November 23 NHL History
1977: Rod Gilbert plays in his final NHL game, a 6-3 victory for the New York Rangers against the Colorado Rockies at Madison Square Garden. He retires as the Rangers leader in goals (406) and points (1,021), and is elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982.
1982: In one of the wildest games in NHL history, the Minnesota North Stars and New York Islanders play to an 8-8 tie at Nassau Coliseum. Steve Payne and Neal Broten have hat tricks for the North Stars; Bryan Trottier is the only member of the Islanders to score more than once. New York scores its eight on 27 shots against Gilles Meloche.
1988: Wayne Gretzky scores his 600th NHL goal and has five assists to power the Los Angeles Kings to an 8-3 victory against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.
At age 27, Gretzky becomes the fifth player in NHL history to reach 600 goals when he converts a pass from Dave Taylor at 8:23 of the first period to give Los Angeles a 2-0 lead.
Gretzky reaches the milestone in his 718th regular-season game.
2002: The Boston Bruins become the second NHL franchise to win 2,500 games. The Bruins score three power-play goals in the first period and defeat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 at Boston Garden. At that time, the Montreal Canadiens are the only other team to have 2,500 victories. It’s also Boston’s 1,500th home victory.
On the same night, Dave Andreychuk becomes the 14th player in NHL history to score 600 goals, then gets No. 601 in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 3-1 road win against the New Jersey Devils.
2009: Goaltender Dwayne Roloson survives a 61-shot barrage before Josh Bailey’s overtime goal gives the Islanders a 4-3 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. The 61 shots tie a 33-year-old franchise record for the Maple Leafs and are the most against the Islanders in a single game.
