Edmonton Oilers tie modern era winning streak by Canadian club

One may not think the 2023-24 Edmonton Oilers have much in common with the 1967-68 Montreal Canadiens.

After all, the two have played in completely different eras of hockey. Those Habs were in the midst of a dynasty, helping usher in a new era of hockey — the modern one — in a league that still had just a dozen teams.

These Oilers, meanwhile, play amid a time where players are bigger, faster, stronger and far more talented than their counterparts of 54 years ago, no offence to them.

You could find some, however.

Montreal was captained by one of the best ever to lace up the skates in Jean Béliveau, who that season scored 31 goals and 68 points, en route to his ninth Stanley Cup championship and the franchise’s 17th.

The Oilers of today are also captained by one of the best to ever do it in Connor McDavid, the Richmond Hill phenom whose 59 points have him eighth in league scoring despite playing fewer games than many of those around him. No Stanley Cups yet, but one can hope those are coming soon.

What else you could find is legendary winning streaks by both teams, too. The Habs had put together a stretch of 12 games between January 6th and February 3rd, 1968, where they didn’t fall once. They outscored their foes 51-18, for a +33 goal differential. Their streak ended on February 4th, falling 3-0 to the New York Rangers, and are the only Canadian NHL team since to win so many in a row.

For the Oilers, their 4-2 win over the Seattle Kraken Thursday night gave them their 12th in a row, tying the Habs’ incredible run. The victory made them the 18th team in the NHL’s modern era to win so many games in a row.

Edmonton will look to extend their streak to 13 games on Saturday night, set to take on the Calgary Flames. Should the Oilers come out on top, they would be the 11th team in the modern era to go on such a run.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.