Little Caesars Arena may finally be hosting a playoff game.

The Detroit Red Wings are enjoying an extended break this week, buoyed by a most remarkable month that has put them on track to advance past the regular season for the first time in eight years. A 20-point January has them with 58 points in 50 games; extrapolate that over 82 games, and it works out to 95 points. That got teams into the Eastern Conference playoffs last season — in fact, 92 points did the job in 2023.

"We put ourselves back in the fight," coach Derek Lalonde said after the Wings banked their 20th point of the month on Jan. 31. "That’s all you can ask. Great push from the guys.

"It was a good step for us but all it was was a step."

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The Wings (26-18-6) occupy the second wild-card spot in the East, with the closest chaser six points behind. The Toronto Maple Leafs are the first wild-card team; they have the same amount of points but have three games in hand. The Tampa Bay Lighting are in third place in the Atlantic Division. The Boston Bruins (71 points) and Florida Panthers (66 points) have a pretty good lead on the top two spots in the division, but third place is certainly attainable for the Wings. There has been a noticeable improvement in team defense compared to the first three months when the Wings just gifted opponents grade-A scoring chances.

"A big emphasis for us is keeping goals out of our net," Dylan Larkin said. "I think we’ve done a good job of that. You’re going to have the odd night, but we always have a goal kind of two-or-less for the game and we’ve been right there a lot of times. Goaltending, penalty killing, has helped that, but I think our team defense has improved and our puck management. We’re not as much risk, we’re doing it right, and grinding teams down.

"I feel this month we’ve really learned what our game is and how to win hockey games."

The Wings just went through a month where 10 of 13 opponents were positioned inside the playoff picture, and there's no let-up in that regard: The Wings face the NHL-leading Vancouver Canucks Feb. 10, then travel to western Canada where the first two games are against the Edmonton Oilers, who are on a 16-game winning streak, and the Canucks again. That's three of the 10 games packed into 19 days in February; then comes 14 games in March.

There is help coming to face the task though, and what help it is: Patrick Kane, who in little more than a month since making his debut, has shown what an impact he makes (seven goals, nine assists in 19 games, but really it's 18, as he only played a minute before leaving with an injury Jan. 14); Ben Chiarot, who plays a heavy game and has helped carry the load against opposing top lines; and Ville Husso, who entered the season as No. 1. That's a top-six forward, a top-four defenseman, and a starting goaltender joining the lineup just as games intensify as teams jockey for playoff positioning.

Husso projects to help ease the burden on Alex Lyon, who leads the reasons why the Wings have surged into the playoff picture. He deserves to keep getting the lion's share of starts, but Husso, out since Dec. 18 with a lower-body injury, is a more reliable option to share the net than James Reimer.

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Kane and Lyon are among the players new to the team this season, part of general manager Steve Yzerman's plan to buttress the Wings against what happened last season, when they climbed into a playoff spot near the end of February only to decline. Offensive players — Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Daniel Sprong and Shayne Gostisbehere, were added, as was a No. 2 center in J.T. Compher, and so were depth guys like Christian Fischer, Jeff Petry and Justin Holl.

Those additions are why Lalonde had a ready answer when asked what is different as the Wings sit six points ahead of where they were last season after 50 games.

"Our depth," he said. "And the play of Alex Lyon. At this time last year, we were overplaying Ville, and he wasn’t healthy. We were rifling through goalies trying to find some answers.

"I just think it’s the overall depth of the group. And we’ll need it. This is going to be fun — since I’ve been here, we’ve put all our work and all our energy in just to get us into the fight. Now we’re here, it’s what we asked for, let’s see how we handle it. I’m really excited about watching us take a run at it here in the second half of the year."

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.

Next up: Canucks

Matchup: Red Wings (26-18-6) vs. Vancouver (33-11-5).

Faceoff: 1 p.m. Saturday; Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.

TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Detroit Red Wings finally look ready to make playoffs in 2024