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Today in Hockey History: December 12 – Hockey Writer – Hockey History

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This day is quite important in the history of the National Hockey League. Nearly 70 years ago, the league welcomed a new all-time scoring champion. Plus, it was a great day for Boston, with three hat tricks from guys we've never seen before. It's time for our daily look back at hockey history. Let's get started!

Rocket takes off

On December 12, 1953, Maurice Richard became the man of the hour during the Montreal Canadiens' 7-2 victory over the New York Rangers. The “Rockets” scored one goal and sent two assists, becoming the NHL's historical scoring leader with 611 points.

Richard (left) surpassed Lage (center) to become the leading scorer in NHL history. (THW Archives)

He broke the record held by then-injured teammate Al Morach. In February 1952, Lage topped the all-time scoring list. status. He retired in 1960 with 544 points and 966 points; all scored while wearing a Canadiens uniform.

Big moments in Boston

On December 12, 1942, the Boston Bruins played their first afternoon game in franchise history, defeating the Canadiens 3-2. All proceeds from the matinee were donated to the American Red Cross to aid anti-pandemic efforts during World War II.

On December 12, 1963, Dean Prentice scored his 200th career goal in the Bruins' 2-1 victory over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks. He scored 391 goals and 860 points in 22 NHL seasons, including 50 goals and 106 points with the Bruins.

Phil Esposito scored 300 pointsth On December 12, 1971, he scored his career goal in a 4-2 loss to the Oakland Seals. He became the 16th player in NHL history to score 300 goals and the second fastest player to reach this goal, second only to Richard.

On December 12, 1974, the Bruins defeated the visiting Los Angeles Kings 8-1, and Ken Hodge became the third Bruins player to score 250 goals.

Hat tricks in history hat tricks

On December 12, 1970, Olan Kurtenbach became the first player in the history of the Vancouver Canucks to score a hat trick, helping the Vancouver Canucks defeat the Oakland Seals 5-2. He also added an assist in his only career three-goal game.

On December 12, 1971, Brad Parker scored three goals and provided one assist, leading the Rangers to a 6-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was the first defender to score a hat trick for the Blueshirts, although the team had been in the league since 1926.

Ten years later, on December 12, 1981, Ian Turnbull became the first blueliner in Kings history to score a hat trick. He scored four goals to help the team defeat the visiting Canucks 7-5. It wasn’t the biggest offensive output of his career. Five years ago, he scored five goals in a game as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Mario and Wayne's Big Night

Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky are two of the greatest players in NHL history, and they played in the same era, making the 1980s and 1990s a great time for hockey fans. On this day in 1986, the Legends had an unforgettable night.

First, Lemieux scored 4 goals and assisted 2 in the Penguins' 8-3 victory over the Maple Leafs. His six points tied the team's single-game record. With 14 minutes left in the game, he completed his third career hat trick.

Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Lemieux has been dominant in the NHL. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studio/Getty Images)

That same night in the West, Gretzky scored three goals in the Edmonton Oilers' 6-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. This gives him 902 assists in his career, and he only needs 584 games to reach this number.

Reach a personal milestone

On December 12, 1971, Bobby Hull became the fifth player in NHL history to score 1,000 career points when the Blackhawks defeated the Minnesota North Stars 5-3. He joined the 1,000-point club with 909 assiststh Professional gaming.

On December 12, 1976, Rod Gilbert became the second Rangers player to reach 1,000 games. celebrate.

Rod Gilbert
Gilbert was one of the greatest Rangers of all time. (Photo by Melchiordi Giacomo/Getty Images)

On December 12, 1979, Marcel Dionne achieved two personal milestones. He scored 350 pointsth Scored and recorded his 500th goalth The assist led the Kings to a 7-4 victory over the Hartford Whalers.

Former No. 1 pick Bobby Smith had three assists, including his 500th in the Canadiens' 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings on December 12, 1987. assists.

Ten years later, on December 12, 1997, Mark Recchi remained in Montreal and scored his 300th NHL goal as the Habs lost 5-2 to New Jersey Devils (New Jersey Devils).

