Ottawa Senators Snap 38-Game Losing Streak

On April 10, 1993, the NHL's expansion team the Ottawa Senators snap a 38-game road losing streak. The 38-game losing streak was the longest of all-time in the NHL, last from October 10, 1992, to April 3, 1993.

The Ottawa Senators on Opening Night in 1992.

The Senators set three records including the longest losing streak on the road, fewest road wins in a season, with just one. As well the Senators has the longest home streak of eleven.

The Senators would only go on to win nine games in the 1992-1993 season despite winning the first game of the year.

On top of all that the expansion Senators had flopped in the draft earlier that year too. Making three draft picks that were all inelligible to play, and to top it off, first round pick Alexei Yashin, chosen second overall by the Senators opted to play in Moscow versus in the NHL.

That 1992-1993 Senators teams put up the worst record of all-time in the NHL.

Despite that the Senators sold out every game that year and finished with a season attendance of 429,645 in 41 games at home. An average attendance of 10,479 a game.

Mario Lemieux Breaks Wayne Gretzky's Scoring Record

Wayne Gretzky, the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer.

On April 3, 1988, Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins wins the NHL scoring title, stopping Gretzky’s seven-year run of the title.

Lemieux, who won he Art Ross trophy as the National Hockey League’s top scorer in 1988, did the feat with 168 points.

Lemieux also won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player, an award that he had snatched away from Gretzky after an amazing eight straight seasons of claiming that title. Lemieux went on to win the scoring title again in 1989, 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1997.

Mario Lemieux, one of the greatest NHL players of all time.

Lemieux retired from hockey at the end of the 1996-1997 season, but in 1999 he became the majority owner of the Penguins franchise and then in 2000 he delighted the Penguin faithful by rejoining the team as a player and staged a successful comeback before announcing his permanent retirement from the NHL, at age 40, in January 2006.

Lemieux played 915 regular season games and scored 690 goals, 1,033 assist for 1,723 career points.

Wayne Gretzky Sets NHL Record

On March 23, 1994, NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky scored his record-breaking 802nd career NHL goal.  Gretzky surpassed his childhood hero Gordie Howe, whose record stood for almost 15 years.

The iconic photo from Wayne Gretzky's 802nd goal.

In the second period of a game against the Vancouver Canucks, Gretzky received a cross-ice feed from Marty McSorley and buried it into a yawning cage for the record-breaking goal.  “The Great One” would record an additional 92 goals in his career, finishing with a total of 894 regular season goals.  At the time of his retirement many considered this record to be untouchable.

Gretzky’s 20-year NHL career between the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers would see him play in 1,487 regular season games, scoring 894 goals, 1,963 assists for 2,857 points. He would score 204 power play goals, and 73 shootout goals, 91 of those were game winning goals.

Wayne Gretzky on the Los Angeles Kings in 1994.

Gretzky would make the playoffs in all but four seasons, as he played in 208 games, scoring 122 goals, 260 assists for 382 points.

Gretzky would be a star in International play as well, earning three Gold medals (1984, 1987, 1991) and one Silver (1981) in Canada Cup play. He would earn a Bronze in both 1978 World Junior Championship and the 1982 World Championships, as well Silver in the 1996 World Cup. Gretzky would also play for team Canada in the 1998 Winter Olympics, but would not medal.

Gretzky would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 22, 1999, becoming the tenth player to bypass the three-year waiting period. The Hall of Fame announced he would be the last player to do so. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2000.

In addition, Gretzky's jersey number 99 was retired league-wide at the 2000 NHL All-Star Game. Gretzky's jersey number 99 is only the second number ever to be retired league-wide by a major North American sports league, the other being Jackie Robinson's number 42, which was retired by Major League Baseball in 1997.

After his playing career ended Gretzky would go on to coach in the NHL with the Phoenix Coyotes. He would coach them for four years, never making the playoffs and only once posting more wins than losses in regulation, 2007-2008 season the Coyotes were 38-37-7.

Montreal Canadiens Debut Molson Centre

On March 17, 1996, the Montreal Canadiens played the first game in their new area, the Molson Centre. The Canadiens hosted the New York Rangers and beat them by a score of 4-2.

The Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

The arena was named after Molson, Inc a brewing company that owned the team at the time of the arena opening. However, when Molson decided to sell the team they also sold the naming rights to the stadium,

Canadian Telecommunications Company, Bell Canada would buy the team, and purchase the naming rights to the stadium. The Bell Centre still has the largest seating capacity for any NHL stadium with 21,407 seats.

The Bell Centre is known throughout the league for having some of the loudest and largest crowds on hand for any given game.

