Like I said before (and the haters won't acknowledge), if the Shootout has somehow made this stat a "worthless" statistic because it is now easier to achieve, why are the Red Wings the first to achieve it?

Right now the Wings are looking unbeatable at home, and with more home games than road games remaining on the schedule, they could be looking at home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. It's like a force multiplier... if they keep up this invincibility at the Joe (please note that qualifier), they would lock up the Cup.

LesserEvil: It's like a force multiplier... if they keep up this invincibility at the Joe (please note that qualifier), they would lock up the Cup.

It's beginning to smell a lot like '95...silver Cups in store...

/you know you love it, lol

ArtosRC: Ugh. It just had to be the Red Wings.

Haters gonna hate, the Mule is gonna skate.

/Go Wings

The 1976-77 Bruins still hold the longest home unbeaten streak at 34. Red Wings are only at 21.

Wake me when they break 30.

robsul82: LesserEvil: It's like a force multiplier... if they keep up this invincibility at the Joe (please note that qualifier), they would lock up the Cup.

It's beginning to smell a lot like '95...silver Cups in store...

/you know you love it, lol

Heh, no counting chickens before they are hatched and all that, just stating a plain fact, IF they remain invincible at home, they are a lock for the Cup. Still, they have to get those 16 playoff wins.

I do think it is starting to look foolish to bet against them.

mjg: They'll be rioting in the streets.

/oh, that's every day in Detroit

Don't confuse Detroit with Vancouver.

/Besides, there's nobody left in Detroit to riot these days.

This record is bullsh*t and every Red Wing fan knows it.

How many games did the 75-76 Flyers win in a shootout?

Rev.K: [3.bp.blogspot.com image 221x228]

This record is bullsh*t and every Red Wing fan knows it.

How many games did the 75-76 Flyers win in a shootout?


Haters gonna hate!

You still won't address my point.

Chak: Donnchadha
I think you mean the 1976-77 Canadiens

Wikipedia says Bruins. If Wikipedia and reality differ, then reality is wrong.

LesserEvil: You still won't address my point.

Two things:

1. I'm not saying it isn't an achievement. The Wings home record is the envy of every team in the league, no question. Good on the Wings for being an utterly deadly team at home.

2. The Wings own this "record" because of the rule change, period. That's the undeniable truth. If the Wings streak had happened previous to the shootout this record would not exist, end of story. Yet you want to claim that this winning streak is exactly the same as the Flyers winning streak when it clearly isn't.

LesserEvil: Heh, no counting chickens before they are hatched and all that, just stating a plain fact, IF they remain invincible at home, they are a lock for the Cup. Still, they have to get those 16 playoff wins.

I do think it is starting to look foolish to bet against them.

Yep, you just watch out if my Devils get the 5 seed, then you'll KNOW, hehe.

BeerLion: "Somebody was talking about their shootout wins. I think it's harder than it was back in the 70's because of the parity in the league. There's no game when you can show up and think we can cruise through this and win. It doesn't happen anymore. To win 20 in a row at home, just two losses at home, it's freakish. You've got to tip your cap. I'll tip my cap to them. That's pretty darn good."

Without the rule change, the streak doesn't exist. They won 12 before they won their first shootout, that's just over half of the number of games that the Flyers won outright.

I'm not saying he doesn't have a point, but 12 is a far cry from 21.

9beers: The Flyers won 20 in a row because they didn't play in the modern NHL..

And the Wings won 21 thanks entirely to the benefit of the shootout.

I'd say it's a wash.

Rev.K: LesserEvil: You still won't address my point.

Two things:

1. I'm not saying it isn't an achievement. The Wings home record is the envy of every team in the league, no question. Good on the Wings for being an utterly deadly team at home.

2. The Wings own this "record" because of the rule change, period. That's the undeniable truth. If the Wings streak had happened previous to the shootout this record would not exist, end of story. Yet you want to claim that this winning streak is exactly the same as the Flyers winning streak when it clearly isn't.

