Russian forward Pavel Datsyuk helped his Detroit Red Wings to a record 21-game win streak at home in one season, getting an assist in a 3-1 defeat of the Dallas Stars 3-1 on Tuesday.
Since November 3, when the Red Wings suffered their last home defeat to the Calgary Flames, Datsyuk has scored 25 points at Joe Louis Arena, playing in every game of the record run. Tuesday's game was only the sixth time in the winning streak that he failed to find the net.
The win saw the Red Wings surpass the 20-game home win streaks set by the Boston Bruins in the 1929-30 season and the Philadelphia Flyers in 1976, although both of those records were achieved before the introduction of shootouts, when tied games were possible.
During a power play midway through the first period of Tuesday's game, Datsyuk set up Swedish forward Henrik Zetterberg, who scored Detroit's first goal from his own rebound.
Brad Stuart added the Red Wings' second shortly afterwards, before Jiri Hudler scored in the third period to extend the lead, making Adam Burish's late strike nothing more than a consolation for Dallas.
With the win, Detroit moved four points clear of Vancouver for overall first in the Western Conference.
The Yekaterinburg-born Datsyuk, 33, was drafted by the Red Wings at 171st overall in 1998, and Detroit remains his only NHL team to date. He has represented Russia at the last three Winter Olympics and was part of the team that won bronze in Salt Lake City in 2002.
