Syracuse appropriately set an AHL record last night, officially, by winning its 18th consecutive regular-season game, dating back to March 9.
“Appropriately” because it was a shootout win at Binghamton.
Had this been 2003, or any year before that, last night’s game would have ended after 60 or 65 minutes and been recorded as a tie. The 15 games that Syracuse won consecutively to end last season included four overtime wins and a shootout victory (Game 5 of the streak), so that’s five games that might have been tied before the advent of overtime*.
This is not to take away from the record. These are the rules as they are now, and so it’s well earned, and a remarkable accomplishment by any measure. It’s just that there’s context needed.
The Crunch have not lost in regulation in 26 consecutive games, dating to Feb. 18. (One OTL and two SOLs, if you’re curious.) That may be more remarkable.
*-Perpetual disclaimer: The presence of overtime and shootout rules means that teams and coaches may play the game differently than they might in the absence of such rules, blah blah blah, there’s no way to know anything, blah blah blah, butterflies in Africa, dinosaurs warring on distant planets, blah blah blah.
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Didn’t hear this till the ride home: RIP, Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops.