Red Wings knocked out
The Detroit Red Wings were eliminated from playoff contention after a loss to the New Jersey Devils, who mounted a comeback with three third‑period goals. (nhl.com) The defeat left Detroit having lost six of its last eight games and out of the postseason race. (nhl.com)
Detroit’s season ended Saturday night, when a 5-3 home loss to New Jersey knocked the Red Wings out of the Stanley Cup playoff race. (nhl.com) The Red Wings led 3-2 entering the third period at Little Caesars Arena, then gave up three unanswered goals to the Devils in their regular-season home finale on April 11. (nhl.com) Detroit fell to 41-30-9 and had lost six of its last eight games by the time it was eliminated. New Jersey finished the night at 41-36-3. (nhl.com) The loss pushed Detroit’s playoff drought to 10 straight seasons, the longest in franchise history during the club’s centennial campaign. With the Buffalo Sabres ending their own drought this year, Detroit now has the longest active postseason drought in the National Hockey League. (nhl.com) The collapse landed hard because Detroit had been in the mix deep into the spring. On April 10, the Red Wings were third in the Eastern Conference wild-card race with 91 points, behind Ottawa with 94 and Boston with 96. (nhl.com) That late position followed a sharper drop than the standings alone showed. The Detroit News reported the Red Wings were 12 points clear of a playoff spot in late January before a poor March and April erased the cushion. (detroitnews.com) Detroit had framed the stretch run as a final push to end a skid that already reached nine years last season. National Hockey League.com wrote on March 28 that the club had 11 games left and was in “crunch time” with a wild-card spot on the line. (nhl.com) Instead, the season will end without playoff hockey again, and the April 11 loss became the latest example of a team that could not protect a third-period lead when it mattered most. (nhl.com)
