Detroit Red Wings: Memorable Moments from Their 21-Game Home Winning Streak

The Detroit Red Wings did it. They broke the NHL record of the most consecutive home games won at 21, and it's still active. 

They have yet to lose a game at home since November 5th, 2011. While some might look ahead to see when that streak might end, we're going to look back and look at the long road that got them here.

Let's look at the memorable moments from their 21-game home winning streak.

It Has to Start Somewhere

The last loss at home was a season low—at the time—for the Red Wings. They lost to Calgary, 4-1, with a season-low 29 shots on goal.

On November 5th, the start of the streak was a season high of 50 shots on goal. Also, Jimmy Howard received his second shutout.

All of the players played hard on the ice that night; nearly 17 of them had recorded one shot on goal.

Most people would have been surprised by the sudden change of one night at home. For the Red Wings, this change has been occurring for the past 21 home games. 

Dethroning the Kings

This game was memorable in itself.

The Red Wings scored a season-high eight goals against the Los Angeles Kings back in December.

It was the third- and fourth-liners that were the stars of this game. There's nothing like having big stars on your team, but to watch the underdog players come out on top for the night is amazing to watch.

Corey Emmerton had two goals and an assist. Drew Miller also had two goals. Dan Cleary, who was on third line, had three assists for the night. Niklas Kronwall even scored.

Even though the famous stars Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk managed to get the puck in that night, the real stars of the show were the third- and fourth-liners.

Last Game of 2011

The Wings have always been known to play on New Year's Eve. There's nothing like playing one last game before the sendoff into the new year. 

The Wings finished strong, at home no less.

Jimmy Howard made a lot of miraculous saves in that game—totaling up to 31 saves—and recorded his fifth shutout of the season. Howard played a great game, proving to us that he is the Wings' new franchise goalie.

Ex-Wings player and Wings adviser, Chris Chelios, dropped the puck for a ceremonial opening that night. He had been inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame.

Close One

January 12th was a memorable night for Jimmy Howard, as he played his 100th career game against the Phoenix Coyotes.

It was a night to remember because the Coyotes came close to snapping the streak. Howard also suffered a charlie horse when Mikkel Boedker crashed into him, but the injury wasn't serious.

Valtteri Filppula also scored what he and Henrik Zetterberg believe to be his first slap shot goal. 

Dan Cleary also earned his 200th assist in this game.

Go Big at Home

It seems as if the Wings like giving their fans heart attacks. January 14th was a memorable game, especially for the Wings' franchise history.

They were able to earn a spot in their franchise record book when they tied it for their 14th straight win at home. The last time the Wings won 14 straight at home was in 1965.

They were close to winning it in regulation until Chicago's Jonathan Toews scored a goal with 51.7 seconds left in the third period, sending the game into sudden death.

Thankfully, Todd Bertuzzi saved the Wings' streak with a goal in overtime.

The Big 15

Drew Miller stated that one of the Wings goals this season was to have a better record at home. 

This is one of their better accomplished objectives this season. It gave the Wings a strong advantage at home. 

Against the Buffalo Sabres on January 16th, the Wings broke their own franchise record with 15 straight wins at home. Datsyuk received his 700th career point that night.

Drew Miller also helped set up a goal against his own brother, Sabres' Ryan Miller. There was nothing like watching a little sibling rivalry on the ice.

MacDonald

When Jimmy Howard broke his right finger during the shootout win against Vancouver, everyone believed Ty Conklin was going to get his chance in the net. Joey MacDonald was called in from the Grand Rapids Griffins to serve as Conklin's backup.

Boy, oh boy. Were they wrong.

MacDonald ended up being the one starting. With his two losses on the road in his first two starts, the fans were worried about the winning streak continuing in Hockeytown.

In their first of six straight home games, MacDonald made 15 saves in his first appearance at home. He helped in aiding in the Wings' continuing streak.

Quack, Quack

The game against the Anaheim Ducks on February 10th was full of remarkable moments for the Wings.

Nicklas Lidstrom played in his 1,549th game, tying former Detroit Red Wing Alex Delvecchio's NHL record for games played with one team. He is behind Gordie Howe—the legendary Detroit star—in most games played in Detroit at 1,687. 

Tomas Holmstrom played in his 1,000th game.

A game full of milestones and the Wings skated away with a lucky win. They were outplayed for 65 minutes.

It was MacDonald's first shootout win, and Detroit ended up being 7-1 in shootouts this season. It was lucky that the Wings have a strong shootout prowess this season.

Fighting History

The 1975-76 Philadelphia Flyers tied the record for most consecutive home wins at 20. On February 12th, the Red Wings became the recent team to tie the record by beating the the Flyers 4-3.

The Flyers even gained the lead for a few times, but couldn't hold it. The Wings were on fire during the course of the game. They weren't giving up easily. It was a solid back-to-back game through the first and second period.

Yet when the Wings scored within the first 52 seconds of the third period, they held hard and long onto that lead.

The Flyers had plenty of chances to come back.

There's nothing like having the recent record holder have a hand in breaking their own record.

History Is Made!

The most memorable moment was during the game where they broke the NHL record on February 14th. The game was entrancing. The memorable moment was when all the Red Wings fans were on their feet giving the players and coaches a standing ovation and chanting "21! 21!"

It's moments like these that make a Red Wings fan proud. It's moments like these where the Red Wings are overwhelmed with an indescribable feeling. It is during these moments where one has to embrace the history being made.

The only thing Detroit hopes for now is for their fate to end up differently than the last two teams with the longest home winning streaks. 

They are aiming for a different fate: winning the Stanley Cup.