THIS DATE IN NHL HISTORY: March 14
1929: George Hainsworth earns his NHL-record 22nd shutout of the season to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 1-0 win against the Montreal Maroons at the Forum. Hainsworth finishes the season with a League-record 0.98 goals-against average and 22 shutouts in 44 games.
1933: The Chicago Blackhawks forfeit a game for the only time in their history when players refuse to return to the ice after coach Tom Gorman is ejected. The Boston Bruins, who lead 3-2 at the time of the incident, is awarded a 1-0 victory.
1944: Herb Cain of the Bruins has two assists in a 6-4 win against the Blackhawks at Boston Garden, giving him an NHL single-season record of 75 points. He passes the record of 73 set by Chicago’s Doug Bentley the previous season. Cain finishes the season with 82 points, a record that lasts until Gordie Howe has 86 points in 1950-51.
1971: Future Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden, a late-season call-up from the minors, makes his NHL debut with the Canadiens in a 5-1 victory at the Penguins.
1962: Gordie Howe joins Maurice Richard in the NHL 500-goal club when he scores for the Detroit Red Wings in a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The milestone goal comes when Howe slips past Rangers defenseman Doug Harvey, their player/coach, after taking a mid-ice pass from Alex Delvecchio and beats goalie Gump Worsley. Howe gets a standing ovation.
1986: Paul Coffey of the Edmonton Oilers ties Tom Bladon’s record for most points in a game by a defenseman. Coffey finishes with eight points (two goals, six assists) in a 12-3 victory against the Red Wings at Northlands Coliseum.
1991: Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings sets an NHL record with an assist in his 18th consecutive game, surpassing the mark of 17 that he shares with Coffey. It comes in a 6-3 loss to the Blackhawks at Chicago Stadium. The winning goaltender is Ed Belfour, who sets a team record with his 39th victory of the season.
1997: Pittsburgh Penguins forward Joe Mullen becomes the first United States-born player to score 500 NHL goals when he beats goalie Patrick Roy during a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at McNichols Arena.
Mullen reaches the milestone when he scores at 16:01 of the second period, giving Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead. However, Colorado scores four consecutive goals for the win.
Mullen retires at the end of the 1996-97 season as the highest-scoring U.S.-born player in NHL history. He finishes with 1,063 points (502 goals, 561 assists) in 1,062 games.
