WASHINGTON, D.C. >> The NHL trade deadline is now over. There’s no need to look at every alert on your phone thinking it might be a huge trade and simply concentrate on the sprint to the regular-season finish line.

For the Red Wings, Friday’s deadline saw general manager Steve Yzerman trade forward Joe Veleno to Chicago for forward Craig Smith and goaltender Petr Mrazek. It was a modest trade made to patch some holes that have sprouted in the Wings’ lineup, but it likely won’t make a huge difference as to whether the Wings make the playoffs this spring.

Friday’s 5-2 loss in Washington capped the day glumly for the Wings. They lost their fifth consecutive game by allowing four third-period goals to the Capitals.

If there was a message to be gleaned by Yzerman’s work Friday, it was the Wings aren’t quite in position yet to trade first-round draft picks and prime young prospects for players who could possibly get them into the playoffs.And further, the recent losing streak isn’t inspiring confidence the Wings will be able to navigate the next 19 games to get into the playoffs.

“The message is the message” captain Dylan Larkin said after Friday’s defeat. “We didn’t do a whole lot (trade-wise), but it’s also hard. It’s honestly been hard to follow because of our game and the back-to-back (games). You look at it, you look at what’s going on around the league, and it’s pretty wild with all the big teams loading up.

“It is what it is right now. We’ve got a group in here that we believe can win, and we just got to start doing it.”

Along with the Wings’ five-game losing streak, they’ve only won twice in the last nine games (2-6-1) and they desperately need to win to change course quickly. Monday’s game in Ottawa, which is just above Detroit in the standings, is obviously huge.

But at this juncture, the Wings just need a victory against anyone.

“We just got to get a win, get off the schneid, find a way to win and then continue to find ways to win, not find ways to lose,” Larkin said. “We’re not scoring enough. We’ve got to get to the hard areas.”

With all the losing, the Wings’ confidence appears to be a bit shaken.

“Absolutely it is,” Larkin said. “That’s why I continue to say, ‘Just find a way to win a hockey game.’ It’s not going to get any easier down the stretch with our schedule. You can’t waste good starts like that (Friday) and Talbs (goaltender Cam Talbot) played really well.

“We just turned the puck over and he had two-on-ones and breakaways coming at him. It’s unacceptable.”

The Wings were off Saturday and resume practice Sunday, when Mrazek and Smith are expected to join their new teammates.

Coach Todd McLellan is hopeful the new faces can give the Wings a jolt.

“I haven’t even talked to the players yet personally,” McLellan said. “They’re both older guys. I would imagine they probably have families that they have to get situated in Chicago or else get them to Detroit. So, that’s the first thing we’re going to do. Then, we’ll sit down with them and explain how we’re going to use them and then we’ll practice.

“Sometimes that injection of new bodies can bring a lot of energy to a hockey club and I’m hoping that happens in this case.”

Mrazek’s arrival means the Wings will go with a three-goalie rotation of Mrazek, Talbot and Alex Lyon. McLellan is comfortable doing that, adding he’s simply looking for one goaltender to take charge of the net.

Above all else with the trade deadline, the Wings are focused on earning victories. The wild-card chase continues to be extremely tight, but the Wings are trending in the wrong direction.

The trade deadline is over, and the Wings know what their roster will be for the remainder of the season. The attention returns to just playing hockey.

“A lot of that stuff is out of our control,” forward Patrick Kane said. “We kind of focus on what we’re doing on the ice. We haven’t been playing as well lately. We’ve played well some games even though we’ve lost. They (Mrazek, Smith) are valuable pieces that we added to our team.

“Nineteen games left in the year, we have no choice, we have to get ready for the next one.”