Detroit Red Wings' 24-Year Playoff Streak Now in Serious Jeopardy

It is the longest current playoff streak of any team in pro sports, and for much of this NHL season, there seemed to be little concern it would end for the Detroit Red Wings this year. Now, it's time for Wings fans to fret.

Detroit's 24-year streak of making the playoffs is in real trouble, especially after Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. Even with the loss, Detroit still has a one-point lead on the Flyers for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Here's the problem: The Flyers have two games in hand.

Even the probability-and-statistics website Sports Club Stats is worried about the Wings. The site gives the Flyers a higher chance of making the playoffs than the Wings now, at 61.5 percent to Detroit's 43.

Detroit can only win a potential 24 points the rest of the way, with 70 games now played. Philadelphia can win 28. The Flyers are the hottest team in the league after the win on Tuesday, with a 7-1-1 record their last nine games. The Red Wings are going the wrong way, losers of two straight now, including a costly 1-0 home loss to last-place Toronto on Sunday.

If the Red Wings fail to make the postseason, the NBA's San Antonio Spurs will take their crown as the pro team with the longest active streak (18 years, sure to be 19 soon).

Jerry S. Mendoza/Associated Press

Not only that, the Wings are without their most experienced defenseman, Niklas Kronwall, who the team last week said would miss one to three weeks with a sprained knee. Kronwall, 35, missed 15 games in January and February after having arthroscopic knee surgery. 

There is a lot to like about the Red Wings, now and in the near future. Dylan Larkin is a serious candidate to win the Calder Trophy, and there are several other very talented young forwards such as Andreas Athanasiou, Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist and 6'5" rookie and 2013 first-round pick Anthony Mantha, who looked good in his first game as an NHL player on Tuesday.

But there is plenty to worry about with the Wings roster too, starting with the goaltending. While Petr Mrazek's numbers look pretty good (26-15-3, 2.21 goals-against average, .924 saves percentage), he has looked shaky in some big games, especially Tuesday's. Mrazek allowed some big rebounds and over-slid his crease a few times, looking way out of position.

Mrazek's coach, Jeff Blashill, had some harsh words for his play after a March 7 loss to Chicago in which he was pulled after allowing two goals on five shots.

“Long term, I have tons of belief in Petr,” Blashill told the Detroit Free Press' Helene St. James. “But in the short term, he’s got to make more saves than he did today and make more saves than he has recently. I’m not concerned about his game. I’m concerned about the number of goals, and he’s going to have to find a way to shut the door.”

Jimmy Howard, 31, has not played well enough for Blashill to have faith in him as a No. 1, which is worrisome for a team paying him $5.3 million for this season and the following three, according to General Fanager.

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Even with Kronwall in the lineup, the defense has some issues. It's not a very physical group, and while the team's Corsi for percentage has been pretty good (51.9), they give up too many shots per game, at 29.9. Against the Flyers, the Wings allowed 46 shots, including 23 in the first period in which they only got three.

But the biggest problem has been the power play. At 16.8 percent, Detroit ranks 24th in the league. For a team with so many skilled forwards, including the aging but still effective duo of Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, that's a surprising number. 

Tuesday night saw Detroit generate just two power-play opportunities, which they failed to convert. The penalty killing hasn't been good enough either, ranking 15th at 81.2 percent. Special teams essentially are making the difference in too many close losses this season, including the game against Philly.

Detroit's next game is at Columbus, against a team with no chance of making the playoffs. Good news for Wings fans, seemingly, until you realize Detroit lost a 5-3 game there on March 8.

Of the Wings' final 12 games, six will be against teams currently out of the playoff picture. But one of those teams is the Flyers, who they'll play at Joe Louis Arena on April 6. The way things are going, the Red Wings might be the non-playoff team by the time that game comes around.

Not since the 1989-90 season, when George H.W. Bush was president, has anyone been able to officially call the Red Wings a non-playoff team after an 82-game season. Hitting the quarter-century mark with the streak seemed an afterthought not too long ago.

Now, to paraphrase the late, great David Bowie, there is some genuine panic in Detroit.

Adrian Dater covers the NHL for Bleacher Report.