The Longest Losing Streaks in NHL History

Some teams can’t break the bad luck, especially when things aren’t going their way. Hockey can be very unforgiving, and some teams fail to even break 10 wins in a single NHL season.

Throughout NHL history, a team has reached double-digit game-losing streaks multiple times. 

None, however, throughout the regular season, managed to reach 20 losses in a row, which would be mortifying. In this article, we highlight five of the longest losing streaks in NHL history, including what team held that streak, what season it occurred, and how many games in a row they lost.

#5: Philadelphia Quakers –  (1930-1931) – 15 game streak

You may have never heard of this team before, as its only season was this 1930-1931 season, and one to remember at that. Having been called the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1925, the new identity Quakers would set a record for one of the worst seasons. In this one season alone, the Quakers would suffer 36 losses, of which 15 were in a row.

Maybe it was for the better that the Quakers dissolved as a professional team, as this would go down as one of the earliest and longest NHL losing streaks in history.

#4: Washington Capitals –  (1974-1975) – 17-game streak

While the Washington Capitals would become an extremely strong team in the 21st century, this was not quite the case in 1974. The Capitals would go about one of their worst seasons ever recorded at 8-67-5 after the regular season. In this scenario, Washington is tied for the longest losing streak of 17 games straight without gaining a point in NHL history.

There’s only a small handful of other teams that contributed to longer losing streaks in NHL history than the 1974-1975 Capitals, although this will be considered one of the longest NHL losing streaks in history.

#3: San Jose Sharks –  (1992-1993, 2022-2023) – 17-game streak x 2

Unfortunately for the San Jose Sharks, they’d succumb to the same fate as the Washington Capitals in 1974, although they’d have to experience the nightmare twice within 30 years. First, in 1992-1993, the Sharks would achieve an embarrassing 11-71–2 regular season record before duplicating the same 17-game losing streak in their 2022-2023 season, where they’d end slightly better at 22-44-16.

Without a doubt, having two separate losing streaks at 17 games in a row put the 1992-1993 and 2022-20223 San Jose Sharks seasons down as two of the worst losing streaks in NHL history.

#1=: Buffalo Sabres –  (2020-2021) – 18-game streak

Having contributed to a 15-game win streak twice in 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 made it astonishing to see a massive falloff in the 2020-2021 Sabres team. Giving up 18 straight losses in a row, the Sabre would finish their 2021 regular season 15-34-7 and only manage to end their horrendous run in a 6-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in March of that year.

The Sabres can achieve as many winning streaks as they want, but they’ll never escape one of the longest NHL losing streaks in history tied for first at 18 straight losses.

#1=: Pittsburgh Penguins – (2003-2004) – 18-game streak

Who else would hold the record for both the longest winning and losing streak in the NHL other than the Pittsburgh Penguins? The 1992-1993 team was a force to be reckoned with, achieving a record-breaking 17-game win streak, the longest NHL history.

After only 10 years, they’d set another record, but for the wrong reasons. During this time the Penguins would amass 18 straight losses on their 23-47-8-4 regular season record, making it the longest losing streak in NHL history until their 4-3 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes in February.