November 20 NHL History
1928: The Boston Bruins play their first game at Boston Garden.
After four seasons at Boston Arena (now Matthews Arena), the Bruins, then wearing brown and gold, make their debut at the Garden. A crowd estimated at 16,000 goes home disappointed when the Bruins lose 1-0 to the Montreal Canadiens.
But the real star of the night, according to the Boston Globe’s John J. Hallahan, is the Garden itself.
“While the surroundings were new to the spectators they found it easy to locate their seats … As an ice palace — a place where hockey is to be played — nothing is to be lacking,” Hallahan writes.
The Bruins remain at the Garden for 67 years before moving to their current home, now known as TD Garden. The old Garden goes out the way it came in; with a (preseason) game between the Bruins and Canadiens on Sept. 26, 1995.
1934: Busher Jackson becomes the first NHL player to get four goals in one period of a regular-season game. Jackson scores four times in the third period to power the Toronto Maple Leafs to 5-2 win against the St. Louis Eagles.
1955: With all of the Original Six teams in action on a Sunday night (Montreal at New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings at Chicago Blackhawks, and Toronto at Boston), each of the three games ends in a 1-1 tie. Each is the second of a home-and-home series when the visiting teams Sunday had won at home Saturday.
1988: The Blackhawks retire the numbers of goaltenders Glenn Hall (No. 1) and Tony Esposito (No. 35) in a pregame ceremony at Chicago Stadium. Hall plays 10 seasons in Chicago; Esposito is with the Blackhawks for 15. In the game that follows, the Vancouver Canucks score seven times on 23 shots against Darren Pang in a 7-4 victory.
1999: Steve Yzerman becomes the seventh player in NHL history to reach 1,500 points when he has an assist in the Red Wings’ 2-1 road loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Yzerman joins Detroit icon Gordie Howe as the only NHL players to score 1,500 points with one team.
On the same night, the Washington Capitals set an NHL record by not allowing a power-play goal for the 12th consecutive game. On this night, they don’t allow any goals; Washington wins 3-0 at Boston.
2003: Rookie Dan Fritsche becomes the first Ohio native to score a goal for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Fritsche beats Manny Legace 3:11 into the third period of a 3-0 victory against the Red Wings at Nationwide Arena.
