THIS DATE IN NHL HISTORY: March 21
1921: More than 11,000 fans jam the Vancouver Arena for the first game of the Stanley Cup Final to see the Millionaires defeat the Ottawa Senators 2-1. At the time, it’s the largest crowd ever to watch a hockey game.
1939: Rookie Mel Hill scores at 59:25 of overtime and Bill Cowley has a goal and an assist to give the Bruins a 2-1 win against the New York Rangers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals at Madison Square Garden. Hill goes on to score three overtime goals to help Boston win the series in seven games.
1948: Montreal Canadiens forward Elmer Lach scores twice in the final game of the season to win the Art Ross Trophy by one point over Buddy O’Connor of the Rangers. However, Lach’s big night in a 4-3 loss to the Bruins at Boston Garden isn’t enough to help the Canadiens avoid missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 1940. Lach finishes the season with 61 points (30 goals, 31 assists), one more than O’Connor (24 goals, 36 assists) in the same 60 games.
1951: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation televises an NHL game for the first time. The game, between the Canadiens and host Toronto Maple Leafs, is viewed by six people, with CBC having its cameras transmit images to a television in the radio control room at Maple Leaf Gardens.
1974: Boston’s Bobby Orr scores three goals for his fifth NHL hat trick and reaches the 30-goal mark after promising a gravely ill 16-year-old boy he will score a goal for him. The Bruins defeat the St. Louis Blues 7-0 at Boston Garden.
1985: Washington Capitals forward Bobby Carpenter becomes the first U.S.-born player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season. He reaches the milestone in a 3-2 loss to the Canadiens at the Forum.
1991: Goaltender Ron Tugnutt makes 70 saves to give the Quebec Nordiques a 3-3 tie with the Boston Bruins at Boston Garden.
Tugnutt stops all 17 shots he faces in the first period, makes 18 saves on 19 shots in the second and 23 on 25 shots in the third. He and the Nordiques survive Boston’s 12-shot barrage during the five-minute overtime to earn a point.
Boston’s Ray Bourque sets an NHL record when he’s credited with 19 shots on goal. He scores the tying goal midway through the third period after defenseman Alexei Gusarov gives Quebec a 3-2 lead at 4:15 of the third, but is robbed in the final seconds of overtime when Tugnut gets his glove on Bourque’s wide-open blast from the slot.
The Bruins outshoot the Nordiques 73-26; their 73 shots are 10 short of the League record set by Boston against the Chicago Blackhawks on March 4, 1941.
1993: Mario Lemieux and Kevin Stevens each score for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 6-4 victory against the Edmonton Oilers in a neutral-site game at Cleveland. It’s the 50th goal for each; they become the first teammates in NHL history to reach 50 goals in the same game.
