THIS DATE IN HISTORY: March 19
1929: Tiny Thompson becomes the second NHL rookie goalie to earn a shutout in his first Stanley Cup Playoff game, a 1-0 win for the Boston Bruins against the visiting Canadiens in Game 1 of the Semifinals. Cooney Weiland scores the only goal in the first postseason game played in Boston Garden.
1932: Howie Morenz of the Montreal Canadiens passes Cy Denneny as the NHL’s all-time scoring leader.
Morenz scores a goal and has three assists against the Montreal Maroons in the Canadiens’ 6-4 overtime victory at the Forum. That moves him past Denneny’s career total of 333 points, set during 12 NHL seasons before he retires in 1929.
Morenz has 472 points when his career is cut short by a broken leg on Jan. 28, 1937.
1933: With NHL President Frank Calder looking on, the Detroit Red Wings defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 at Chicago Stadium in the first afternoon game in League history. The crowd, estimated at about 5,500, sees Chicago forward Mush March score twice in the second period to get the Blackhawks within 3-2, but Eddie Wiseman’s third-period goal puts the game away.
1944: The Canadiens defeat the New York Rangers 6-1 at Madison Square Garden to finish the 1943-44 regular season 25 points ahead of the second-place Red Wings, setting an NHL record. Rookie goalie Bill Durnan ties the NHL single-season record with his 38th victory, matching Thompson in 1929-30.
1960: Goalie Johnny Bower sets a Toronto Maple Leafs record with his 33rd victory of the season, a 1-0 shutout against Chicago at Maple Leaf Gardens. Bower breaks the mark of 32 wins shared by Turk Broda (1947-48) and Harry Lumley (1953-54).
1972: Ed Giacomin of the Rangers becomes the first NHL goaltender with two assists in a game. The Rangers defeat Toronto 5-3 at Madison Square Garden.
1991: Brett Hull becomes the third player in NHL history to score 80 goals in a season when he beats Don Beaupre of the Washington Capitals during a first-period power play in the St. Louis Blues’ 2-1 win at Landover, Maryland. Hull joins Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux as the only players in League history to accomplish the feat.
1992: Kevin Stevens has an assist in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 6-3 victory against the Quebec Nordiques to give him 111 points, the most in one season by a U.S.-born player. He breaks the record of 110 set by former teammate Joe Mullen.
2007: Jaromir Jagr becomes the first player in NHL history to score 25 or more goals in each of his first 16 seasons. Jagr’s milestone goal comes with 33.8 seconds remaining in the third period and gives the Rangers a 2-1 win against the Penguins at Madison Square Garden.
