Wings reach 100-point mark for an NHL-record ninth consecutive season

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Why Red Wings' 100-point feat is absolutely mind-boggling

Monday, March 16, 2009 | Feedback | Print Entry

While we were celebrating Martin Brodeur's terrific achievement over the weekend (Bravo, Martin!), the Detroit Red Wings quietly set an impressive record.

When the Wings beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 to the dismay of a packed house at Nationwide Arena on Sunday, they cracked the 100-point mark for an NHL-record ninth consecutive season.

Think about that.

It's an impressive feat under any circumstances. I think it's even more impressive when you consider the Wings have done it as they've transitioned from a Steve Yzerman-Brendan Shanahan-Brett Hull team to a Pavel Datsyuk-Henrik Zetterberg-Johan Franzen squad. And they've done it as the league has changed from a clutching-and-grabbing circuit that operated without a salary cap to today's post-lockout NHL.

To me, that makes the feat absolutely mind-boggling. It really is a special accomplishment for the Ilitch family, GM Ken Holland and the entire group in Hockeytown.

The Wings, who have had some unusually lopsided losses in recent weeks, put on a clinic against the upstart Blue Jackets. Afterward, Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock made his feelings about the defending champions very clear.

"I don't care who plays Detroit," Hitchcock said. "If they decide to play that way, not many teams are going to beat them ... and nobody is going to beat them in a series. If they're going to play that way, certainly teams are going to be lucky to win games against them."

Interestingly, the Red Wings are three points better through 70 games than last season's team. You might not have guessed that based on the many puck watchers who've voiced concern over the Wings. In particular, there has been a lot of discussion over the club's goaltending. Clearly, three-time Cup winner (twice as a starter) Chris Osgood has struggled for a good portion of the season. In recent games, though, with the exception of the club's ugly 8-2 loss to Columbus on March 7, Osgood seems to be finding his way. He has won four of his past five starts with two shutouts. Detroit coach Mike Babcock also committed to starting Osgood against the Flyers on Tuesday.

This season, whenever the Wings have been challenged, they've responded in championship manner. I think that says something. In the postseason, there are so many things that come into play. So I do think they could be beaten under the right circumstances. But, if you're asking, I'm still picking them to repeat as champions.

[Mors 201]

Saw this yesterday in the interview with Babcock, also thought it was nice how humble he was in reference to his own involvement in the past 4 years. Only 4 wins away from another 50-win season too...

[mjlegend 155]

The Red Wings are TERRIBLE and LAZY.

[Wingsallwin 0]

Awesome. It shows how great this organization is. Since Yzerman came to the Wings, the Wings have made the most of playoff; 18 consecutive playoff I think? We never failed after even though we won the cup. This season will be same.

Because the Wings are great, many dumb Canadians' medias hate us but who cares. We have won the 3rd most cups, maybe 2nd soon passing the Leafs.

[Echolalia 2,961]

What has me excited is the fact that the Wings versed two teams fighting for a playoff spot (Ie playoff hockey) and won convincingly both times on consecutive nights, both times with Osgood playing like Osgood, and the Wings defense playing stingy, and the offense exploding as we expected it to when Holland inked Hossa.

[FinWing 26]

Fantastic achievement! Even though the team sometimes drives us nuts, this is truly a testament to the management and their commitment to winning.

Go Wings!

[Guest Shoreline]

It's a good accomplishment I guess, but given the league's changes on how teams attain points, i.e. it's easier now, I don't really find this achievement worth that much anymore. I'm just happy the Wings are winning and are comparatively amongst the top teams (by their performance on the ice), regardless of points.

[Nev 1,085]

Interestingly, the Red Wings are three points better through 70 games than last season's team.

Surprising - although that is probably more due to that brutal streak last February when we had 10 (ten) starters out injured and Lebda & Lilja were our top D-pair.

Can anyone honestly say this years Wings have been better than last year? Last season, we were a machine, every night. This season, we are a machine, occasionally. When we can be bothered.

All that said, it is a very impressive achievement and the Wings top brass deserve all the credit in the world.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

Can anyone honestly say this years Wings have been better than last year? Last season, we were a machine, every night. This season, we are a machine, occasionally. When we can be bothered.

Yeah, everything is relative. What was impressive one season won't necessarily be as impressive the next.

