On Saturday, the Detroit Red Wings were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The elimination was just the second time the team was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round since 2006-07. Here are the highs and lows of Detroit's 2013-14 season.

Highs
Detroit's top two stars Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk only played 45 games in 2013-14. With the exception of the shortened season in 2012-13, when they played nearly every single game, this was the lowest number of games that each player has contested since arriving in Detroit. Zetterberg's previous low was in 2006-07 when he played 63 and Datsyuk's was 56 games in 2010-11. Both players have been among the offensive leaders for the team over the last decade, and their absence was notable for the team. In fact, only seven players managed to play 70 or more games for the team in 2013-14.

And despite that, Detroit managed to make a solid run to the playoffs and finished with the eighth best record in the Eastern Conference. It is also essential to note that this was Detroit's first season in the East, and they handled it rather well without their top stars.

Daniel Alfredsson, who signed a $5.5 million contract last summer at the age of 40, put up solid numbers in his first year with Detroit; he led the team in scoring with 18 goals and 49 points in 68 games. 23-year-old Tomas Tatar established himself as an offensive leader with 39 points on the year. 24-year-old Gustav Nyquist scored 28 goals in his third season after only scoring a total 13 points in his first two stints with Detroit. He is likely to take over the franchise-player tag in coming years.

Lows
Detroit was supposed to benefit from realignment as the shift from the West to the East would mean that the team would have to endure less travel. However, the club struggled throughout the season and nearly missed the playoffs if not for a poor streak from Toronto down the stretch.

Goaltending was a weakness for the Wings; the team scored 222 goals this season but conceded 230, and starter Jimmy Howard put up a below-average .910 save percentage. He may have more competition next season with youngster Petr Mrazek having a decent showing in a short stint with the club.

Season MVP
Coach Mike Babcock continually manages to lead this team to great things. While this could be considered a disappointing year for the Wings, it is essential to note that Babcock managed to get the most out of a team that lacked its top stars, had to adjust to a new conference and that had below-average goaltending for most of the year. The praise for the team's solid performance has to go to the coach.

Elimination Scapegoat
The special teams ultimately undid the Red Wings in this series. The team went 2-for-20 on the power play while the Bruins went 6-for-16 over the five games; the penalty kill is the more worrisome of the two statistics as it has been the team's Achilles' heel before. In 2012-13, the team had the 10th best penalty kill with a success rate of 77.6 percent. The team was particularly overwhelmed by Chicago in the final three games of that series when the Blackhawks went 3-for-13 on the power play after only going 1-for-12 in the first four games; Chicago won the last three games of that series. In 2010-11, the team had a 76.1 penalty kill success rate, and in 2008-09, the team made it to game seven of the Stanley Cup finals with a ghastly 73.2 penalty kill success rate; the team lost the cup that year. Detroit has had some solid years in between in terms of its penalty kill and special teams, but it has been a major problem over the years.