April 11: Orr first modern-era defenseman with playoff hat trick

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: April 11
1971:
Bobby Orr
of the Boston Bruins becomes the first defenseman since 1922 to have a hat trick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Orr scores three goals in a
5-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens
at the Forum in Game 4 of the Quarterfinals. He ties the game 1-1 midway through the second period and scores twice in the third to help the Bruins even the series at two wins each.
MORE MOMENTS
1936:The Detroit Red Wings become the last of the Original Six teams to win the Stanley Cup when they
defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2
at Maple Leaf Gardens to win the best-of-5 Final in four games. The Red Wings win seven of their eight playoff games and score 18 goals in the Final.
Pete Kelly
gets the winning goal midway through the third period.
1964:
Bob Pulford
of the Maple Leafs scores the latest game-winning goal in playoff history when he beats Detroit's
Terry Sawchuk
and scores a shorthanded goal at 19:58 of the third period for a
3-2 victory
in Game 1 of the Final at Maple Leaf Gardens. Toronto wins the series in seven games for its third consecutive Stanley Cup championship.
1975:The New York Islanders establish their own identity by stunning the New York Rangers when
J.P. Parise
scores 11 seconds into overtime for a
4-3 victory
in the third and deciding game of their Preliminary Round series at Madison Square Garden. Parise jams a pass by
Jude Drouin
from the right corner past
Ed Giacomin
before many of the fans at the Garden have returned to their seats after intermission. It's the fastest overtime goal in playoff history, a mark that stands until 1989. Islanders general manager Bill Torrey later says Parise's goal is more important to the organization than the overtime goal by
Bobby Nystrom
that won the Stanley Cup in 1980. "That goal put us on the map," Torrey recalls years later.

1980:
Gordie Howe
and
Bobby Hull
each appears in his final NHL game, though neither gets a point in the Hartford Whalers'
4-3 overtime loss
to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series at the Civic Center. Howe, 52, has a goal and an assist in the three-game series; Hull, 41, goes scoreless. Montreal's
Yvon Lambert
completes the sweep of the best-of-5 series when he scores 29 seconds into OT.
1989:
Ron Hextall
becomes the first goalie in NHL history to score a playoff goal. With the Philadelphia Flyers playing shorthanded, Hextall shoots the puck the length of the ice into an empty net with 1:02 remaining to wrap up an
8-5 win against the Washington Capitals
in Game 5 of the Patrick Division Semifinals at Landover, Maryland. He also becomes the first goaltender to score in the regular season and the playoffs.

1996:
Sandy Moger
scores midway through the third period to give the Boston Bruins a
3-2 victory against the Whalers
at Fleet Center, extending their consecutive playoff streak to 29 seasons. It's still the longest streak by any North American pro sports team.
1997:
Mario Lemieux
reaches the 50-goal mark for the sixth time in his NHL career when he scores on a third-period penalty shot against
John Vanbiesbrouck
during a
4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers
at Miami Arena. Lemieux becomes the first player in NHL history to score his 50th goal of the season on a penalty shot.

2002:Roger Neilson becomes the first man to coach eight NHL teams when he goes behind the bench for the Ottawa Senators in a
4-0 win
against the visiting Bruins. It's his 999th game as an NHL coach. It was Smith's first playoff game since 2012.
2018:The expansion Vegas Golden Knights win the first playoff game in their history,
defeating the Los Angeles Kings 1-0
in front of a sellout crowd at T-Mobile Arena. Marc-Andre Fleury makes 30 saves and defenseman Shea Theodore scores the only goal 3:23 into the game.
On the same night, the Winnipeg Jets get the first playoff win since entering the NHL as the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999 when they
defeat the Minnesota Wild 3-2
at Bell MTS Place in their series opener. Joe Morrow scores the winning goal at 12:47 of the third period, less than eight minutes after Patrik Laine's tying goal.
2019:Mike Smith becomes the seventh goalie age 37 or older to have a series-opening shutout when he makes 26 saves for the Calgary Flames in a
4-0 victory against the Colorado Avalanche
in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round at Scotiabank Saddledome. Smith is the first goalie in Flames history to have a shutout in a series-opening game.
On the same night, Mitchell Marner becomes the second player in Maple Leafs history to score on a penalty shot in a playoff game. He scores his second goal of the game at 2:47 of the second period after being hauled down on a shorthanded breakaway, and it proves to be the game-winner in Toronto's series-opening
4-1 win against the Bruins
at TD Garden. Marner is the fifth player in NHL history to score a shorthanded penalty-shot goal in the playoffs, and the first since Dan Cleary of the Red Wings in 2007.