November 26 NHL History
1917: The NHL is founded and elects Frank Calder as its first president. The League’s charter members are the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Arenas and Quebec Bulldogs.
The new league emerges from the ashes of the National Hockey Association, which suspends operations a few weeks earlier. After three days of meetings among directors of NHA franchises, the NHL is formed, with play to begin on Dec. 19, 1917.
The four-team league (Quebec elects not to field a team until 1919-20), plays a 24-game schedule, with the champion to face the winner of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association for the Stanley Cup.
1961: Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings becomes the first player in NHL history to play in 1,000 regular-season games. Howe is scoreless in the Red Wings’ 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks at Chicago Stadium.
1975: Bobby Orr plays his final game with the Boston Bruins. Orr has a goal and an assist in a 6-4 victory against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. He is unable to play for the remainder of the season because of knee problems that require surgery, then signs with Chicago on June 24, 1976. Orr finishes his time in Boston with 888 points (264 goals, 624 assists) in 631 games.
1983: Wayne Gretzky begins an NHL-record 17-game assist streak when he has five for the Edmonton Oilers in an 8-6 loss at the St. Louis Blues. It comes during his NHL-record 51-game point streak.
1984: Two days after playing against the Red Wings, Canadiens forward Guy Lafleur announces his retirement. He ends his NHL career with 518 goals and Canadiens records of 728 assists and 1,246 points. Lafleur is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988 but soon after returns to play with the Rangers. He plays one season in New York and two with the Quebec Nordiques before retiring for good.
1999: Steve Yzerman scores his 600th NHL goal in Detroit’s 4-2 win against the Oilers at Joe Louis Arena. He becomes the 11th player in League history to reach 600 goals. The milestone comes a week after Yzerman’s 900th assist; he joins Gretzky, Howe, Marcel Dionne and Mark Messier as the only NHL players with 600 goals and 900 assists.
2003: Scott Stevens sets an NHL record for games played by a defenseman when he competes for the visiting New Jersey Devils against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. It’s the 1,616th NHL game for Stevens, breaking the record held by Larry Murphy, a former teammate with the Washington Capitals. New Jersey and Anaheim finish in a 3-3 tie.
2005: New York Rangers defenseman Marek Malik scores one of the most spectacular shootout goals ever when he beats Washington Capitals goaltender Olaf Kolzig with a between-the-legs shot in the 15th round for a 3-2 victory at Madison Square Garden. Malik races in on Kolzig, puts the puck between his legs and shoots it over the goaltender’s shoulder for the win. It’s the offensive highlights of Malik’s career; he plays in 691 NHL games and finishes his career with 33 goals.
