If this is it for Pavel Datsyuk, the lasting image of this Detroit Red Wings season - and their 25th consecutive appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs - will be the emotion of The Magic Man.

The moment - Datsyuk's visor fogging up in the handshake line as he fights to hold back an outpouring - is representative of the end of an era. A rare shift in the team's identity.

In the immediate, this hurts the Red Wings, a team with one series victory over the past five seasons. But as the franchise moves forward, and into the next quarter century, they're fortunate to have generations overlap.

Rookies Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou played integral roles for the Red Wings down the stretch and into the playoffs, and despite appearing in just five games before falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning, were able to gain invaluable postseason know-how.

"I've learned a ton from Game 1 and, every game, I keep learning," Larkin, the first teenager to make the Red Wings in more than a decade, said after the loss, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

"Every game, I've felt more comfortable. I've learned a lot about myself and the guys in this room."

Playoff experience has also helped Athanasiou - who, unlike Larkin, had to prove his mettle in the minor leagues - realize he could contribute at the NHL level.

"It's definitely a big time experience for me," Athanasiou said after the game. "To get a chance to play in the NHL playoffs, it's going to go along way towards maturing as a player.

"I'm confident in my abilities and confident in my play."

Experience must morph into mastery should Larkin, Athanasiou, or any other fresh-faced Red Wing have their name follow Datsyuk's in the listing of the franchise's greats.

But if that ever happens, they'll understand exactly what it means.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.