Schwei On Ice: Streaking

By John Schweibacher
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The Devils come into Christmas week 18 points out of playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Since the NHL lockout, only seven Eastern Conference clubs that were out of a playoff spot as of December 25th recovered to make the post-season.

New Jersey was four points out the 8th spot at Christmas back in 2005 but would go on to win the Atlantic Division. The Washington Capitals were eight points out at the Holiday break in 2007 and still managed to finish first in the Southeast Division, the biggest deficit overcome by any East team since the lockout.

The 1993-94 Islanders were 12-points out of the 8th spot at the end of January and made the playoffs, the most points overcome by any team since the current NHL playoff format was introduced that same season.

The Devils have made the playoffs each of the last 13 seasons. Only two New York/New Jersey pro sports teams have had longer streaks of making the post-season. Here is the list of longest playoff streaks by each of the local clubs:

· 14 New York Islanders 1974-75 through 1987-88
· 14 New York Knicks 1987-88 through 2000-01
· 13 New York Yankees 1995 through 2007
· 13 New Jersey Devils 1996-97 through 2009-10*
· 10 New York Rangers 1977-78 through 1986-87
· 7 New Jersey Nets (in ABA) 1969-70 through 1975-76
· 4 New York Giants 2005 through 2008
· 2 New York Jets (3x) 1968-69, 1985-86 & 2001-02
· 2 New York Mets 1999 & 2000

Only 12 NHL clubs have had post-season streaks longer than 13 seasons:

· Boston Bruins 29 seasons 1967-68 through 1995-96
· Chicago Blackhawks 28 seasons 1969-70 through 1996-97
· St. Louis Blues 25 seasons 1979-80 through 2003-04
· Montreal Canadiens 24 seasons 1970-71 through 1993-94
· Montreal Canadiens 21 seasons 1948-49 through 1968-69
· Detroit Red Wings 20 seasons 1938-39 through 1957-58
· Detroit Red Wings 19 seasons 1990-91 through 2009-10*
· Philadelphia Flyers 17 seasons 1972-73 through 1988-89
· Atlanta/Calgary Flames 16 seasons 1975-76 through 1990-91
· Toronto Maple Leafs 15 seasons 1930-31 through 1944-45
· New York Islanders 14 seasons 1974-75 through 1987-88
· Washington Capitals 14 seasons 1982-83 through 1995-96

*(Note: the NHL did not have a post-season in 2004-05)

The longest consecutive playoff streaks in the other pro sports:

NBA
·  22 seasons Syracuse Nats/Philadelphia 76ers 1950 through 1971

MLB
· 14 seasons Atlanta Braves 1991 through 2005

NFL
· 9 seasons Dallas Cowboys 1975 through 1983

The Devils have now gone a full calendar year without winning three consecutive games. The last time New Jersey put together a winning streak of more than two games came last December, when the Devils won five in a row from December 12th through the 21st. The current 79-game span without three straight victories is New Jersey's longest since a 101-game stretch which began on December 20th, 1986 (a 5-2 loss at Montreal which ended a three-game win streak) and ended on February 1st 1988 (a 5-4 victory in Calgary giving New Jersey three wins in a row). Every other team in the NHL has had at least one winning streak of at least three games this season except for the Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo last won three in a row March 27th through 31st of last season.

New Jersey heads into Christmas week with three games against teams that are also struggling as the Holiday approaches. The Capitals, who the Devils face on Tuesday night in Washington, have gone 1-6-2 over their last nine games. The Devs and Caps have split a pair of one-sided games so far this season. Washington beat New Jersey, 7-2, back on October 9th and the Devils defeated the Capitals, 5-0, on November 22nd. The two clubs will meet just one more time; March 18th at Prudential Center.

The Islanders make their first visit to Newark in 2010-11 Thursday night. The Isles defeated the Devils, 2-0, on the day after Thanksgiving, ending a 14-game losing streak and have managed just one win in their eight games since. New Jersey has won each of its last six meetings with the Islanders on home-ice, outscoring New York 26-8.

These two clubs come into the week with the worst two records in the NHL. The last and only time both the Devils and Islanders finished a season this low in the standings was in 1988-89. New Jersey ended up with a record of 27-41-12, the 5th-worst in the league while the Islanders 28-47-5 mark trailed only the Quebec Nordiques for the bottom spot in the NHL that season.

The Devils face the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Rock on Sunday night. The Leafs began the season with four straight wins but have gone just 8-16-4 since as the week begins. Toronto defeated New Jersey, 3-1, back on November 18th in the lone meeting between the two clubs so far in 2010-11.

Schwei's Plus/Minus:

Minus: Thrashing. 7-1 loss in Atlanta was New Jersey's most lopsided defeat since a 7-1 drubbing in Pittsburgh back on March 22nd, 2008.
Devils have already lost three times by five or more goals this season after never being beaten by more than four in 2009-10.

Minus: One and done. Excluding shootouts, New Jersey has been held to one goal or fewer in 17 of its 32 games played this season.

Plus: Ilya Kovalchuk. Comes into week with five-game point streak (three goals, four assists).

Minus: Ilya Kovalchuk. Minus-3 in loss to Atlanta dropping his season plus/minus rating to minus-21.

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• Schwei On Ice: Devils' Streak In Jeopardy (newyork.cbslocal.com)