Detroit, MI

Poised Detroit Red Wings stay in playoff race, but at some point will need outside help

Published

2 years ago

April 14, 2024

Press Room

Poised Detroit Red Wings stay in playoff race, but at some point will need outside help

TORONTO — It felt, Dylan Larkin said, like he was breathing through his eyes.

There was 2:45 to play in regulation, the game was tied, and the Detroit Red Wings needed at least a point to keep their playoff chase alive. A penalty to Patrick Kane meant dealing with the Toronto Maple Leafs’ power play, and Auston Matthews chasing his 70th goal.

Larkin didn’t want to miss a second of trying to deny Matthews, of denying the Leafs, of stoking his own team’s hopes.

“I think I was on the ice for most of the penalty kill there at the end,” he said, “so I was breathing through my eyes and just trying to gut it out.”

QUICK AS A CAT: Wings added Alex DeBrincat to push into playoffs. Now’s the time to step up

Gut it out: It’s what the Wings did as a group to emerge from Scotiabank Arena on Saturday with a 5-4 victory in overtime — sealed by Larkin — that kept them in the chase for a playoff spot as they head into Monday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. The Wings’ finale comes Tuesday at Montreal, and at some point they will need help from outside, but for them to get two points on the road — that was worth enjoying, as hard as the task to advance remains.

“We know what’s at stake,” Larkin said. “We kept saying, we need the two points. To get to this point, I’m not happy we’re in this position, fighting for our lives, but in Pittsburgh and at home against Washington, we’ve been fighting for our lives here. The sacrifice, the attitude of the guys has been unbelievable. We got rewarded for all the hard work we’ve done the last stretch here where we haven’t been getting rewarded.”

The Wings reached 87 points with the victory, but remained on the outside of the playoff picture because the Washington Capitals also won to reach 87 points, and hold the tiebreaker with 30 regulation wins to Detroit’s 27. The Wings need the Capitals to come up short in one of their last two games to advance.

That isn’t something the Wings can control, but they have controlled their emotions and not let themselves get rattled, from game to game, period to period. They were up 4-1 after the first period Saturday and it was 4-4 after the second.

“You’re just kind of in the moment and this group has done it all year long,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “I love their mentality. They stay poised in a lot of situations. As great as we were at the end of the third, to get that kill, and to get a power play in overtime, I loved our approach in the third. It was a very emotional rollercoaster: We get the 4-1 lead, and then our second period – we just stressed about staying on task in the third. I thought our third period was excellent and we got what we deserved: Two full points.

“This group, I get it, we’re not perfect like anyone else battling for this last playoff spot. The self-evaluation in the offseason, there’ll be a lot to look at. It’s been a unique up-and-down season. But it would be really hard, really hard, to knock this team’s compete and mental toughness. That’s pretty impressive.”

Larkin led the way, and fittingly, put the game away in overtime when he saw Patrick Kane had the puck on his stick and knew to go to the net. The overtime goal was ninth of Larkin’s career, tying him with Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan for second most in franchise history, behind Sergei Fedorov’s 12.

“It was one of the biggest of my career and I’m hoping this year to have some more big goals,” Larkin said. “You can’t feel any better. I knew Kaner was going to look for that play and I knew I just had to have my stick on the ice and he was going to hit it. I didn’t even see it go in, but I saw Kaner, how excited he was, see all the boys rush over. What a feeling.”

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her @helenestjames.

Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

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Detroit, MI

Lions no longer control own destiny to postseason after loss to Rams

Published

8 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Lions no longer control own destiny to postseason after loss to Rams

Inglewood, Calif. — Despite all the errors and issues facing them this season, the Detroit Lions entered Sunday relying on one reassuring truth: They controlled their own destiny for a spot in the postseason.

Following a 41-34 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium, that is no longer the case.

The Lions will now not only have to win their remaining games in the regular season, but also get some help from other teams as they hope to jump the San Francisco 49ers (10-4), Chicago Bears (10-4) or Green Bay Packers (9-4-1) for one of the NFC’s top seven seeds.

Detroit’s best path to the playoffs remains finishing better than the Bears, who host the Lions in Week 18. The Lions, with a win in the finale, could secure a tiebreaker over Chicago. Put simply: If the Bears lose one of their next two contests (vs. the Packers and at the 49ers) and Detroit wins out, the Lions would bounce them from the playoffs.

“We’ve got to take it one week at time, that’s the biggest thing. … Don’t look too far ahead, don’t start counting games (or) looking at teams,” said receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who had 164 yards and two touchdowns against the Rams. “Just focus on the task at hand, the team we’ve got up. Put all your energy into that and take it one week at a time.”

Next up for the Lions is a home tilt with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who play the Miami Dolphins on Monday. Following that will be road tests at the Minnesota Vikings and Bears. The Lions were upset by Minnesota in Week 9 but smoked Chicago in Week 2, though the Bears have won all but two of their games since.

