Throwback to 2001: Oilers set franchise record with ninth consecutive victory

Given the incredible amount of success that the Edmonton Oilers had during the 1980s, you’d think that their longest winning streak in team history would have come during those glory days.

Instead, it came during the 2000-01 season, as the gritty, low-budget Oilers put together a nine-game winning streak between February and March to help vault the team up the standings and into the playoffs.

Edmonton kicked off their streak on February 20 with a 5-0 pounding of the L.A Kings at home. A few nights later in Calgary, the Oilers earned a 3-1 win over the Flames thanks to a 33-save performance from goaltender Tommy Salo. A Todd Marchant overtime goal against the Dallas Stars gave the Oilers their third win in a row, and then wins over the St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, and Toronto Maple Leafs turned it into a true heater.

The Oilers then hit the road with the franchise record of nine wins within reach. They slammed the Buffalo Sabres 4-0 to make it seven and then they edged out the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 3-2 to reach eight.

Standing between the Oilers and history was the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Oilers exploded with three goals in the first period but the Lightning battled back with three in the second to tie things up. Rem Murray and Brian Holzinger both scored goals in the third period and regulation time ended with the two teams tied at 4-4.

Just over one minute into overtime, defenceman Eric Brewer became the unlikely hero with his fourth goal of the season…

The Oilers had put together five different eight-game winning streaks in the past and all of them came in the 80s. They won eight games in a row three different times during the 1983-84 season en route to a 57-18-5 record and they also did so twice the following season in 1984-85 on their way to a 49-20-11 record.

Edmonton’s streak unfortunately came to an end the following night down in Sunrise as the Oilers tied the Panthers by a score of 2-2. Doug Weight scored with under one minute to go on the clock in the third period to tie the game but nobody was able to find the back of the net in overtime.