All good things must come to an end for the Chicago Blackhawks. The team was in the midst of making history but they left the ice on Friday having not recorded a single point, ending their best start in NHL History. The Blackhawks were blown out by the Colorado Avalanche in 6-2 loss on Friday. It was their first loss in regulation and ended a streak of earning at least one point in their first 24 games, an NHL record.
"We're proud of it, but it'll be nice to move on now. It's hockey, we've lost games before in our lives. It's not like we're going to sit here and cry," Duncan Keith said.
The team plans on celebrating making the historical run. Head coach Joel Quenneville told the team that they should all be very proud of what the accomplished and should hold their heads high. He believes it is a great feather in the team's cap, but it is time to move forward.
The point streak was the second-longest in NHL history. In 1979-80, the Philadelphia Flyers set the league record with a 35-game unbeaten streak that included 25 wins and 10 ties. The Blackhawks had not lost in regulation since the 6-1 rout by Nashville on March 25, 2012. Their last loss in regulation came on the road more than a year ago with a 5-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues.
"It's special. It' obviously something no one had done yet. But what a run by them. I mean, first of all, congratulations to them. What a run they had. I don't think they're going to slow down because of this. But it's pretty special. It's a good feeling in here. We're pretty happy," said Colorado's Matt Duchene after the victory.
The Avalanche had entered the night in last place in the Northwest Division. Blackhawks goalie Cory Crawford allowed five goals on 19 shots before being replaced in the third period.
Colorado came close to ending the streak on Wednesday. Chicago pulled out the last minute win with a tiebreaking goal with 49.3 seconds left. The streak will come with a slight asterisk because they actually lost three games along the way, all in shootouts. Under NHL rule, that's still worth a point, but makes it different from what they Flyers accomplished during their run.