On December 12, 1999, the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Canucks 3-2 in overtime, with a goal from Patrick Roy. Victory is 424th His career wins move him past Tony Esposito for third on the all-time goalie wins list.

Related – Patrick Roy: The Legendary Legacy

Exactly two years later, on December 12, 2001, Cliff Ronning recorded career No. 500 in the Nashville Predators' 4-2 win over the Rangers. assists.

On December 12, 2009, Alex Kovalev scored a hat trick in the Ottawa Senators' 4–2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, ending his 16-game scoring drought. These three goals brought his career total to 400 points. He became the 82ndND The 400-goal scorer in NHL history is also the fourth player born in Russia.

On December 12, 2021, Chris Kreider played his 600th NHL game – all with the Rangers – unfortunately, that game ended in a 1-0 loss to Nash Nashville Predators.

On December 12, 2022, Jared Spurgeon became the second player to play 800 games with the Minnesota Wild. He is only behind Mikko Koivu (1,028) in the appearances list.

On December 12, 2023, Lucas Redmond became the seventh Red Wings player to reach 50 NHL goals before turning 22 years old. Howe (70), Marcel Dionne (68), Mike Foligno (56), Dylan Larkin (56) and Ted Lindsay (51).

That night, Artemi Panarin reached the 700-point milestone with an assist in the Rangers' 7-3 loss to the Maple Leafs. He became the sixth-fastest player to go undrafted, behind only Gretzky, Peter Stastny, Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito and Adam Oates.

Odds and outcomes

On December 12, 1965, Gordie Howe scored his 15th career hat trick as the Red Wings defeated the Bruins 5-3.

On December 12, 1979, Claude Llull became the head coach of the Canadiens, replacing Bernie Geoffrion, who had just resigned. This is his second time as a substitute in Montreal. He was replaced by Bob Berry after the 1980-81 season.

On December 12, 1995, the New York Islanders appointed head coach Mike Milbury as their new general manager. He replaces Don Maloney, who was fired 10 days ago.

On December 12, 2011, Corey Perry scored three goals to lead the Anaheim Ducks to a 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Ducks. He gave it his all, scoring on a power play and a shorthanded penalty kick to score his first career hat trick. He became the first Ducks player since Paul Kariya on January 10, 1997 to score in the same game on all three players' strengths.

Andrei Vasilevskiy scored in the Tampa Bay Lightning's 3-0 win over the St. Louis Blues on December 12, 2017 history. He became the sixth goaltender in league history to win 20 of his first 25 games of the season. He finished the 2017-18 season with 44 wins, tied with the Jets' Connor Hellebuyck for the league lead. He finished third in Vezina Trophy voting behind the Predators' Pekka Rinne and Hellebuyck.

Marc-Andre Fleury (Marc-Andre Fleury) defeated the Oilers 2-1 on December 12, 2022. He reached 10 wins for the 18th time in his career. He became the successor to Martin Broad (Martin Brodeur (20 games) and Patrick Roy (18 games), the fourth goalkeeper to achieve this feat.

On December 12, 2023, Filip Forsberg scored his 10th career overtime goal, surpassing David Legwand and becoming the only player in Predators history. The player with the most goals in overtime.

That same night, Brock Boeser scored his second career natural hat trick (also on October 11, 2023). The only player in Canucks history with so many goals is Petri Skriko (November 18-21, 1986). He also scored 20 goals, becoming the sixth person to achieve this goal fastest, behind Pavel Bure, Tony Tanti, Alex Mogini, Bo Horvat and Darcy Lotta.

Happy birthday to you

A large group of 26 current and former NHL players were born on this day. The most famous of them are Hall of Fame goaltenders Billy Smith (74), Dan Bouchard (74), Jim Sandrac (58), Colin White (47), Andrew Ladd (39), Austin Czarnick (32), Kevin Labanc (29), and late Hall of Famers Clint Smith and Ted Kennedy.

*Originally built by Greg Boysen


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