The greatest skater the National Hockey League has ever seen will celebrate one more orbit around the sun on this day. He wasn't the only Hockey Hall of Famer to have fond memories of Jan. 26.
Great day for great people
We could easily change the name of this column to “What Wayne Gretzky Did Today” and not miss a beat. This is the most important day of his life. Gretzky was born on January 26, 1961 in Brantford, Ontario.
He showed his great skills early on, playing with 10-year-olds at the age of six. He eventually started playing youth hockey at age 16 before taking the NHL by storm at age 18. He currently holds or shares 61 NHL records; 40 in the regular season, 15 in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and 6 in the All-Star Game.
On January 26, 1979, Gretzky was 18 years oldth On his birthday, Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington threw a surprise party. Before a World Hockey Association (WHA) game against the Cincinnati Stingers, the team hosted a birthday party at center ice with champagne and a 99-shaped cake. Pocklington shocked the 12,000 fans at the Edmonton Coliseum by signing the young star to a 21-year contract until 1999.
Gretzky 24th January 26, 1985 is a birthday worth remembering. He scored 33 pointsRD The NHL Oilers scored a hat trick in a 6-3 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. He has scored 50 goals in just 49 games this season and these three goals add to his richness. This is the third time in his career that he has scored 50 goals in less than 50 games, something he had never done before joining the league.
The great man celebrated his 30th birthday on January 26, 1991 and is now a member of the Los Angeles Kings. He scored 48 pointsth Career hat trick, 5-4 win over the Vancouver Canucks at the Forum. This performance took him to 30 goals in the 1991-92 season, his 12th in the 1991-92 season.th He scored at least 30 times in a row.
Lemieux returns strong
On the same night as Gretzky's 30th birthday, Mario Lemieux returned to the Penguins lineup after missing the previous 50 games due to back surgery. In a 6-5 away win over Quebec Nordiques, he assisted on three goals. Hall of Fame defenseman Larry Murphy scores 500 pointsth Career assist wins. Lemieux played 26 games in the 1990-91 regular season, scoring 19 goals and 45 points. He scored 16 goals and 44 points in 23 playoff games, leading the Penguins to win the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.
Six years later, on January 26, 1997, Lemieux tied the NHL record with four third-period goals as his hometown team, the Montreal Canadiens, won 5-2. This is 39th It was a hat trick of his remarkable career and his 13th four-goal game, tying the record held by Gretzky and New York Islanders legend Mike Bossy.
Kim Brett steals the show
Brett Hull is another elite shooter and there was a lot to celebrate on this day. Starting on January 26, 1993, he scored twice and provided two assists in the St. Louis Blues' 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Teammate Brendan Shanahan had a goal and four assists in his first career five-point game.
Two years later, on January 26, 1995, the Blues played their first game at their new home, the Kiel Center. Hull scored twice in the third quarter as the Blues defeated Gretzky and the visiting Kings 3-1.
On January 26, 2002, Hull came back to bite the hand that had fed him, scoring his 31stYingshi Had a career hat trick and contributed two assists, leading the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-2 victory over St. Louis. His performances saw him score 20 goals in 15 gamesth consecutive seasons.
Memories of the Windy City
Glenn Hall becomes No. 13th On January 26, 1963, the NHL goaltender set a career record with 50 shutouts as he led the Chicago Blackhawks to a 3-0 victory over the Red Wings.
Four years later, on January 26, 1967, the Blackhawks earned another road win in Detroit, with Stan Mikita capturing the 200 metersth The 4-3 win was the goal of his career.
Related – Stan Mikita: A True Chicago Legend
On January 26, 1978, another Chicago goalie legend, Tony Esposito, recorded his 62nd career shutout in the Blackhawks' 5-0 victory over the Cleveland Barons. Due to a severe snowstorm, only 527 loyal fans attended the game at Chicago Stadium.
On January 26, 1991, Doug Wilson scored the only hat trick of his NHL career in a 5-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. He became the second defender in franchise history to score three goals in a game, joining Dick Redmond, who scored against Colorado Los Angeles on February 12, 1977. Scored a hat trick in the game.
Ten years later, on January 26, 2001, Steve Sullivan scored twice in 51 seconds in the Blackhawks' 5-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, marking the fastest time a player has missed two games Team record for goals scored.
A landmark night in 2002
January 26, 2002, was an important night for personal milestones. Starting with Boston, Joe Thornton scored two goals in the third period, including 100th The highlight of his career was the Bruins' 4-2 victory over the visiting Florida Panthers. Pavel Bure scored 400 pointsth NHL losing goal.
Eric Lindros has scored 20 goals in each of his nine NHL seasons, helping the New York Rangers to a 6-3 win over the Washington Capitals ). Theo Fleury scored 20 pointsth 12 players scored goals this seasonth time in his career.
