THIS DATE IN NHL HISTORY: March 15
1934: The visiting New York Americans defeat the Ottawa Senators 3-2. It’s the final NHL game played in Ottawa until a new version of the Senators begins play in the 1992-93 season.
1941: Montreal Canadiens coach Dick Irvin rotates goaltenders Bert Gardiner and Paul Bibeault approximately every seven minutes for the first shared shutout in the NHL, a 6-0 victory against the Americans at the Forum. With no clear No. 1 goalie entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Irvin decides to have a look at each in Montreal’s regular-season finale. He opts to use Gardiner in the playoffs, but the Canadiens lose 2-1 in their Quarterfinal series against the Chicago Blackhawks.
1942: Lynn Patrick scores twice and the New York Rangers clinch their first regular-season championship by defeating the Blackhawks 5-1 at Chicago Stadium. They end the season at 29-17-2 and 60 points, three more than the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs. The Rangers don’t finish first in the regular season again until 1991-92.
1959: Blackhawks forward Ted Lindsay becomes the NHL all-time games played leader with 928, passing Maurice Richard of the Canadiens.
1970: Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins becomes the first defenseman in NHL history to have 100 points in a season. He reaches the milestone by scoring two goals and assisting on two more in a 5-5 tie with the Detroit Red Wings at Boston Garden.
Orr enters the game with 97 points, then scores a goal and has an assist in the first period. Point No. 100 comes when he scores a shorthanded goal on an end-to-end rush 27 seconds into the second period, and he assists on a third-period power-play goal by Phil Esposito.
Orr is the fourth player in League history to have 100 points in a season, joining Esposito, Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe; he’s the first to have 100 points and 100 penalty minutes in the same season.
Orr finishes the season with 120 points, becoming the first defenseman in NHL history to win the scoring title.
1979: Phil Esposito, now with the Rangers, scores four goals in New York’s 7-4 victory against the Bruins at Boston Garden. It’s the 31st hat trick of Esposito’s NHL career.
1981: Wayne Gretzky becomes a 50-goal scorer for the second straight season. He gets No. 50 midway through the third period, giving the Edmonton Oilers a 3-3 tie against the Calgary Flames at Stampede Corral.
2004: Alexander Mogilny becomes the second Russian player to score 1,000 points in the League. Mogilny reaches the milestone by getting three assists for the Maple Leafs in a 6-5 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres at Air Canada Centre. It comes 29 days after Sergei Fedorov becomes the first Russian player to reach 1,000 points.
