20 Straight: Red Wings tie NHL home win streak record
By Michael Caples –
DETROIT – Joey MacDonald admitted that in the closing minutes, this one was a little bit more nerve-wracking.
The Wings’ goaltender, who has been filling in for injured starter Jimmy Howard, handled the stress, helping Detroit preserve a 4-3 lead and land themselves in the NHL record book.
With their win over Philadelphia Sunday night, the Red Wings increased their home winning streak to 20 games, which ties the league record.
“When you’re going for that 20th straight win, you try to put a little bit more pressure on yourself,” MacDonald said. “But you know, the whole hockey game was a good game.”
Niklas Kronwall, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, and Johan Franzen all scored on the historic night for the Wings, while MacDonald made 26 saves in goal.
The Red Wings are the first team in over 30 years to accomplish the feat of 20 straight at home. Boston recorded 20 consecutive home wins in 1929-30, while Philadelphia did the same in 1975-76.
“Absolutely, it is pretty cool,” Zetterberg said. “We’re happy about it…we tried to not talk about it too much, but now that we’ve tied it, we can at least start talking about it a little bit. It’s a nice feeling – it’s pretty cool to be a part of it.”
The Red Wings will have a chance to take sole possession of the record Tuesday night when they host the Dallas Stars.
Captain Nicklas Lidstrom said it’s been an unsual record to approach, but something special nonetheless.
“It is. And looking back, we’ve had some great teams here over the years, but I don’t think we’ve ever been close to this record, so I think we should be proud of it,” Lidstrom said. “But I think it’s something we haven’t talked much about when this has been going on; it’s been every-day business, just getting ready for the next game, and that’s the approach that we’ve had so far. “
Coach Mike Babcock said his team will continue with their game-by-game approach for Tuesday night’s match-up with Dallas.
“Well I mean obviously it’s incredible to win that many in a row at home,” Babcock said. ”It’s unbelievable that you can actually do that. We don’t look at it like that; we look at it like you’ve won one. That’s the approach we’ve taken, that’s what we’ll try to do again on Tuesday.”