THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Oct. 2
1955: Dutch Reibel of the Detroit Red Wings sets an NHL All-Star Game record with 10 shots on goal. The defending Stanley Cup champions defeat the All-Stars 3-1 at Olympia Stadium.
1999: Ray Bourque of the Boston Bruins becomes the NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer among defensemen when he scores the 386th of his career, passing Paul Coffey.
The goal comes 1:42 into the second period of the Bruins’ first game of the season, when his power-play slap shot from the top of the left circle beats Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Arturs Irbe. It’s the only goal of the game for the Bruins, who lose 3-1 at Fleet Center (now TD Garden).
The Bruins captain finishes his career in 2001 with 410 goals, still the most by an NHL defenseman.
1999: The Atlanta Thrashers play the first regular-season game in franchise history, a 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils in front of a full house of 18,545 at Phillips Arena. Kelly Buchberger, named as team captain a few days earlier, scores the first goal in franchise history at 11:26 of the second period, but it’s the only one of Atlanta’s 26 shots to get past Martin Brodeur.
On the same night, goaltender Kevin Weekes’ career-opening 15-game winless streak ends when he makes 32 saves in the Vancouver Canucks’ 2-1 victory against the New York Rangers. It’s the first win for Weekes after he goes 0-13-2 in his first 15 NHL decisions.
2009: Ville Koistinen puts on a show for the home fans in the first NHL regular-season game played in Finland. Koistinen, a defenseman from Oulu, Finland, has a goal in regulation and gets the shootout winner in the Florida Panthers‘ 4-3 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki. He wins the game by roofing a backhander under the crossbar behind goaltender Cristobal Huet. Goaltender Tomas Vokoun is the other hero for the Panthers, making 52 saves.
Enjoying our trade coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to catch breaking rumors first.