It's a subjective measurement between the eras, yet this is the first time in 6 years anybody has broken that streak. It's even possible it's harder to obtain now than it was before, simply because of the way overtimes are played now (players' and coaches' attitudes).

It's not like the new records somehow diminish the old records... those records stood for decades.

Now as to the longest unbeaten streak... think of how a shootout undermines that effort. In the end, there are trade-offs for any of the systems the NHL has employed over it's long and hallowed history. Each one of them has features that supposedly make such a win streak "easier" or "harder" to achieve; so what? IF the shootout is still around 6 more years down the road, and you can point to more 20+ home unbeaten streaks, maybe you'll have a point that it's easier (which is what you are really saying when you say "it's not the same")... I don't think that point has been shown empirically at this point. I'm not going to say they are the same, but I'm not going to say it was easier for the Wings, or harder... only that it is a record.

Baseball fans have the same argument year after year with their records. In the end, the only asterisks accompany records tainted by revelations of PED/steroid usage, because there is no way to accurately measure the effects of rule, equipment, and venue changes over different eras. Same thing applies to Hockey.

I was hopeful it was gonna be a thread about the Hawks ending their losing streak, but alas that number will likely reach 10.

/will be worried if they manage to lose to Columbus

LesserEvil: It's a subjective measurement between the eras, yet this is the first time in 6 years anybody has broken that streak. It's even possible it's harder to obtain now than it was before, simply because of the way overtimes are played now (players' and coaches' attitudes).

Again. Without the rule change, their streak is 12 and this never happens. They have the record because of a rule change, period. That is how they achieved this, by the rules being drastically different.

LesserEvil: Baseball fans have the same argument year after year with their records. In the end, the only asterisks accompany records tainted by revelations of PED/steroid usage, because there is no way to accurately measure the effects of rule, equipment, and venue changes over different eras. Same thing applies to Hockey.

I'm not familiar with baseball, but I'll take your word.

The trick here is that the shootout is the most radical rule change, possibly ever in the NHL.

And it remains the sole reason why the Wings were able to do this.

Rev.K: This record is bullsh*t and every Red Wing fan knows it.

asterisk or not, grats to them.

mjoven1975: LesserEvil: Like I said before (and the haters won't acknowledge), if the Shootout has somehow made this stat a "worthless" statistic because it is now easier to achieve, why are the Red Wings the first to achieve it?

Right now the Wings are looking unbeatable at home, and with more home games than road games remaining on the schedule, they could be looking at home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. It's like a force multiplier... if they keep up this invincibility at the Joe (please note that qualifier), they would lock up the Cup.

3 of those wins would have been ties if it weren't for the shootout. It's an impressive run but it's still not as impressive as the 20 game home winning streaks achieved when the shootout didn't exist. Any Red Wings fan crowing about this streak is an idiot. Win 21 in a row without a shootout win and then we'll take this streak seriously.

With a shootout, teams play more defensively in the OT period (and it's only 5 minutes). If there wasn't a shootout, you'd probably see more aggressive hockey to get those 2 points.

You can play "what if" all day long. In the end, it's still a record, and still a great achievement. You think it's easier, but the record books say otherwise. Ever play hockey? Ever play for a playoff spot? If so, you should understand how regulation ties are coached in OT and why they are played that way. The shootout was implemented for more reasons than "just to entertain fans with a skills competition" - any time you have players on the ice for more than 60 minutes a game, owners (who ultimately decided to go to the shootout) have to consider the health of those players.

If you want to play "what if" - fine, I say the Wings would have pushed harder and taken advantage of the opposing teams reckless OT play and won in sudden death - possibly. They certainly wouldn't have played OT the same way if they had no shoot out to get those 2 points.

sigdiamond2000:

If there's anyone's jimmies I'm not looking to rustle, it's yours.

But c'mon. 21 wins, impressive, no question.

But breaking the record by means of the shootout not once, not twice, but three times?

I have a hard time with that.