September 29 NHL History
1963: Dave Andreychuk, one of seven members of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2017, is born in Hamilton, Ontario. Andreychuk plays 1,639 games during his 23 seasons in the NHL and finishes with 640 goals, including a League-record 274 power-play goals. He goes more than two decades without making the Stanley Cup Final until 2004, when as captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning he helps them win the Cup for the first time. He’s elected to the Hall in his ninth year of eligibility.
1997: The St. Louis Blues name 22-year-old defenseman Chris Pronger as the 16th and youngest captain in their history. Pronger spends six seasons as captain before relinquishing the role to Al MacInnis on Sept. 15, 2003.
2007: The Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks bring the NHL to England for the first time when they face off at O2 Arena in London for the first of two regular-season games in the Premiere Series.
The Kings get a 26-save performance by rookie goaltender Jonathan Bernier and defeat the defending Stanley Cup champions 4-1 in front of more than 17,000 fans. Michael Cammalleri scores twice for Los Angeles, then jokes that “I love London.”
But hockey is the biggest winner of the day. The crowd includes fans from England and several other countries wearing jerseys from their favorite European and NHL teams.
