A week ago, Derek Lalonde was aware of Las Vegas sportsbooks' hesitance to project his team for the playoffs. The Detroit Red Wings have forced the oddsmakers to change their tune.

After winning two straight games, Lalonde quipped last week that he was confident in his team's ability to compete with the NHL's best and reach the postseason for the first time since 2016, even if the market was still skeptical. But now, the Red Wings have forced a different tune, turning the two-game winning streak into a six-game unbeaten streak after dismantling the Washington Capitals 8-3 on Tuesday, the longest winning streak for the franchise since 2018-19. The win pushed them three points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the final wild-card spot and eight points clear of the New Jersey Devils at the cut line.

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Now, if Lalonde checks to see what Vegas projects, it looks a lot different than it did a week ago. The Red Wings have -400 odds to make the playoffs according to FanDuel and +285 to miss (roughly 75% chance), projecting confidence the team will end the second-longest active playoff drought in the league.

Thanks to the torrid run over the last 11 days resulting in 12 points, the Red Wings are projected to clear the proverbial 90-point threshold, typically the number of points needed to make the playoffs, and the 92-point mark that was necessary in 2022-23. BetMGM currently has the Red Wings listed at 96.5 season points with the odds favoring the over (-130) versus the under (+100), while they are overwhelmingly favored to clear 90 points (-2500).

2024 has been kind so far for Hockeytown, as the Red Wings turned around their playoff odds from less than 10% at the New Year, to 76% currently, according to projections by The Athletic. In 2024, the Red Wings have a 16-4-2 record which has completely flipped their prospects of making the playoffs.

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When Lalonde made that statement, the Red Wings had 65 points through 55 games, on pace for 95 total during the season. But the six-game winning streak, tied for the longest in the NHL along with the Nashville Predators, has pushed their pace out to 100 over the 82-game season. The Red Wings are also inching closer to escaping the wild-card spot. Detroit is currently two points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have a game in hand, for the third spot in the Atlantic Division.

A big reason why has been Detroit's potent offense that can produce goals from every line (12 players have double-digit goal tallies), resulting in the fifth-most goals scored this season (211 or 3.58 per game) while generating the fourth-most power play goals (50) on the second-most opportunities, according to Hockey Reference. Another reason has been improved defense and goaltending during the recent stretch. The Red Wings are 20th in the league in goals against per game this season (3.15) but have held opponents to 2.8 goals per game in the last 10, and 1.7 during the six-game winning streak.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Vegas oddsmakers backing Detroit Red Wings playoff surge