Friday, April 4, 2008

Today in NHL History, April 4th

1944: Maurice Richard made his Stanley Cup Finals debut, getting an assist on the game winning goal, in a 5-1 Montreal Canadiens' victory over Chicago in Game One of the Finals.

1948: Rookie Red Kelly scored a goal and added two assists in the first period (including an assist on Gordie Howe's first NHL playoff goal) as Detroit beat the Rangers 4-2, in the 6th and deciding game of their Stanley Cup Semi-Final series, at N.Y.

1953: Former NHL center Blake Dunlop born in Hamilton, Ont. Dunlop played in the NHL 1973-74 through 1983-84 with Minnesota, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Detroit.....Montreal's Jacques Plante became the fourth rookie goalie in NHL history to get a shutout in his first career playoff game, when he led the Canadiens to a 3-0 win at Chicago, in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Semi-Finals.

1961: Montreal lost 3-0 at Chicago in Game Six of the Semi-Finals, and got knocked out of the playoffs, missing the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1949. The Black Hawks advanced to the Finals where they beat Detroit.

1968: Los Angeles Kings played their first Stanley Cup playoff game -- and beat the Minnesota North Stars, 2-1 at the Forum.....St. Louis Blues played their first NHL Stanley Cup playoff game, and beat Philadelphia 1-0. Jim Roberts scored the only goal (late in the third period), and Glenn Hall recorded his 6th (and final) career playoff shutout.

1971: Boston's Bobby Orr had two assists to finish the 1970-71 season with an NHL-record 102 assists along with two records for NHL defensemen: 37 goals and 139 points. Phil Esposito scored his seventh hat trick of the season (a record at the time) -- goals #74, 75, and 76 -- and added an assist. At the time 76 goals was the most in NHL history. Bruins won 7-2 over the visiting Montreal Canadiens.....Gordie Howe appeared in his 1,687th (and final) regular season game with the Red Wings, as the Rangers beat Detroit 6-0 at New York.

1973: Goaltender Cesare Maniago recorded his second career playoff shutout to lead the Minnesota North Stars to a 3-0 win at Philadelphia, in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Quarter-Finals.....Chicago's Dick Redmond became just the second defenseman in modern NHL history to score a playoff hat trick. His three goals led the Black Hawks to a 7-1 playoff win over St. Louis, in Game One of the Stanley Cup Quarter-Finals.

1974: Bernie Parent recorded his 12th shutout of the season in a 4-0 Flyers' win over the visiting N.Y. Islanders. It was also his 72nd start of the season, a new NHL record, and he extended his NHL-record for wins in a season to 46.

1976: The Seals beat the Kings 5-2, at the Oakland Coliseum in the final NHL game played in the San Francisco Bay area until the Sharks returned in October 1991.

1980: Mike Rogers picked up an assist, to become the first 100 point scorer in Hartford Whalers' history, in a 9-2 win over the Quebec Nordiques, at the Civic Arena in Hartford.

1982: Boston rookie Barry Pederson scored three straight goals (his first career hat trick) in the first period and added 4 assists, for seven points in a 7-2 Bruins win over Hartford. The seven points set a Bruins' record for most points by a rookie.

1986: Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky had three assists to give him 214 points and broke his single-season record (212 points set in 1981-82) in a 9-3 Oilers' loss at Calgary.

1987: New York Islanders' Denis Potvin scored twice to become the first defenseman (and 21st player) in NHL history to score 1,000 career points. It came on a goal as the Islanders tied Buffalo, 6-6.

1990: Los Angeles' Larry Robinson entered his 18th consecutive year in the Stanley Cup playoffs, to set an NHL post-season record, when the Kings won 5-3 at Calgary, in Game 1 of the Smythe Division Semi-Finals.

1991: Brian Propp scored a power play goal at 4:14 of overtime, to give the Minnesota North Stars a 4-3 win at Chicago, in Game One of their Norris Division Semi-Final series.

1993: Ron Francis scored two goals and two assists to lead the Penguins to a 5-2 win against the Devils, at New Jersey. Penguins, with their 14th win in a row, tied the 1929-30 Boston Bruins for the second longest winning streak in NHL history.....San Jose set an NHL record with their 68th loss of the season, when the second-year Sharks lost to Calgary 4-3 at the Cow Palace in Daly City. The Sharks broke the record of 67 set by the Capitals in 1974-75.

2001: Dallas Stars won 5-1 against the visiting Nashville Predators to set an NHL record by outscoring opponents in 22 consecutive third periods, breaking the mark shared by the Quebec Nordiques (1980-81) and Winnipeg Jets (1989-90).

2003: Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Marc Denis set an NHL record for most minutes played in one season (with 4,451) in a 5-5 tie against the visiting Detroit Red Wings. He broke the mark of 4,443 set by Martin Brodeur in 1995-96.

2004: Minnesota's Dwayne Roloson recorded his 16th career shutout as the Wild beat the visiting St. Louis Blues, 3-0.