Of course, the Wings, relative to the rest of the league, are easily the best run franchise in the NHL of the last decade-plus, and the numbers help bear that out.

[pjgj13 30]

Just imagine how many points they COULD have had if the played in the weak Central division from a few years ago.

[mjlegend 155]

It's a good accomplishment I guess, but given the league's changes on how teams attain points, i.e. it's easier now, I don't really find this achievement worth that much anymore. I'm just happy the Wings are winning and are comparatively amongst the top teams (by their performance on the ice), regardless of points.

If it's so easy to get 100 points, you'd see a lot of teams with this kind of consecutive seasons streak but it simply doesn't happen. It's tough to find teams in the cap era with three consecutive.

Go back to 1993 and you'll see there are only four seasons they didn't get 100 points. One of them as 1994-95, the lockout half-season when they had 70 in 48 games. Two others are 1997 and 1999, when they had 94 and 93 points.

Since the streak began (two head coaches ago), they haven't failed to get at least 108 points, leaving little doubt that they would have gotten 100 points, even with the additional points with the OTL and the shootouts and stuff like that.

[pjgj13 30]

If it's so easy to get 100 points, you'd see a lot of teams with this kind of consecutive seasons streak but it simply doesn't happen. It's tough to find teams in the cap era with three consecutive.

Go back to 1993 and you'll see there are only four seasons they didn't get 100 points. One of them as 1994-95, the lockout half-season when they had 70 in 48 games. Two others are 1997 and 1999, when they had 94 and 93 points.

Since the streak began (two head coaches ago), they haven't failed to get at least 108 points, leaving little doubt that they would have gotten 100 points, even with the additional points with the OTL and the shootouts and stuff like that.

I was thinking the same thing!!

[pjgj13 30]

If it's so easy to get 100 points, you'd see a lot of teams with this kind of consecutive seasons streak but it simply doesn't happen. It's tough to find teams in the cap era with three consecutive.

Go back to 1993 and you'll see there are only four seasons they didn't get 100 points. One of them as 1994-95, the lockout half-season when they had 70 in 48 games. Two others are 1997 and 1999, when they had 94 and 93 points.

Since the streak began (two head coaches ago), they haven't failed to get at least 108 points, leaving little doubt that they would have gotten 100 points, even with the additional points with the OTL and the shootouts and stuff like that.

I was thinking the same thing!!

[Guest Shoreline]

If it's so easy to get 100 points, you'd see a lot of teams with this kind of consecutive seasons streak but it simply doesn't happen. It's tough to find teams in the cap era with three consecutive.

Go back to 1993 and you'll see there are only four seasons they didn't get 100 points. One of them as 1994-95, the lockout half-season when they had 70 in 48 games. Two others are 1997 and 1999, when they had 94 and 93 points.

Since the streak began (two head coaches ago), they haven't failed to get at least 108 points, leaving little doubt that they would have gotten 100 points, even with the additional points with the OTL and the shootouts and stuff like that.

This has happened since the institution of the OTL as a point. There's been seasons (some 2-4 seasons ago) where anyone in the Top 7 had 100 points in the WC. If a team that just barely made the playoffs can have 100 points, it's not that impressive to me. The 1995-96 season where the Wings had over 60 wins and over 130 points.. that impresses me. Winning cups also impresses me more. I kinda think a team like the Sharks with 0 cups might be more in awe over something like this.

[Dawgs 0]

This has happened since the institution of the OTL as a point. There's been seasons (some 2-4 seasons ago) where anyone in the Top 7 had 100 points in the WC. If a team that just barely made the playoffs can have 100 points, it's not that impressive to me. The 1995-96 season where the Wings had over 60 wins and over 130 points.. that impresses me. Winning cups also impresses me more. I kinda think a team like the Sharks with 0 cups might be more in awe over something like this.

The 5 to 10 extra points involved due to the 3 point game is more than offset by parity and the salary cap. Montreal didnt have to play the level of competition the Wings face nightly. Add in the extreme travel component the Wings must overcome, and this record is at least as impressive as Montreals 8 straight.

The goal in any one season is the Cup. When your as good as the Wings are, losing makes for a disappointing end to a campaign. But when taking a larger view, looking back through history, great dynastys are as fun to compare as any one season Cup champion. Hell, Tampa Bay and Carolina have won Cups. Will anyone remember 20 years from now? No, they will be talking about the era of the Red Wings, when they put up 9 straight 100 point seasons. A record that may never be matched. So in that light, I do think this record is important. Looking back through the mists of time, records like this gain in stature.

