Today in NHL History, Dec 20th

1927: Hap Day scored a goal and added three assists as the Toronto Maple Leafs won 5-2 over the visiting New York Americans.

1936: New York Americans purchased Nels Stewart from the Boston Bruins. Stewart went on to score 20 goals and 10 assists in 32 games with the Americans in 1936-37.

1938: Bruins' rookie goalie Frankie Brimsek recorded his third straight shutout, and his sixth in seven games, 3-0 over the New York Americans, at Boston Garden. The win gave Brimsek six shutouts in his first eight NHL games.

1942: Boston's Bill Cowley picked up two assists in overtime to lead the Bruins to a 4-2 win at Montreal.

1950: Toronto's Turk Broda became the first goaltender in NHL history to record 300 career victories. The milestone came in a Maple Leafs' 6-1 win over the Canadiens.....Former NHL center Bill Clement born in Thurso, Que. Clement played in the NHL 1971-72 through 1981-82 with Philadelphia, Washington, Atlanta and Calgary.

1951: Allan Stanley was named the new Captain of the New York Rangers, replacing Frank Eddolls.

1953: Chicago's Bill Mosienko scored two goals and added an assist, to give him 500 career NHL points, as the Black Hawks won 4-1 against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs, before a crowd of 5,038 fans.

1955: Montreal's Bernie Geoffrion and Maurice Richard each scored three goals and an assist as the Canadiens won 7-1 against the Black Hawks, at Chicago. It was the 25th hat trick of Richard's NHL career and the 5th for Geoffrion.

1964: Bobby Hull scored to give him 28 goals in 28 games as the Black Hawks won 3-2 over the Bruins. Hull went on to score 32 goals in the first 35 games of the 1964-65 season, but injuries lowered his final totals to 39 goals in 61 games.

1967: Goaltender Gump Worsley recorded his 32nd career shutout in the Canadiens' 5-0 win over Toronto in Montreal. Dick Duff led the scoring with his third career hat trick, and Bob Rousseau added a goal and three assists.

1968: St. Louis goalie Jacques Plante recorded his 67th career shutout to lead the Blues to a 1-0 win over the Seals, at Oakland.

1969: Boston's Bobby Orr recorded five assists to lead the Bruins to a 6-4 victory at Pittsburgh.

1970: John McKenzie scored his third career hat trick and added an assist, and Phil Esposito had two goals and two assists (giving him 64 points in 32 games) as the Bruins won 7-2 against the Minnesota North Stars.

1973: Parker MacDonald took over as the Minnesota North Stars' coach, replacing Jackie Gordon.....Ken Hodge scored two goals and added two assists, and Phil Esposito had a goal and three assists in the Bruins' 6-5 win against Pittsburgh, extending their unbeaten streak to 14-0-2.....Montreal's Henri Richard became the ninth player in NHL history to score 1,000 career points. The milestone came as an assist as the Canadiens tied the Sabres 2-2 at Buffalo.

1979: Philadelphia Flyers tied an NHL record by extending their undefeated streak to 28 games (19-0-9), with a 1-1 tie against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. Behn Wilson got the tying goal with 4:08 remaining in the game.

1980: Ron Greschner became the first defenseman in New York Rangers history to score 100 career goals. He scored his milestone goal in a 3-3 tie against the North Stars in Minnesota.

1981: Winnipeg's Doug Smail set an NHL record (later tied by Bryan Trottier and Alex Mogilny) for fastest goal from the start of a game, with a goal just five seconds into the Jets' 5-4 win over St. Louis.....Lou Franceschetti's first NHL goal was the game winner to lead the Capitals to a 3-2 win over the Rangers.

1983: Montreal's Guy Lafleur became the third player in franchise history to score 500 goals as a member of the Canadiens. The milestone came in a 6-0 win over the Devils, at New Jersey. Richard Sevigny recorded his 4th career shutout.....Steve Shutt became the 5th player in franchise history to score 400 goals as a member of the Canadiens. The milestone came as Montreal won 6-0 at New Jersey. Richard Sevigny recorded his 4th career shutout.

1985: New York Islanders' Denis Potvin scored his 916th career point, an assist, to break Bobby Orr's all-time NHL record for defensemen. It came in a 2-2 tie against the Rangers.....Wayne Gretzky had six assists to lead the Oilers to a 9-4 win over the Kings, in Edmonton.

1987: Dale Hawerchuk of the Jets became the 25th player in NHL history to play in 400 straight games. Since his rookie season of 1981-82, he missed only one game, that due to an ankle injury. Winnipeg won 4-1 over the visiting New Jersey Devils.

1990: oston goaltender Andy Moog recorded his 200th career victory as Bruins beat Sabres 4-1 at Boston Garden. It was his 57th win as a Bruin to go along with 143 with Edmonton.

1992: Ed Belfour recorded his 4th shutout of the season in the Blackhawks' 4-0 win over the Minnesota North Stars, at Chicago Stadium. Belfour increased his unbeaten streak to 7-0-1 as the Hawks won their 9th straight game at home.

1995: Vancouver Canucks played the 2,000th game in team history, a 2-2 tie against the Kings, in Los Angeles. The tie gave the Canucks an all-time record of 724-980-296, since entering the NHL in 1970-71.

1997: Pittsburgh's Ron Francis became the 9th player in franchise history to score 150 goals as a member of the Penguins. The milestone came in a 4-1 loss at St. Louis.

1999: Rick Tabaracci became just the second goaltender in NHL history to play for seven different NHL teams in his career, when he suited up for the Colorado Avalanche in a 4-2 win over the Hurricanes, in Carolina.....Pavel Bure set a Florida Panthers team record by scoring a goal in his fifth straight game (a 6-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs). Bure also had two assists in the game. It was also Bure's third straight game-winning goal.

2001: Byron Dafoe recorded his 25th career shutout, and rookie Andy Hilbert scored his first NHL goal in the Bruins 5-0 win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens.....Adam Deadmarsh celebrated his 500th career NHL game by scoring a goal and an assist in the final period in a 4-2 Kings win over the Senators, in Ottawa. The game featured 242 minutes in penalties, including 236 PIM in the second period.

2003: Nashville's Tomas Vokoun recorded his 10th career shutout in a 1-0 win over the visiting Detroit Red Wings.


Be sure to log onto WWW.THESTITCH.US