Red Wings couldn't get past offensive woes to reach playoffs

The Detroit Red Wings (27-36-11) were eliminated from contention for the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a 1-0 loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
The Red Wings have missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons after qualifying every season from 1991-2016. Depending on the NHL Draft Lottery results, the Red Wings are in the mix for a top five selection in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft on June 22 in Dallas.
Here is a look at what happened in 2017-18 for the Red Wings and why things could be better in 2018-19.

The skinny

Potential UFAs:David Booth, F; Mike Green, D; Jared Coreau, G.
Potential RFAs:Andreas Athanasiou, F; Dylan Larkin, F; Anthony Mantha, F; Tyler Bertuzzi, F; Martin Frk, F.
Potential 2018 Draft picks: 11

What went wrong

Not enough firepower:They have one 20-goal scorer (forward Anthony Mantha, 23), which simply isn't enough when competition in the Atlantic Division includes the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs. Forward Andreas Athanasiou, who missed the first three weeks of the regular season as a restricted free agent waiting for a contract, has 14 goals in 63 games.
No home-ice advantage:Although they moved from Joe Louis Arena to Little Caesars Arena this season, their new home didn't translate into better results; Detroit has won 14 of 37 home games (14-15-8).

Special teams struggles:The power play (17.3 percent) and penalty kill (78.0 percent) are each in the bottom third of the NHL, enormous obstacles to overcome. Mantha is the lone Red Wings player who has scored more than five power-play goals this season (nine).

Reasons for optimism

Help is on the way:They used the No. 9 pick at the 2017 NHL Draft to select forward
Michael Rasmussen
, their first top 10 selection since 1991 (Martin Lapointe). Rasmussen, 18, had 59 points (31 goals, 28 assists) in 47 games for Tri-City of the Western Hockey League this season. He could compete for a job with the Red Wings at training camp in September.

Stockpiling picks: Detroit will be busy at the 2018 NHL Draft, with eight picks in the first four rounds. They added a second first-round pick when they traded forward Tomas Tatar to the Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 26.
Bertuzzi brings hope:Tyler Bertuzzi may have two goals in 40 games, but the second-round pick (No. 58) in the 2013 NHL Draft is showing signs of being a top-six forward in the NHL. He's been playing on a line with Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist this month and has a Red Wings best seven points (all assists) in 12 games since Feb. 28, and has drawn a Detroit-high six penalties while being assessed two penalty minutes. Bertuzzi, 23, was the most valuable player of the Calder Cup Playoffs last season, when he had 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 19 games for Grand Rapids.