Lennox Lewis And Evander Holyfield Draw

On March 13, 1999, a heavyweight championship match between Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.

Evander Holyfield (left) and Lennox Lewis (right) pose for a promotional photo prior to their fight at Madison Square Garden.

The match seemed to be in favor of the taller Lewis as he dominated Holyfield all around the ring for 12 rounds.

However, the match went to the cards and ended up being determined by the judges.

One judge gave the match to Lewis 116-113, one saw it as a draw, and Eugenia Williams, saw it as Holyfield being the winner. Because all three cards differed and one was a draw, the outcome was a draw.

Lennox Lewis (left) and Evander Holyfield (right) went toe-to-toe in a 12 round fight at Madison Square Garden in 1999.

There was an incredible amount of outrage from the decision, with many questioning if the fight had been fixed. Williams, the long judge to have Holyfield as the winner, received an enormous amount of criticism.

Williams mentioned that the photographers were blocking her view and that she couldn’t see the fight properly.

Williams testified in court and admitted she had made a mistake, saying, “I couldn’t judge what I couldn’t see. I couldn’t go to the other side, and I even hit my head on a camera when I tired to get closer.”

Eight months later Lewis and Holyfield planned a rematch to face one another, one where Lewis prevailed as the undisputed winner of this match.

Bossy Scores 50

On March 5, 1985, New York Islander Mike Bossy becomes the first NHL player to score 50 goals in eight straight seasons. He would finish his career with nine seasons of 50 plus goals, a record tied by only Wayne Gretzky.

 

Mike Bossy with the New York Islanders in 1985.

Bossy enjoyed a great career in the NHL with the New York Islanders. He played from 1977-1987 as a right wing.

Before playing in the NHL he started his junior career with Quebec Major Junior Hockey League at the age of 15. Despite scoring 309 goals in four seasons, Bossy was considered a timid player by NHL scouts.

In the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft, he was passed over by twelve teams, with the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs ignoring him twice. However, the New York Islanders made him their first choice, 15th overall. General manager Bill Torrey was torn at first between taking Bossy and Dwight Foster. Bossy was known as a scorer who could not check, while Foster could check but was inferior offensively. Coach Al Arbour persuaded Torrey to pick Bossy, figuring it was easier to teach a scorer how to check. Bossy was placed on a line with Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies, a combination that would come to be known as The Trio Grande, or the "LILCO line" (standing for "Long Island Lighting Company", since their prolific scoring kept the goal lamp lit).

Bossy boldly predicted that he would score 50 goals in his rookie season. He made good on his promise, scoring a then-record 53 goals as a rookie in the 1977–78 season, won the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year, and was named a Second Team All-Star.

Many thought it would be impossible to duplicate Maurice Richard's 50 in 50, set thirty-six years earlier. Then, in the 1980–81 season, Bossy became only the second player to score 50 goals in 50 games. The hockey press hyped this as he was in an unofficial competition with Charlie Simmer of the Los Angeles Kings to see who could first accomplish the 50 in 50 milestone since Richard. Both players were involved in their 50th game, with Simmer at 46 and Bossy at 48, with Simmer getting a hat trick to bring his total to 49 goals in 50. Making it particularly dramatic, Bossy was scoreless for much of the game but found the net twice within the last five minutes of his 50th game. Richard was on hand to congratulate Bossy for this achievement. Bossy finished the season with 68 goals in 79 games.

Bossy was known for being able to score goals in remarkable fashion, the most incredible, perhaps, in the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals against the Vancouver Canucks when, up-ended by a check from Tiger Williams and flying several feet in the air, parallel to the ice, Bossy nonetheless managed to hook the puck with his stick and score. Bossy was also noted for his clean play, never resorting to fighting (and being one of the first players to speak out against violence on the ice), and winning the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play three times: 1983, 1984, and 1986.

In 1982, Bossy set a scoring record for right-wingers with 147 points while also winning the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy. However, far more attention was given to Gretzky who not only won the Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy, but also shattered scoring records with an unheard of 212 points and 92 goals. Bossy aspired to be the best player of his era but fell short, as the Hart and Art Ross Trophies were two of the awards that eluded Bossy during his career, going to Lafleur, Trottier, and Gretzky. Although the Islanders swept the Oilers in the 1983 final to win a fourth consecutive championship, Gretzky and his Oilers still received the most attention.

The Islanders made a fifth straight Stanley Cup final in 1984 (The "Drive for Five") but the Oilers who defeated them 4–1, outmatched them. Bossy, who had scored 8 goals after the first three rounds of the playoffs (and 17 goals in the past three consecutive post-seasons), was silenced completely in the finals series.

