The Detroit Red Wings are knocking on the door of a long-awaited return to the postseason - and this time, it could come with some long-overdue history.
At 33-19-6, the Red Wings sit third in the Atlantic Division and are firmly in the playoff picture as we head into the final stretch of the 2025-26 NHL season. For a franchise that made the playoffs 25 straight years from 1990-91 through 2015-16 - lifting the Stanley Cup four times in that span - the current drought has been uncharacteristically long. But now, with just 24 games left, Detroit is in position to finally flip the script.
And no one feels that more than Dylan Larkin.
The Red Wings captain has been the heartbeat of this team through the rebuild, and he’s the only player on the current roster who was there for Detroit’s last playoff run in 2015-16. That makes this potential return to the postseason especially meaningful - not just for the fans, but for Larkin himself.
“It would be unbelievable to play a playoff game - the first playoff game at Little Caesars Arena in hockey history,” Larkin said. “It would mean a lot to our fans and mean a lot to me.
It’s not all about me, but being here through some tough days and getting into the playoffs, I believe our team can do some damage. I hope our fans do as well.”
That playoff game Larkin’s talking about would be a first for Little Caesars Arena, which opened in the 2017-18 season. The Wings haven’t hosted a postseason game since April 19, 2016, when they fell 3-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Joe Louis Arena. That series ended in five games, and the franchise has been chasing another shot at the playoffs ever since.
Now, nearly a decade later, the opportunity is real - but far from guaranteed.
The Red Wings have a slim lead in the standings. They’re just two points ahead of the Buffalo Sabres and three up on the Boston Bruins, both of whom currently hold wild-card spots.
Meanwhile, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals are lurking just outside the playoff window, seven points back. With 24 games remaining, every shift, every save, and every point is going to matter.
Larkin knows exactly what’s at stake.
“I’ve grown up in Michigan and grew up a Red Wings fan. I was on the team the last time we were in the playoffs,” he said. “It’s been 10 years, and we’re off to a great - I want to say start - but we’re already almost 60 games into the season, and coming up to the break here, there’s not a lot of time left.”
That’s the reality of the NHL grind. There’s no coasting into the postseason - not in this division, not with this much parity. But the Red Wings have put themselves in a position to control their own fate, and that’s all you can ask for in February.
When they return from the Olympic break on February 26, they’ll hit the road to face the Ottawa Senators - a matchup that kicks off a critical final stretch. Until then, Larkin will wear the red, white, and blue for Team USA, skating on the third line as the Americans chase gold in Milan at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
But rest assured, his eyes will be on more than just the podium. Because when he returns, there’s a chance to lead the Red Wings into something they haven’t experienced in nearly a decade: playoff hockey in Detroit - and for the first time ever, at Little Caesars Arena.