With their 21-year playoffs streak starting to look more and more like Jason Hanson's career, the Red Wings needed a win at home on Wednesday night against the reigning Stanley Cup champs to keep the dream alive. And what did they do there? WIN, and retake the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference playoff picture.

Game highlights below:

The Red Wings are now a point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets 52-51. Both teams have two games left against the same opponents. The Wings play Nashville on Thursday while the Blue Jackets play Dallas, and then they trade opponents on Sunday. Detroit, a point behind the Minnesota Wild (53), control their own destiny. 

(Good news for the Wings if they have to play the Blackhawks in Round 1: both of their goalies are banged up.)

The Red Wings won an enormous game on Monday night against the Phoenix Coyotes at the Joe, 4-0. Pavel Datsyuk recapped the game on Twitter and then responded to himself with further analysis: 

Great game! Z was huge for us this evening!!!

— Pavel Datsyuk (@Datsyuk13) April 23, 2013

@datsyuk13 Jimmy was huge for us too! Congrats on another stellar night!

— Pavel Datsyuk (@Datsyuk13) April 23, 2013

The win gives the Red Wings 50 points and puts them AHHH point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild for the No. 8 and No. 7 spots in the Western Conference. The Blue Jackets have played one more game than both the Wings and Wild, though.

The Red Wings' remaining three games are against the reigning NHL champs and Nashville Predators at home and the Dallas Stars on the road. Wins are crucial and Jimmy Howard's back needs to continue to be strong. 

Clinging to the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference playoff picture and a 21-year playoff streak, the Red Wings could've used a win against the not-very-good Calgary Flames on the road. Instead, they gave away two brutal goals and lost 3-2. 

At 47 points, the Wings are still holding on to the No. 8 spot due to having the tie breaker over the Columbus Blue Jackets, also at 47 points. However, the Blue Jackets are playing right now and are tied 2-2 in the third period. 

UPDATE: Columbus beat the Ducks in overtime, 3-2, picking up two points and moving ahead of the Wings in the Western Conference. The Blue Jackets have played one more game than the Red Wings, though. 

GIFs, if you couldn't tell, are via SB Nation 

Happy birthday, Logan Couture.

Pavel Datsyuk is here to remind you how slippery that ice can be:

Muahahahaha!

UPDATE: Logan Couture was cool about it: 

Hey @datsyuk13 really bro? On my bday...cmonnnn.. Someone fix that ice in the corner..youtube.com/watch?v=LwyVi6…

— Logan Couture (@Logancouture) March 29, 2013

It was 16 years ago today that the seemingly docile net protectors of the Red Wings and Avalanche squared off and beat the shit out of each other in the greatest collective fight in sports – neigh – mankind history.

At least that’s how I pictured it in my head at the time. Bear in mind, I was a little gap-toothed fourth-grader rocking a hard bowl cut. My perception of goalies was solely based off what I had seen in The Mighty Ducks, so I assumed they were all schlubby wisecracking Jewish kids.

The fight ended up becoming the rallying cry for the Red Wings that season, where they won their first of back-to-back Stanley Cups and solidified Detroit as “Hockeytown.”

Oh, and those Roys? Yeah, they’re still a bunch of assholes.

So go have a beer and celebrate this great day in Detroit history. Lord only knows how many Larry Murphy has had today – he’s got time.

Too soon?

You might as well go ahead and let your jaw drop to the floor before you even click play. It's gonna happen anyway: 

I don't know who made this video, but if they had looped it to play for 90 minutes and put it out in theaters only, I'm probably going to pay $20 for the IMAX showing, and I'm dropping another $20 on popcorn and Reese's Pieces. 

Then, I'm probably cutting a hole in the bottom of my bucket so I can manually butter my kernels. 

Oldie but a goodie:

Video game glitch or Pavel Datsyuk? 

Pavel Datsyuk. 

This cannot be shown, masturbated to enough:

 

Pavel Datsyuk goes through an entire team for a coast-to-coast goal. You usually only see that shit in SEGA NHL. 

Ah, playoff gamesmanship. There's nothing better.

Today, Predators players were using the ping pong tables in the hallway outside of the locker rooms. Todd Bertuzzi saw this and then...

— Will Posthumus (@Will_Posthumus) April 17, 2012

...told them if they wanted to play they needed their own table, then folded up the table, and rolled it into the Wings locker room. #boom

— Will Posthumus (@Will_Posthumus) April 17, 2012

Clearly, Bertuzzi was in no mood for games. Hopefully he is tomorrow night.

[@onthewings]

Where the hell is Spartan Bob when you need him? His ...err, expertise would have been helpful in the final moments of the 2nd period of today's Red Wings-Predators Game 3 showdown. The Red Wings scored what would have been a game-tying goal just after time expired. How close was it? If this were any other sport, it would have counted.

The Predators and Wings both scored once during the 3rd period, making the final score 3-2. With the win, Nashville takes a 2-1 series lead into a pivotal Game 4 on Tuesday. The Wings need to win to avoid going back to Tennessee in a 3-1 hole. Hopefully Pavel Datsyuk can repeat some of the magic that he had on his goal today to even the series at 2.

[Box Score]