DALLAS: Make it 22 and counting for the Detroit Red Wings.
They are headed to the playoffs for the 22nd straight season after Henrik Zetterberg had two goals and an assist in a 3-0 victory over the Dallas Stars yesterday.
Jimmy Howard made 17 saves to post his fifth shutout of the season as Detroit secured the seventh spot in the Western Conference. It’s the lowest play-off seed for the Red Wings since the NHL moved to the 1 vs. 8 conference format in 1993.
Jonathan Ericsson also scored and Pavel Datsyuk had three assists for the Red Wings, who own the longest active playoff streak in major professional sports, six years longer than the San Antonio Spurs’ stretch of postseason play in the NBA.
“To be able to be back in the playoffs is a great feeling,” Howard said. “The streak means a lot to all of us, it just says how high the bar was set before us. It’s good for us to go out there and have high expectations.”
After losing several veterans who contributed to their four Stanley Cups and six finals appearances during the course of the streak, including future Hall of Fame defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, the Red Wings had some uncharacteristic struggles early in the season, but managed to bounce back and finish strong.
“Obviously, I’m proud of the guys,” coach Mike Babcock said. “I thought as an organization, we did a real good job of rebuilding our D here on the fly.”
Detroit closed out the regular season with four consecutive wins by a combined score of 15-3. It will face second-seeded Anaheim in the first round of the playoffs.
“We’re happy the way we’re playing right now but still, we haven’t really done anything,” said Zetterberg, who has two goals and eight assists over the last four games. Richard Bachman made 34 saves for Dallas, which dropped its fifth consecutive.Agencies
