Today in NHL History, Jan 31th

1923: Canadiens beat Hamilton 5-4 in Montreal, in the first penalty-free game played in NHL history. There were none called against either team for the entire game.

1925: Goaltender Georges Vezina recorded his 12th career shutout in the Canadiens' 5-0 win against the visiting Maroons.

1931: Toronto 's Charlie Conacher scored three straight goals (his second career hat trick) as the Maple Leafs won 3-2 over the Philadelphia Quakers.

1933: Dit Clapper became the first player (and the first defenseman) in Boston history to score 100 goals as a member of the Bruins, when they lost 5-1 to the visiting Chicago Black Hawks.

1952: Montreal goaltender Gerry McNeil recorded his 9th career shutout in the Canadiens' 1-0 win against the visiting NY Rangers. Maurice Richard returned after missing six games due to a groin injury and scored the game winning goal.

1953: Boston goalie Jim Henry and Canadiens' Gerry McNeil dueled to a 0-0 scoreless tie, in a game played at Montreal. It was McNeil's eighth shutout of the season (and the 20th of his career) and the 16th of Henry's NHL career.

1965: Former NHL defenseman Bobby Dollas born in Montreal, Que. Dollas played in the NHL 1983-84 through 2000-01 with Winnipeg, Quebec, Detroit, Anaheim, Edmonton, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa, Calgary and San Jose.

1970: Rookie Tony Esposito recorded his 11th shutout of the season as the Black Hawks won 5-0 at Philadelphia. Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita each scored twice. Esposito finished the 1969-70 season with 15 shutouts, an NHL record for rookies.

1971: Gord Labossiere scored his first career NHL hat trick, and Tommy Williams had a goal and two assists in the Minnesota North Stars' 7-1 win against the Oakland Seals, at the Met Center.

1978: Montreal's Jacques Lemaire scored his 5th career hat trick as the Montreal Canadiens extended their team-record undefeated streak to 18 straight games (16-0-2), with a 5-3 win against the Rockies, at Colorado.

1982: Five days after turning 21 years old, Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky scored his 13th career hat trick and added two assists (to begin a 14 game assist streak) as the Oilers won 7-4 over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.

1987: Referee Dave Newell officiated in his 1,000th career NHL game as Detroit won 4-2 at Toronto. Newell became only the fourth referee in NHL history to officiate 1,000 games.

1990: Detroit's Steve Yzerman had the first four goal game of his NHL career (his 8th career hat trick) and picked up an assist to lead the Red Wings to a 7-5 win over Edmonton, at Joe Louis Arena.

1991: Rookie goalie Mike Richter set a team-record with 59 saves, to lead the Rangers to a 3-3 tie at Vancouver.

1995: Quebec's Marc Crawford became the second rookie coach in NHL history to win his first five games behind the bench, when the Nordiques beat the Flyers 5-2 in Quebec City. Crawford's streak ended two nights later, with a loss in New Jersey.

1996: Tampa Bay's Brian Bellows became the 107th NHL player to appear in 1,000 career games. Bellows picked up an assist in a 4-1 Lightning win over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.

1998: Pittsburgh goalie Tom Barrasso made 51 saves (a club record for a home game) as the Penguins won 4-2 over the visiting Detroit Red Wings

2004: Pat Quinn became just the 4th coach in NHL history to win 600 regular-season games as Toronto won 5-1 over the visiting Ottawa Senators.