Ted Donato, graduate of Harvard University with a major in history, doesn’t want to be a part of history this year.
Neither do Ray Bourque or Chris Chelios, historian/warriors of hockey.
But the teams they play for, the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks, are dangerously close to becoming footnotes in National Hockey League lore, and it’s not a pleasant way to get recognized.
The Bruins and Hawks have the two longest-running playoff streaks in North American pro sports. Boston has been to the Stanley Cup playoffs 29 straight seasons, the Hawks 27. The next closest team in the NHL is St. Louis at 17. Even more amazing for Boston, it hasn’t had a losing record in any of those 29 seasons.
But with each passing game, with each passing loss, those time-honored runs are nearing an end.
The Bruins entered their game Tuesday night in Colorado with a 20-30-7 mark, 0-5-1 in their last six games and next-to-last in the Eastern Conference, five points out of a playoff spot.
The Hawks fell to 23-28-8 Monday night, losing 4-2 in St. Louis. They’re ninth in the Western Conference, one spot out of the playoffs but tied with seventh-place Vancouver and eighth-place Calgary with 54 points. Vancouver has 26 wins, Calgary 24, the first tiebreaker for the playoffs.
With a little luck, the Bruins and Hawks, who meet Thursday night at the United Center, could continue their amazing streaks. But a little more bad luck, which seems to be stalking both teams, could be fatal.
“I don’t think anybody wants to be a part of the team that doesn’t make the playoffs,” said Donato, a Boston native who leads the Bruins with 20 goals this season. “The longest-running playoff record isn’t lost on the guys, not only me because I’m from Boston, but all the guys.
“We look at the standings every morning and we know time is running out. It’s not getting any better unless we put a streak together.”
The similarities between the Bruins and Hawks are many. Besides being Original Six teams, both have hard-nosed, old-school general managers–Harry Sinden for Boston and Bob Pulford for the Hawks–who drive hard bargains when it comes to salary negotiations or making trades; both have beautiful new arenas–the FleetCenter in Boston and the United Center–which haven’t been nearly as intimidating as their old, crusty ones; and both have veteran defensemen–Bourque and Chelios–who symbolize their franchises’ determination and grit.
And both franchises are on very thin ice right now.
“Maybe time has caught up to them,” ex-Boston great John Bucyk said of the Bruins’ remarkable run.
A down season “happens to everybody,” said the Hawks’ Tony Amonte, a Massachusetts native who grew up a Bruins fan. “It was a pretty big gap (in Boston) to fill with Cam Neely out.”
Both Sinden and Pulford probably underestimated the loss of veterans such as Neely, who was forced to retire because of a hip problem, and Bernie Nicholls and Joe Murphy, two free agents the Hawks lost in the off-season.
“The loss of Neely can’t be underestimated,” assured Donato. “His 45-50 goals should be good for four or five more wins, which would put us in the playoffs.”
The Bruins also miss left wing Dave Reid, one of their top penalty killers last season, who signed with the Dallas Stars, and of their numerous injuries, losing goaltender Bill Ranford for 20 games with a shoulder injury has been the most devastating.
“If he plays half of those, that makes a big difference,” said Bucyk, a color commentator for the Bruins.
Put it all together, and Boston is in the same mess the Hawks find themselves in with just 23 games remaining. The Bruins have 24 games left.
“There are a lot of reasons why we’re losing,” said Donato.”‘We have to find reasons and ways to win.”
To make the playoffs, both teams will have to turn their home ice into an advantage. The Hawks are 10-16-3 at the United Center, the Bruins 10-16-6 at the FleetCenter. Anyone who says either team doesn’t miss the Boston Garden or Chicago Stadium, respectively, is crazy.
And more often than not, both new buildings aren’t sold out.
“I don’t mind saying the FleetCenter doesn’t have the charisma, history, noise factor that the Garden had,” said Donato. “We did lose a little advantage. We could make the FleetCenter a more emotional place if we could win there, though.”
“Boston’s a pretty demanding city and they want winners, and that’s what they pay to see,” said Amonte. “If you win, you can really reap the rewards in Boston.”
And if you lose . . . well, both Boston and the Hawks are finding out this season it’s no joy ride.
“Boston is like Chicago in that they have knowledgeable fans who know about the past,” said Donato. “That forces the players to have a complete understanding of that tradition.”
And that means, traditionally, the Hawks and Bruins had better make the playoffs.
“The year’s not finished yet,” said Hawks coach Craig Hartsburg. “(Boston) went on a run last year (finishing with a 13-5-3 streak) and ended up with 91 points. At some point last year, people thought they were dead too. I wouldn’t count them out.”
Nor is he counting out his own team’s chances. The Hawks have won six of their last eight, and with another little push, they could easily move up to sixth place, currently held by Phoenix with 56 points.
But they better hurry, or they’ll be selecting a lot higher in this summer’s entry draft than they care to.
One last similarity between the Hawks and Bruins: Both own two first-round draft picks. Boston has Hartford’s top pick, and the Whalers are out of the playoffs right now too. The Hawks have Phoenix’s top pick.
Both Sinden and Pulford are hoping Hartford’s and Phoenix’s picks are the higher of the two.
