THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Jan. 21
1945: The Boston Bruins set an NHL record for the fastest four goals by one team during a 14-3 victory against the New York Rangers at Boston Garden. The Bruins score four times in a span of 1:20 in the second period. Bill Cowley leads Boston with four goals, and Ken Smith scores three goals and has an assist.
1985: Marcel Dionne scores a first-period goal against the Edmonton Oilers. It’s the 611th of his NHL career, moving him past Bobby Hull into third place on the all-time list. Dionne is one of seven Kings to score in the first two periods but the Oilers rally from down 7-3 in the third for an 8-7 win at Northlands Coliseum.
1986: Denis Potvin ties Bobby Orr‘s record for defensemen by scoring his 270th NHL goal. His goal at 15:48 of the second period proves to be the game-winner in the New York Islanders’ 7-3 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers at Nassau Coliseum.
1989: Wayne Gretzky moves into second place on the NHL’s all-time points list.
Gretzky scores a goal and has three assists in the Los Angeles Kings’ 5-4 loss to the Hartford Whalers at the Civic Center, passing Marcel Dionne to become the NHL’s all-time No. 2 scorer. Gretzky has 1,771 points in 743 games; Dionne (at the time) has 1,770 in 1,343 games. The only player ahead of him is Gordie Howe with 1,850 points.
Gretzky also reaches 100 points for the 10th consecutive season, extending his own NHL record.
1995: Mats Sundin scores his first goal with the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs in a 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks. Sundin, acquired in a trade with the Quebec Nordiques on June 28, 1994, goes on to score a Maple Leafs record 420 goals in 13 seasons and earns induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012.
1997: Pittsburgh Penguins rookie goaltender Patrick Lalime makes 49 saves to improve to 14-0-2, extending his NHL record for the longest unbeaten streak at the start of a career, in a 4-2 victory against the visiting Calgary Flames.
2001: The Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 at United Center in the first NHL game to feature two European-trained coaches. Ivan Hlinka coaches the Penguins, and Alpo Suhonen coaches the Blackhawks. Four players score for Pittsburgh and Garth Snow makes 24 saves for the shutout.
2004: The Minnesota Wild set an NHL record for the fastest two goals by one team when Jim Dowd and Richard Park score three seconds apart in a 4-2 victory against the Blackhawks at Xcel Energy Center. Dowd breaks a 2-2 tie when he beats Craig Anderson at 19:44 of the third period. Park scores into an empty net at 19:47.
2016: Daniel Sedin becomes the leading goal scorer in Vancouver Canucks history when he scores twice in a 4-2 victory against the Bruins at TD Garden. Sedin passes Markus Naslund by scoring with 12:57 remaining in the third period, then hits the empty net, giving him 348 NHL goals, all with Vancouver.
