Steady Red Wings again to contend

Associated Press

NEW YORK

As familiar as warm weather and rain is an appearance by the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

For the past 13 seasons they have been joined by the New Jersey Devils, but that has changed because the one constant team in the Eastern Conference didn’t measure up this year. Detroit’s dominance dates even further: Not since 1990 have the Red Wings sat out the race for the Cup.

Captain Nicklas Lidstrom, in his 19th NHL season, has seen it all. Throughout his surely Hall of Fame career, Lidstrom has only worn a winged wheel sweater and has never missed the playoffs.

He got a bit of a scare last year when Detroit qualified as only the No. 5 seed. But Lidstrom and the Red Wings still managed to reach the second round with a tough, seven-game series win over the Phoenix Coyotes — their first-round opponent again.

“Having been with such a good organization for 20 years, and being part of a winning tradition here, you almost take it for granted,” Lidstrom said of being a playoff staple. “Last year was the hardest one where we really had to focus and get some wins and had our backs up against the wall for pretty much the whole season.

“It’s always been fun going into the playoffs. People are always waiting for April to come around for the playoffs.”

The Central Division champions own the No. 3 seed this time. If they advance past Phoenix again they could pose a serious threat to the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks and the second-seeded San Jose Sharks, who despite being a dominant regular-season team in recent years are still seeking their first trip to the finals.

The Canucks, who topped the NHL with a team-record 117 points, have been knocked out in the second round by Chicago in two consecutive years. The Blackhawks rode last season’s win all the way to the Stanley Cup title and will likely have confidence again when they take on Vancouver in the first round.

In the other Western matchups, the Sharks will take on the Los Angeles Kings in a rare all-California series, and the Anaheim Ducks will face the Nashville Predators.

Back in the East, the Devils had one last thing to play for in their second-to-last game when they took on the New York Rangers with a chance to take their biggest rival out of the playoff picture with them. New Jersey grabbed a pair of one-goal leads, but faded and lost 5-2.

So the Rangers will face top-seeded Washington in the first round, hoping to avenge a series loss from two years ago in which New York led 3-1.