June 12 NHL History
1958: The Red Wings name Gordie Howe, 30, as their new captain. Howe serves as captain for the next four seasons before he’s named an assistant coach and turns over the captaincy to linemate Alex Delvecchio.
1979: At age 31, Bobby Orr becomes the youngest player in NHL history to be selected for induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Hall waives its usual three-year waiting period, meaning Orr is inducted months after officially ending his NHL career. Knee problems limit Orr to 36 games in his final three seasons after he leads the League in scoring in 1974-75 with 135 points and wins the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman for the eighth consecutive season.
1999: Joe Nieuwendyk scores twice to tie a Stanley Cup Playoff record held by Joe Sakic with his sixth game-winning goal in one playoff year. He provides all of the Dallas Stars’ offense in a 2-1 victory against the Buffalo Sabres in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final at Marine Midland Arena. Nieuwendyk ties the game at 1-1 when he beats Dominik Hasek late in the second period, then puts the Stars ahead at 9:35 of the third.
2009: The Pittsburgh Penguins complete a spring full of comebacks to win the Stanley Cup for the third time in their history.
The Penguins defeat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 at Joe Louis Arena in Game 7 of the Final for their first championship since 1992. Center Maxime Talbot scores twice in the second period and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury makes 23 saves, the last one on a wide-open shot by Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom an instant before time runs out.
The Penguins also become the first team to win the Cup after twice trailing 2-0; they lose the first two games of the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the Washington Capitals and the first two games of the Final to the Red Wings before rallying to win each series in seven games.
Though he misses much of the third period with a knee injury, Sidney Crosby, 21, becomes the youngest captain of a Stanley Cup-winning team.
Evgeni Malkin has the lone assist on Talbot’s first goal and wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP with 14 goals and 36 points in 24 games.
2013: Andrew Shaw scores at 12:08 of the third overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-3 victory against the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at United Center. Shaw ends the fifth-longest game in the history of the Final when a shot by defenseman Michal Rozsival hits the leg of Chicago forward Dave Bolland, clips his leg and goes past Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask. Boston forward Jaromir Jagr skates in the Final for the first time since he won the Cup with the Penguins in 1992; the 21-year break between appearances in the Final surpasses Gary Roberts (19 years) for the longest in NHL history. Jagr also becomes the first player ever to play in the Final as a teenager and after his 40th birthday.
2016: The Pittsburgh Penguins win the Cup for the fourth time since entering the NHL in 1967 by defeating the San Jose Sharks 3-1 in Game 6 of the Final at SAP Center. Defenseman Kris Letang scores the go-ahead goal at 7:46 of the second period, and the Penguins block 33 shots, allowing San Jose 19 shots on goal against rookie goalie Matt Murray. Patric Hornqvist’s empty-netter with 1:02 left caps a third period where Pittsburgh allow two shots on goal. Crosby, who assists on the goals by Letang and Hornqvist, wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP despite not scoring a goal in the series. The Penguins become the sixth team in NHL history to win the Cup after changing coaches during the season. After Mike Sullivan replaces Mike Johnston on Dec. 12, 2015, Pittsburgh finishes the regular season as the hottest team in the League (33-16-5) before going 16-8 during the playoffs.
