A historic run by the Detroit Red Wings might be coming to an end. As the Red Wings battle with the Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars for one of the few remaining playoff spots in the West, the team is fully aware that by failing to reach the playoffs they'll end a streak of consecutive playoff appearances which began back in 1990.

Detroit's run of consecutive appearances has stretched across four NHL work stoppages, including one strike and three lockouts. Since failing to qualify in the 1989-90 season, the Red Wings have hoisted the Cup a remarkable four times. Their run is the longest current streak in the NHL and by a considerable margin. San Jose is second on the list with eight consecutive appearances. 

You'll have a tough time finding another pregame ceremony that's as powerful and moving as the ceremony that took place prior to the Boston Bruins - Buffalo Sabres game on Wednesday night. The video below probably doesn't give the atmosphere justice, but it's enough to give you chills regardless of where you live or what team you root for. 

The Boston Bruins will wear special decals on their helmets for Wednesday's game against the Buffalo Sabres, as first seen on the team's official site. The decal, as seen here being placed on Patrice Bergeron's helmet, is a small blue and yellow ribbon which reads "Boston Strong". The game between the Bruins and the Sabres is the first major sporting event to be held in Boston since the Boston Marathon bombing on Monday. 

It's safe to assume the NHL probably approved these additions to the official uniform almost instantly. 

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The NHL is reportedly planning to hold six outdoor games next year, beginning with the Winter Classic on January 1st in Michigan Stadium. The information, as seen on TSN, details that there are tentatively five other outdoor games scheduled following the Winter Classic, with games being played in Dodger Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Soldier Field and BC Place. 

The tentative schedule, seen above, confirms that the NHL is extremely interested in expanding their highly successful outdoor formula. 

The Colorado Avalanche would love to officially close the book on the 2013 season. With just a handful of games left to play, the Avalanche are in a close battle with the Calgary Flames for the 14th spot in the Western Conference. The Avs have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but were realistically eliminated quite some time ago. 

What does this mean for Avs fans, aside from enormous amounts of anger and frustration? Ridiculously cheap tickets. 

Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Keith Yandle had a moving and memorable tribute for the victims of the Boston Marathon tragedy, writing "Pray for Boston" on the side of his skate as his team faced the San Jose Sharks. Yandle, a native of Boston, appeared to have used a marker to write the message between the boot and blade on his skate. 

Credit to BYProEvHockey for posting this awesome picture. 

Following the horrible tragedy today at the Boston Marathon, the NHL has decided to postpone tonight's game between the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators that was scheduled for 7:00pm ET at the TD Bank Garden. At this time, the game hasn't been rescheduled. 

There are certain times when athletic events just don't seem important when compared to real life. Today is one of those times as a tragedy interrupted a day of joy and celebration in Boston. The decision to cancel tonight's game was an obvious one as a city endures and tries to recover from a shocking, unthinkable attack. Hockey can wait a day or two. In the meantime, the residents of Boston should spend time with their families and friends, focusing on what truly matters.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected by today's events. 

Welcome to one of the final installments of Hockey Fights of the Week for the 2013 season. When the regular season wraps, so too will this column as fights in the playoffs are unfortunately too few and far between to warrant a weekly top-5 countdown. 

That being said, we still have plenty of hockey fight coverage for you. As soon as the year concludes, we'll roll out an article highlighting the best fights of the season, a list composed of all the fights that earned the top spot from one of our many countdowns. We'll still cover any memorable fights that occur during the battle for the Cup, but they may be in a slightly different format.

It's understandable when goaltenders get frustrated because no one is clearing the crease for them. When an opposing team's forward parks themselves right in front of your goalie, you're supposed to move that player -- and don't be surprised if the goaltender goes ahead and does it for you if you don't. Craig Anderson found himself in that position Friday night against the New Jersey Devils, with Adam Henrique blocking his view. Anderson cleared his line of sight, but probably not in the most appropriate way possible:

The Carl Soderberg Story is getting more and more frustrating for the Boston Bruins. Since acquiring the rights to him from the St. Louis Blues for Hannu Toivonen, the Bruins have been patiently waiting for the chance to buy him out of his Swedish contract. They had to wait until his team, Linkoping HC, was eliminated from the playoffs to carry out the buyout. Most expected it would get rid of any barriers preventing the big center from coming to the NHL. The Bruins attempted to work out a deal with the Swedish Elite League, but to no avail. They're blocking Soderberg from coming over to the NHL.