Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 51F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%..
Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 51F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Updated: April 11, 2026 @ 9:25 pm
DETROIT (AP) — Jesper Bratt’s scored his second goal with 3:34 left in the third period, helping the New Jersey Devils eliminate the Detroit Red Wings from the NHL playoff picture with a 5-3 win on Saturday.
Detroit extended the league's longest active postseason drought, dating to the 2016 season when the franchise earned a berth for the 25th consecutive season in what was a remarkable run that included four Stanley Cup championships.
The Red Wings were in a playoff position for 148 days of the season, according to Sportradar, to raise expectations higher than they've been since the hockey-crazed state has experienced the playoffs a long time ago.
They went ahead against New Jersey in the first, second and third periods — and lost every lead.
On an odd-man rush, Bratt scored the go-ahead goal from the left circle off a perfect pass from Jack Hughes in the right circle with John Gibson flailing around in an attempt to stop the puck. Dawson Mercer added an empty-net goal with a minute left.
Gibson had 27 saves for the Red Wings and Jake Allen stopped 25 shots for the Devils.
Detroit’s Justin Faulk broke a scoreless tie midway through the opening period.
Olympic hero Hughes, playing about 25 miles from where he skated in high school at USA Hockey Arena, scored his 27th goal of the season a minute later.
The Red Wings went back ahead on David Perron's goal with 8:01 left in the second period, but failed to keep the lead again. Bratt scored a game-tying goal, giving him at least 21 for a fifth straight season.
Emmitt Finnie scored a tiebreaking goal seven minutes into the third to put the Red Wings ahead again, but Cody Glass pulled the Devils into another tie midway through the period.
Devils: Host Ottawa on Sunday.
Red Wings: At Tampa Bay on Monday.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Dave Cohen said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.