Jan. 23 NHL History
1934: New York Rangers forward Murray Murdoch is honored in a ceremony prior to playing in his 400th consecutive NHL game, a 5-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden. Baseball’s “Iron Horse,” Lou Gehrig, makes a presentation to Murdoch, the NHL’s first “Iron Man,” who plays in 508 consecutive games during 11 seasons before retiring from the League. He goes on to coach Yale University from 1938-65.
1944: The Detroit Red Wings set an NHL record by scoring 15 straight goals to defeat the New York Rangers 15-0 at Olympia Stadium. Syd Howe leads the Red Wings with three goals and two assists, and Connie Dion gets his first NHL shutout.
Rangers goaltender Ken McAuley makes 43 saves. Detroit nearly scores a 16th goal, but the puck slides into the net just after time expires in the third period.
1956: Jean Beliveau of the Montreal Canadiens becomes the first hockey player to make the cover of Sports Illustrated.
1983: Wayne Gretzky scores a goal and has three assists in the Edmonton Oilers’ 8-6 victory against the Los Angeles Kings at Northlands Coliseum. Gretzky’s 400th assist comes in his 290th NHL game.
1985: The LA Kings end a 21-game home winless streak against the Philadelphia Flyers with a 6-3 victory. It’s the Kings’ first win against Philadelphia at the Forum in more than 12 years; they had been 0-17-4 since a 3-0 victory on Oct. 20, 1973.
1993: New York Rangers forward Mike Gartner becomes the first player in NHL history to score 30 goals in 14 consecutive seasons. Gartner scores his 30th of the 1992-93 season in New York’s 8-3 victory against the Kings at the Forum in Inglewood, California.
2004: Carolina Hurricanes forward Ron Francis becomes the third player in NHL history to appear in 1,700 regular-season games. Francis has an assist in a 3-2 loss to the visiting New York Islanders.
