Jan. 1 NHL History
1961: Boston Bruins rookie Willie O’Ree, the first black player in League history, scores his first goal. He beats Charlie Hodge for what turns out to be the game-winner in the Bruins’ 3-2 victory against the Montreal Canadiens at Boston Garden.
1973: Bobby Orr ties an NHL record for defensemen with six assists in Boston’s 8-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks at Pacific Coliseum. Orr ties the record set by Babe Pratt on Jan. 8, 1944 and matched by Pat Stapleton on March 30, 1969. Phil Esposito scores three goals and Johnny Bucyk becomes the first player to score 400 goals for the Bruins.
1997: The Ottawa Senators defeat the visiting Bruins 3-2 for their first win against Boston since entering the League in 1992. The Senators are 0-20 with two ties against Boston before the victory; the Bruins are the final remaining NHL team the Senators haven’t defeated.
2008: The NHL rings in the New Year by staging the inaugural Winter Classic, with the Pittsburgh Penguins defeating the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in a shootout before 71,217 fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.
The big crowd for the first NHL outdoor game in the United States is still getting settled when Colby Armstrong scores 21 seconds after the opening faceoff. Sabres defenseman Brian Campbell ties the game 1:25 into the second.
Neither team scores through the remainder of regulation time and the five-minute overtime during a game played in a snow globe-like setting. Falling snow gives the game an almost surreal atmosphere.
Sidney Crosby scores the deciding goal in the third round of the shootout to give the Penguins the victory. Ty Conklin makes 36 saves through regulation and two more in the tiebreaker.
2014: A crowd of 105,491 fans, the largest ever to attend an NHL game, fills Michigan Stadium to see the Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in a shootout to win the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. Tyler Bozak scores in the third period to put Toronto ahead 2-1, then gets the winning goal in the third round of the shootout.
2015: Troy Brouwer scores the tiebreaking goal with 12.9 seconds remaining in the third period to give the Washington Capitals a 3-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Nationals Park in Washington. With Chicago’s Jonathan Toews off for hooking, Brouwer beats goaltender Corey Crawford to break a 2-2 tie.
2016: Paul Byron scores two goals and the Montreal Canadiens defeat the Boston Bruins 5-1 in the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Montreal goaltender Mike Condon, a Boston-area native, makes 27 saves, allowing only a third-period goal to Adam McQuaid.