The Edmonton Oilers recently came within 60 minutes of tying an NHL record with their 17th consecutive win. They only fell short of the mark held by the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins, losing 3-1 to the reigning Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights. Although several teams have had significant win streaks in 2023-24, the Oilers captured all the headlines with a franchise-best 16 wins from Dec. 21, 2023, to Feb. 6, 2024.
Related: 10 NHL Players with the Most Stanley Cups
Edmonton became just one of three teams to win at least 16 games in the regular season, while many other franchises have tried and failed to reach that plateau. Looking back at the longest win streaks in NHL history, most teams who succeed during the season don’t necessarily raise a championship banner in the spring. As we will learn, the more consecutive games a team wins, the more the chances of them hoisting the Stanley Cup dwindle to almost nothing. So, with that in mind, let’s revisit the franchises with the longest winning streaks in NHL history.
14 Games – Washington Capitals (2009-10)
The Washington Capitals made the NHL record book early in Alex Ovechkin‘s career, collecting a franchise-best 14-game win streak during the 2009-10 season. Under Bruce Boudreau, the team began the season 27-12-6 and spent most of the year atop the Southeast Division, with Ovechkin netting 59 points in the first 37 games en route to the Presidents’ Trophy.
After a 5-4 shootout win over the Florida Panthers on Jan. 13, 2010, the Capitals wouldn’t lose again until a 6-5 overtime defeat to the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 10, 2010. During this historic stretch, Washington won 14 consecutive games, outscoring opponents 68-33. Meanwhile, Ovechkin tallied 30 points with 15 goals and 15 assists to finish the year with 109 points, the fourth time he reached triple digits. Interestingly, the Capitals lost to the Canadiens in the first round in Game 7, despite the 33-point difference in the standings.
14 Games – Boston Bruins (1929-30)
The Boston Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in 1928-29 and were the best team in the NHL for the 1929-30 season, thanks to two record-shattering win streaks. The reigning champions collected a 5-2-0 record in the seven games and outscored opponents just 26-23. Then, beginning with a 3-1 victory over the Canadiens on Dec. 3, 1929, the Bruins would not lose again until Jan. 9, 1930, setting an NHL record (at the time) with 14 consecutive wins. Statistically, Boston beat their opponents on the scoreboard 60-28 and only had one game where they didn’t score three or more goals.
However, it could be argued that this particular stretch of the year wasn’t their best since they finished the season with a 19-3-1 record. Once they lost the streak to the New York Americans on Jan. 12, 1930, they dropped two of three before wrapping up the top seed with an 18-1-1 record in their final 20 games. Although they did advance to the Stanley Cup Final, they were swept by the Canadiens in two games. Their record win streak was an NHL record for 52 years.
15 Games – Pittsburgh Penguins (2012-13)
The NHL didn’t begin the 2012-23 season in October due to a lockout before agreeing to start the new campaign in January 2013 with a 48-game schedule. Under head coach Dan Bylsma, the Penguins earned a 13-8-0 record through the first 21 games before they attempted to break their franchise win streak record of 17 games from the 1992-93 season.
Starting with a 7-6 win over the Canadiens on Mar. 2, 2013, the Penguins would collect 15 consecutive wins to become the third team to record that many wins in a row, eventually losing their streak to the Buffalo Sabres on Apr. 2, 2013. During the stretch, they won two overtime games and an additional one in a shootout. As the best player of his generation, captain Sidney Crosby recorded 25 points to finish the season as the league’s third-leading scorer.
15 Games – New York Islanders (1981-82)
The New York Islanders were two-time defending Stanley Cup champions to begin the 1981-82 season and were just in the middle of a four-year run as the league’s best team, remaining the last true dynasty in the sport to this day. Despite all the success, there was no panic in the team heading into late January 1982 with a 25-13-6 record and a goal differential of plus-30.
Interestingly, the Islanders began a modern-day NHL record 15-game win streak (at the time) with a 6-1 win over the Penguins on Jan. 21, 1982, only to lose the streak to them on Feb. 21, 1982, in a 4-3 loss. During the stretch, the reigning champions destroyed opponents by a 97-35 margin and beat Pittsburgh four times in a month. Moreover, New York eliminated the Penguins in the first round of the playoffs en route to winning their third title in May, becoming the only team in NHL history to win 13 or more consecutive games and hoist the Stanley Cup in the same season.
