Dec. 27 NHL History
1952: Detroit Red Wings goaltender Glenn Hall plays his first NHL game, a 2-2 tie against the Montreal Canadiens at Olympia Stadium. Hall helps the Red Wings extend their record undefeated streak to 14 games (seven wins, seven ties).
1979: The Red Wings open their new home, Joe Louis Arena, with a game against the St. Louis Blues. A crowd of 19,742 watches the Blues rally for a 3-2 victory. St. Louis forward Brian Sutter’s goal 11:05 into the game is the first in the arena’s history. Detroit leads 2-1 after two periods on goals by Dennis Sobchuk and Dan Bolduc, but Bernie Federko ties the game at 11:16 of the third and sets up Blair Chapman for the game-winner at 13:41.
On the same night, Charlie Simmer extends his goal-scoring streak to 13 games. Simmer scores his 33rd and 34th goals of the season in the Los Angeles Kings’ 3-0 victory against the Quebec Nordiques at the Forum in Inglewood, California.
1981: Wayne Gretzky reaches the 100-point mark in his 38th game of the season by scoring four goals and assisting on another in the Edmonton Oilers’ 10-3 victory against the Kings at Northlands Coliseum. It’s the fastest anyone has ever reached 100 points; that mark lasts until he does it in 34 games two years later. Gretzky finishes the night with 400 points in 197 NHL games.
1990: The Edmonton Oilers earn their 500th NHL victory by defeating the visiting Calgary Flames 4-1. The win gives the Oilers a lifetime record of 500-295-120 in 915 games; their .612 winning percentage is the best of any NHL franchise at that time.
1999: Joe Sakic becomes the 56th NHL player to reach 1,000 points when he has an assist in the Colorado Avalanche’s 5-1 victory against the Blues in Denver. Sakic is the 14th player to reach 1,000 points with the same franchise.
2000: Mario Lemieux NHL comeback is a huge success.
After 44 months in retirement, during which he is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and becomes owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Lemieux makes a comeback for the ages. He assists on Jaromir Jagr ‘s goal 33 seconds into his first shift, scores a goal and an assist in the second period and finishes with a three-point night in Pittsburgh’s 5-0 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Mellon Arena.
Three nights later, Lemieux has a goal and three assists against the Ottawa Senators in his second game. He finishes the season with 76 points (35 goals, 41 assists) in 43 games.