Finally, Ron Francis scored his 1,170 pointsth The number of career assists surpassed Ray Bourque and ranked second in the assists list in league history. However, his Carolina Hurricanes lost 4-2 to the Philadelphia Flyers, who had goals from Jeremy Roenicke, Justin Williams, Mark Recchi and Simon Gagne.
Xu things
On January 26, 1941, Bill Cowley sent 4 assists, including 3 assists in the final quarter, helping the Bruins defeat their opponents 6-1, extending the team's unbeaten record to 13 games. winning streak (7-0-6).
Gordie Howe became the first player in NHL history to reach 1,300 games on this date in 1966. Provided assists during the game.
On January 26, 1975, Guy Lafleur scored four goals to lead the Canadiens to a 7-2 victory over the Penguins. This was the only game in his career in which he scored four goals. Defender Bob Gainey had four assists on the night, including three of LaFleur's four goals.
On January 26, 1978, Hall of Famer Marcel Dion scored his 250th career goal and provided two assists to help the Kings defeat the Blues 5-1.
That night, Bernie Parent defeated Vancouver Cancun 6-2 and became the first goaltender in Flyers history to win 200 games.
On January 26, 1980, Don Edwards became the first goaltender in history to reach 100 wins when he led the Buffalo Sabres to a 7-2 victory over Montreal. In addition, Don Luce became the fourth Saber to score 200 goals, and Gilbert Perreault received his 500th career assist.
On January 26, 1982, the Islanders defeated Pittsburgh 9-2 with John Tonelli, Bryan Trottier and Duane Sutter in the game. All goals were scored within 1 minute and 38 seconds, setting a team record for the fastest four goals.
On January 26, 1994, Patrick Roy recorded his fifth shutout of the season and first of his career in a 3-0 victory over the Hartford Whalers. Lockdown 25. Brian Bellows scored two of the Canucks' three goals, bringing his NHL career total to 400.
One year later, on January 26, 1995, Michel Goulet announced his retirement. He scored 548 goals and 1,153 points in 1,089 games in 15 seasons with the Nordics and Blackhawks. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998, his first year of eligibility.
On January 26, 1998, the Rangers defeated the Washington Capitals 4-1, and Adam Graves became the ninth player in Rangers history to score 200 goals.
On January 26, 2000, the New Jersey Devils defeated the Panthers 3-2. Martin Brodeur won his 10th consecutive game and tied his team's record of 14 consecutive unbeaten games ( 12 wins, 0 draws and 2 losses). It also marked his fifth consecutive season with at least 30 wins.
That night, Brodeur's former teammate Stephen Reacher scored his 400th career goal to help the Blues defeat the Ottawa Senators 4-1 on the road.
On January 26, 2003, Peter Bondra scored in the Capitals' 7-2 victory over the visiting Rangers, giving him his 12th consecutive 20-goal season. Defender Sergei Gonchar had a goal and three assists as Washington had five power-play goals on the night.
On this day in 2016, Thornton hit another milestone.RD The player in NHL history to score 1,300 career points.
On January 26, 2018, Sidney Crosby became the first Penguins player to win the NHL All-Star Game MVP since Lemieux in 1990. point. In the semifinals, he scored two goals and assisted one in the Metropolitan Division's 10-4 victory over the Atlantic Division. In the championship game, he scored two more goals and provided three assists, helping the team defeat the Central Division 10-5.
On January 26, 2022, the Calgary Flames defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-0, setting a franchise record with 62 shots on goal. Matthew Tkachuk, now with the Panthers, scored his 20th goal of the season in the win, while Jacob Markstrom scored his 20th goal of the season. Banned six times.
The Avalanche won their 13th game in January on this night in 2022, beating the Bruins 4-3 in overtime for their winningest game in history. They also tied the NHL record for the month (Hurricanes, 2006; Capitals, 2010).
There are several milestones marked on this day in 2023, with Conor Sheary reaching 500 games in the NHL and Tyler Toffoli reaching 700 games.
On January 26, 2023, Jack Hughes continued to rewrite the Devils record books as he recorded his 21st multi-point game of the season. He did it in his 48th game, one quicker than Patrik Sundstrom, who had 18 in 49 games in 1988-89.
On January 26, 2024, Jonathan Marchessault scored his fourth career hat trick for the Golden Knights, surpassing William Karlsson and becoming the player with the most hat tricks in team history. .
Happy birthday to you
There are 28 NHL players born on January 26th. In addition to Gretzky, who turns 64 today, other famous names include Fred Barrett (74), Dale McCourt (68), Payton Peyton Krebs (24) and the late Frank Nieber (Hall of Fame), Glenn Skow and Ivan Hlinka.
*Originally built by Greg Boysen
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