Detroit hasn't been eliminated from contention for a Stanley Cup playoff berth.
Not just yet, anyway.
Probably won't happen for several more minutes.
Maybe even a few more after that.
But the hard truth is that the Red Wings, whose 5-1 loss to the Penguins Sunday at PPG Paints Arena dropped their record to a league-worst 14-43-4 -- that maroons them a full 15 points behind 30th-place Los Angeles in the overall standings -- effectively were out of the playoff race by Halloween, having already sabotaged their season with a 0-7-1 death spiral.