THIS DATE IN NHL HISTORY: March 24
1936: Mud Bruneteau scores at 16:30 of the sixth overtime to give the Detroit Red Wings a 1-0 win against the Montreal Maroons at the Forum in what remains the longest game in NHL history.
The Red Wings and Maroons play the equivalent of nearly three full games. They begin Game 1 of their best-of-5 Stanley Cup Semifinal series on March 24; Bruneteau’s goal comes at 2:25 a.m. the following morning after 116:30 of extra time.
Bruneteau, a 21-year-old rookie forward, is an unlikely candidate for overtime heroics; he enters the Stanley Cup Playoffs having scored two goals in 24 games during his first NHL season. He ends the game when he picks up an errant pass from Hec Kilrea and fires a low shot past Maroons goaltender Lorne Chabot.
Red Wings goalie Normie Smith, who loses 12 pounds of body weight during the game, makes 89 saves.
1953: Red Wings goaltender Terry Sawchuk ties an NHL record with his third straight playoff shutout, a 7-0 win against the Boston Bruins at Olympia Stadium in Game 1 of the Semifinals. Ted Lindsay leads the offense with two goals and two assists.
1957: Gordie Howe is credited with two assists in Detroit’s final game of the 1956-57 season, a 4-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Olympia Stadium. Howe finishes with 89 points (44 goals, 45 assists) and wins the Art Ross Trophy for the fifth time.
1978: Phil Esposito sets a record with his 29th NHL hat trick when his New York Rangers defeat the Washington Capitals 11-4. Esposito, who also has an assist, passes the mark set by his former linemate, Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks.
1982: Rick Vaive becomes the first 50-goal scorer in Toronto Maple Leafs history. Goal No. 50 comes in a 4-3 win against the St. Louis Blues at Maple Leaf Gardens.
1992: Mario Lemieux scores his 40th goal of the season and the 1,000th point of his NHL career in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 4-3 loss to the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. Lemieux is the 36th player to reach 1,000 points. He does it in 513 games, faster than everyone in NHL history except Wayne Gretzky (424 games).
In the same game, linemate Kevin Stevens scores his 50th goal, becoming the first player in NHL history with 50 goals and 200 penalty minutes.
2000: Al MacInnis scores twice in the Blues’ 5-1 road win against the Tampa Bay Lightning to become the fifth defenseman in NHL history with 300 goals. The Blues set a team record with their 48th victory of the season.
