THIS DATE IN HISTORY: March 11
1930: The Bruins extend their NHL-record home winning streak to 20 games by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3. Cooney Weiland scores three of the four Boston goals and assists on the other.
1934: The Montreal Maroons set an NHL record by scoring four goals in the 10-minute overtime period, giving them a 7-3 victory against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Russ Blinco scores two of the four goals for the Maroons. Under the overtime format in use, teams play the full 10 minutes in the extra period rather than sudden-death.
1951: Rookie goaltender Terry Sawchuk sets an NHL record for most wins in a season with his 39th in the Detroit Red Wings’ 7-0 victory against the Blackhawks at Chicago Stadium. The shutout is Sawchuk’s 10th of the season, George Gee fuels the offense with three goals and two assists.
1971: Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins scores twice in a 7-2 victory against the Los Angeles Kings at the Forum in Inglewood, California, to become the NHL’s all-time single-season leader in goals.
Esposito breaks Bobby Hull’s single-season record of 58 when he scores No. 59, beating Denis DeJordy at 7:03 of the first period. He becomes the first NHL player to score 60 goals in a season when he beats DeJordy again at 15:40 of the second period.
Teammate Johnny Bucyk surpasses another Hull record by scoring two goals, giving him 99 points and surpassing Hull’s single-season mark for left wings.
The Bruins also become the first NHL team to win 50 games in one season.
1986: Mike Bossy scores four goals to reach 50 for an NHL-record ninth straight season. Bossy also has an assist in the New York Islanders’ 8-4 win against the Flames at Nassau Coliseum. It’s the 36th hat trick of Bossy’s NHL career.
1987: Wayne Gretzky scores a goal and sets up three others, all in the third period, to reach 1,500 points. The milestone comes in his 620th NHL regular-season game, a 6-3 victory against the Red Wings at Northlands Coliseum.
1996: The Montreal Canadiens close the Forum by defeating the Dallas Stars 4-1. Andrei Kovalenko scores the final goal in the Forum’s 72-year history. The game is followed by a ceremony that sees each former captain pass a torch to the next in line, ending with a handoff to Pierre Turgeon. The loudest cheers are for Maurice Richard, who receives an ovation that lasts nearly 10 minutes.
2002: The Carolina Hurricanes set an NHL record by playing their sixth consecutive tie at home. The Hurricanes lead 3-2 until Craig Conroy scores against Arturs Irbe with 1:19 remaining in the third period, and Carolina ends in a 3-3 tie with the Calgary Flames.
