The Edmonton Oilers may by no means lose once more.
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A minimum of that is the way it seems proper now, as they’re on a 16-game successful streak heading into their sport in opposition to the Vegas Golden Knights (10 p.m. ET, Hulu/ESPN+). In the event that they win, they’re going to tie the all-time NHL file of 17, set by the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins — they usually’ll have an opportunity to interrupt the file in opposition to the Anaheim Geese on Feb. 9.
It is a huge turnaround for the Oilers, who misplaced 10 of their first 12 video games and had been solely 13-15-1 earlier than the streak began. They’re third within the Pacific Division and appear to have unlocked their full potential in what’s proving to be a magical season.
With the Oilers trying to make historical past, we had been reminded of different best single-season successful streaks throughout sports activities.
NHL: 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins (17 video games)
The Penguins missed Mario Lemieux for a part of the season due to Hodgkin’s lymphoma, however his return impressed them to greatness. Lemieux had 51 factors in the course of the Penguins’ streak — 20 greater than Adam Oates, the next-highest participant. Pittsburgh scored 10 targets in a sport twice in that span, with Lemieux contributing 5 targets of their 10-4 win in opposition to the New York Rangers. The streak ended with a 6-6 OT tie in opposition to the New Jersey Devils within the regular-season finale. Pittsburgh went on to be upset by the New York Islanders in a seven-game second-round playoff collection.
Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Gail Goodrich — the ’71-’72 Lakers had been loaded with legends, and it confirmed. Los Angeles averaged 123.3 factors per sport throughout their streak, essentially the most within the NBA on the time. They received 8 video games by 20+ factors, 2 by 40+ factors, and 23 in complete by double digits. Unusually, the loss that broke the streak — a 120-104 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks — truly sparked a 2-4 skid. However it was only a blip on the radar — the Lakers went 69-13, a mark that will stand till the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls went 72-10, and received an NBA title in 5 video games.
What occurs while you pair Tom Brady and Randy Moss on the identical crew? Greatness, bordering on absurdity. Moss caught 23 landing passes from Brady, breaking Jerry Rice’s file of twenty-two. Brady grew to become the primary quarterback ever to throw for 50 touchdowns in a season. The Patriots as an entire scored 589 factors, a file that will stand till the 2013 Broncos surpassed it with 606. Sadly for Patriots followers, this season is extra identified for the way it ended, with a surprising loss to the New York Giants in Tremendous Bowl XLII.
The Spider caught a number of flies in his unimaginable UFC profession. He hit the bottom working, successful his first 16 matches in trendy and epic vogue. Silva had 10 straight title defenses throughout this era, the second-longest streak in UFC historical past behind Demetrious Johnson. He beat Wealthy Franklin and Chael Sonnen twice every, together with wins over Forrest Griffin and Vitor Belfort. Silva finally misplaced in spectacular vogue in opposition to Chris Weidman, ending his streak.
Lisa Leslie went off in the course of the Sparks’ dominant run, averaging 21.2 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 2.8 APG. The Sparks, as an entire, averaged 80 PPG in the course of the streak, nearly 9 factors larger than the next-best crew (Sacramento Monarchs at 71.6). Their level differential of 11.8 was over 5 factors per sport higher than every other crew in that span. Their streak resulted in heartbreaking vogue, with Adrienne Goodson hitting a go-ahead shot with .1 seconds remaining to present the Utah Starzz an 80-78 win.
School soccer: 1894 Yale Bulldogs(16-0)
We’ve to go all the best way again to the nineteenth century for this one. The Bulldogs outscored their opponents an astounding 485-13 in the course of the streak, shutting out 13 of their 16 opponents. George Adee, their beginning quarterback, can also be a member of the Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame. In the event you’re searching for extra fashionable streaks, the 2018 Clemson Tigers, 2019 LSU Tigers, 2022 Georgia Bulldogs and 2023 Michigan Wolverines all went 15-0.
Girls’s school basketball: 2011-12 Baylor Bears and 2013-14 UConn Huskies (40 video games)
Whereas there have been different undefeated seasons in ladies’s school basketball, no different crew completed the feat in a 40-game season like Baylor and UConn did. A particular notice for the Huskies — their 2013-14 undefeated marketing campaign was half of a bigger undefeated run of 111 video games that lasted from Nov. 23, 2014, to March 27, 2017.
Males’s school basketball: 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats (38 video games)
This crew was loaded with future NBA expertise. 9 gamers on the Wildcats’ roster later performed within the NBA, together with Karl-Anthony Cities, Devin Booker, Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Lyles. They tied the single-season Division I file for wins in a season with the 2012 Kentucky squad and 2008 Memphis Tigers (later vacated). All of these groups had been coached by John Calipari, by the by. Their solely loss got here in opposition to the Wisconsin Badgers within the Last 4.
5 of Nelson’s 11 wins got here by a minimum of 5 photographs. Considered one of his wins was the 1945 PGA Championship — the lone main performed that season due to World Warfare II. The longest streak since Nelson’s feat? Tiger Woods, with seven straight wins in 2006-7.
