Perfection on ice has tempted more than a few great teams — from the 1976–77 Canadiens, who turned dominance into routine, to modern powerhouses that’ve brushed against the impossible. Yet none have ever escaped defeat entirely.

Each generation delivers a new contender that teases the dream: a team skating through winter with swagger, numbers and noise that whisper “maybe this is the one”. But the grind of the NHL always finds a way to break the spell.

Still, those near-perfect seasons endure in hockey memory, the nights when the rink felt smaller, the puck lighter, and victory inevitable. They became more than records; they became legends, proof that chasing perfection is its own kind of immortality.

Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80): The 35-game miracle run

In the fall of 1979, the Phila

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