Aiming for a big end game
Wings put home-game win streak on the line
DETROIT — Like anyone needs another reason to look forward to a game between the Red Wings and Canucks.
They are the two best teams in the league, based on points.
They play two of the most exciting styles, employ some of the game’s most exciting players. And now history is on the line. Short of a Western Conference final, it doesn’t get better than this: The Canucks have a chance to end the Wings’ amazing string of 23 straight wins at home.
Think about that for a moment, those 23 wins in a row at Joe Louis Arena.
The Canucks this season are in the top 25 percentile of home wins, and their biggest streak is four victories in a row.
Last year they were the best home team in the league with 27 wins and twice they managed to win six in a row.
So what Detroit has done, surpassing the 20 straight wins the 1975-76 Flyers and 1929-30 Bruins managed at home, is one of those records you think can never be broken.
“That’s an amazing, amazing feat,” Alain Vigneault said. “I mean, to win 23 games in a row at home in such a competitive league is remarkable.
“We’re going to go in there, we’re going to have an opportunity to put our best game on the ice and see what happens.” And you know what? Canucks players have been cheering for the Wings for a couple of weeks now, hoping they kept playing bad host right up to the moment the visitors from Vancouver ring the doorbell.
“We were hoping they’d still be undefeated by the time we got there, so it’s going to be fun,” Roberto Luongo said. “I was talking to the guys two or three weeks ago, hoping Detroit would hold on till we got there.
“That’s what’s fun about playing the game, challenges like this. As a group, we’re excited about it and we’re going to step up to the plate.”
The funny thing is, the Wings are sub .500 on the road. Mike Babcock, in Vancouver recently, said it’s a head-scratcher because last season they were great on the road and so-so at home.
“It’s a confidence thing,” Henrik Sedin said. “They feel like they can’t lose at home, but on the road they’re more of a fragile team.
“There’s no reason why they shouldn’t be a good road team, but they can’t find ways to win.”
Meanwhile, the Canucks have the most road wins in the NHL this season, so it’s a classic showdown.
“We wanted to go in there and challenge them for it,” Kevin Bieksa said. “It’s pretty impressive what they’ve done and it would be nice to put an end to it.”