Red Wings extend NHL's longest current playoff drought that has dragged on for a decade
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings sat on the bench, stewing in stunned silence, after their latest loss sealed their fate as a franchise relegated to watching the NHL playoffs on TV. Again. Detroit lost three leads in its last home game, falling 5-3 to the out-of-contention New Jersey Devils on Saturday, in what coach Todd McLellan called a microcosm of a disappointing season that extended the NHL's longest postseason drought that has dragged on for a decade.
Red Wings fans, the relative few who stayed in their seats until the bitter end, let their voices be heard with a chorus of boos. “To hear that is very difficult,” captain Dylan Larkin said. “We're down.
I'm as down as I could be right now. ” McLellan said the team deserved it. “That's what we earned,” he said.
Detroit was expected to compete for a spot in the playoffs this season and it did, holding a playoff position for nearly 80% of the season. The Red Wings became the second team in NHL history to have at least 69 points in the first 53 games and miss the playoffs. The Canadiens, who also had 69 points, did it in 1969-70.
The Red Wings were in a playoff position for 148 days of the season, according to Sportradar, to raise expectations higher than they’ve been since the hockey-crazed state experienced a 25th consecutive postseason in 2016. In late January, the Red Wings led the Atlantic Division and were one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Even though Detroit slipped in the standings, it was still clinging to a wild card as late as March 21.