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Red Wings will officially miss Stanley Cup Playoffs for first time since 1990

MiHockey Staff
Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey

 

By @StefanKubus – 

The year the Detroit Red Wings last missed the playoffs is closer to the year Joe Louis Arena first opened its doors than it is to present day.

That’s how long it’s been.

For the first time since 1990, there will be no playoff hockey in Detroit. With the Wings falling to Carolina in their third game in as many nights, and with Toronto and Boston each winning, Detroit was officially eliminated from postseason contention. The Wings’ streak of 25 consecutive seasons with an appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs has come to an end.

In other action, the Maple Leafs defeated the Florida Panthers, and the Bruins topped the Nashville Predators to each boost their season totals to 86 points.

With the Red Wings having six games left on their slate, that means the maximum amount of points they could accumulate is 86. But even with the three teams tied, the regulation/overtime win tiebreaker puts Toronto (35) and Boston (38) too far ahead for Detroit (23) to catch up.

The 25-season streak was the longest active run in any of the four major North American professional sports. The Pittsburgh Penguins now hold the NHL’s longest run at ten seasons. All-time, the Wings’ run ties the St. Louis Blues (1980-2004) for third longest in NHL history behind the Chicago Blackhawks’ (1970-1997) 28-season streak and the Boston Bruins’ (1968-1996) 29-season run.

Despite the team’s shortcoming in the Farewell Season at The Joe, the April 9 home and season finale holds extra significance for captain Henrik Zetterberg. Zetterberg, who played his first NHL game at Joe Louis Arena (fourth of his career) on Oct. 17, 2002, is on pace to play his 1,000th career game in that final game at The Joe should he play in each of the Wings’ seven remaining games.

For perspective, here are some of the things that were going on in 1990 when the Wings last missed the playoffs:

 

Movies released:

  • Goodfellas
  • Home Alone
  • Edward Scissorhands
  • Pretty Woman
  • Ghost
  • The Godfather: Part III
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

TV shows that aired for the first time:

  • The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
  • Seinfeld
  • Beverly Hills, 90210
  • Law & Order
  • Wings
  • Blossom

Major sporting events:

  • The San Francisco 49ers beat the Denver Broncos, 55-10, in Super Bowl XXIV
  • The Colorado Buffaloes took the top spot in the final AP college football poll
  • The Cincinnati Reds won the World Series
  • Buster Douglas, an underdog at 42-1 odds, knocked out Mike Tyson in the 10th round to become heavyweight champion
  • Nick Faldo won the Masters and the British Open
  • Greg Norman was the PGA Tour money leader
  • Phil Mickelson won the U.S. Amateur Championship
  • MSU’s Kip Miller won the Hobey Baker Award
  • Wayne Gretzky won the Art Ross Trophy
  • Mark Messier won the Hart Trophy
  • The Edmonton Oilers won their fifth Stanley Cup in seven seasons
  • The Detroit Pistons won their second straight NBA championship
  • UNLV beat Duke in the NCAA basketball title game

Other news:

  • Dylan Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou, Anthony Mantha, Tomas Tatar, Nick Jensen, Xavier Ouellet, Robbie Russo, Ryan Sproul and Petr Mrazek were not yet born.
  • The Hubble Space Telescope was put into orbit
  • Johnny Carson was still hosting the Tonight Show
  • Steve Yzerman was 24 years old and led the Wings with 62 goals and 127 points in 79 games.
  • Jim Henson passed away
  • Danny DeKeyser was born
  • Jaromir Jagr was drafted fifth overall in that year’s draft
  • “Hold on” by Wilson Phillips was the top song on the Billboard Chart
  • A gallon of gas cost $1.16
  • The Nintendo Game Boy was released in Europe (released in the U.S. in July 1989)