Red Wings' long drought

Detroit’s 5-3 home loss to the New Jersey Devils on April 11 knocked the Red Wings out of the Stanley Cup Playoff race for a 10th straight season. (nhl.com) The loss came in Detroit’s home finale at Little Caesars Arena, where the Red Wings blew a third-period lead on Fan Appreciation Night and fell to 41-30-9. (nhl.com) (apnews.com) That miss became the National Hockey League’s longest active playoff drought after the Buffalo Sabres clinched on April 4, ending their own postseason absence that had lasted since 2011. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) Detroit was still alive in the Eastern Conference wild-card race into the season’s final week, but the standings on April 11 showed the Red Wings at 91 points, behind Boston and Ottawa at 96 and tied with Columbus. (nhl.com) The number stands out in Detroit because this is an Original Six franchise that won 25 straight playoff berths from 1991 through 2016 and lifted the Stanley Cup four times in that span. (nhl.com) This season’s collapse looked familiar. National Hockey League coverage of Detroit’s elimination pointed to scoring problems, repeated third-period breakdowns and a negative goal differential despite the club staying near the race deep into April. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) The reaction inside the arena was loud. Captain Dylan Larkin said after the loss that “we’re down,” and coach Todd McLellan said the team had “earned” the boos from fans. (espn.com) (dailyfaceoff.com) The drought is also the longest in Red Wings history. In their 100th season, Detroit will finish without a playoff series for the 10th year in a row and head into the summer with the same question it had last spring: why a team that stays close keeps fading before the finish line. (nhl.com)