Last night, New York Rangers resident enforcer and mega Miley Cyrus fan, Derek Boogaard, scored his first goal since January 7th, 2006. That’s a total of 1,766 days in between goals. Being the butt of "You Play Hockey? I Thought You Were A Boxer" jokes can certainly get tiring, especially for a guy whose fist covers more square footage than a normal face can handle, so Derek has got to be relieved that this unflattering streak is over.
But as we all celebrated the Boogeyman’s goal with a grain of salt and a sarcastic laugh, I couldn’t help but think of other notable streaks around the NHL both past and present...
51 Games – Wayne Gretzky’s 51 game point streak still ranks among the most impressive things ever accomplished in all of sports. Once witnesses to the most exciting franchise in NHL history, Oilers fans now live every day with the knowledge that no NHL player ever really wants to play in Edmonton.
754 – Number of consecutive television broadcasts where Don Cherry’s suit has managed to cause seizures and nausea for a number of viewers at home.
35 Games – The longest unbeaten streak in NHL history belongs to the 1979-1980 Philadelphia Flyers. Famously known as the Broad Street Bullies, these teams were known for their toughness, grit and their ability to scare the absolute shit out of Russian Olympians. Now, thanks to Chris Pronger, opponents of the Flyers and their faces hope to go one game unbeaten.
964 Games – Doug Jarvis’ consecutive games played streak stands as the all time testament to Iron Man athletes. Although the NBA’s A.C. Green and numerous MLB players have amassed streaks stretching longer periods of time, I think we can all agree that hockey takes something special to play day in and day out; something that baseball and basketball players don’t always require. Hint: It’s what they throw around during the game.
95 Years – Vancouver holds the record for the city with the longest Stanley Cup drought in the trophy’s history. Chicago Cubs fans aren’t impressed.
332 Minutes – The NHL’s longest shutout streak is held by none other than Brian Boucher of the Philadelphia Flyers. Now a backup to rookie sensation and the pride of Poland, Bob Rovsky, Boucher once recorded five straight shutouts while playing for Phoenix in 2005. Boucher also holds the NCAA record for most sacks in a single game with 11. Oh wait, nevermind, that was Bobby Boucher. You know, The Waterboy? They look and talk so similarly that I sometimes get confused.
22 Years and Counting – The longest period of time during which a completely irrelevant, retired player remains the focus of a team’s fan’s chants. It’s time to face facts Rangers fans, our Potvin Sucks chant…sucks.
27 Games – During the 1975-76 season, the now defunct Kansas City Scouts managed to put together two of the most impressive winless streaks in NHL history. After a promising first half of the season, the Scouts managed to go on 1-35-8 in their final 44 games. This stretch included winless streaks of 16 and 27 games interrupted by a lone win against the lowly Capitals. Hey Devils fans, know what happened to the Scouts? They relocated to Denver, and then six years later they relocated to… New Jersey!! Ha-Ha, your franchise sucks! Not even Lou can save that legacy.
Thanks for stopping by! Check out older posts, like the blog on facebook, and comment for Christ’s sake! With that being said, I leave you with this Haiku written to express my feelings about last night’s loss to the Capitals. It’s called, “We Had Two Games In Hand On Everyone in the Division and Now We’re Not Looking So Hot”.
Wish Gabby was back.
Refs keep calling off our goals.
Not cool, refs, not cool.
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