Afterwards, the Islanders slowly declined, while injuries took their toll on Bossy's back. He was limited to 63 games in the 1986–87 season but still managed to score 38 goals. He decided to take the next season off to rest his back, but officially retired after the 1987-88 season. During his season off, Bill Torrey had offered Bossy to be traded to the Montreal Canadiens, so he could be closer to home, but Bossy declined. Having played his last game at the young age of 30, he scored 573 goals and 553 assists in 752 NHL games, all with the Islanders.

Bossy would go on to set several NHL records including the one above; he would also set the most 60 plus goal seasons with five, again only tied by Gretzky. He would set the highest goals-per-game-average with .762 goals per game. The most power-play goals in one playoff season, nine, tied with Cam Neely. He would record the most consecutive hat trucks with three, tied with Joe Malone, who accomplished the feat twice.

The Islanders retired Bossy's no. 22 jersey on March 3, 1992, the second Islander afforded that honor after longtime teammate Denis Potvin.

Gretzky Scores 50

On Dec. 30, 1981, Edmonton Oilers center Wayne Gretzky scored his 50th goal of the season in just his 39th game.  Gretzky broke the record of 50 goals in 50 games that was held by both Maurice Richard and Mike Bossy.

Wayne Gretzky entered game #39 with 45 goals and needed to score five to get to 50 before the new year.  With already four goals to his name, Gretzky buried an empty netter for his fifth goal of the game to reach 50 in the Oilers 7-5 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.  Gretzky went on to break Phil Esposito’s record of 76 goals in a season when he recorded his 77th in February.  “The Great One” finished the year with 92 goals, a record which still stands today.

Scoring in the National Hockey League is way down when compared to the numbers being put up in the 1980’s.  With that being said, Gretzky’s record of 50 goals in 39 games figures to be safe for a very long time.

Gretzky would finish his career as the all-time leading scorer in NHL history with 894 goals, 1,963 assists for 2,857 points in the regular season.

Gretzky would also excel in the playoffs, in his 20 seasons in the NHL, Gretzky made the playoffs 16 times with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kinds, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers. He would score 122 goals, 260 assists for 382 points in just 208 playoff games.

Gretzky would also excel in the International format for his home country of Canada. In 63 games split between World Junior Championships, Canada Cup, World Championships, Rendez-vous ’87, the World Cup and the Winter Olympics in 1998, Gretzky would score 34 goals, 69 assists for a total of 103 points in 63 games.

After his playing career was over Gretzky went on to coach the Phoenix Coyotes from 2005-2009. While he was outstanding as a player he was not that as a coach, missing the playoffs every year, posting his best record in 2008 when he coached the team to a 38-37-7 record, finishing fourth in the Pacific Division with 83 points.

Gretzky at the time of his retirement, Gretzky held or shared a remarkable 61 records, which in itself is a record.  Wayne holds many of the significant offensive records for the regular season, playoffs and the All-Star Game.  Gretzky also represented Canada on several different occasions in International play, including the Winter Olympics, World Championships, World Cup and Canada Cup.

One year after his retirement, at the 2000 All-Star Game, the National Hockey League announced that Wayne Gretzky’s famous no. 99 would be retired league wide.  Gretzky became only the second man in professional North American sports to have his number permanently retired, with Jackie Robinson’s no. 42 being the first by Major League Baseball.

Gretzky Scores 50

On Dec. 12, 1981, Wayne Gretzky makes history with his 50^th goal of the season.

Wayne Gretzky is no stranger to making history. He has done it plenty of times. One example came on this day in 1981 . Gretzky scored his 50^th goal of the season. It was just his 39^th game and that meant he had reached 50 faster than any player before him. He would finish the season with 92 goals.

The 92 goals would be the most Gretzky would score in a single season, although he was close two years later as he scored 87 goals in the 1983-1984 season.

Gretzky would finish his career as the all-time leading scorer in NHL history with 894 goals, 1,963 assists for 2,857 points in the regular season.

Gretzky would also excel in the playoffs, in his 20 seasons in the NHL, Gretzky made the playoffs 16 times with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers. He would score 122 goals, 260 assists for 382 points in just 208 playoff games.

Gretzky would also excel in the International format for his home country of Canada. In 63 games split between World Junior Championships, Canada Cup, World Championships, Rendez-vous ’87, the World Cup and the Winter Olympics in 1998, Gretzky would score 34 goals, 69 assists for a total of 103 points in 63 games.

After his playing career was over Gretzky went on to coach the Phoenix Coyotes from 2005-2009. While he was outstanding as a player he was not that as a coach, missing the playoffs every year, posting his best record in 2008 when he coached the team to a 38-37-7 record, finishing fourth in the Pacific Division with 83 points.

