March 20 NHL History
1918: The Toronto Arenas (now the Maple Leafs) become the first NHL team to compete in the Stanley Cup Final and they defeat Vancouver of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association 5-3 in Toronto. Reg Noble scores two goals and has an assist in the first period to lead the way.
1955: Terry Sawchuk of the Detroit Red Wings becomes the first goaltender in NHL history to earn 40 or more wins three times in his career. Sawchuk gets his 40th victory of the 1954-55 season with a 6-0 shutout against the Montreal Canadiens at Olympia Stadium. Ted Lindsay scores three goals for his fourth NHL hat trick and has two assists, giving Sawchuk more than enough support to tie his own Red Wings record of nine consecutive wins.
1969: Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks and Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins each make NHL history in a 5-5 tie at Boston Garden.
Hull sets an NHL record when he scores his 55th goal of the season, breaking his own record of 54 set in 1965-66. Hull gets his 54th goal at 17:19 of the third period to tie the game 4-4, then scores No. 55 13 seconds later.
Hull also becomes the second player in NHL history to get 100 points in a season. He reaches the mark 18 days after Boston’s Phil Esposito becomes the NHL’s first 100-point scorer.
Orr sets an NHL record for defensemen with his 21st goal of the season, breaking the mark set by Flash Hollett in 1944-45. The record-setting goal comes with one second remaining in the third.
1971: Brothers face each other in goal for the first time in an NHL game. Ken Dryden and the Canadiens get a 5-2 win against Dave Dryden and the Buffalo Sabres at the Forum. Ken enters the game after a second-period injury to Rogie Vachon; Dave is immediately put in by coach Buffalo coach Punch Imlach, giving the fans a historic treat.
1993: Mario Lemieux scores four goals for the second straight game, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 9-3 at the Civic Arena. It comes two nights after he scores four times in a 7-5 victory against the Washington Capitals.
1994: Wayne Gretzky scores twice to tie Gordie Howe’s NHL record of 801 goals. He scores 6:16 into the first period and again at 19:11 of the third to give the visiting Los Angeles Kings a 6-6 tie against the San Jose Sharks.
2001: Ray Bourque scores his 410th (and final) NHL regular-season goal in the Colorado Avalanche’s 4-1 win against the Sharks at Pepsi Center. Bourque retires as the NHL’s record-holder for goals by a defenseman, a mark he still holds.
