2013–14 Detroit Red Wings season
| 2013–14 Detroit Red Wings | |
|---|---|
| Division | 4th Atlantic |
| Conference | 8th Eastern |
| 2013–14 record | 39–28–15 |
| Home record | 18–13–10 |
| Road record | 21–15–5 |
| Goals for | 222 |
| Goals against | 230 |
| Team information | |
| General Manager | Ken Holland |
| Coach | Mike Babcock |
| Captain | Henrik Zetterberg |
| Alternate captains |
Pavel Datsyuk Niklas Kronwall |
| Arena | Joe Louis Arena |
| Average attendance | 22,149 (110.4%) Total: 908,131 |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Gustav Nyquist (28) |
| Assists | Niklas Kronwall (41) |
| Points |
Daniel Alfredsson (49) Niklas Kronwall |
| Penalties in minutes | Kyle Quincey (88) |
| Plus/minus |
Henrik Zetterberg (+19) Todd Bertuzzi (−17) |
| Wins | Jimmy Howard (21) |
| Goals against average | Petr Mrazek (1.74) |
The 2013–14 Detroit Red Wings season was the 88th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on September 25, 1926.
This will mark the first season of a new divisional format change which the number of divisions are reduced to four. Detroit will be in a division with the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference as opposed to the Red Wings long standing within the Western Conference. This format will continue until the league either expands or a relocation requires a change.
It will also present an added difficulty in extending the club's playoff streak. The Wings division is one of two eight-team divisions, as opposed to two seven-team divisions in the West. According to NHL.com "The Stanley Cup Playoffs will still consist of 16 teams, eight in each conference, but it will be division-based and a wild-card system has been added.
The top three teams in each division will make up the first 12 teams in the playoffs. The remaining four spots will be filled by the next two highest-placed finishers in each conference, based on regular-season points and regardless of division. It will be possible, then, for one division to send five teams to the post-season while the other sends three." This means the Eastern Conference teams will fight to be one of eight teams out of 16, while the Western Conference has better odds with eight of 14 teams making the playoffs. The Red Wings will have a statistically harder time making the playoffs under this format. The league dismissed the issue as minor and focused on increased home and home series and the vast majority of games being played in the teams own time zone.
Members of the media also postulated that the greatly reduced travel and less physical level of play on average in the Eastern Conference will make Detroit and the Columbus Blue Jackets (the other team to switch conferences from the west to allow the Winnipeg Jets move west two calendar years from when the Atlanta Thrashers were officially relocated and renamed the Jets (not to be confused with the Winnipeg Jets (1972–96), who are still the Phoenix Coyotes)
...
Wikipedia