Detroit Red Wings: With Chicago and San Jose Closing Fast, Top Seed Is No Lock

When it comes to the Western Conference playoff race, the ridiculously small point differential between teams looking in or outside of the playoff picture has most pundits slapping their collective heads in disbelief on a nightly basis.

Indeed, currently only four points separate the 11th seed Minnesota Wild from the fourth seed Chicago Blackhawks.

There was a time in the NHL when any talk about a race for a playoff spot in March typically referred only to the seventh and eighth positions, the other six having long since been more or less secured.

Now, we find that predicting who will finish where in the NHL standings is about as easy as guessing what brand of "crazy" will come across Charlie Sheen's Twitter account next.

Still, for much of the past month, pundits and fans alike figured that if any spots in the Western Conference were secure, the Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings' hold on the No. 1 and No. 2 slots, respectively, were exactly that.

So much for that assessment.

Though the Canucks were as much as 10 points ahead of Detroit mere weeks ago, the Red Wings have now narrowed the gap to just four points.

Likewise, it seems like yesterday the Red Wings maintained a safe, eight-point cushion over the Sharks. 

Now, San Jose has the chance to trim that buffer to three points, should they beat the visiting Red Wings on Thursday night.

Then there's the Chicago Blackhawks.

After going through much of this season in a fashion so turbulent it made their head coach sick enough to take a three-day trip to the hospital, the Blackhawks are white hot and seem to have finally shaken loose of what must have been a colossal Stanley Cup hangover.

True, the 'Hawks are a comfortable nine points behind the Wings in the Central Division standings, but, as the previous examples have shown, even a "safe" lead is hardly that anymore in the Western Conference.

By this time next week, it is conceivable that a look at the standings will show that Detroit has fallen to the third seed, supplanted by San Jose, and is now just four points ahead of Chicago in the Central Division.

And you thought the battle to get into the playoff picture was fierce.

Though the 2009-10 Western Conference finalists have spent much of this season figuring out when exactly to start winning, the Sharks and 'Hawks' blistering win streaks of late (seven and six games, respectively) should have the Red Wings more than a little concerned about their cushy position at the top of the standings.

This being the case, it is time for the Detroit Red Wings to go on an extended win streak of their own.

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