The Edmonton Oilers have a chance to reach the mark of 17 consecutive wins in the National Hockey League (NHL) when they take on the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, and one isn't afraid to say he wants to see them fail : Rick Tocchet.
However, the latter has some obvious reasons to hope that star player Connor McDavid's gang will defeat. The former forward leads the Vancouver Canucks, a team that plays in the same section (Pacific) as the Oilers; The rivalry between the two clubs could certainly heat up if they clash in the playoffs. At that time, Tocchet wore the uniform of the team that currently holds the record, the 1992-1993 Pittsburgh Penguins. This was synonymous with perfection from March 9th to April 10th 1993.
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“I hate it when people mention that they want people to beat their grades. I don't want them to destroy ours. Still, it's impressive and their group is very dangerous. “He’s working at full speed,” the Canucks driver admitted to NHL.com on the sidelines of the All-Star Classic in Toronto.
“When you win 17 in a row and you're on fire like Edmonton, there are games you win even when you shouldn't. I'm not sure about them, but I think they deserve every win. I don't know. In our time there are games that we don't deserve. […] A lot of things have to be on your side, like a goalkeeper in good shape and things like that,” he continued.
No guarantee of ultimate success
On the other hand, organizations that have such a winning streak will say it's more important to pile up the winnings once the playoffs come around. Making a historic mark is a great achievement, but it would mean nothing if the Stanley Cup wasn't marching through the city streets in late spring.
However, the 1992-1993 Penguins are good evidence of this. Their two-year reign ended in the second round when the New York Islanders surprised them in overtime of Game 7; The Canadian from Montreal took advantage of the opportunity to lift the trophy a few weeks later.
The 2016-2017 Columbus Blue Jackets, in turn, are the authors of the second-best series in the NHL with 16 triumphs in a row. However, the “Pens” only needed five games to prove themselves out of the first round.