25 in a row: Red Wings' playoff runs

In 1991, Steve Yzerman was 25, the team's captain and an established NHL star. Yzerman and the Wings pushed the St. Louis Blues to a seventh game in the first round, but came up short.

1992: The team took a step forward, finishing first in the Norris Division and beating the Minnesota North Stars in the first round, 4 games to 3. Above, Minnesota's Chris Dahlquist leaves his feet to make a hit on Steve Yzerman, receiving a penalty. But in the Division Finals, the Chicago Blackhawks blanked the Wings, 4-0.

1993: Bob Probert fights with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks' Todd Ewen during the regular season. The Red Wings piled up 103 points, good for second in the Norris, and faced the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs. The series went seven games, with Toronto skating away with the win. Paul Coffey led the scoring for the Wings with 11 points.

1994: In Scotty Bowman's first year as coach, the Red Wings finished the regular season on top of the newly named Central Division of the Western Conference. Their first-round opponent was the San Jose Sharks. Once again the series went to a Game 7, and once again the Wings did not advance.

1995: It looked like this might be the year. The Red Wings had the best record in the league, and in the playoffs, handily beat the Dallas Stars (4-1), the San Jose Sharks (4-0) and the Chicago Blackhawks (4-1). (Above, Blackhawks defenseman Chris Chelios upends Doug Brown.) But the good times came to an end in the Stanley Cup Finals, when the New Jersey Devils whitewashed the Wings, 4-0.

1996: Scotty Bowman's Red Wings piled up a 62-13-7 record for a whopping 131 points to win the Presidents' Trophy. In the playoffs, they disposed of the Winnipeg Jets and Wayne Gretzky's St. Louis Blues - the latter on a Game 7 double-overtime goal by Steve Yzerman, above. Then they faced the Colorado Avalanche in the Conference Finals -- and lost, 4-2.

1997: The bad blood between the Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche boiled over during the regular season with an amazing brawl that provided the rare sight of seeing two goalies whaling away at each other - the Avs' Patrick Roy and the Wings' Mike Vernon.

Things got rolling in the 1997 playoffs, as Sergei Fedorov, above, and the Wings dispatched the St. Louis Blues, 4-2, and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 4-0. Hated rival the Avalanche was the Conference Finals opponent, and this time the Red Wings prevailed, 4-2.

Then it was on to the Stanley Cup Finals, where the 1996-97 Red Wings swept the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0, with Darren McCarty scoring the Stanley Cup clincher at Joe Louis Arena.

The 1996-97 Detroit Red Wings gather for a photo after celebrating their first Stanley Cup win in 42 years.

1998: After star defenseman Vladimir Konstatinov was severely injured in a limousine accident six days after the '97 Cup was clinched, the next season became a mission for the Red Wings, with the theme of "Believe." The regular season featured a repeat of the Colorado-Detroit goalie brawl, this time with Chris Osgood battling Patrick Roy.

Osgood and the Wings took on the Phoenix Coyotes, the St. Louis Blues and the Dallas Stars in the first three rounds, prevailing over each, 4-2. They met the Washington Capitals in the Stanley Cup Finals, and as in 1997, they swept their opponent 4-0.

Steve Yzerman hoists the Stanley Cup again at the end of the 1997-1998 season.

1999: Igor Larionov, Nicklas Lidstrom, Vyacheslav Kozlov and the rest of the Red Wings were on a quest for a Cup three-peat after a first-place finish in the Central Division. First-round opponent the Mighty Ducks went quietly, 4-0.

Next up for Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Osgood, Kris Draper, Mathieu Dandenault and the boys were the Colorado Avalance -- which ended the Red Wings' dreams in the Conference Semi-Finals, 4-2.

2000: The Los Angeles Kings gave the Red Wings no trouble in the first round, falling in a 4-0 sweep. But once again the Wings met the Colorado Avalanche in the Conference Semi-Finals, and the Avalance defeated them again, 4-1. Sergei Fedorov,above, was the playoff points leader with 8.

2001: It was another strong regular season, with 111 points and first place in the Central Division, but the Wings tripped on a banana peel in the first round, losing 4-2 to the Los Angeles Kings. Above: Martin Lapointe and Sergei Fedorov watch as Felix Potvin fails to stop a Pat Verbeek goal during Game 6.

One consolation in 2001: Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom won the first of his seven Norris trophies for top defenseman in the league.

2002: Twice before, the Red Wings had won the Presidents' Trophy for most points but failed to win the Stanley Cup. They captured the trophy again in 2002 with 116 points, with Dominik Hasek, above, in goal. This time, they won their series with the Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues, advancing to the Conference Finals to meet the Colorado Avalanche.

In Game 6, Avalanche goalie Patrick Roy thought he had stoned Steve Yzerman, holding up his glove with the puck ... which dropped out and onto the stick of Brendan Shanahan, who scored. The Wings breezed through Game 7 and on to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Their opponent was the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Brett Hull and the rest of the Red Wings made short work of it, winning the Stanley Cup in 5 games. This was the "Hall of Fame" team with Hull, Dominik Hasek, Chris Chelios, Igor Larionov, Steve Yzerman, Luc Robitaille, Brendan Shanahan, Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom and young Pavel Datsyuk.

