Sometimes people get very specific in order to hype something as truly unique. The clash between the Columbus Blue Jackets’ 14-game winning streak and the Minnesota Wild’s 12-gamer really is special, though.
Consider this: Elias Sports Bureau reports that we’ve never seen a game between two teams on active winning streaks of 12+ games in NHL history ... and that hasn’t happened in NFL, NBA or MLB history, either.
Actually, they cast the net wider to really drive home how unusual that New Year’s Eve game in Minnesota really is:
Columbus at Minnesota will be the first MLB/MLS/NBA/NFL/NHL/WNBA game with both teams on winning streaks of 12 or more games.#CBJ #MnWild
— Elias Sports Bureau (@EliasSports) December 31, 2016
If the team’s two starting goalies end up playing as expected, it will be a pretty rare duel between red-hot netminders, as well. Sergei Bobrovsky is currently on a 12-game winning streak while Devan Dubnyk has won 10 in a row.
Rob Mixer’s preview adds a few other bits of history to the mix:
The Blue Jackets have won 14 straight games. That’s a franchise record. The Wild have won 12 straight games, also a franchise record. Columbus’ 14-game streak is tied for fourth-longest in the 99-year history of the NHL, and only four teams have boasted a longer streak than what the Blue Jackets are currently on. The last team to win 15 in a row was the 2012-13 Pittsburgh Penguins, and they also own the NHL’s record-long win streak of 17, which they accomplished during the 1992-93 season.
Special stuff.
NHL.com provided some great tidbits on the two teams’ streaks, including pointing out moments when each run could have ended. That article points out that the Blue Jackets outscored their opponents 55-24 (+31) during their 14-game winning streak while the Wild generated a 46-22 differential (+24).
All the linked bits are worth a gander, but if you’d rather just watch a video that captures some of the teams’ best moments from their streaks, you’ll enjoy this as well:
Long story short, if you’re a hockey fan and you’re not working this game into your plans tonight, then other fans might give you the same look John Tortorella shot toward someone recording with a cell phone:
noted: don't record Torts with a phone 😂#CBJ https://t.co/Pst0KwN4dL
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 30, 2016
You’ve been warned.