April 7: Patrick saves day for Rangers

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: April 7
1928: Coach
Lester Patrick
, age 44, replaces injured goalie
Lorne Chabot
and helps the
New York Rangers defeat the Montreal Maroons 2-1
in overtime in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final at the Forum.

Chabot is clipped in the eye by a shot from
Nels Stewart
early in the second period and is unable to continue. In an era when teams don't carry their own reserve goalie, the Maroons refuse to allow the Rangers to use the backup goalie who traditionally watches from the stands. Montreal also turns down Patrick's request to use minor leaguer Hugh McCormick.
The Maroons figure that without a real goalie, the Rangers are in trouble; they're already down 1-0 in the best-of-5 series. Center
Frank Boucher
and captain
Bill Cook
suggest that Patrick put on the pads, and he does.
Patrick, whose playing career in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association includes a few stints in goal during the era when goalies are required to serve their own minor penalties, allows the tying goal to Stewart in the third period but gets the win when Boucher scores 7:05 into overtime.
The Rangers get permission from the NHL to use New York Americans' goalie
Joe Miller
for the rest of the series. Montreal wins the third game, but Miller shuts out the Maroons 1-0 in Game 4 and the Rangers win their first championship with a 2-1 victory in Game 5.
MORE MOMENTS:
1927: The American Division champion Boston Bruins and the Canadian Division champion Ottawa Senators play to a
0-0 overtime tie
at Boston Arena in the first all-NHL Stanley Cup Final game. It's the second scoreless tie in NHL playoff history.
1936:
John Sorrell
scores twice and has two assists to help the Detroit Red Wings to a
9-4 win
against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final at Olympia Stadium. The nine goals are still a record for the most scored by one team in a Final game.
1955: The Montreal Canadiens end Detroit's 15-game winning streak (nine regular-season games, six playoff games) with a
4-2 victory
at the Forum in Game 3 of the Final.
Bernie Geoffrion
scores three of Montreal's goals.
1974:
Bernie Parent
earns his NHL-record 47th victory when the
Philadelphia Flyers defeat the Minnesota North Stars 6-2
at the Spectrum in their regular-season finale. Parent's record lasts until
Martin Brodeur
of the New Jersey Devils wins 48 games in 2006-07.
On the same night,
Andy Brown
of the Pittsburgh Penguins becomes the last goalie to play an NHL game without a mask. The Penguins
lose 6-3 to the Atlanta Flames
at the Omni in Brown's final NHL game.

1982:The Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers set a single-game Stanley Cup Playoff record by combining for 18 goals. The
Kings outscore the Oilers 10-8
at Northlands Coliseum in Game 1 of the Smythe Division Semifinals. Fifteen players score at least one goal; Kings forward
Charlie Simmer
breaks an 8-8 tie with 5:04 left in the third period.
On the same night, the Winnipeg Jets play their first Stanley Cup Playoff game. They
lose 4-3 to the St. Louis Blues
at Winnipeg Arena.
1985:
Mike Gartner
of the Washington Capitals scores two goals and has two assists to reach the 50-goal and 100-point marks in a
7-3 win against the Penguins
. Though Gartner finishes his NHL career with 708 goals and 1,335 points, it's the only season in which he has 50 goals or 100 points.
1993:The Penguins tie the NHL record for consecutive victories by winning their 15th straight game,
4-3 in overtime against the Canadiens
at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.
Rick Tocchet
scores three goals in regulation for his 11th NHL hat trick, then sets up the overtime winner by defenseman
Ulf Samuelsson
. The Penguins equal the mark set by the 1981-82 New York Islanders (who play before overtime is reinstituted).
1999:
Patrick Roy
sets an NHL record with his ninth career 30-win season when the
Colorado Avalanche defeat the Nashville Predators 4-1
at Pepsi Center. Roy makes 27 saves for the victory, breaking the record of eight 30-win seasons he shares with Hockey Hall of Famer
Tony Esposito
.

2002:
Jarome Iginla
of the Calgary Flames scores twice to become the first (and only) 50-goal scorer of the 2001-02 season. Iginla reaches the 50-goal plateau for the first time in his NHL career, but the
Flames lose 3-2
to the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center.
On the same night,
Ron Francis
scores the only goal for the Carolina Hurricanes in a
1-1 tie
with the visiting Atlanta Thrashers to become the fifth player in NHL history to have 1,700 points.
2012:Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning scores his 60th goal of the season in a
4-3 overtime victory against the Winnipeg Jets
at MTS Centre. Stamkos is the second player in the 21st century to score 60 goals in a season.
2018: The Avalanche finish one of the great turnaround seasons in NHL history by
defeating the St. Louis Blues 5-2
at Pepsi Center to earn the final playoff berth in the Western Conference. The Avalanche finish the season with 85 points (43-30-9) after coming in last in the NHL in 2016-17 with 48 points (22-56-4). Colorado's 47-point improvement is tied for the fourth-best in NHL history, matching the 2006-07 Penguins, and the Avalanche become the 13th team since 1974-75 to qualify for the playoffs after finishing last in the NHL during the previous season.
The penultimate day of the 2017-18 season features four hat tricks, the first day since Dec. 15, 2010, and the 34th in NHL history to include at least four. One of them is the first of Claude Giroux's NHL career; the Flyers captain scores three times in a
5-0 victory against the Rangers
at Wells Fargo Center. Giroux reaches the 100-point plateau for the first time and helps the Flyers clinch the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.
Oilers center Connor McDavid repeats as the NHL's scoring champion, finishing his season with 108 points (41 goals, 67 assists) after earning two assists in a
3-2 shootout win
against the Vancouver Canucks. He joins
Wayne Gretzky
as the only players to win multiple scoring titles before turning 22. It's the final NHL game for
Daniel Sedin
and
Henrik Sedin
of the Canucks, who retire after 17 NHL seasons.