Which Unbeaten NHL Team Will Be the Last One Standing?

The Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights are the only NHL teams yet to drop a game this season. Could they set a new NHL all-time record?

Amid Tuesday's 32-team 'Frozen Frenzy,' the Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights did what they have been doing all month. 

They won. And they set some records along the way.

The Golden Knights are now the first Stanley Cup champions ever to start their title defense with seven straight wins. And the Avalanche's 7-4 win over the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Tuesday was their 15th straight on the road — a league record. 

Colorado's last regular-season road loss was a 7-3 defeat in Dallas back on March 4, so the streak is now approaching eight months. The Avs even won two of their three playoff games in Seattle back in April, only losing in overtime in Game 4.

As for Boston: after Jeremy Swayman shut out the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, the Bruins have given up just seven goals in six games while alternating their goaltenders to keep them fresh. 

That's a goals-against average of 1.17.

The only time we've seen such stinginess over a full season was a century ago, in the 1920s. The 2011-12 St. Louis Blues tandem of Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott holds the modern-day record (post-1967 expansion) at 1.89 goals against per game. 

Vegas is also currently ahead of that pace, with 13 goals allowed in seven games for a GAA of 1.86.

Yes, we're still dealing with a small sample size of games. But this is the first time in history that the NHL has seen three teams all win their first six games. 

The all-time record is 10 straight wins to start a season, shared by the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres and the 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs. Could that mark be within reach for one or more of these squads?

They've just aced a four-game Western road trip, which is no easy task. And as mentioned, their defensive effectiveness has been incredible. Boston has yet to give up more than two goals in a game, which means three on the offensive side is getting the job done.

Offensively, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand have been producing — as they do. James van Riemsdyk has been a nice veteran addition, with three goals, and 19-year-old Matthew Poitras has helped step into the void in the middle. 

Flying under the radar? Johnny Beecher, a 22-year-old rookie anchoring the fourth line. The first-round pick from 2019 has been winning 53.5 percent of his draws and logging significant time on a penalty kill that went 24-for-25 so far this season (96 percent).

To be fair, the Bruins haven't exactly been tested against NHL powerhouses. The Los Angeles Kings are the only one of their six opponents so far that made the playoffs last year. They've played Chicago (twice), Nashville, San Jose and Anaheim. 

But Boston is the only one of the three unbeaten teams to have won all six of its games in regulation. And it wouldn't be a stretch to suggest that record will improve to 7-0-0 when the Ducks stop by TD Garden on Thursday.

The Bruins' toughest test of the season to date could come on Saturday when their first game against an Eastern Conference foe will be versus the red-hot Detroit Red Wings at TD Garden.

After last season, a hot streak like this is familiar territory for the Bruins. On their way to their historic 135 points, they went 17-3-0 in their first 20 games and didn't lose on home ice until Game 24 against Vegas on Dec. 5, 2022.

Four of Colorado's six wins so far this season have also come on the road — a three-game Pacific Division swing through Los Angeles, San Jose and Seattle. Then, there were two games at home before the three-game jaunt through the Metro that started on Long Island and will include stops in Pittsburgh and Buffalo.

With Pavel Francouz on the shelf for the foreseeable future, Alexandar Georgiev has played every minute in net for the Avalanche and has a .930 save percentage to date. Last week, he earned second star honors from the NHL and allowed just four goals in his first four games. But he then gave up four to the Carolina Hurricanes in a 6-4 win last Saturday, then another four to the Islanders on Tuesday.

Last season, Georgiev capably played 62 games, finishing third in the league in minutes played. It seems premature to wonder if fatigue might be an issue and, fortuitously, Colorado's schedule isn't overly heavy for the next few weeks. The Avalanche won't play their first back-to-back set of the season for another month, Nov. 24 in Minnesota and then home to Calgary on Nov. 25.

As well as leaning on just one goalie, the Avs have faced tougher early opposition than the Bruins. Four of their first six games came against playoff teams from 2023 — the Kings, Kraken, Hurricanes and Islanders. 

Offensively, Mikko Rantanen is just getting warmed up. He posted a goal and three assists against the Islanders on Tuesday and is now up to a team-leading 12 points for the year.

The way they've been going, the Avalanche could extend their road winning streak to 17 games if they can get two points in Pittsburgh on Thursday and two more in Buffalo in a Saturday matinee. Then, they'll head home to face the St. Louis Blues, currently sitting with a record of 2-2-1.

That game is also winnable. If the Avs can keep it going, they could soon be at 9-0-0, with a chance to tie the all-time record in a showdown that will be early-season must-see TV.

On Nov. 4, Colorado will face the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.

The 2021 second-round playoff series between Vegas and Colorado was epic — the six-game battle where the Golden Knights prevailed and Nathan MacKinnon burned so hot after the loss, he lit the fuse that led to the Avs' Cup win 12 months later. 

And nobody has forgotten. Even the final pre-season tune-up between these two sides on Oct. 5 was a battle, with Vegas scoring four-straight goals to erase a 3-0 deficit and seal the win with 1:17 left to play in the third period.

That's the kind of swagger that defined Vegas' Stanley Cup run last spring, and it's still turned up to 10.

The Golden Knights have had a more comfortable start to the season than Boston or Colorado, with four of their seven games on home ice. And they've played just three 2023 playoff teams: Seattle, Dallas and Winnipeg. But for the most part, Vegas has been stomping its opponents. Five of its seven wins have come by two or more goals, and the two close games both featured third-period comebacks. 

Against the Stars on Oct. 17, William Karlsson scored the equalizer with 2:59 left in regulation, then his fellow Golden Misfits Shea Theodore and Jonathan Marchessault connected in the shootout for the win. 

A week later, also on home ice, Paul Cotter's highlight-reel tally levelled the score against the Philadelphia Flyers at 2-2 with 7:54 left in regulation. Then, with 33 seconds to play, Theodore came through with the winner — and the final goal of Frozen Frenzy night.

The Golden Knights will be playing their 12th game of the year when they host the Avalanche on Nov. 4. Will they have set the new single-season win-streak record by then?

They've got a fairly tough weekend ahead, featuring three games in four nights with travel.

It kicks off with Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks landing in Vegas on Friday. Then, the Golden Knights will jet over to L.A. to take on the 3-2-1 Kings on Saturday. Monday night, they'll open a three-game homestand and play Game 10 against the fast-starting Montreal Canadiens, who are also 3-2-1. Then, Winnipeg stops by on Nov. 2 before the big date against Colorado.