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This date in National Hockey League historical past is etched in stone because it gave us a brand new all-time chief in targets scored. One of the best rivalries in sports activities was amped up, a legend in the Windy City set a brand new report and a handful of goaltenders gave it their all. Let’s take our every day journey again in time to relive all the very best moments from March 23.
The Great One Becomes the Greatest
Wayne Gretzky has held this date in his coronary heart for 30 years. On March 23, 1994, he scored the 802nd aim of his unimaginable profession, breaking Gordie Howe’s report, which stood since 1980.
Late in the second interval, Gretzky obtained a cross from defenseman Marty McSorley and took benefit of an out-of-position Kirk McLean to make NHL historical past.
The Los Angeles Kings misplaced 6-3 to the Vancouver Canucks, however it’s arduous to imagine anybody in attendance on the Great Western Forum that night time left disillusioned.
“Two issues separated Gordie from on a regular basis
gamers,” Gretzky said
about his idol. “One, Gordie by no means thought he was larger or higher
than anyone else. He all the time wished to show that he was. He by no means stated to
anyone, ‘I’m the very best participant, I’m the No. 1 man.’
“And he always had a need to perform each and every game and practice. That’s what separated Gordie Howe from the rest and that’s why he was Gordie Howe. He had a definite ambition that he was going to be the best player every night and every year. That’s how he lived. He never changed.”
Howe had a pleasant second on March 23, as effectively. Back in 1952, he had three targets and an help in a 7-2 win on the Montreal Canadiens. The hat trick was the seventh of his profession and he completed the season with 47 targets, second to Maurice Richard’s 50. Howe completed his profession with 19 hat methods, which looks like a low quantity contemplating he scored 801 targets.
A Rivalry Begins
On March 23, 1929, the Boston Bruins beat the Canadiens 3-2 to knock them out of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Eddie Shore had the series-clinching aim in the first-ever postseason assembly between these two long-time rivals. The Canadiens would get revenge the next season by beating the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final.
Over the years, the Bruins and Canadiens have performed 34 instances in the Stanley Cup playoffs. While Boston struck first in 1929, the Canadiens have a 25-9 report in their playoff historical past. They gained 18 straight playoff sequence over the Bruins from 1945-1988. The two groups have performed one another in the Stanley Cup Final seven instances, with Montreal successful every one.
Stan Becomes the Man
On March 23, 1965, Chicago Blackhawks Hall of Famer Stan Mikita picked up his 59th help of the season in a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers. The historic helper broke the earlier NHL single-season help report of 58, which Jean Beliveau and Andy Bathgate shared.
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That report goes to point out you simply how far the sport has
progressed. The present report for assists in a single season was set 21 years
later by Gretzky when he had 163 throughout the 1985-86 season. Five gamers had at
least 59 assists when the present NHL season was placed on maintain earlier this
month.
All Good Between the Pipes
Goaltender Gerry Cheevers prolonged his NHL-record unbeaten streak to 31 video games (24-0-7) on March 23, 1972, with the Bruins’ 4-1 win in opposition to the New York Rangers. Johnny Bucyk scored two targets and added an help, whereas Fred Stanfield and John McKenzie every has three assists.
Martin Brodeur turned the primary goaltender in New Jersey Devils historical past to have a 30-win season on March 23, 1996, with a 3-2 time beyond regulation victory on the New York Islanders. Eight years later, on March 23, 2004, he turned the youngest goaltender in NHL historical past to win 400 video games in a 4-3 time beyond regulation win in opposition to the Florida Panthers. He was the quickest netminder to hitch the 400-club, too, needing simply 720 video games.
On March 23, 2003, Dwayne Roloson recorded his eleventh profession shutout because the Minnesota Wild beat the Red Wings 4-0. This clinched the Wild’s first-ever berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs, making them the third enlargement crew in 30 years to make the postseason in their third season of existence.
Andrew Hammond turned the primary goalie in league historical past to assist his crew earn at the very least one level in every of his first 15 begins on March 23, 2015, with the Ottawa Senators 5-2 win over the San Jose Sharks. He began his NHL profession going 14-0-1 report with a 1.67 goals-against common and .946 save share.
Andrei Vasilevskiy set a Tampa Bay Lightning report on this date in 2021 when he recorded his twelfth straight win in a 2-1 victory in opposition to the Stars. He made 16 saves and moved previous the earlier mark of 11 set by Louis Domingue from Nov. 29, 2018, to Feb. 19, 2019.
