THIS DATE IN NHL HISTORY: April 27
1971: Jean Beliveau sets the playoff record for career assists during the Montreal Canadiens’ 6-1 victory against the Minnesota North Stars at the Forum in Game 5 of the Semifinals. Beliveau’s assists on three of Montreal’s five third-period goals give him 92, one more than the previous record held by Gordie Howe. He surpasses Howe’s mark four years to the day after scoring twice in Game 4 of the Final, a 6-2 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs, to break the Canadiens record for playoff points held by another NHL icon, Maurice Richard.
1992: Scotty Bowman becomes the League’s all-time leader in playoff games coached. Bowman coaches the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 5-2 victory against the Washington Capitals in Game 5 of the Patrick Division Semifinals. It’s his 191st playoff game, breaking the mark he shares with Dick Irvin. Bowman finishes his NHL career with 353 playoff games coached; Al Arbour and Joel Quenneville are the only other coaches with more than 200.
1994: Dominik Hasek wins arguably the best goaltending duel in the post-red line era of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Hasek outduels Martin Brodeur by making 70 saves before Dave Hannan scores 5:43 into the fourth overtime to give the Buffalo Sabres a 1-0 victory against the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series at Memorial Auditorium.
Hasek makes 31 saves through regulation, one more than Brodeur. But the Devils outshoot the Sabres 35-20 through three overtimes and take the first four shots in the fourth extra period. However, Hannan takes a pass from Jason Dawe and lifts a backhander through traffic that goes past Brodeur’s glove. It sends the series to a seventh game in New Jersey that’s almost as good; the Devils win 2-1 to advance.
1998: The St. Louis Blues set a playoff record by scoring four power-play goals in a span of 3:07 in the third period. The Los Angeles Kings lead 3-0 in Game 3 of their Western Conference Quarterfinal series, but after Sean O’Donnell is given a five-minute major penalty at 8:34, the Blues get goals by Pascal Rheaume, Brett Hull, Pierre Turgeon and Terry Yake and win 4-3. Defenseman Chris Pronger assists on three goals in a span of 2:00.
2002: Ron Francis scores a power-play goal and Kevin Weekes makes it stand up for the first playoff shutout in Carolina Hurricanes history, a 1-0 road win against the Devils in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Weekes makes 16 of his 32 saves in the third period to help Carolina eliminate New Jersey from the playoffs.
2011: At age 43, Mark Recchi becomes the oldest player to score a goal in a Game 7. Recchi scores 5:33 into the Boston Bruins’ deciding game against Montreal in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at TD Garden. Recchi’s goal gives Boston a 2-0 lead; the Bruins win 4-3 in overtime.
