DeBrincat’s been ‘unbelievable’ trying to get Red Wings into playoffs

Alex DeBrincat puts pressure on himself to be consistent and impact every game, and he’s coming through as the Detroit Red Wings fight to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons.

“The best players in the League want to do that every day, and I want to be one of the best players in the League,” he said.

He laughed.

“I’m not quite there yet,” he continued. “But I feel like each year I’m getting better, each day I’m trying to get better. I think as a team we’re grinding together as well, so we’ve just got to go to work for the last few games.”

The 28-year-old forward had two goals in a 4-2 win at the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. He has 80 points (39 goals, 41 assists) in 75 games, including 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in his past 16.

He’s tenth in the NHL in goals and tied for 16th in points. He leads Detroit in goals and points, and he’s third in assists. He has set NHL career highs for assists and points, and he’s within striking distance of his NHL career high in goals -- 41, which he set with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2018-19 and tied with them in 2021-22.

The Red Wings will play on national television twice this weekend, visiting the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday (12:30 p.m. ET; ABC, SNP, SNW) and hosting the Minnesota Wild at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday (1 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN 360).

Detroit is in a tight battle. The Red Wings (40-27-8) are tied with the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets at 88 points, but the Senators hold the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference due to tiebreakers. Ottawa has more regulation wins than Detroit (33-29) and one less game played (75) than Columbus (76).

“He’s been unbelievable the last three years,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said of DeBrincat, emphasizing the word “three.” “He’s consistent. He plays hard. He’s hard on the puck. He plays bigger than his size, so he’s a very important player for us.”

Detroit acquired DeBrincat (5-foot-8, 180 pounds) from Ottawa in a trade July 9, 2023, and signed him to a four-year, $31.5 million contract ($7.875 average annual value). In three seasons, he has 217 points (105 goals, 112 assists) in 239 games for his hometown team. He leads the Red Wings in goals in that span, and he’s third in assists and second in points.

DeBrincat shows up each game -- literally. He has played 449 straight games, the third longest active streak in the NHL. Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns is at 999 straight, Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki at 530. Burns will become the second player in NHL history to reach 1,000 -- after Phil Kessel, who holds the record at 1,064 -- when the Avalanche visit the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; ABC, SNP, SNW).

“I hope to hit that spot one day and be in his position,” DeBrincat said. “A lot of nights you’re battling something, especially this time of year. A lot of guys are hurt and playing through it and giving it their all. I think it’s part of the character. … Hockey players want to play and want to contribute to our team no matter how we’re feeling. I think that’s kind of the culture.”

DeBrincat did get a break this season, though, and that has helped. He didn’t make Team USA for the Winter Olympics, even though he had 21 goals, tied with Larkin for third among U.S.-born forwards, when the roster was announced Jan. 1. While Larkin went to Milan with teammates Lucas Raymond (Team Sweden) and Moritz Seider (Team Germany), DeBrincat went to Florida with the family. He was held without a point in his first game after the break, then began his current tear. He has been held without a point in only two of the past 16 games.

“You know, it’s a long season,” he said. “It gives you a little time to step away from the game and regroup, get healthy body-wise, mentally as well. I think you’re super excited to come back when you get those breaks.”

DeBrincat has 269 shots on goal this season, fifth in the NHL, setting a new NHL career high. If he reaches 40 goals, he will become only the fourth Detroit player to score at least 40 in a season over the last 20 years after Brendan Shanahan (40 in 2005-06), Marian Hossa (40 in 2008-09) and Henrik Zetterberg (43 in 2007-08).

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“He wants to be the guy every game, having the puck on his stick, shooting it in the net, making plays,” said forward Patrick Kane, who played with him in Chicago from 2017-22 and has played with him in Detroit for three seasons. “Obviously, he’s a complete player in a lot of ways -- feisty. You know, he’s like a little grinder with a ton of skill. It’s been fun to watch his progress as a player and as a person and as a leader. He really brings it every night for us.”

That feistiness needs to inspire a team that has gone 8-11-3 since Jan. 25. In that span, the Red Wings rank 28th in points percentage (.432) and 31st in goals per game (2.41), and they have gone from tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for first in the East to fighting for a playoff spot. DeBrincat has still produced 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in 22 games.

The Red Wings have been flat at times. Coach Todd McLellan said DeBrincat might be, pound for pound, their most competitive forward.

“He’s very hungry, and there’s a tenacity to his game,” McLellan said. “It’s got to get him 10 or 12 extra goals a (season) over and above what his skill is. There’s some others that have to bring more of that to the game to score goals. They’re not always off the rush and fancy. A lot of them are dirty goals that are scored on rebounds, deflections, screens, tip-ins, going off your (backside) and in, and we need more of that.”