Odds & Ends
Alf Skinner of the Toronto Arenas scores three targets for the primary hat trick by an NHL participant in the Stanley Cup Final on March 23, 1918. However, the Arenas misplaced 6-4 to the Vancouver Millionaires in Game 2 of the primary Final involving an NHL crew.
In his second profession Stanley Cup Playoff recreation, on March 23, 1944, Maurice Richard scored all 5 targets in the Canadiens’ 5-1 victory in opposition to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 2 of their Semifinal sequence. Toe Blake assisted on all 5 targets.
Related: Maurice “Rocket” Richard: More than Just a Game
Bill Mosienko set an NHL report for the quickest three targets by one participant on March 23, 1952, when he will get a hat trick in 21 seconds throughout the Blackhawks’ 7-6 win in opposition to the Rangers. This was the fifth and last hat trick of his profession.
The Philadelphia Flyers beat the visiting Canadiens 2-1 on March 23, 1975, to finish Montreal’s NHL-record 23-game highway undefeated streak (14-0-9).
Teemu Selanne scored two targets and had an help on March 23, 1993, throughout the Winnipeg Jets’ 5-4 house loss to the Maple Leafs. The three factors gave him 111 to interrupt Peter Stastny’s single-season scoring report for rookies set in 1980-81.
Adam Graves set the Rangers’ single-season targets report on March 23, 1994, when he scored his 50th and 51st targets in a 5-3 win on the Oilers. He broke the outdated report of fifty targets set by Vic Hadfield in 1971-72.
Joe Sakic scored three targets to provide him 400 in his NHL profession on March 23, 2000, in a 4-2 Colorado Avalanche win on the Phoenix Coyotes. The hat trick made him the franchise’s all-time main scorer with 1,049 factors, one forward of Stastny.
Brendan Shanahan turned the 30th participant in NHL historical past to attain 500 profession targets on March 23, 2002, because the Red Wings beat the Avalanche 2-0. Hall of Fame goaltender Dominik Hasek earned his 61st profession shutout.
Patrick Kane moved previous Keith Tkachuk into fourth place amongst United States-born gamers with 1,066 factors when he recorded two assists in the Blackhawks’ 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on March 21, 2021.
On that very same night time, Travis Zajac turned the fourth participant to attain at the very least 200 targets with the Devils, becoming a member of Patrik Elias (408), John MacLean (347) and Bobby Holik (202) when he scored the 4-1 aim in the second interval of what finally was a 4-3 win over the Flyers. He has since retired and completed his NHL profession with 203 targets and 552 factors in 1,037 video games. 202 of these targets have been scored in a Devils’ uniform, as he wrapped up his time in the league with the Islanders in 2020-21.
Auston Matthews recorded his eightieth level in his 58th recreation on March 23, 2022, to turn out to be the third participant in Maple Leafs historical past to attain that many inside his first 58 video games of the season. He joined Doug Gilmour (1992-93, 1993-94) and Darryl Sittler (1977-78) in the feat.
John Tortorella secured his 700th win behind the bench on March 23, 2023, when his Flyers beat the Wild 5-4 in the shootout. With it, he turned the twelfth coach in NHL historical past to hit the milestone.
Meanwhile, in Carolina, Jordan Staal performed his 730th recreation with the Hurricanes to cross defenseman Glen Wesley for second-most in franchise historical past; solely Eric Staal has performed extra (909).
Finally, in Vancouver, Andrei Kuzmenko scored his thirty fifth aim of the season to set the Canucks’ franchise report for targets by a participant in his first NHL season. He handed Pavel Bure, who did it as a rookie in 1991-92.
Happy Birthday to You
An enormous group of 40 present and former NHL gamers share a birthday on March 23. The most notable of this bunch are Don Marshall (92), John Tonelli (67), Bengt-Ake Gustafsson (66), Daren Puppa (59), Wayne Presley (59), Gord Murphy (57), Alex Selivanov (53), Michal Neuvirth (36), Erik Haula (33), Dmitri Jaskin (31), Laurent Brossoit (31), Oskar Sundqvist (30), Joel Kiviranta (28) and the late Ted Green.
*Originally constructed by Greg Boysen
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