With the Stanley Cup sitting on the counter, Detroit Red Wing Kirk Maltby, left, is interrupted from shaving his playoff beard to get a friendly kiss from teammate Kris Draper.

Coach Scotty Bowman waves to the fans as everyone celebrates the victory with a parade along Woodward Avenue on June 17, 2002.

2003: With Scotty Bowman's retirement after the 2002 season, Dave Lewis became the coach, and led the Red Wings to another first-place finish in the Central Division. The playoffs opened against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and their goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere - who slammed the door on the Red Wings in four games straight.

2004: Another year, another first-place finish in the Central Division and a Presidents' Trophy. The Red Wings conquered the Nashville Predators in Round 1, 4 games to 2, but the Calgary Flames proved to be too tough in the conference semifinals. Henrik Zetterberg, above, and the rest of the Red Wings were sent home after six games.

2005: The 2004-05 season was canceled due to a labor dispute after players and owners could not agree on a new collective bargaining agreement.

2006: As league play resumed, the Red Wings had a new coach, Mike Babcock. Their winning ways in the regular season continued, with 124 points and another Presidents' Trophy.

But then came the eigth-seeded Edmonton Oilers, who ambushed the Wings, 4-2, in the first round. Above, Ales Hemsky shoots past Red Wings goalie Manny Legace for the series-winning goal.

Edmonton defenseman Chris Pronger, right, seen battling with Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom, was a key figure in Edmonton's victory.

2007: The Red Wings wound up on top of the Central Division again, earning the right to face the Calgary Flames in the opening round. They won, 4-2, then got by the San Jose Sharks, 4-2, to meet the Anaheim Ducks, above, in the Western Conference Finals.

Ryan Getzlaf and the other tough Ducks prevailed, 4-2. Nicklas Lidstrom led the Red Wings in playoffs scoring with 14 points.

2008: The Red Wings led the league in goals against during the regular season, with Chris Osgood and Dominik Hasek splitting time in goal. One by one, the playoff opponents fell to the Wings: the Nashville Predators (4-2), Colorado Avalanche (4-0) and Dallas Stars (4-2). In the finals, the Wings met the young Pittsburgh Penguins, above.

Experience prevailed, as the Red Wings took the series 4-2, claiming their fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years. Henrik Zetterberg won the Conn Smythe Trophy and Chris Osgood had a sparkling .930 save percentage in the playoffs. Above, Nicklas Lidstrom hands the cup to Dallas Drake.

Pavel Datsyuk, left, and Niklas Kronwall savor the victory in Pittsburgh.

2009: This season the Wings led the league in goals scored. The road to the Cup led through the Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks, who all fell to the Red Wings. That set up a rematch of the previous year's finals vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins. Above, Detroit's Marian Hossa knocks down Pittsburgh goalie Mathieu Garon.

It came down to Game 7, with the Red Wings running on fumes due to more than their share of injuries and sheer exhaustion. The Penguins took a 2-1 lead and held on to win the Cup.

2010: For once, the Red Wings didn't win finish atop the Central Division. They began the playoffs eking out a 4-3 series win over the Phoenix Coyotes, then faced the San Jose Sharks in the conference semi-finals. The Sharks chased the Wings from the playoffs, 4-1. Johann Franzen led the Wings in playoff scoring with 18 points. Above, Red Wings defenseman Brad Stuart harasses San Jose Sharks center Patrick Marleau.

2011: The Wings ranked second in goals scored during the season, but 23rd of 30 teams in goals against. Once again, they met the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round, sweeping them this time. Round 2 was also a repeat of the previous year, against the San Jose Sharks. Above, Sharks Dany Heatley, left, and Torrey Mitchell celebrate a Game 6 goal.

The Sharks took the series again, in seven games. Pavel Datsyuk led the Red Wings' playoff scoring with 15 points. Above, Tomas Holmstrom and Sharks Jason Demers and goalie Antti Niemi watch as the Game 6 winning goal by the Wings' Valtteri Filppula hits the net.

2012: The Wings' 102 points put them in third place in the Central Division, pitting them against the Nashville Predators in the first round of the playoffs. It was a quick exit for the Wings, who scored just nine goals in five games versus Nashville.

2013: A youth movement brought nine players with one year or less experience to the roster. The team squeaked into the playoffs, then won a seven-game series with the Anaheim Ducks.

The Wings' surprisingly strong performance continued against the heavily favored Chicago Blackhawks, whom they fought for another seven games, until the Blackhawks finally won.

2014: The NHL's realignment took the Red Wings to the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. A continual string of injuries didn't help, but the team managed to make the playoffs once again.

The Red Wings surprised the big, tough Boston Bruins in Round 1, Game 1, but wouldn't win another game in the series. Above, Boston's Zdeno Chara towers over Detroit's Tomas Tatar.

2015: At midseason, the Red Wings were comfortably in third place in the Atlantic Division. But March and April found the Wings faltering, and their playoff fate came down to the next-to-last game of the season, at Montreal. They lost in overtime, but gained the point they needed to make the playoffs for the 24th consecutive season. Above, Danny DeKeyser, Devante Smith-Pelly, David Desharnais and Riley Sheahan battle for position.