Is it possible ... could it be ... that the Red Wings, your Red Wings, who have been to back-to-back Stanley Cup finals, and have won the Stanley Cup four times since 1997, and have contended for nearly 20 years ... are now underdogs?

It seems absurd. But as of Wednesday's practice, they were clinging to eighth place in the Western Conference standings. They also were clinging to their knees, wrists and assorted other body parts. Seven important players are out with injuries. The Wings already lost three of their top-nine scorers from last year to free agency.

This has led to some very un-Wings-like scenes.

"What I enjoy the most is, watching the guys, when we score now it's a completely different feeling than what it has been in the past two years," said defenseman Niklas Kronwall -- who, of course, is out with a knee injury. "How happy everyone is -- that feeling is awesome."

It is also possible that they are celebrating that nobody got hurt.

This is what I find interesting about the Wings' injuries: They could break the season, or make it. Of course if Johan Franzen and Dan Cleary and Valtteri Filppula and Kronwall don't come back -- or don't come back healthy -- the Wings probably won't win the Cup. But if they do come back, the Wings should be even better than they would have been. They will have developed their young talent more. And they will have developed a scrapper's mentality, by necessity.

"It's almost like a playoff game every game for us," captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "I don't think we're looked at as one of the favorites this year. People look at us -- we're slowing down or we don't have as much offense anymore. So that is a challenge. We're not up there with the favorites anymore. We have a lot to prove."

Coach Mike Babcock loves challenges, and one of his favorite words is "opportunity." Now every game is a puzzle for him, a chance to fit pieces together and find matchups that work. I asked if part of him relishes this.

"Being in the league is a test," he said. "I don't know if we need this test. This has now gotten too extreme."

Babcock has an interesting attitude toward some of the injured guys: They are dead to him. Not that he doesn't care about them. He does. But he has to assume he won't see them on the ice again this season.

"Mule is forever away," he said, referring to Franzen, "and I think Kronwall is, too. But Fils, it sounds like he might be back sometime after Christmas."

Forever away? Franzen and Kronwall skated Wednesday. But Babcock said: "Well, what are you going to do? If we're waiting for them, we're not making the playoffs. We've played really hard and given us a chance. That's all you can ask for. We're hanging in there. Do we all know that we'll be more talented one day in the year? Yeah. But if we wait for that, our year will be over. We'll miss the playoffs."

I think the Wings' stretch of dominance since the early 1990s is the greatest feat for any franchise in sports over that time. They have contended -- not just made the playoffs, but truly contended -- every single year. That might change this spring. But I wouldn't count on it.

Underdogs?

"I think that's more for you to tell us," Kronwall said. "In here, we know what we have. We know what we're capable of."