[betterREDthandead 58]

If it's so easy to get 100 points, you'd see a lot of teams with this kind of consecutive seasons streak but it simply doesn't happen. It's tough to find teams in the cap era with three consecutive.

Go back to 1993 and you'll see there are only four seasons they didn't get 100 points. One of them as 1994-95, the lockout half-season when they had 70 in 48 games. Two others are 1997 and 1999, when they had 94 and 93 points.

Since the streak began (two head coaches ago), they haven't failed to get at least 108 points, leaving little doubt that they would have gotten 100 points, even with the additional points with the OTL and the shootouts and stuff like that.

Hear hear. I think the cap era offsets the addition of the OTL loss when we're talking about sustained excellence. Our streak is nine. You know what the next-longest active streak is? Three, for San Jose. The Sharks, Pens, and Ducks were all working on streaks of two before the season (eight for us) and the Ducks are mathematically eliminated from extending their streak and Pittsburgh would need a miracle. It's not that 100 points is so impressive, but it sure is awesome to sustain the excellence for such a long time.

Next up in the streaks category I want the division title streak (only one to tie after this season) and the playoff streak (more than a decade down the road, but doable.)

No, they will be talking about the era of the Red Wings, when they put up 9 straight 100 point seasons.

Why stop at 9?

[Wombat 26]

To me it looks like even under prior rules, the Wings would still have the streak of 100 point seasons:

99/00 - 48 Wins and 10 ties = 106 points (didn't need the 2 loser points)

00/01 - 49 wins and 9 ties = 107 points (didn't need the 4 loser points)

01/02 - 51 wins and 10 ties = 112 points (didn't need the 4 loser points)

02/03 - 48 wins and 10 ties = 106 points (didn't need the 4 loser points)

03/04 - 48 wins and 11 ties = 107 points (didn't need the 2 loser points)

05/06 - 54 reg/OT wins and 7 SO games (would be ties in old system) = 115 points

06/07 - 48 reg/OT wins and 10 SO games = 106 points

07/08 - 49 reg/OT wins and 10 SO games = 108 points

and so far this season - 40 reg/OT wins and 9 SO games = 89 points. With 12 games left, they just need to win 5 games and go to the shootout 1 to get to 100 points under the old system.

I think it is quite remarkable what the Wings have been able to do. We'll see if other teams get on a run of 100 point seasons but even with loser points being available for the whole run, no other team has come close to sniffing such a streak (I noticed that NJ and Ottawa had 4 season streaks but I didn't see anyone else up there).

All we can ask of our favorite sports teams is be a good team that has a chance to win the championship. You cannot ask a team to win a championship every year. The Wings have been a model franchise for almost 2 decades now, and almost the last decade of that have achieved 100 point seasons consecutively. I am quite proud of this as a Red Wings fan.

[Guest Shoreline]

The 5 to 10 extra points involved due to the 3 point game is more than offset by parity and the salary cap. Montreal didnt have to play the level of competition the Wings face nightly. Add in the extreme travel component the Wings must overcome, and this record is at least as impressive as Montreals 8 straight.

The goal in any one season is the Cup. When your as good as the Wings are, losing makes for a disappointing end to a campaign. But when taking a larger view, looking back through history, great dynastys are as fun to compare as any one season Cup champion. Hell, Tampa Bay and Carolina have won Cups. Will anyone remember 20 years from now? No, they will be talking about the era of the Red Wings, when they put up 9 straight 100 point seasons. A record that may never be matched. So in that light, I do think this record is important. Looking back through the mists of time, records like this gain in stature.

I agree, the Wings have most definitely been consistent and that's been a great reason why this organization for over 15 years better (and I mean better *shakes fist*) be considered amongst the top 3 or 5 dynasties in all of pro sports in the US. The 4 cups and dedication to winning are blatantly there. Sadly, the Wings success also allows a number of fans (GMR, Reilly, mindfly, Lazerbeam, and a few others come to mind from GD) to under-appreciate the Wings winning on a consistent basis, bitching and whining all the time about individual players having bad seasons.

The one thing I don't agree on is the 100 point plateau meaning very much. It's just an overanalysis of a statistic (which happens often) and nothing more.