Todd McLellan delivers another big blow to Red Wings playoff hopes.

Fans of teams on the bubble in the Eastern Conference Wild Card hunt will be in for some very exciting games down the stretch with a number of teams still alive and in the hunt for that final playoff spot, but that also means that inevitably some of those teams will have to face a disappointing reality.

While there is no telling who will emerge from the pack at this time, on Saturday morning the Detroit Red Wings saw their hopes of being that team get a little dimmer when head coach Todd McLellan shared some rather concerning news with the media in attendance. McLellan informed reporters that he had no update to share on recently acquired Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek, a sign that there remains no clear outlook for Mrazek following the head injury he suffered against Utah HC last week.

Mrazek was injured when he was the victim of not one but two collisions in a matter of seconds, first being struck in the knee/leg area by Utah forward Dylan Guenther from one direction, only to then receive a knee to the head courtesy of Utah forward Barrett Hayton who was coming from the opposite direction.

While this appeared to be a freak accident with no ill intent behind it, it was a huge blow to the Red Wings who had just picked up Mrazek via a trade ahead of the National Hockey League's trade deadline. It was made even worse by the fact that Mrazek had played relatively well in his first few starts, recording a 2.49 goals against average and a .902 save percentage. Those numbers are better than what the Red Wings have seen from goaltenders Cam Talbot and Alex Lyons this season, although admittedly they have come over a smaller sample size.

Every game and every point will matter in this final stretch of the regular season, and there's no question that losing Mrazek for that final stretch will be a big blow to the Red Wings' playoff hopes.