The 2016 NHL season is quickly coming to an end, leaving the NHL’s top teams scrambling to secure a playoff berth. With the Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning in April, many players are walking a fine line between an early summer golf trip and a chance at the Stanley Cup.
The Detroit Red Wings in particular, are putting their playoff chances and hockey history in the balance. The Red Wings have clinched a playoff spot every season for the past 24 years, and currently sit in a less than secure post season position. After losing 5 of their last 7 games, Detroit could be on the verge of ending one of the longest playoff streaks in NHL history and the longest active streak among all four major sports.
After defeating the the team 4-3, the Philadelphia Flyers have given themselves a chance at both the playoffs and credit for the downfall of the Detroit Red Wings on going record. According to sportsclubstats.com, Philly now has a 61.5 per cent chance of making the dance, while Detroit’s shot dropped to 43 per cent with the loss. The Flyers have collected 78 points, a measly point behind the Red Wings for the last Eastern Conference wild-card spot with two games in hand.
An unsettling stance in the Eastern Conference can be credited towards a few factors that have made up the Red Wings season. Poor goaltending has been an issue as of late, with Petr Mrazek struggling to find consistent wins that came so easily at the beginning of the season. In fact, he has a combined .905 save percentage in his last 16 starts compared to the sparkling .952 save percentage in January. Detroit’s blue line has had their ups and downs recently, with a larger than normal burden being placed on the shoulders of lesser-experienced guys such as Alexey Marchenko, Brendan Smith, and Danny Dekeyser. They have allowed 2.58 GA/G, which sits just average tied for 15th in the NHL with the aforementioned Flyers and New York Rangers.
The biggest problem, however, has been attributed to scoring goals. Scoring just 2.49 per game, Detroit is approaching their worst finish in the department since the lockout-shortened 2013 season when they scored 2.54 per game. Throughout the streak, especially in the 2000s, Detroit hovered around the top five and was always a given to be in the top ten. In a League thirsting for goals nowadays, Detroit has been frustrated with a mix of youth and veterans not being able to click in this department. The special teams have also been an Achilles heel, with the power play operating at a 16.8% rate, good for 24th in the League. The penalty killing unit has not been much better, sitting 15th at an 81.3% killing rate.
To make things worse, the Detroit Red Wings will be forced to make their push for the playoffs without the experience of defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who will be out of commission for 1-3 weeks with a knee injury.
It may be hard for fans in Hockeytown to admit, but clinching a playoff berth won’t come that easy again with the team just struggling to put it all together with the team going through a transitional period on both sides of the puck, especially up front. Guys like Andreas Athanasiou, Dylan Larkin, and now Anthony Mantha leading the new guard for Detroit alongside Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar will have to inject fuel into the team’s playoff hopes, similar to how the latter two did a few years back. With the Philadelphia Flyers and other Eastern Conference teams trailing close behind, its a wonder as to whether Detroit will be able to keep their famous postseason streak alive.
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