Drew Miller isn’t a superstitious sort, so he’ll take a little pride in the fact that he’ll play his 100th conseuctive game for the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday as they are in Columbus to face the Blue Jackets.
“I definitely do,… Miller said. “It’s not a day-to-day thing where you think about it. You just come ready to play every game and do what you do. You don’t really think about that.…
Left-winger Miller has played every game since missing the last four games of the 2012-13 season after suffering a broken hand in a game against Vancouver on Apr. 20, 2013 when struck by a puck while blocking a shot.
It’s the longest consecutive game streak by a Wings player since Nicklas Lidstrom’s 213-game run ended Jan. 25, 2012 when he didn’t play at Montreal due to a bout of flu.
Lidstrom was in his 40s when he put together that streak and so was Gordie Howe when he assembled an impressive run of games.
Howe was 42 at the end of the 1969-70 season. At that point, Toronto centre Murray Oliver was the active NHL leader in consecutive games played with 240. Howe was next at 233, a streak he extended to 252 games before suffering sprained rib cage and torn cartilage in a collision with Philadelphia defenseman Joe Watson after scoring his second goal of the game in a 4-2 win over the Flyers on Nov. 22, 1970.
The Red Wings franchise record for consecutive games played is 548, set by Alex Delvecchio from Dec. 13, 1956, when he returned to action from a broken leg, through Nov. 11, 1964. Delvecchio missed a Nov. 14, 1964 game at Montreal after suffering a broken jaw in Detroit’s previous game against Toronto when struck by a Red Kelly shot.
After missing two games with his jaw injury, Delvecchio returned to play another 292 consecutive games before he suffered a rib injury Nov. 5, 1968 against the Rangers, leading to a four-game absence.
Delvecchio is one of 20 players in NHL history to play at least 500 consecutive games. Others on the list who played at least some of their streak with the Wings include Garry Unger (2-914), Johnny Wilson (8-580), Danny Grant (11-566) and Glenn Hall (20-502).
St. Louis defenseman Jay Bouwmeester (734) is the active NHL leader in consecutive games played. That’s also the longest streak in any of the four major sports (NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB). Doug Jarvis holds the NHL record, playing in 964 consecutive games.
“That’s pretty impressive, for sure,… Miller said. “Not a lot of guys do that, so I must be doing something right.…
Datsyuk Out, Cleary In
For the third time this season, Detroit center Pavel Datsyuk will miss time due to a groin ailment.
“He’s not on the trip,… Wings coach Mike Babcock said of Datsyuk. Daniel Cleary draws in for Datsyuk.
“No one’s replacing Pavel, but he’s in for him,… Babcock said, adding that he’s liked what he’s seen from Cleary in limited playing time so far.
“I thought he’s helped us,… Babcock said. “There’s lot of parts to the game. There’s the part you see, there’s the part of preparation and helping your team and being a pro. When you’ve got young guys, veteran guys like Dan Cleary are valuable.…
Off And On
The Wings have struggled to play consistently this season and it’s clear the coach has grown weary of their wayward ways.
“I’m just getting tired of it,… Babcock said. “Execute early, get started on time and go from there.…
He’s not alone in the frustration of Detroit’s up and down performances.
“It’s just being ready from the drop of the puck,… said Wings goalie Jimmy Howard, who gets the start Tuesday. “When we score first, we seem to be a pretty good team. When we get behind by a goal or spot the other team a couple, it seems to be an uphill climb for us.…
Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer