I don't know who keeps track of these things since, by the time Halloween rolls around, I forget preseason even existed. But Jake Tye of The Hockey News reminded us all that the Detroit Red Wings got an impressive streak going before the games count, saying, "The win extended the Red Wings winning streak in preseason openers to seven, and improved their record to 9-4 against the Blackhawks in their last 13 exhibition matchups."
That stat won't help the Wings bust through their playoff drought, but it made me stop when I checked out what others were saying following their preseason-opening win vs. the Chicago Blackhawks. Now they can ask themselves, "How do we carry that momentum over into the regular season?"
Honestly? You don't. Why's that? Because the preseason's a different breed, something I outlined a couple days back. You might not see the real lines at all from some teams, and that'll become more of the case starting next season when there are fewer preseason games on the docket.
Still, it makes you wonder what other obscure stats are lurking around that few fans other than true die-hards know about. Preseason stats aren't easy to find, and they're also erased from the pages of NHL history or set and forgotten about on some dusty cyber bookshelf.
Here's a burning question all Detroit Red Wings fans can ask
Which streak will end first? This seven-game winning streak on opening night in the preseason, which'll be alive for another 12 months, or the near-decade-long playoff drought? The latter every Red Wings fan would be fine to see end in about seven months.
Yeah, cool tidbits like preseason winning streaks are fun to talk about, and even more fun when someone like me forgets preseason exists not long after it ends. I'm sure that, if we dug deeply enough, we'd unearth even more stats that are worth taking a deep dive into, depending on the time of year.
But at the end of the season, only one stat matters: Did the Red Wings add another tally mark to one of the league's longer playoff droughts? If the answer's yes, then nobody's talking about how many preseason games you won, or what the current tally is in openers.
Fun to follow and check up on, but not the most meaningful seven months from today. That said, if the Wings extend that playoff drought to 10 seasons, then you won't hear the end of it from anyone, or at least any realist, covering the team. We'll be swarming on that idea.