Chicago Blackhawks have been the talk of the shortened 48-game National Hockey League season - they didn't lose their first game until March 8, snapping a 24-game streak without a regulation-time defeat - and while fans in Vegas are snapping up betting slips on the Hawks to win the Stanley Cup, history isn't necessarily on their side.
It was an amazing run, but pressure to keep the streak going, combined with a couple of injuries, meant that the inevitable occurred in a 6-2 loss to the hometown Colorado Avalanche.
But a record of 21-1-3 in mid-March is still pretty impressive and while coach Joel Quenneville is rearranging the silverware in his trophy case to make space for a Coach-of-the-Year award, the City of Chicago is quietly mapping out a route for the Stanley Cup celebration parade this June.
But wait. Just hold on a sec. History says long winning streaks during the regular season don't always result in championships when the champagne is waiting to be popped.
Case No. 1: The Philadelphia Flyers of 1979-80 ran off a 35-game unbeaten streak (25 wins; 10 ties) but lost to the New York Islanders in the Cup final.
Case No. 2: The 1916 New York Giants had a 26-game unbeaten streak, but the American League Boston Red Sox defeated Brooklyn in the World Series.
Case No. 3: The 2002 Oakland A's (of Moneyball movie fame) won an American League best 20 consecutive games but didn't even make it to the World Series that season.
The Blackhawks may want to emulate the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, whose 33-game winning streak did prove to be a precursor to a championship and the 1972 Miami Dolphins, of course, have the only undefeated season in professional sports history, winning 17 straight (14 regular season; three playoffs) en route to the NFL's Super Bowl title.
"We're proud of it, but it'll be nice to move on now," defenceman Duncan Keith told the Associated Press after the Hawks' first defeat. "It's hockey, we've lost games before in our lives. It's not like we're going to sit here and cry."
Said Quenneville: "They should be very proud of what they accomplished. They found different ways to win, night in and night out, and everyone contributed to something that hadn't been done.
"It's a great feather in our cap, but let's move forward and try to get better."
R.J. Currie of SportsDeke.com, on Joakim Noah going 0 for 7 on career three-point attempts: "Anyone surprised a guy named Noah prefers his points two by two?"
Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: "From the 'Why, Of Course' file comes word that Twins catcher Joe Mauer and his wife are expecting . . . twins. Good thing Joe didn't catch the daddy bug when he played in Quad Cities."
Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald: "Dwyane Wade gave himself a new nickname - 'World of Wade,' or 'Wow' for short. I have a better suggestion for a Wade nickname - 'Extremely Good Offense,' or 'Ego.' "
Steve Rushin of Sports Illustrated: "Race fans, I had inferred from my one trip to the Brickyard 400, fell into one of two categories: Tattooed, shirtless, sewer-mouthed drunks, and their husbands."
Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle: "The Dodgers and Angels seem poised to provide a sensational reality show. They both have engaged in crazed spending sprees, and now, with the pressure on and anxiety levels off the charts, they're sweating like lawn sprinklers."
Currie again: "In Minnesota, No. 1 Indiana was upset by the unranked Gophers, 77-73. Saskatchewan Roughriders mascot Gainer hasn't been this happy since Troy Westwood retired."
Rick Reilly, ESPN.com: "You people are seeing this new friendship between Dennis Rodman and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un all wrong. Yes, we are talking about a man who is crazy, dangerous and completely out of touch with reality. But you could also say that of Kim Jong-un."
Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe.com: "Mariano Rivera, who will retire at the end of 2013, says 'The last game I hope will be throwing the last pitch in the World Series. Winning the World Series, that would be my ambition.' So the season hasn't started, and Rivera already wants to be traded?"
Mike Oz of Yahoo.com, after Red Sox pitching prospect Drake Britton was arrested for DUI: "(He) hit 111 mph on the radar gun - just not the one anybody was hoping for."
Another one from Perry: "The National Rifle Association announced it will sponsor its first-ever NASCAR Sprint Cup Race - the NRA 500 - at Texas Motor Speedway on April 13, and it figures to be different. In lieu of a green flag, there'll be a shotgun start."
From Mike Bianchi in the Orlando Sentinel: "Jimmy Kimmel asked Kobe Bryant if he would be willing to go to North Korea like Dennis Rodman did. Kobe: "I'd probably pass." Kimmel: "Oh, for once you're passing."
And a groaner from Currie to wrap up: "Guido, one of the Milwaukee Brewers' racing sausages that went missing, has been found. This comes as a relief to his fellow mascots, who feared for the wurst."
