Will Red Wings Be In a Playoff Position on American Thanksgiving?

Teams in a playoff position on American Thanksgiving are likely to qualify for the playoffs in the spring. In the salary cap era, 76% of teams in an NHL playoff spot on Thanksgiving have gone to play in playoffs. Last season, 12 of the 16 teams that were in playoff positions on the Thanksgiving holiday were still there at the end of season.

The Detroit Red Wings are the No. 1 wild card team in the Eastern Conference. They are only two points out of second place in Atlantic Division. Their last game is at home against Nashville on Wednesday. The Redwings have a high probability of making the playoffs on Thursday. They have defeated the San Jose Sharks and Columbus Blue Jackets by a combined score of 13-5. In December they play the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Dallas Stars, Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild.