To paraphrase REM, it’s the end of the world as Detroit Red Wings fans knew it.
For a quarter century, the Stanley Cup playoffs were like death and taxes to a Red Wings supporter - an ever present.
Not so this season. The Wings have been officially eliminated from the playoff picture for the 2016-17 NHL season, the first time that has happened since 1989-90.
During those 25 straight playoff appearances, the Wings won 33 postseason series and 170 playoff games. Detroit won four Stanley Cups, appeared in six Cup final series and won a half dozen Presidents’ Trophies.
“Obviously, the first thing you think about is the four Stanley Cup championships,” Red Wings general manager Ken Holland told MLive.com. “I think there’s lots of things that are in the middle of that 25-year playoff run.
“We had 17 out of 19 100-point seasons, we won four Stanley Cups, six Presidents’ Trophies, set the all-time (home winning streak) record at home in one season, 23. We went to the final four a few times.
“What the 25-year streak of making the playoffs did was provide opportunities. Some years we took advantage of the opportunity and some years we didn’t.”
It was quite the run but it was evident that it had run out of steam. The Wings have won one playoff series since the 2010-11 season, and other than a surprising spurt in the spring of 2013 when Detroit had the eventual Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks down 3-1 in the second round before falling in seven games, have looked nothing like Stanley Cup contenders for several seasons.
Now the question facing the Wings is how do they get back to that glorious time when they were the benchmark for NHL franchises?
“Our focus is 100 per cent then and will continue to be on making sure this is a one-time deal, not an eight and nine and 10-time deal,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “How do you do that? You do that by making sure you maintain the culture that’s allowed that streak to continue for a long time - work ethic, attention to detail, selflessness, competitiveness.
“We’ve got to make sure that’s there every single night. You can’t let it slip whatsoever. Once you let it slip, it’s hard to get back. There’s a lot of organizations around the league that will attest to that.
“We’re going to make sure it doesn’t slip.”
That may not be as simple as it sounds. These Wings are nothing like the Wings of old. They are sloppy with the puck, weak on defense and erratic in performance.
“When we’ve been playing well, we’re a good team,” Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “And then what we saw the next game is totally opposite.
“That’s something that we have to improve on for next year.”
That could prove to be easier said than done. The Wings have fallen, and it might be some time before they get back up to the heights they once achieved.
Glendening Done
One Wing who won’t be back for awhile is forward Luke Glendening.
The Wings confirmed that Glendening, who missed Tuesday’s loss at Carolina, suffered a fractured ankle and is done for the season.
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