Today in NHL History, March 31st

1923: Ottawa's 18-year-old King Clancy played all six positions (including goalie for two minutes when Clint Benedict got a penalty) when the Senators beat Edmonton 1-0 in Game Two of the Finals, to become the 1923 Stanley Cup Champions.

1927: Montreal's Howie Morenz scored at 12:05 of overtime as the Canadiens beat the Montreal Maroons 1-0, in the first all-NHL Stanley Cup Playoff overtime game ever played. Rookie George Hainsworth recorded his first playoff shutout.

1936: Hall of Famer Bob Pulford born in Newton Robinson, Ont. Pulford played in the NHL 1956-57 through 1971-72 with Toronto and Los Angeles, and later coached the Kings and Black Hawks, before becoming Chicago's GM.

1949: Former NHL goalie Gilles Gilbert born in St. Esprit, Que. Gilbert played in the NHL 1969-70 through 1972-73 with Minnesota, Boston and Detroit.

1951: Boston and Toronto played in the last Stanley Cup Playoff Game to end in a tie. The teams were at 1-1 through one overtime (in Game 2 of their Semi-Final series) when existing Toronto laws made it illegal to begin another period after midnight.

1956: Montreal Canadiens trailed Detroit 4-2 after two periods, but scored 4 straight goals in the third (outshooting the Wings 18-5) to beat the Red wings 6-4, in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Montreal.

1965: Former NHL goalie Tom Barrasso born in Boston, Mass. Barrasso played in the NHL 1983-84 through 2002-03 with Buffalo, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa, Carolina, Toronto and St. Louis.

1971: Gordie Howe became the first Red Wings' player to be honored with a "Night" in an opponent's rink, when the Maple Leafs honored him at Maple Leaf Gardens. Detroit tied 2-2 with Toronto.

1973: Boston's Bobby Orr scored his third career hat trick to become the first player in NHL history to score 100 points for four straight seasons. The milestone came in a 7-3 Bruins' loss at Toronto.....Chicago's Stan Mikita became the second player in franchise history (and the 9th in NHL history) to score 400 goals. The milestone came as the Black Hawks lost 4-2 at Detroit.....Philadelphia Flyers tied the NHL record for most goals in one period, with eight in the second period of a 10-2 win over the Islanders, in Philadelphia.....Montreal's Jacques Lemaire scored a penalty shot goal and added three assists to lead the Canadiens to a 5-1 win over the Rangers, in Montreal.

1979: Toronto's Lanny McDonald scored his 5th career hat trick as the Maple Leafs won 6-2 over the Minnesota North Stars.....Montreal Canadiens became just the second team in NHL history to win 50 (or more) games four straight years; their 50th victory of 1978-79 came in a 5-3 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.

1982: Edmonton's Mark Messier scored twice to become the second player in team history to score 50 goals in a season. The milestone, along with an assist came in a 7-3 Oilers' win over the visiting Los Angeles Kings.

1984: Flames set a team record with six goals in the second period, during a 10-3 win over the Minnesota North Stars. With the victory, Calgary extended their home undefeated streak against the North Stars to 9 straight games (6-0-3).....Mike Bossy became the first player in NHL history to record seven straight 50 goal seasons, when he scored his 50th and 51st of the year, in a 3-1 Islanders win, at Washington. Bossy broke the mark of 6 straight 50-goal seasons by Guy Lafleur.

1988: New York Islanders held a "Denis Potvin" night in a pre-game ceremony before a game against Washington, and won 7-3 over the Capitals. Mikko Makela led the scoring with a goal and three assists for New York.

1989: Joe Mullen became the fourth player in Calgary Flames history to score 50 goals in a season as the Flames beat Winnipeg 4-1, to extend their home undefeated streak against the Jets to 7 games (6-0-1).

1990: Minnesota's Brian Bellows tied a club record with his 55th goal of the season as the North Stars won 6-3 at St. Louis. The goal also extended Bellows' team-record goal scoring streak to 10 straight games. Also in that game, Brett Hull scored twice to set a new NHL record for most goals by a right wing (72). Hull's 72 were one more than Jari Kurri, who scored 71 for the Oilers in 1984-85.....Brent Sutter scored twice and added two assists to lead the Islanders to a 6-2 win over the Flyers, in New York. The win put the Islanders into the playoffs, and knocked Philadelphia out, for the first time since 1971-72.....John Tanner made his NHL debut in goal for the Nordiques (in a 3-2 loss to the Hartford Whalers) to make Quebec the first team in NHL history to use 7 goalies in one season. The '34 Americans and '80 Oilers had each used 6 goalies in one season. Also in that game, Quebec Nordiques' Joe Sakic became the first player in NHL history to score 100 points in a season while playing on a last place team, when he scored a goal.

1991: Boston's Chris Nilan set an NHL record with 10 penalties in one game (six minors, two majors, a misconduct and a game misconduct) in a 7-3 win over the Hartford Whalers, at Boston Garden.

1994: Jeremy Roenick scored a goal to become the first player in Chicago Blackhawks history to get 100 points for three consecutive seasons. The milestone came in a 6-3 loss to the visiting Washington Capitals.

1995: Cliff Ronning scored his 250th point as a member of the Vancouver Canucks in a 6-1 win over the visiting Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

1996: Detroit's Paul Coffey had three assists (in the Red Wings' 8-1 win over the visiting St. Louis Blues) to become the eighth NHL player and first defenseman to score 1,400 career points. Also in that game, St. Louis Blues' Grant Fuhr extended his NHL record for consecutive starts in goal, and set an NHL record with his 76th appearance of the season, but then left the game with a third period injury.....Sharks' rookie Jan Caloun scored, to give him his first five NHL goals on just six career shots (in five games). It came in a 4-2 San Jose loss to the visiting Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

1997: Mario Lemieux scored his 610th NHL goal to tie Bobby Hull for 6th place on the NHL's all-time list as the Penguins won 4-3 over the visiting Florida Panthers. Lemieux also picked up an assist.

2003: Manny Fernandez recorded his 8th career shutout as the Wild scored three power-play goals for a 3-0 win over the visiting Calgary Flames.....Patrick Roy became the first goaltender in NHL history to play 60,000 minutes, as the Avalanche extended their home unbeaten streak to 16 games with a 3-1 win over the visiting San Jose Sharks.

2004: Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff recorded his 7th career shutout, and the Flames clinched their first playoff berth in 8 years, with a 1-0 win over the visiting Phoenix Coyotes. It was the 187th shutout in the NHL in 2003-04, a new all-time record.....S.J. Sharks set a franchise record with their 10th win of the month, 3-0 over the Kings in Los Angeles. Evgeni Nabokov recorded his 9th shutout of the year (the 26th of his career) as the Sharks clinched their 2nd Pacific Division Championship.