing pretty well as of late and the goals are starting to follow.

Ouellet is also at the top of this chart, but hasn’t played this week. I expect him to be traded at the deadline, so he’ll likely disappear from this chart in the coming weeks.

Frk continues to impress me at 5v5. He was always touted as a powerplay specialist, but his 5-on-5 play has been fantastic this year, with pretty even deployment in all areas of the ice. He’s by no means a superstar player, but he’s been a solid bottom-6 grinder with the possibility of being a game breaker at any moment.

They may have only played two games this week, but these losses could be the final nails in the Red Wings 2017-18 coffin. They are quickly falling out of the Wild Card race.

10 points out doesn’t feel that big when you think it’s five wins, but you’re also hoping for five other teams to go on massive losing streaks, which just isn’t going to happen. Detroit needs to stick to the rebuild, sell at the deadline, and draft as high as possible. Like I said earlier, once Green is gone, there will be a huge scoring gap that the Wings won’t be able to fill. Expect them to fall even further out of the wild card race once that happens.

The Wings Nation player of the week is Henrik Zetterberg. Our beautiful, wonderful captain put up a massive four points on Friday as he continues to lead the team and teach them the Red Wings way. He never gives up, never surrenders, and always works his ass off. At 37-years-old, he’ll probably score 60 points again this year. He’s been great.

In conclusion, I believe that this week was the beginning of the end for the Red Wings season. Even with Henrik Zetterberg playing at his best and the kids producing again, if you can’t close out a game where you’re leading 5-2 in the final six minutes, you can’t compete in a best-of-seven playoff series.

With the trade deadline approaching, expect this team to get even worse. At the very least, they part ways with Mike Green. That’s at the very least. They could also move players like Petr Mrazek, Andreas Athanasiou, and one of Gustav Nyquist or Tomas Tatar. In either case, this team is going to start fallin’ very soon. And they’ll be #FallinForDahlin.

The Wings schedule isn’t getting any easier with four games on the docket this week, none of them against weak or easy teams.

Sunday, February 11 – @ Washington Capitals, 3:00 P.M. ET

Tuesday, February 13 – vs. Anaheim Ducks, 7:30 P.M. ET

Thursday, February 15 – @ Tampa Bay Lightning, 7:30 P.M. ET

Saturday, February 17 – @ Nashville Predators, 8:00 P.M. ET

Always check back to WingsNation.com on game day as we’ll have the pre-game reports up complete with roster updates, starting goalies, and competitive scouting. Have a good week everyone!