Today in NHL History, April 1st

1919: The final game for the 1919 Stanley Cup Championship was cancelled because of an epidemic of influenza sweeping America. It remains the only time in its history that the Stanley Cup was not awarded to a team.

1920: Ottawa Senators beat Seattle 6-1 in Game Five of the Finals, to become the 1920 Stanley Cup Champions.

1926: Maroons' Clint Benedict became the first NHL goalie to record three straight playoff shutouts, when Montreal won 3-0 over the visiting Victoria Cougars, in Game 2 of their Stanley Cup Championship series. It was Benedict's 10th playoff shutout

1943: Mud Bruneteau scored a hat trick and Sid Abel had a goal and 4 assists as the Red Wings beat the Bruins 6-2, in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Detroit. The Red Wings went on to win the series in four games and the Stanley Cup.

1947: Montreal's Billy Reay scored four goals in the Canadiens' 5-1 win over the Bruins, at Boston in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Semi-Finals.

1952: Detroit had a 3-1 playoff win over the Maple Leafs at Toronto, to win their best of seven Stanley Cup series in four straight games. It was the first time in NHL history that the Leafs had lost a series in four straight.

1954: Gordie Howe scored two goals and an assist, and set a Stanley Cup playoff record for fastest goal from the start of a game (:09) in a 4-3 win over Toronto, in Game 5 of the Semi-Finals. Ted Lindsay scored the winner at 21:01 of overtime.

1958: Montreal's Maurice Richard scored his seventh (and final) career playoff hat trick as the Canadiens won 4-3 at Detroit, in the 4th and deciding game of their Stanley Cup Semi-Final series.

1976: Flyers extended their team-record home winning streak to 19 straight games, Bobby Clarke set a team record with five assists, Reggie Leach became just the second player in NHL history to score 60 goals in a season (Phil Esposito was the first to score 60 in a season) and the Flyers set a team record with 62 shots in an 11-2 win over Washington, at the Spectrum.

1978: Mike Bossy became the first NHL rookie to score 50 goals. He scored numbers 50 and 51 in the closing moments of the game to give the Islanders a 3-2 win over Washington.....Bill Barber scored two shorthanded goals on the same penalty -- :27 apart in the first, and Bobby Clarke had three assists to help the Flyers to a 4-2 win at Los Angeles.

1982: Pat Riggin led the Flames to an 11-0 shutout of the Colorado Rockies, for the biggest shutout win in Flames' team history. Lanny McDonald scored his 9th career hat trick and an assist and Guy Chouinard had a goal and four assists.

1984: Minnesota North Stars signed goaltender Jon Casey as a free agent, following his college career at North Dakota.....Boston Bruins won the NHL's Adams Division Title on John Blum's first NHL goal, as the Bruins won 3-1 over the Devils at New Jersey.

1987: Detroit's Dave Lewis became the 17th defenseman (and the 60th player overall) in NHL history to play in 1,000 career games. His Red Wings, however, lost to Philadelphia 2-1.

1989: Wayne Gretzky became the first player in NHL history to record 1,200 career assists, when he picked up three as the Kings beat Vancouver 6-4 in Los Angeles.....Montreal goalie Patrick Roy completed an unbeaten season at home, going 25-0-4, as the Canadiens tied the Flyers, 2-2.

1994: Capitals' Don Beaupre won the 253rd game of his NHL career, in a 2-1 win over the Devils, to move into 20th place on the all time list, passing Frank Brimsek.

2002: New Jersey's Ken Daneyko set an NHL record when his goal-less streak extended to 246 games, the longest in league history, in a 4-2 loss to the Islanders in New York. Daneyko broke the mark of 245 set by Rich Pilon.

2003: Ed Belfour became the 7th NHL goaltender to win 400 regular-season games, and Tomas Kaberle scored the winning goal at 2:44 of overtime and added two assists in the Maple Leafs 3-2 win over the Devils at New Jersey.

2004: Tampa Bay Lightning won their first Eastern Conference Championship, with a 4-3 win over the visiting Florida Panthers, following Boston's tie with Washington. Martin St. Louis scored twice in the final period for the win.....Boston Bruins became the first team in NHL history to play 30 overtime games in one regular season; they reached the milestone with a 3-3 tie against the visiting Washington Capitals.