The numbers behind the Chicago Blackhawks' winning streak
It has been a historic run for Joel Quenneville's Chicago Blackhawks.
The veteran coach's team has rattled off 12 consecutive victories since its last loss, a 2-1 setback to Carolina on Dec. 27.
They'll go for a 13th straight win Thursday night in Tampa Bay and possibly a 14th the next night against the Florida Panthers.
That would leave them 3 wins from tying the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins for the longest winning streak in NHL history.
Before focusing too much on the future, let's take a look at some amazing numbers that have been compiled during this run of perfection.
47 — Total goals scored by the Blackhawks, a 3.92 per-game average.
22 — Goals allowed by the Blackhawks, 1.83 per-game average.
25 — Percent of power plays converted by the Hawks (9 of 36). At 22.3 percent for the season, the Hawks rank third in the NHL.
17.6 — Percent of power plays converted by opponents.
.944 — Combined save percentage by Corey Crawford (.946) and Scott Darling (.935).
21 — Points by Patrick Kane (9G, 12A). That's a 144-point pace over a full season.
10 — Consecutive games the Hawks have played without trailing.
14:28 — Total time the Hawks have been behind during the streak (the Colorado Avalanche held a 1-0 lead Dec. 31 until Artem Anisimov tied the game with 1:28 left in the first period).
Those last two numbers boggle the mind. A 10-game stretch in which the Hawks never trailed for a second? Think about that.
Corey Crawford's play might be the No. 1 factor behind the streak, but Andrew Shaw's promotion to the top line is a close second.
Shaw's play has given much-needed stability for Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa and is a major reason Toews has 8 goals and 6 assists in the last 12 games.
As for Shaw, he had a plus-2 rating in the first 37 games but has been a plus-10 during the streak.
Here's what Toews told me last week: “The three of us have definitely found some confidence as of late. Even if we don't score, we've had the puck much more than … we were used to early in the season.
“It's just nice. It's good for your energy level; it's good for your confidence level. It's just fun to play the games when you don't put so much pressure on yourself because you have the puck all night, so you can go out there and make some plays and see what happens.
“Shawzie's been doing that, he's been working all over the rink and he's getting rewarded for it.”
Tough customers?
For the Blackhawks' winning streak to continue, they must beat the other hottest team in the league in Tampa Bay. Coach Jon Cooper's team has won six straight and is in third place in the Atlantic Division.
The Lightning's victories, though, have come against Edmonton (twice), Colorado, Vancouver, Florida and Pittsburgh — not exactly a Murderers' Row of foes.
Cooper expects the game against the Hawks at Amalie Arena to generate quite a buzz.
“You know we've turned the page on last year, but the storylines are going to read, 'Stanley Cup Finals (rematch),' ” Cooper told reporters after his team beat the Oilers 6-4 on Tuesday.
“But they won (Tuesday) and their streak is at 12 and we're at six, so that's 18 wins between us. It's going to be a good one.”
Movin' on up:
With 2 points Tuesday, Patrick Kane has 628 for his career, moving past Pit Martin for seventh on the Blackhawks' all-time list. He needs 13 more to pass Dennis Hull.
Jonathan Toews has 541 career points and is tied with Tony Amonte for 10th.
Kane and Toews also are close to becoming the top-10 goal scorers in team history. Martin is 10th with 243; Toews is next at 242; Patrick Sharp has 239 and Kane 235.