Sunday’s result in Los Angeles doesn’t change the already heightened level of urgency the team had heading into the game, linebacker Jack Campbell said: “Every game in the NFL, you’ve got to be urgent. You’ve got win every single game. That’s what it comes down to, and we haven’t been doing that. We put ourselves in this position. … I feel like every guy in this locker room’s been urgent since we showed up (for training camp).”

Dan Campbell’s Lions have been praised for their resolve over the last handful of years. They showed it last season, when they marched to 15 wins in spite of being the NFL’s most injured team. They’ll need that quality over the next three weeks — they haven’t won consecutive games since Week 5 — in addition to some luck.

“I believe in the guys on this team (and) the character of the players on this team, our captains, the core of it. … I know we can do it. These players know we can do it,” Campbell said. “You go back to work, man. I don’t believe for one second anybody’s lost confidence. … We’ve got three to go here. We don’t control our own destiny, but we need to win these three, and it starts with Pittsburgh at home.”

rsilva@detroitnews.com

@rich_silva18

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Detroit, MI

What are Detroit Lions’ NFL playoffs odds? Latest playoff picture

Published

20 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

What are Detroit Lions’ NFL playoffs odds? Latest playoff picture

The Detroit Lions needed some help from an AFC rival to improve their playoff odds before their Week 15 matchup, but they didn’t get the outcome they desired.

The Lions (8-5, 3rd in NFC North) are facing off against the NFC’s top-seeded Los Angeles Rams (10-3, 1st in NFC West) on Sunday, Dec. 14, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. As the NFC’s No. 8 seed, the Lions entered the day with a 54% chance to make the playoffs per NFL Next Gen Stats, but those odds fell with the result in Chicago.

With the No. 7-seeded Chicago Bears hosting the 3-10 Cleveland Browns, Lions fans were hoping for a Browns upset to drop the Bears to 9-5 and allow the Lions to move into a playoff position with a win, since a 9-5 Lions team would own a tiebreaker over Chicago (thanks to their Week 2 victory). However, the Bears took care of business on a frigid day at Soldier Field, beating the Browns, 31-3, to improve to 10-4.

With the Bears beating the Browns, the Lions playoff odds have now lowered to 52% ahead of their game against the Rams (4:25 p.m., Fox). Here’s a look at what the rest of the NFC playoff picture looks like, including how a Lions win can help improve their position.

Lions playoff scenarios

Here’s the latest info on how the Lions can make it into the NFL playoffs, how they could miss out and what their playoff odds are.

What are Lions’ odds to make NFL playoffs?

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Lions have a 52% chance of making the playoffs. If they beat the Rams, they will have a 73% chance to make the postseason, but those odds drop to 40% with a loss.

NFC playoff standings

Only the top seven teams make the playoffs in each conference. Here are the NFC standings entering the Lions Week 15 game against the Rams, with playoff odds from NFL Next Gen Stats:

Rams: 10-3, 97%
Packers: 9-3-1, 92%
Eagles: 9-5, 95%
Panthers: 7-6, 47%
Seahawks: 10-3, 97%
Bears, 10-4, 68%
49ers: 9-4, 93%
*Lions: 8-5, 52%
*Buccaneers: 7-7, 54%
*Cowboys: 6-6-1, 8%

*Currently out of the playoffs

How Lions can make NFL playoffs

The Lions still control their own playoff destiny despite currently being out of the playoff picture as the No. 8 seed. However, if the Lions lose any of their four remaining regular-season games, they will need additional outcomes to break their way in order to make it to the postseason.

If the Lions go 4-0 in their remaining regular-season games and finish 12-5, they will make the playoffs no matter the outcome of any other game (and have an outside shot of grabbing the No. 1 seed in the NFC).
If the Lions go 3-1 in their final four games and finish 11-6, they will still make the playoffs if the Bears go 1-2 in their final three games and one of those two losses is to Detroit. An 11-6 Lions team could also theoretically overtake the San Francisco 49ers for a wild-card spot, but that would require the 49ers to lose three of their last four games.
If the Lions go 2-2 in their final four games and finish 10-7, they will have a very difficult time of making the playoffs, especially if one of those losses is to Chicago. In that scenario, either the Rams or 49ers would need to lose all four of their remaining regular-season games for the Lions to make the playoffs.
If the Lions go 1-3 in their final four games and finish 9-8, they will have virtually no shot at making the playoffs unless that one win is against the Bears – and Detroit’s playoff odds would still be minute even with a win in Chicago.
The Lions will be eliminated from playoff contention if they go 0-4 in their final four games and finish 8-9 on the season.

