The Red Wings are on a terrific run right now, having secured at least a point 13 straight games (8-0-5).
Yet, amazingly, they might not even be the hottest team within their own organization.
That distinction belongs to the club’s AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids. Last night, the Griffins matched a franchise record with their 11th straight victory, a 4-3 OT win over Iowa at Wells Fargo Arena.
More, from MLive:
This winning streak ties the franchise record set during the 2005-06 campaign (March 5-31, 2006) under Greg Ireland. The Griffins have a chance to break the record on Wendesday against the Lake Erie Monsters at Quicken Loans Arena at 7 p.m.
Trailing 3-0 with less than six minutes remaining in the second period, Mitch Callahan’s eighth of the season put the Griffins (13-8-0-1) on the scoresheet, while Martin Frk and Mark Zengerle each scored in the final 2:19 of regulation to force the extra session.
As the 11 consecutive Ws suggest, many of the Griffins are playing well, and you’ll probably recognize some of the names currently doing the business:
-- Xavier Ouellet, who scored the OT winner against Iowa. The 22-year-old d-man has appeared in 25 career games for the Red Wings (though none this year).
-- Journeyman Eric Tangradi, who’s appeared in 143 career NHL contests. The former Penguin, Jet and Canadien leads the Griffins with 12 goals and 20 points in 22 games.
-- Former Hobey Baker winner Andy Miele, who joined the organization last year. Miele has a team-high 14 assists thus far.
-- Youngsters Andreas Athanasiou and Anthony Mantha, the latter being Detroit’s first-round pick (20th overall) at the ’13 draft.
As for the future of said streaks?
Detroit looks to get a point in its 14th straight game when it hosts the Sabres tonight. Grand Rapids next plays on Wednesday, at Lake Erie.