Dorrington Makes History

On Nov. 15, 1950, Arthur Dorrington made history as the first black player to sign a hockey contract. Dorrington's deal was signed with a minor league team affiliated with the New York Rangers. Unlike most sports, there is still not a big presence of black players in professional hockey. However, he did pave the way for some great players.

Dorrington served with the U.S. Army and after service, signed with one of the New York Rangers farm clubs in 1950.

 He chose instead to play for the Atlantic City Seagulls of the Eastern League, leading them to a league championship in 1951.

After a career-ending injury, he built a second profession as an officer in the Atlantic County Sheriff's Department.

Since Dorrington, several black players have signed with professional hockey teams including two Stanley Cup Winner Pokey Reddick, and Grant Fuhr. Fuhr would be the first black player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and the first black player to win the Stanley Cup.

Dirk Graham was the NHL’s first black captain, and first black head coach. He played for the Minnesota Northstars and the Chicago Blackhawks, and coached the Blackhawks in the 1998-1999 season.

Tony McKegney was the first black player to participate in a full season. He played with the Buffalo Sabres, Quebec Nordiques, Minnesota Northstars, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks.

Willie O’Ree was the first black player to be signed by an NHL team, in 1958 he signed with the Boston Bruins.

Alton White, was the first black player to score a major league hat trick, he played for the New York Raiders, Los Angeles Sharks, Michigan Stags and the Baltimore Blades.

Currently 28 black players play in the NHL including two goalies Chris Beckford-Tseu, and Ray Emery. Of the current 28 black players in the NHL, only one, Dustin Byfuglien has won a Stanley Cup, in 2010 with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Gretzky Passes Up Howe

On Oct. 15, 1989, Wayne Gretzky passes Gordie Howe as the NHL's all-time top scorer.
Howe is often referred to as Mr. Hockey, and is generally regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time.

Howe is most famous for his scoring prowess, physical strength, and career longevity. He is the only player to have competed in the NHL in five different decades (1940s through 1980s). A four-time Stanley Cup champion with the Red Wings, he won six Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player and six Art Ross Trophies as the leading scorer. He was the inaugural recipient of the NHL Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.

Howe's name and nickname, "Mr. Hockey," as well as his wife's nickname as "Mrs. Hockey," are registered trademarks.

During his NHL career Howe scored 801 regular season goals and 1048 assists totaling 1850 points in 1767 games. In the playoffs Howe would score 68 goals and 92 assists for 160 total points in 157 games.

Gretzky’s 20-year NHL career between the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers would see him play in 1,487 regular season games, scoring 894 goals, 1,963 assists for 2,857 points. He would score 204 power play goals, and 73 shootout goals, 91 of those were game winning goals.

Gretzky would finish his career as the all-time leading scorer in NHL history with 894 goals, 1,963 assists for 2,857 points in the regular season.

Gretzky would also excel in the playoffs. In his 20 seasons in the NHL, Gretzky made the playoffs 16 times with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kinds, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers. He would score 122 goals, 260 assists for 382 points in just 208 playoff games.

Gretzky would also do well in the International format for his home country of Canada. In 63 games split between World Junior Championships, Canada Cup, World Championships, Rendez-vous ’87, the World Cup and the Winter Olympics in 1998, Gretzky would score 34 goals, 69 assists for a total of 103 points in 63 games.

After his playing career was over Gretzky went on to coach the Phoenix Coyotes from 2005-2009. While he was outstanding as a player he was not that as a coach, missing the playoffs every year, posting his best record in 2008 when he coached the team to a 38-37-7 record, finishing fourth in the Pacific Division with 83 points.

On Nov. 22, 1999, Gretzky was inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame. Gretzky became the tenth and last player to bypass the usual three-year waiting period.

Wayne Gretzky being elected to the Hall-Of-Fame was a no-brainer, as he is considered by many to be the greatest player in hockey history, hence his nickname “The Great One.”

At the time of his retirement, Gretzky held or shared a remarkable 61 records, which in itself is a record.  Wayne holds many of the significant offensive records for the regular season, playoffs and the All-Star Game.  Gretzky also represented Canada on several different occasions in International play, including the Winter Olympics, World Championships, World Cup and Canada Cup.

One year after his retirement, at the 2000 All-Star Game, the National Hockey League announced that Wayne Gretzky’s famous no. 99 would be retired league wide.  Gretzky became only the second man in professional North American sports to have his number permanently retired, with Jackie Robinson’s no. 42 being the first by Major League Baseball.