Lions schedule: Next game, final stretch

Week 16, Sunday, Dec. 21: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 4:25 p.m., CBS.
Week 17, Thursday, Dec. 25: at Minnesota Vikings, 4:30 p.m., Netflix.
Week 18, Saturday/Sunday, Jan. 3-4: at Chicago Bears, TBD.

Bears schedule: Next game, final stretch

Week 16, Saturday, Dec. 20: vs Green Bay Packers, 8:20 p.m. ET, Fox.
Week 17, Sunday, Dec. 28: at San Francisco 49ers, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC.
Week 18, Saturday/Sunday, Jan. 3-4: vs Detroit Lions, TBD.

When do NFL playoffs start?

The wild-card round is Jan. 10-12.

NFL playoffs schedule

Wild-card round: Jan. 10-12.
Divisional round: Jan. 17-18.
Conference championships: Jan. 25.
Super Bowl 60: Feb. 8.

Need to catch up on the news during your lunch break? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports!

You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.

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Detroit, MI

EPA wrongly found Detroit area safe for smog, judge rules in split decision

Published

1 day ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

EPA wrongly found Detroit area safe for smog, judge rules in split decision

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was wrong to determine Michigan met federal health and environmental standards for ozone pollution or smog in the Detroit area in 2023, a federal appeals court judge has ruled.

U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Helene White on Dec. 5 issued a split decision in a case about how environmental regulators measured Detroit air quality in 2022, when wildfire smoke drifted over Detroit and affected the air quality monitor readings for a few days in June.

Michigan considered those days “exceptional events” because of the wildfire smoke and didn’t include the high ozone pollution readings in its calculation to the EPA.

With those days tossed, the state was able to argue in 2023 that Michigan met federal air quality standards for ground-level ozone pollution. The seven-county Metro Detroit region had previously been out of compliance with the ozone standards.

The Sierra Club sued, arguing the wildfire smoke did not meaningfully change ozone readings and that the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy failed to analyze how local pollution sources contributed to the ozone levels on those days. The environmental advocacy group also challenged the EPA’s finding that the region met federal standards for ozone pollution.

White determined the exceptional events designation was appropriate, siding against the Sierra Club in deciding the EPA and EGLE correctly analyzed the smoke’s impact on ozone readings in June 2022.

She sided against EPA in deciding the EPA was wrong to put Michigan back into attainment for ground-level ozone without Michigan adopting control measures that would cut volatile organic compounds, which contribute to ozone pollution.

EPA determined the Detroit area was out of attainment for ground-level ozone on April 13, 2022. Michigan regulators did not impose control technologies for ozone-causing pollutants by the deadline in early 2023. Instead, they asked EPA to redesignate the area as in attainment with the air quality rules.

Michigan was obligated to implement control technologies even though it had submitted a redesignation request, White said in her order. Control technologies include efforts to reduce volatile organic compounds from being released from manufacturing plants and industrial sources, according to EPA documents.

Sierra Club member and Detroit environmental justice activist Dolores Leonard cheered the outcome of the case.

“Without this victory, EPA’s decisions would have let Michigan avoid the rules needed to reduce pollution and keep the air we breathe safe,” Leonard said. “At a time when asthma rates are rising in Detroit, especially in Black communities, that’s unacceptable. With the backing of this federal court decision, our community will continue to push the state of Michigan to take much-needed action to relieve ozone pollution in this area.”

The Clean Air Act requires those pollution control measures to be implemented even after the EPA puts an area back into attainment to ensure the air quality remains healthy, said Nick Leonard, executive director of Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, which argued the Sierra Club’s case.

White’s order means the EGLE will have to reapply for the attainment of the ozone standard, Leonard said.

“At the very least, I would say they have to correct the legal deficiency, which was that they didn’t enact the pollution control rules that are typically required for areas that are in non-attainment for this long,” he said.

The EPA is reviewing the decision, its press office said. The office did not respond to a question about whether it would ask Michigan to adopt volatile organic compound control measures as a result of White’s decision.

The EGLE also is reviewing the ruling, spokesman Dale George said.

“While EGLE was not a party to the case and is not able to speak in detail about the legal outcome, we were encouraged that the court supported the use of exceptional events demonstrations and acknowledged the sound science behind EGLE’s determination that the Detroit area met the health-based ozone standard,” George said.

Leonard said he was disappointed but not surprised that White ruled against the Sierra Club’s arguments that EGLE and the EPA did not correctly account for wildfire smoke’s impact on ozone readings in 2022.

That issue is going to plague communities as climate change causes northern wildfires to become more common and kick smoke into Michigan, he predicted.

“If we start to essentially cut out bad air quality days because of the claim they were partially influenced by wildfire smoke … , you create this disconnect between the regulatory systems that are meant to protect people and the actual air pollution that people are breathing,” Leonard said.

ckthompson@detroitnews.com

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