Saturday, December 17, 2005

Playoff streak: Galaxy among star studded lineup



Every MLS fan knows that the Galaxy are the only team to make the playoffs each season of the league's existence, a total of 10 consecutive seasons. That's a very impressive statistic, even when at least two-thirds of the league has made it every year. The next best current streak in the league is was the San Jose Earthquakes at 5. So now, the second longest current streak is shared by the Rapids and Revs at 4 seasons.

The Galaxy's streak puts them in elite company among major sports teams in this country. Looking at MLS plus the big four (MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL), as well as the WNBA, only 4 teams have longer playoff streaks. The top ten:


1 St. Louis Blues NHL 25
2 Atlanta Braves MLB 14
2 Detroit Red Wings NHL 14
4 New York Yankees MLB 11
5 Colorado Avalanche NHL 10
5 Los Angeles Galaxy MLS 10
5 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 10
8 Indiana Pacers NBA 8
8 New Jersey Devils NHL 8
8 Ottawa Senators NHL 8
8 San Antonio Spurs NBA 8


I did not count the strike year in baseball (1994), as there were no playoffs. No surprise that the NHL makes up the bulk of the list, but you would think the NBA would have more teams. Some of the traditional powers have declined though in recent years (Jazz, Lakers). The NFL is built on parity, and after this season Indianapolis will lead the league with only 4 consecutive playoff appearances. The WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks have made it 7 straight times.

It looks like one of the teams above the Galaxy will certainly be gone from the list soon. The Blues (the FC Dallas of hockey...always decent, never great) are overwhelmingly number one in this category, but are dead last in the NHL a third of the way through the season.

Comments on "Playoff streak: Galaxy among star studded lineup"

 

Blogger kj said ... (11:43 AM, December 21, 2005) : 

Hockey was my first love (and, in some ways, still is). The Blues were my hometown team, and are still my boys. The consecutive playoff streak has been a source of pride over the years.

This year... well... uh... *sobs*

 

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