The Detroit Red Wings can look forward to a nice break at the end of January — and a clearer picture of their playoff chances.

Entering Thursday's game against the Edmonton Oilers, the schedule features nine straight games against opponents that are inside the playoff picture in either the East or West.

The Wings took a 20-16-4 record up against the Oilers; those 44 points were only one behind the team in the second wild-card spot in the East, Tampa Bay — but there were three teams (the the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Washington Capitals and the New Jersey Devils) also with 44 points and ahead of the Wings in the standing due to fewer games played.. That's how tight the race is.

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"It’s been a huge roller coaster with a couple winning streaks," Wings coach Derek Lalonde said of the Wings' record at midseason. "We had a really tough stretch for many reasons, we knew that schedule was going to be tough, and we were missing our top two centers, top two goalies. We would have liked to handle it a little better.

"I like the way we’re trending but we have a bunch of playoff caliber teams."

It's a busy three weeks before the NHL's All-Star/winter break arrives on Feb. 1-9.

On Saturday, the Wings host the Los Angeles Kings, who they outlasted in a shootout Jan. 4. The next night, the Wings visit the Toronto Maple Leafs, a division rival sitting third in the Atlantic. Another division opponent comes Wednesday when the Wings visit the Florida Panthers, who are chasing the Boston Bruins for first in the Atlantic. The Wings' three-game trip ends Jan. 19 in Carolina against the Hurricanes, who are neck-and-neck with the Philadelphia Flyers (who come to Little Caesars Arena Jan. 25) for second in the Metropolitan Division.

The Lightning — in that second-wild card spot — are at LCA on Jan. 21, and the Dallas Stars, who are third i the Central Division out West, visit Jan. 23. The defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights — second in the Pacific Division this season — hit Detroit on Jan. 27, and the Ottawa Senators finish out the five-game homestand Jan. 31. The Senators are at the bottom of the Eastern standings (and have fired their coach), but following the Wings' emotional 5-2 victory in Ottawa on Oct. 21, the Senators had the Wings' number in Sweden (5-4 in overtime on Nov. 16) and at LCA (5-1 on Dec. 9 in the game where Dylan Larkin was injured).

The Wings came out of December with five wins in the month, despite eight of their opponents being outside the playoff picture. They regained a foothold at the start of January by winning all three games in California, and will need to find a way to keep that going as the schedule offers one test after another against a playoff-caliber teams.

"I think we would like to have a few more points, we feel we left some points out there, but you are going to look at a season and no matter who you are, you are going to feel like you left points out there," Larkin said. "I think when things got hard, we stuck with it. The group stuck together. We’ve come out of that and really started to play some good hockey again. It’s a big couple weeks, a great test for our team, and great timing for us because of how we played out west."

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. 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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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings' playoff hopes face challenging schedule