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Playoff race: Red Wings on the outside, looking in

Wings

It’s been said many times, but the Detroit Red Wings last missed the playoffs in 1990. That’s a remarkable run of competing for the Stanley Cup in the post-season and it could be coming to an end.

The Wings are, with five games remaining in their regular season schedule, now ninth in the Western Conference and in danger of missing the post-season after a 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night.

To sensationalize it, the Red Wings are on the outside, looking in.

“You’ve got to win your way in,” Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock told NHL.com.

“You can’t watch your way in. You’ve got to win your way in. We take a lot of pride in being a real competitive team. I think we’ve been competitive this year. We’re not at the level we’ve been in the past for sure, but we’ve competed hard.

“I thought we competed hard tonight, but we didn’t start on time and we made a couple mistakes.”

The Columbus Blue Jackets, with a 3-2 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks also on Wednesday, moved past their Central Division rivals from Detroit and into that eighth and final playoff spot.