Anatomy of a record: Detroit’s history-making home winning streak

Mike Halford

Jan 23, 2012, 12:17 PM EDT

3 Comments

AP

Tonight on NBC Sports Network (7:30pm ET), the Detroit Red Wings will host the St. Louis Blues at Joe Louis Arena.

It’s a fairly crucial game for the Wings in terms of Central Division jockeying — they’re just one point up on the Blues for first place — but also in terms of history. Detroit has won 16 straight home games and is now just four away from tying the NHL’s all-time mark of 20.

Let’s take a look at the past and future of the streak.

Looking Back

– The streak began with a 5-0 win over Anaheim on Nov. 5.

– The last time Detroit lost at home, Jay-Z and Beyonce weren’t parents and Kim Jong-il was the supreme leader of North Korea.

– The previous franchise best (14-game winning streak) was set 47 years ago by the famous Detroit team led by Gordie Howe, Norm Ullman, Alex Delvecchio and Roger Crozier.

– It was broken last Monday.

– During the streak, the Wings have scored five goals or more eight times, including a 7-1 romp over Winnipeg, an 8-2 destruction of Los Angeles and a 5-0 whipping of Buffalo.

– The 16-game winning streak is the fourth-longest in NHL history.

– Only the 1929-30 Boston Bruins and 1975-76 Philadelphia Flyers (20 each), and the 1970-71 Bruins (19) had longer ones.

Top Performers

– Jimmy Howard has been the goalie of record for all 16 wins.

– Detroit has seven players in the NHL’s top 20 for home plus/minus: Nicklas Lidstrom (1st, +24), Ian White (3rd, +23), Valtteri Filppula (7th, +19), Johan Franzen (13th, +17), Brad Stuart (16th, +15), Drew Miller (18th, +13) and Jiri Hudler (20th, +13).

– Detroit doesn’t have a minus player at home this year.

– Pavel Datsyuk is second in the NHL for assists at home (21).

Looking ahead

– Detroit hosts St. Louis tonight, then heads out on a five-game road trip to Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton and Phoenix. That’s followed by a six-game homestand at the Joe.