Friday night in Edmonton, the Detroit Red Wings came back from a 2-0 deficit, tied the game with two third-period goals, then won in overtime on a piece of performance art by Pavel Datsyuk.

That win was significant for a number of reasons. But the biggest was its effect on the team's bottom line. By virtue of those two points, the Wings powered their way from 11th to fifth in the Western Conference. That development, in turn, allowed them to breathe comfortably for about 18 hours until the puck was dropped for Saturday night's meeting with the Canucks at The Rog.

"It's (the same) for everybody except two teams (Chicago and Anaheim)," Wings head coach Mike Babcock said before Saturday night's tilt.

"The rest of us, as (Wings GM Ken Holland) says, are in the mud puddle. We're a group who's been in survival mode since the start."

And will likely stay that way until the end of the regular season.

While it's hard to think of the blue-blooded Wings as working stiffs, one look at the Western standings explains their punching the time clock and struggling to meet their mortgage payments along with everyone else. Once you get past the Hawks and the Ducks in the West, exactly six points separates third from 14th and the 15th-place team, Colorado, is eight points back.

That means every team can allow themselves to believe they're still in it. That means, you're never more than a three-game winning streak away from heaven or a three-game losing streak away from hell. It's not exactly a comfortable place to be, but look at the bright side: You never have to worry about complacency.

"Nobody is bad in our side," Holland said. "But, except for those two teams, no one is really good."

This, as you must know, is unknown territory for the Wings, who haven't missed the playoffs since 1990 and who have hit the 100-point mark for 12 straight seasons. But this is also their new reality. There remains an aura about this team, and any Wings game in Vancouver is still appointment viewing. But that's more to do with what they were rather than what they are.

"I don't care what their record is," said Canucks goalie Roberto Luon-go, still smarting from the 8-3 beat down he suffered in Motown on Feb. 24. "That's a team that can hurt you if you're not playing well.

"They're a contender every year. When you do that for so many years in a row there's going to be that respect. There's always going to be that thing about them."

Maybe. But that thing isn't as intimidating as it once was. Babcock has been without Valterri Filippula and Johan Franzen for stretches of this season; Todd Bertuzzi for all but seven games; and Darren Helm for all but one. Helm could be back by next week, which means the Wings will be as complete as they've been since the start of the season. And that's when a more accurate read of their team will be available.

"I think that changes our team overnight," Babcock said.

Still, when you look at the two teams which met on Saturday night, there are more than a few parallels.

There is a presumption that the Wings and Canucks have a significant talent edge over the other teams in the West, but when you look at their lineups, that perception isn't entirely accurate.

The depth of both teams has been whittled down over the last couple of years. Both have struggled to replace missing parts and, in the case of the Wings, they'll never be able to replace Nick Lidstrom. Yes, they still have Dat-syuk, Henrik Zetterberg and other familiar faces from the glory years. But the next wave - your Justin Abdelkad-ers, your Drew Millers, your Patrick Eaves - haven't made the necessary impact on the Wings' lineup.

That might change when Helm gets back, and for Wings' fans, the hope is they'll re-emerge as a power when they're team is healthy and operating at peak efficiency.

But when was the last time the Wings had to hope for anything.

"I know it's a cliché, but anyone can win if they make the playoffs," Holland said.

"You look at the Kings and Phoenix last year. They were seventh and eighth in the West and they were in the Conference finals. I think we all think that way."

In other words, they're just like everybody else.

ewilles@ theprovince.com

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