Red Wings’ Late-Season Collapse Matches Rare Mark Not Seen Since 1970

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For the 10th consecutive season, the Detroit Red Wings will not play beyond the 82nd game of the regular season.

Their fate was sealed Saturday evening with a 5–3 loss to the New Jersey Devils at Little Caesars Arena. Not only were they unable to protect three separate leads in a must-win situation, but they also surrendered the game-winning goal late in the third period, extinguishing any hope of their first playoff appearance since 2016.

And unfortunately, once the calendar flipped to March, the ghosts of seasons past came back to haunt the franchise once again.

For the third straight season, the Red Wings began faltering in both March and April, losing what was a comfortable playoff cushion and eventually tumbling out of the postseason race.

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And yet, perhaps the most shocking statistic illustrating just how far the Detroit Red Wings fell is a mark that had stood for 56 years until Saturday evening.

The Red Wings became the first NHL team to accumulate at least 69 points through their first 53 games and still miss the playoffs. The last team to hold that dubious distinction was the Montreal Canadiens in 1969–70.

Considering that the Red Wings were tied for first place in the Eastern Conference in late January, it was a startling fall from grace.

For a fan base that had grown used to winning during Detroit’s glory years, most understood that their 25-season playoff streak came with a price and that there would be a downswing.

However, in 2016, few would have likely believed the Red Wings were about to go an entire decade without a playoff appearance, or that they would now own the NHL’s longest active postseason drought.

As the final seconds ticked down in regulation Saturday evening, a loud chorus of boos rained down from the fans in attendance. Even as the players gathered at center ice for one final salute, fully aware their playoff fate had been sealed, they were met with continued boos.

Todd McLellan Addresses Red Wings’ Mental Fortitude After Officially Missing Playoffs Detroit Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan spoke about the club’s mental fortitude after they were officially eliminated from postseason contention.

Head coach Todd McLellan, who was behind Detroit’s bench as an assistant under Mike Babcock during the club’s most recent Stanley Cup win in 2008, acknowledged the fans’ passion and said the boos were justified given the result the team delivered – or failed to deliver.

“Well, this is Detroit, this is Hockeytown,” McLellan said. “I’ve been lucky enough to be on the other side of it when they couldn’t stop cheering for this team, and they’re dying for that. They crave that. That’s what they want.

And I don’t even know if they want a Stanley Cup championship anymore. They just want a team that’s gonna come and give them something to cheer about.”

Red Wings fans will once again have to wait until next year in the hope that Stanley Cup Playoff hockey will finally come to Little Caesars Arena, which opened in the fall of 2017.

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