This Day In Preds History: Dan Ellis Sets Franchise-Record Shutout Streak

At this time 12 years ago, Dan Ellis was in the process of setting a franchise record that may never be broken.
The former Predators goaltender holds the club's top mark for a shutout streak with a time of 233:39 of gameplay without allowing a single puck to enter his net.
During a span of eight days - March 22 to 30, 2008 - Ellis stopped 147 consecutive shots over the course of four games: two shutouts against the Columbus Blue Jackets that were bookended by a 2-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks and a 1-0 overtime loss in Detroit to the Red Wings. The rookie netminder's efforts ultimately helped the Preds clinch a playoff berth.

Here's some historical context from the Predators 15th Anniversary Timeline: "Having lost five of their previous six games, the Nashville Predators entered the final week of March - and their last seven games of the 2007-08 regular season - in need of a strong performance to make the postseason for the fourth consecutive season. Behind the play of rookie netminder Dan Ellis, they did just that.
"Ellis, who was slated for the starting job with the American Hockey League's Milwaukee Admirals during training camp, went 5-1-1 down the stretch, highlighted by a franchise-record shutout streak of 233:39 which saw him shut out the Columbus Blue Jackets twice (March 22 and 28), and go to overtime against Detroit (March 30). He stopped 147 consecutive shots during the streak, which at the time was the fifth-longest in the NHL since the 1943-44 season.

"'I hope it's not a peak, that there's still higher to go,' said Ellis, who fought dehydration and lost upwards of 13 pounds after the second Columbus shoutout. 'I just want to try to help this team to get into the playoffs. All we can do is control the games we have ahead of us.'
"Ellis was named the Second Star of the Week following the streak, and would end the month of March with a 1.75 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage. The Preds would go onto clinch a playoff berth with back-to-back wins against St. Louis behind their first-year goalie."
Ellis played three seasons in Nashville, including a 23-win campaign as a rookie. He then went on to mind the net in Tampa Bay, Anaheim, Carolina, Dallas and Florida before his NHL career came to an end following the 2014-15 season.
Predators goaltender Juuse Saros recently flirted with the record, posting a streak of 181:07 with back-to-back shutouts over the Dallas Stars on March 5 and 7, and then two more periods of perfect hockey in Montreal on March 10, Nashville's final game before the pause of the 2019-20 NHL season.