April 8: Canadiens comeback stuns Bruins

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: April 8
1971:The Montreal Canadiens rally after trailing by four goals late in the second period for a series-tying
7-5 win against the Boston Bruins
at Boston Garden in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Quarterfinals.

The Canadiens are heavy underdogs in the series after finishing the regular season in third place in the East Division, 24 points behind the League-leading Bruins, who are led by 76-goal scorer
Phil Esposito
and 102-point defenseman
Bobby Orr
.
Boston wins 3-1 in Game 1 and races to a 5-1 lead against rookie goalie
Ken Dryden
in Game 2. But
Henri Richard
's goal late in the second period gives the Canadiens a spark, and Montreal scores five times in the third to stun the Garden crowd and even the series at one win apiece.
MORE MOMENTS:
1937: Clarence Campbell referees his first playoff game, a
4-2 win
for the Detroit Red Wings against the New York Rangers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. Campbell, who in 1946 becomes the third president in NHL history, hands out three penalties.
1961:
Gordie Howe
sets an NHL career record for most Stanley Cup Playoff assists during the Red Wings'
3-1 win
against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 2 of the Final. Howe's two assists give him 61, two more than
Doug Harvey
.
1970: Esposito has three goals and an assist to help the Bruins to an
8-2 win against the Rangers
in Game 1 of their Quarterfinal series at Boston Garden. The Bruins score five goals in a span of 10:21 and set a playoff record by scoring two shorthanded goals in 44 seconds.
1973:
Ed Giacomin
makes 33 saves for the only playoff shutout of his Hall of Fame career. Giacomin and the Rangers
defeat the Bruins 4-0
at Madison Square Garden in Game 4 of their Quarterfinal series.
1980: Howe sets an NHL record for most years in the playoffs (20) and makes his first postseason appearance since 1970 when he takes the ice for the Hartford Whalers against the Montreal Canadiens at the Forum. He breaks the mark of 19 years held by former teammate
Red Kelly
. The
Whalers lose 6-1
in their first NHL playoff game.

1982:
Dale Hawerchuk
, a rookie center, has four assists to help the Winnipeg Jets
defeat the visiting St. Louis Blues 5-2
in Game 2 of the Norris Division Semifinals. It's the first playoff win for the Jets since entering the NHL for the start of the 1979-80 season.
1990:
Tony Granato
scores a shorthanded goal at 8:37 of overtime to give the Los Angeles Kings a
2-1 win against the Calgary Flames
in Game 3 of the Smythe Division Semifinals at the Forum in Inglewood, California. It's the fourth shorthanded OT goal in Stanley Cup Playoff history.
1996: After a name-the-franchise contest, the soon-to-be-relocated Winnipeg Jets unveil their new logo and announce that the team will be known as the Phoenix Coyotes, beginning with the 1996-97 season.
2000:The Toronto Maple Leafs surpass the 100-point mark for the first time in their history when they
defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2
at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs are the last of the Original Six teams to have a 100-point season.
2014:Mike Babcock passes Jack Adams as the winningest coach in Red Wings history when
Detroit defeats the Buffalo Sabres 4-2
at First Niagara Center. The win is Babcock's 414th with Detroit.
2017:Auston Matthews of the Maple Leafs scores his 40th goal of the season in a
5-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins
at Air Canada Centre. He's the second rookie since 2005 and the fourth teenager in NHL history to score at least 40 goals in a season.

2018:The Lightning win the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference when the Florida Panthers
defeat the Boston Bruins 4-2
at TD Garden in a game rescheduled from Jan. 4 because of a winter storm. The loss in the final game of the 2017-18 season keeps the Bruins from passing Tampa Bay. Florida wins its fifth game in seven days but comes up one point short of a playoff berth.