History in Hockeytown: Red Wings post 21 straight home wins

The Red Wings salute the Joe Louis Arena crowd after posting their 21st straight win at Joe Louis Arena - a new NHL record. (Dave Reginek/DRW)

By Michael Caples –

DETROIT – Two nights ago at Joe Louis Arena fans were kept on the edge of their seats until the final buzzer sounded to confirm that the Red Wings had tied a league record.

Tonight, however, they broke the record in convincing fashion.

Goals from Henrik Zetterberg and Brad Stuart in the first period along with an insurance marker by Jiri Hudler in the third powered the Red Wings to a 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars. It was the franchise’s 21st consecutive home victory – the first team to accomplish the feat in NHL history.

“It’s something special,” captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. “Really especially when with all the great teams I’ve been on here over the years, we’ve had some great players but we’ve never had a chance to do something like this. This is a special moment for the team.”

The win separated the Wings from the 1929-30 Boston Bruins and 1975-76 Philadelphia Flyers, the two teams who posted 20 consecutive NHL wins.

When asked if there were particular games that stood out over the 21-game span, coach Mike Babcock pointed out that the reason why his team has been so successful on home ice is why no games come to mind.

“We didn’t spend any time thinking about this or talking about it,” Babcock said. “We just do what we always do; prepare for the game, and try to focus on doing good things, make good things happen, and that’s what we’ve done all along. That’s what we’re going to do tomorrow.

The Red Wings celebrate with goaltender Joey MacDonald after posting a 3-1 win over Dallas to wrap up a historic night in Detroit. (Dave Reginek/DRW)

“So it’s great that this has happened for our team, I think it’s really good for our logo, really good for our ownership and our team, and just trying to get better and improve your team, and I’m proud of the guys, they worked hard, and now let’s get on with it.”

Joey MacDonald made 20 saves to earn his fourth straight win on the historic night at Joe Louis Arena, creating a memory he surely won’t forget.

“It’s great,” MacDonald said after the game. “It’s a record that took a long time for some team to do it. It’s great to be a part of it. Chip in here like I have the last few games, be a part of this dressing room, it’s awesome.”

The Stars’ lone goal came with 33 seconds left in regulation – a tap-in goal at the backdoor post by Adam Burish to erase the shutout for MacDonald. However, the Wings’ netminder said the late goal couldn’t ruin his night.

“It would have been nice to get it; I haven’t had one since last year,” MacDonald said. “But at this point in time, it’s a win. Especially on a night like tonight, breaking the record like that, it didn’t really matter. A win is a win, it would have been nice to get, but we battled hard all night, and I thought we did a terrific job defensively. They didn’t have a whole lot, a lot of shots out on bad angles, and we did a great job boxing them out.”

Zetterberg, who scored at the 7:57 mark of the first period by bouncing the puck off goaltender Kari Lehtonen’s skate, said that the Red Wings’ fans deserve as much credit as anyone else. At the conclusion of the contest, the Detroit players saluted the Joe Louis Arena crowd before exiting for the locker room.

“I think everyone’s been thinking about that,” Zetterberg said. “They are a huge part of this, and they’ve really helped us play good when we’re at home. It’s fun to break at home.”

Yet the team won’t be celebrating for too long. The top team in the Western Conference has a home game against Nashville on Friday.

“Obviously we’re proud of the fact that our guys have been this consistent, and we’ve found ways to win each and every night,” Babcock said. “We need the points, any time you’re in a race like we are, you need the points, and our guys did a good job again tonight, so we’ve got to feel good about ourselves, and then get ready for Nashville.”