After 26 years and 25 consecutive seasons — minus the 2004–05 season entirely lost to labor strife — the Red Wings have been eliminated from playoff contention. The Carolina Hurricanes beat Detroit 4–1 at PNC Arena on Tuesday night, and victories by both Toronto and Boston mathematically ended Detroit’s chance at another postseason bid.

That the Red Wings would miss the playoffs after a quarter-century in the postseason wasn’t a surprise. They’ve been a listless club for some time, slowly deflating after more than a generation of dominance that saw them win four Stanley Cups.

Still, it’s a bit surreal. The Red Wings have been a staple of the NHL playoffs — 35 percent of Americans have known nothing but Detroit in the postseason their entire lives. Until now.

Let’s take a quick look back at what life was life was like the last time the Red Wings sat home for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

In 1989–90, Detroit was in the Campbell Conference’s Norris Division. They finished fifth at 28–38–14. They drafted some guys named Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Vladimir Konstantinov (and their first pick was the oft-traded Mike Sillinger). The captain was Steve Yzerman, who recorded 127 points that season. In goal were Glen Hanlon, Tim Cheveldae and Sam St. Laurent. Joe Louis Arena was just a decade old. The team averaged 19,531 fans per game — they had long shed the Dead Things pejorative because they’d earned playoff bids in five of the previous six seasons. They were building toward their future dynasty, and 1989–90 was more of an anomaly than symptom of past woes.

Here’s what America was like in 1990:

• President: George H.W. Bush
• Michigan governor: James Blanchard
• Detroit mayor: Coleman Young
• U.S. population: 249.4 million (today it’s 324.7 million)
• Dow Jones: 3,000 (this morning it was 20,670)
• Unemployment: 5.3 percent (4.7 percent for February 2017)
• Inflation: 5.4 percent (4.7 percent for February 2017)
• Consumer Price Index: 130.7 (2016: 239.5)
• New car price: $16,950 (now, $33,560)
• Median household income: $29,943 (now, $55,775)
• First-class stamp: 25 cents (now, 49 cents)
• Gallon of gas: $1.16 (now, $2.28)
• U.S. median home value: $79,100, in 1990 dollars ($174,600 in 2012)
• Michigan median home value: $60,600, in 1990 dollars ($119,200 in 2012)
• Michigan population: 9.2 million (now, 9.9 million)
• Detroit population: 1 million (677,116 in 2015)
• Best Picture: “Driving Miss Daisy”
• Best actor: Daniel Day-Lewis — My Left Foot
• Best actress: Jessica Tandy — Driving Miss Daisy
• Emmy for comedy: “Murphy Brown”
• Emmy for drama: “L.A. Law”
• Grammy for Record of the Year: “Wind Beneath My Wings,” Bette Midler
• Grammy for Album of the Year: “Nick of Time,” Don Was, Bonnie Raitt
• Grammy for Song of the Year: Wind Beneath My Wings
• Billboard top singles: “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips
• Billboard top album: Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814

In sports, the Pistons beat the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA Finals. The Edmonton Oilers beat the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup. The Cincinnati Reds swept the Oakland A’s in the World Series. The San Francisco 49ers won Super Bowl XXIV by routing the Denver Broncos. The University of Miami beat the University of Alabama to win the college football national championship, and in basketball it was UNLV over Duke. Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson to claim the heavyweight championship in an upset. Unbridled won the Kentucky Derby. Dale Earnhardt was NASCAR’s champion, and Arie Luyendyk won the Indianapolis 500. Nick Faldo won the Masters and British Open. Winnipeg won the Grey Cup over Edmonton.

How Detroit’s other teams fared in 1990:

• Detroit Tigers: 79–83 (3rd in AL East)
• Detroit Lions: 6–10 (3rd in NFC Central)
• Detroit Pistons: 59–23 (1st in Central Division, NBA champions)

Major news: U.S. invades Panama to out Gen. Manuel Noriega. Airlines ban smoking. Nelson Mandela is released from prison. Germany reunifies. Americans with Disabilities Act becomes law. Iraq invades Kuwait. ABC airs its “Detroit Agony” series in November.

Note: These are events and awards and data that occurred within the 1990 calendar year.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Kaiser Family Foundation, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, 1990sflashback.com, hockeydb.com, zillow.com, U.S. Census, city-data.com, Billboard.com