Even without Jarome Iginla -- and with Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang both missing parts of it due to injuries -- the Pittsburgh Penguins have won 14 consecutive games.
That’s not just impressive, it’s one of the top winning streaks of all-time.
Pittsburgh is just three wins away from tying the record, which the Penguins established back in 1993 when Mario Lemieux, Kevin Stevens, Rick Tocchet, and Ron Francis were in their prime and Jaromir Jagr was rapidly emerging as one of the league’s top players.
The Penguins had a 56-21-7 record that season, easily the best in the league -- and then went on to lose in the second round of the playoffs against a New York Islanders team that finished a mere three games above .500.
It’s likely in that context that Sidney Crosby chose to downplay the Penguins’ latest accomplishment.
“I don’t think anyone is going to remember (this) come playoff time,” Crosby told NHL.com.
Crosby went on to say that the Penguins’ primary goal is just to improve. All the same, breaking a record held by the Lemieux-lead squad would be quite an achievement.
Here’s the list of the Top Five single-season NHL winning streaks:
1. Pittsburgh Penguins (17 Games, March 9 – April 10, 1993)
2. New York Islanders (15 Games, Jan. 21 – Feb. 20, 1982)
3. Boston Bruins (14 Games, Dec. 3, 1929 – Jan. 9, 1930)
3. Washington Capitals (14 Games, Jan. 13 – Feb. 7, 2010)
3. Pittsburgh Penguins (14 Games, March 2 - present)