Red Wings set record with 21st straight home win
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Paul Sancya | Associated Press
Center Pavel Datsyuk of the Red Wings shoots in the first period. He had an assist in the period.
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Puck Rakers
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One Signed, Two Set Free
The Blue Jackets have agreed to terms with defenseman Austin Madaisky on a three-year, entry-level contract, and the official deal should be announced shortly. Madaisky was a fifth-round pick (No. 124 overall) in the 2010 NHL entry draft.
Two other picks - right winger Petr Straka (2nd round, No. 55) and defenseman Brandon Archibald (4th round, No. 94) - have been informed by the Blue Jackets that they won't be signed, sending them back in the pool of draftable players for next month's draft in Pittsburgh.
Of those two, Straka is the mild surprise.
He had 28-36-64 in 62 games with Rimouski (QMJHL) during his draft year, but tailed off badly the last two seasons. In 2010-11, he had 10-15-25 in 41 games. This season, he had 18-19-37 in 54 games. That's fewer points the last two seasons -- 62 in 95 games -- than he scored as a 17-year-old.
However, Straka made a pretty good last-best argument for a deal with his performance in the QMJHL playoffs. He had 10-12-22 in 21 games, becoming a point-a-game player once again. The bet here is that he gets drafted his June, but certainly on Saturday (2nd through 7th rounds) and probably later in the day.
The Blue Jackets acquired the pick used on Straka with the 2010 trade deadline deal that sent winger Raffi Torres to Buffalo.
Madaisky, meanwhile, blossomed this season in his fourth year of juniors, the last three spent with Kamloops (WHL). He had 13 goals, 37 assists, 50 points and a plus-20 rating, all career highs. He also had 87 penalty minutes. He could play a fifth year of junior next season, or begin his pro career, likely with AHL Springfield.
Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson and the hockey operations department face one last difficult decision as it pertains to the 2010 draft class. Goaltender Mathieu Corbeil remains unsigned, and the Jackets still aren't sure if they want to keep him in the fold.
"We'll evaluate him in the Memorial Cup and make a decision," Howson said. "Not sure right now."
Corbeil is 50-11-2 in the last two seasons with Saint John of the QMJHL, which won the Memorial Cup last season and is a favorite to repeat. Corbeil, named the QMJHL's goalie of the year, is 16-0-1 in this year's playoffs, with a 2.18 goals-against average and .917 save percentage.
Those numbers will cause many readers to scratch their temples and wonder: "How could they possibly not want this guy?" What the Blue Jackets are trying to determine is if Corbeil is a product of a powerhouse hockey club or a goaltender with legitimiate NHL potential. These are the questions that keep scouts up late at night.
Two weeks ago, the Blue Jackets seemed to be leaning away from signing Corbeil. These days it seems to be leaning back the other direction, though no decision has been made.
-- Aaron Portzline
twitter: @aportzline
DETROIT — Red-and-white clad fans haven’t seen the Detroit Red Wings lose at home in more than three months.
The NHL has never seen such success at home in one season.
The Red Wings beat the Dallas Stars 3-1 last night for their 21st straight win in Detroit — breaking the single-season home mark of 20 set by the Boston Bruins in the 1929-30 season and matched by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1975-76.
During the final minute of this home win, the crowd gave the Red Wings a standing ovation and chanted, “21! 21!”
“When they were really cheering, before and after the buzzer went, it was a pretty cool feeling,” forward Henrik Zetterberg said.
Zetterberg and Brad Stuart scored midway through the first period to put Detroit in front and on its way to surpassing the long-standing record.
After time expired, the Red Wings went to goaltender Joey MacDonald and then skated toward center ice to thank their fans by raising their sticks.
Detroit extended the streak with three wins in shootouts, which became a part of the league in 2005 after the lockout and has led some to downplay the significance of this record.
In the past, the Red Wings would have had to settle for ties and an unbeaten streak instead of a winning run.
“There’s really no way to combat that argument,” Stuart said. “But still, it’s an incredible accomplishment regardless of what you’re going to compare it to.”
Since the shootout rule eliminated ties, the longest previous home winning streak was 14 by Boston during the 2008-09 season.
Adam Burish, who scored for Dallas, said what the Red Wings have done isn’t watered down.
“I think it’s harder than it was in the ’70s, just because of the parity,” Burish said. “There are no games where you can just show up and think you’re going to win.”
Detroit has an NHL-high 39 wins and 80 points.
“It’s something we’re going to cherish,” captain Nicklas Lidstrom said of the streak, “but we’ve talked about getting more points to stay where we are in the standings.”
MacDonald made 20 saves, filling in again for the injured Jimmy Howard, and was 32.8 seconds away from his third NHL shutout.
Kari Lehtonen stopped 34 shots for the Stars.
The Red Wings’ next two games are at home — on Friday against Nashville and on Sunday against San Jose. That will give them a chance to break another record by the Bruins.
Boston won 22 straight home games, spanning two seasons. The Bruins closed the 1929-30 season with 20 victories at home and then won its first two the following season.
“That’s something I didn’t know of, but we’ll refocus again and go to work again for Friday,” Lidstrom said.
Detroit essentially finished off Dallas in the first half of the opening period.
“We started on time,” coach Mike Babcock said. “I actually thought their goaltender was really good. Without him, it could have been worse.
“If you can play with the lead, you’re always a better team.”
