from John Niyo of the Detroit News,

Detroit now sits seven points behind Montreal for the last Atlantic Division playoff spot, and suddenly among a handful of teams looking up at Toronto and Columbus for the two wild-card berths in the Eastern Conference.

And while this five-game homestand was billed as a chance for the Wings to find some traction before next month’s Olympic break and the stretch run that’ll follow, it may prove to be just the opposite.

Because for a team that has forgotten what home ice is all about in the NHL — the Wings hadn’t played here since Dec. 23 and they’ve won just seven of 25 games in Detroit all season – looks can be deceiving.

Next up are the defending Stanley Cup champs from Chicago – the hope is Jonas Gustavsson will be able to start in net after his own three-week absence — followed by a decent Montreal team they haven’t seen and a bad Florida team they can’t beat.

“Yeah, for sure,” said Justin Abdelkader, when asked if players were starting to notice the shadows looming in the standings. “We’re starting to slip a little bit. We’ve got to get rolling here.”

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