Streaks

All streaks will eventually end. Just like the Detroit Red Wings winning streak ended against the Chicago Blackhawks, so did the scoring streak of Henrik Zetterberg yesterday, against the St. Louis Blues.

Not knowing when the inevitable end will come is part of the fascination we have with streaks. Of course there are both good and bad streaks and they all have a tendancy to create psychological obstacles for the players. The media thrives on them, while players, fearing a jinx, try not to think about the streak at all.

The bottom line is, the rest of us love them, it is an exciting ingredient that elevates the sport. Some streaks become records and the player or team responsible for it are remembered forever. Here are three of my favorite streaks. They are all impressive, some perhaps more so than others, but more importantly, they are all part of NHL history.


Brian Boucher
Longest shutout streak by a goalie

As a rookie he led the Philadelphia Flyers to within one game of the Stanley Cup Final in 2000. After a few less than successful seasons, where he struggled to regain his rookie form, he was finally traded off to the Phoenix Coyotes. His problems with consistency continued but in 2005 his five consecutive shutouts shattered Bill Durnan's 56-year-old record, set with the Montreal Canadiens. The record, set during 332 minutes secured Boucher a place in history.


Montreal Canadiens
10 consecutive OT wins in playoffs

In the 1993 playoffs the Montreal Canadiens were down 2-0 in the first round to the Quebec Nordiques, but then snatched Game 3 in overtime. After eliminating the Nordiques by winning the next three, they went on to face Buffalo in the second round. Montreal swept the Sabres in four, but needed OT wins in three of them. Montreal racked up a record 11 straight playoff wins, including two more OT wins in the first three games against the New York Islanders in the Conference Final. The Stanley Cup Final, against Wayne Gretzky's Los Angeles Kings, was won in five games, three of which were in OT.


Wayne Gretzky
Longest consecutive point-scoring streak

With Zetterberg's point streak fresh in everyone's mind this record is hard not to include. In 1983 Gretzky had at least one point in each of the first 51 games, before the Los Angeles Kings put an end to the longest scoring streak in history. During that span Gretzky racked up a total of 61 goals and 92 assists.