One-hundred sixteen points and in the last minute of a magnificent season, they were booing Sunday in Detroit.

Just perfect, eh?

Goalie Dominik Hasek is a No. 1 reason the potent Red Wings are a favorite.(Allsport)

It is if you're a fan of playoff hockey. A 2002 Stanley Cup bracket that looked red (wing), white and blown apart by Detroit now has a familiar ring. No, not the one worn by defending Cup champion Colorado. It's the one we hear every year:

Anything can happen.

Regular-season mutts cause postseason meltdowns. No-names have big games. Detroit hopes it can flip the switch back to "on" because a funny thing happened on the way to the coronation. In the last few weeks, Detroit is on a bummer instead of burning rubber. St. Louis beat Detroit 5-3 Sunday in a regular-season finale, meaningless only if you believe the NHL's No. 1 team is still invincible.

It's clear they're not at the end of the 82-game jockeying for playoff position. The league's runaway best team during the regular season is skating into the second season on its worst winless streak (0-3-2-2) in more than a decade.

Everybody, then, into the playoff pool. In this, the NHL's 75th annual chase for the chalice, things have changed. No Motown, at least not at the searing pace it set during the season. No Mario nor Modano. No Jagr nor Jarome. Great players, not great teams, which is what is required over the next two months.

These are times for the toothless and tenacious to make a difference. Guys like Kris Draper, Ray Ferraro, Andreas Dackell and, oh yes, maybe Alexei Yashin. Would it be too much to ask of the Islanders' center to actually show up for the postseason?

The Islanders haven't been to the playoffs in eight years. Their superstar Yashin hasn't scored a goal in the playoffs in three years, which is probably a reason to figure his former team, Ottawa, will win its first playoff series in four years.

If he flames out again, Yashin has a built-in excuse. A sore groin might slow him during a first-round series with Toronto.

Sure, Detroit is the favorite, but wasn't it a couple of years ago a nameless, faceless San Jose beat top seed St. Louis? It was no surprise that talented Colorado won it last year, but the crusade lasted to Game 7 of the Finals against equally determined New Jersey. Colorado's Shjon Podein was so exhausted and elated he spent the next 24 hours in his uniform.

Talk about soaking it all in.

It's time to welcome back some old friends back from early tee times -- the Islanders and Montreal -- and challenge some others. Carolina/Hartford has changed cities but not its chump status. The Hurricanes/Whalers have lost nine consecutive playoff series. They are your Tobacco Road apples of the playoffs.

St. Louis is the Phil Mickelson of the playoffs. Best team never to win a major ... series. The Blues have made it 23 consecutive years in the playoffs but have made it as far as the conference finals only twice in that span.

San Jose is the sexy, young thang. All those 20-goal scorers. A low-talker, Darryl Sutter, for a coach who more than gets his message across. Besides, who needs a Lombardi when you've got the loudest rink in the league? San Jose seldom tanks at the Shark Tank.

Vancouver is the hottest, 8-1-1 in its last 10, with one of the biggest. Todd Bertuzzi is 240 pounds of power forward ready to crunch 40-year-old Detroit defensemen.

Toronto is the hardest to figure. The guy who gives the Leafs its best chance of winning, goalie Curtis Joseph, is upset at coach Pat Quinn. As coach of Team Canada, Quinn gave up quickly on Joseph during the Olympics. The coach is a national hero. The goalie has a chip on his shoulder.

Given that combination, this Cup thing might work out for the Leafs for the first time in 35 years.

Montreal has to be the most sentimental "favorite." The Habs barely slipped into the playoffs for the first time in four years. Now everyone is expecting a classic in the 29th playoff series with Boston.

Never mind that it's a 1 vs. 8 matchup. The Bruins themselves are no less a story. They went from missing the playoffs to the No. 1 seed in the East. A series that used to be decided by Richard, Orr, LaFleur and Dryden will be shaken and stirred by Samsonov, Dafoe, Theodore and, applause please, Koivu.

The Blackhawks and Blues have their own playoff history. The Driving Distance Series is being renewed for the 10th time. Since the last playoff meeting in 1993, the teams have built new arenas and built a new rivalry.

How new? It's Passmore now, instead of Belfour for the 'Hawks. Hull is twice removed from the Blues. Chicago coach Brian Sutter can look up in the rafters Wednesday night at the Savvis Center and see his retired number. For the Blues.

Don't worry, we've got the next eight weeks to sort this all out. Detroit, however, has only a couple of days. The Wings are still the favorites, which means the usual.

Anything can happen.