16 Games – Edmonton Oilers (2023-24)
The Oilers began the 2023-24 season as the Stanley Cup favorites by most hockey insiders. However, they started the year at 3-9-1, leading to the firing of Jay Woodcroft and the hiring of Connor McDavid‘s former junior coach, Kris Knoblauch. Unsurprisingly, the team under their new coach earned a 2-3-0 record in those first five games before beginning an eight-game win streak from Nov. 24 to Dec. 12, outscoring their opponents 39-13, with McDavid netting 22 points.
Then, when that streak ended, the Oilers dropped three straight before embarking on a franchise win streak, reaching 16 games from Dec. 21, 2023, to Jan. 27, 2024. During this stretch, which began with a win over the New Jersey Devils (6-3), Edmonton outscored their opponents 62-24, with McDavid tallying 26 points to get back into the scoring race after a relatively slow start. Meanwhile, Stuart Skinner broke the team record by winning 12 straight games.
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Ultimately, we will never know if the Oilers could have tied or broken the NHL record of 17 consecutive wins since the team didn’t play for a week because of the All-Star Game. Although their streak ended on Feb. 6, 2024, to the reigning Stanley Cup champions, Golden Knights, their playoff future is yet to be determined, even though history is not on their side to win it all.
16 Games – Columbus Blue Jackets (2016-17)
The Columbus Blue Jackets may not have an illustrious history like many teams on this list. Still, they will always have a spot in the NHL record book for collecting 16 consecutive wins during the 2016-17 season, the second-best winning streak in league history. During his Vezina Trophy-winning season, Sergei Bobrovsky had one of the best stretches for a netminder, going 14-0-0, posting a .941 save percentage, and giving up just 23 goals during the streak.
Under new head coach John Tortorella, Columbus began the season with an 11-5-4 record and were losers of three of four heading into a Nov. 29, 2016, game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, which they won 5-1. After that contest, the club wouldn’t lose again for the next 15 games to become the second team to win 16 consecutive games. During their streak, including overtime and shootout wins, the Blue Jackets outscored their opponents 64-27. Interestingly, after the best season in franchise history, Columbus lost to Pittsburgh in five games in the Stanley Cup playoffs opening round.
17 Games – Pittsburgh Penguins (1992-93)
The Penguins won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1990 and 1991, with Mario Lemieux capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy on both occasions. During the 1992-92 season, the Pittsburgh captain took a leave of absence in January 1993 for radiation treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma. While missing, the club went 11-10-2 and patiently awaited his return on Mar. 2. Interestingly, the Penguins lost the first two games with Lemieux in the lineup when he scored two points.
Starting on Mar. 9, Pittsburgh beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 and would go on to win the next 16 games to set the NHL record with 17 consecutive wins, not losing again during the regular season, which ended with a tie against the New Jersey Devils on Apr. 14. During this streak, they outscored opponents 96-48, and Lemieux tallied 51 points (27 goals and 24 assists) to win the Art Ross Trophy at the end of the season. Unfortunately, the Penguins did not three-peat as Stanley Cup champions, losing to the Islanders in the second round in Game 7 in overtime.
Historical Perspective
According to records obtained from NHL.com, only 64 clubs in league history have won at least 10 consecutive games. But, the list dwindles to just nine teams to win the Stanley Cup during the same season, and they include:
- 15 games – New York Islanders (1981-82)
- 12 games – Montreal Canadiens (1967-68)
- 11 games – Chicago Blackhawks (2012-13)
- 11 games – St. Louis Blues (2018-19)
- 11 games – Tampa Bay Lightning (2019-20)
- 10 games – New York Rangers (1939-40)
- 10 games – Montreal Canadiens (1943-44)
- 10 games – Tampa Bay Lightning (2019-20)
- 10 games – Colorado Avalanche (2021-22)
As much as fans want to celebrate the Oilers’ recent success, history is not on their side to capture the Stanley Cup since it only happened nine times in 107 NHL seasons. However, before 2013, the feat had only been achieved four times, with five recent franchises accomplishing both in the same season, giving hope to modern franchises who win in the regular season and the playoffs.