Jan. 15 NHL History
1966: Gordie Howe becomes the first NHL player to reach 1,400 points when he gets a second-period assist on a goal by Bill Gadsby in the Detroit Red Wings‘ 4-4 tie with the New York Rangers at Olympia Stadium. Howe gets point No. 1,400 in his 1,295th game.
1970: Bobby Orr has two assists in the Boston Bruins’ 6-3 victory against the Los Angeles Kings at Boston Garden, setting an NHL single-season record for defensemen with 51. Orr passes the mark of 50 set by Pat Stapleton of the Blackhawks in 1968-69. The record-setting assist comes on the first of two third-period goals by Phil Esposito.
1979: Tim Young scores five goals and has an assist to power the Minnesota North Stars to an 8-1 win against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. It’s the first hat trick of Young’s NHL career.
1984: Tony Esposito gets his final NHL victory and shutout when the Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-0 at Chicago Stadium. The winningest goaltender in Blackhawks history makes 35 saves for his first shutout since March 27, 1983.
It’s the 423rd NHL win and 76th shutout for Esposito; 418 of the victories and 74 of the shutouts come with the Blackhawks, who select him from the Montreal Canadiens in the 1969 intraleague draft.
1986: Rookie goaltender Patrick Roy gets his first NHL shutout when the Canadiens defeat the Winnipeg Jets 4-0 at the Forum. Roy makes 19 saves and Stephane Richer scores twice. Roy finishes his NHL career with 66 shutouts and 551 victories.
1987: Reed Larson of the Bruins scores twice to become the first U.S.-born player (and the sixth defenseman) in NHL history with 200 goals. Larson scores power-play goals late in the first period and early in the second of the Bruins’ 6-4 victory against the Hartford Whalers at Boston Garden.
1990: The Washington Capitals, last in the Patrick Division after finishing first in 1988-89, fire Brian Murray, who has been their coach since Nov. 11, 1981. They replace him with younger brother Terry Murray, who’s been coaching Baltimore, the Capitals’ affiliate in the American Hockey League.
2015: Newly acquired goaltender Devan Dubnyk makes 18 saves in his first game with the Minnesota Wild, a 7-0 victory against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center. Dubnyk gets the start one day after the goalie-depleted Wild acquire him in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes. He goes 27-9-2 with a 1.78 goals-against average, .936 save percentage and five shutouts for the Wild, helping them earn a playoff berth.
2016: Patrick Kane scores three goals for his first regular-season NHL hat trick to help the Blackhawks defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 at Air Canada Centre for their 10th consecutive victory. The hat trick comes in Kane’s 623rd NHL game and boosts his League-leading total to 67 points. Kane has two hat tricks in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (2009, 2013).
