DETROIT — Back on November 3, nobody would have seen this coming.
That night, the Detroit Red Wings lost their sixth straight game, a 4-1 home defeat at the hands of the Calgary Flames.
Since then, the Wings have gone on a run at Joe Louis Arena that had not been seen since the 1975-76 season.
That season the Philadelphia Flyers tied the 1929-30 Boston Bruins by winning 20 in a row at home.
Coincidentally, the Flyers were in town Sunday night as the Wings tried to equal that mark.
Despite goals from Niklas Kronwall (who leads all defensemen with 12 goals) and Pavel Datsyuk from a rejuvenated power play, the Wings trailed the Flyers 3-2 late in the second after Maxime Talbot knocked the puck past goaltender Joey MacDonald.
Yes, that's the same Talbot who scored both goals for the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals.
But Henrik Zetterberg scored with 1:39 remaining in the second to tie the game, giving the Wings and their fans new life.
Zetterberg was not done. Just 52 seconds into the third, Zetterberg found a rushing Nick Lidstrom, who then saw Johan Franzen at the net and sent him the puck for a quick tap-in past Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, for a 4-3 lead and final score win for the Wings.
That goal ended up being Franzen's league-leading 10th game-winner.
"Obviously it felt great but I think if I wouldn't have gotten it in, someone else would have," Franzen said. "That's the mentality, it felt like. There was no way we were going to lose. They went up on us a couple times, we came right back at them. It's a good feeling on the team tonight and we played hard."
It was somehow perfect that Lidstrom would set up the game-winning goal in his 1,550th game as a Red Wing. No other player has played more games for one team.
"It's special when you can chip in and help out on the winning goal," Lidstrom said. "Just doing it with the guys and hitting 1,550, but also getting the 20th win, it means a lot."
It was not such a special night for the Flyers.
"Them winning 20 in a row, it gets in teams' heads I think," Scott Hartnell said. "We didn’t want them to tie a Flyer record, so we're obviously disappointed about that, but they play a puck-control game where when they have the puck it’s good for them and it's hard to get it off them.
"They're a tough team to play against. That's why they're one of the best in the league every year."
While the Wings have been one of the best teams every year, they have never in their storied history been able to win 20 in a row at home.
"We've had some great teams over the years, but I don't think we've ever been close to this record," Lidstrom said. "It means a lot for this team to be able to do that."
Leave it to general manager Ken Holland to put the record in perspective.
"The biggest thing is, obviously, St. Louis won tonight and we got two points," Holland noted. "We’re in a real dog fight for the division and the conference, so it's a huge two points.
"I think you look back more in the summertime. Right now, we're just focused in and we needed to win a game. But, again, guys have done a tremendous job not to lose at home for three months."
Holland and the Wings are hoping that their summertime does not start for about four months. But history is not on their side. Both the 1929-30 Bruins and 1975-76 Flyers lost in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Jimmy Howard, who won the first 17 games in the streak, downplayed that part of history.
"You never know. I think we've got a great team, great balance all the way through the lineup and a lot of good depth," Howard said. "If we can keep playing the way we play at home and transfer it to the road, we're going to be a tough team."
For now, the Wings aren't thinking that far ahead.
When asked about the prospect of setting a new NHL record with a 21st straight home win against the Dallas Stars Tuesday night, MacDonald said, "It's not too often you get a chance to do that. Right now we've got a day (Monday) to work on a few things and just keep going, try not to think about it too much and just kind of do what I've been doing the last four or five games, just try and stay focused and try to work hard and give these guys a chance to win."
Home win streak records in other sports
NBA
The Chicago Bulls won 37 straight at home in the 1995-96 season.
MLB (longest since 1919)
The Pittsburgh Pirates won 24 straight at home in the 1978 season.
The Boston Red Sox won 24 straight at home in the 1988 season.
NFL
The Miami Dolphins won 27 straight at home from 1971-74.
