April 9: Howe scores final NHL goal

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: April 9
1980:
Gordie Howe
scores his 68th and final goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs when he beats
Denis Herron
at 13:59 of the third period of the
Hartford Whalers' 8-4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens
in Game 2 of the Preliminary Round.

The goal, a backhand shot set up by a pass from son
Mark Howe
, draws a standing ovation from the full house at the Forum. It comes nine days after the elder Howe's 52nd birthday, and it's his first in a Stanley Cup game in 10 years.
Gordie Howe, Mark Howe and
Marty Howe
each have points in the same NHL game for the only time in their careers. Gordie and Marty each finish with a goal and an assist; Mark has assists on the third-period goals by his brother and father.

MORE MOMENTS
1931:
Cy Wentworth
scores at 53:50 of overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a
3-2 victory
against the Canadiens at the Forum in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. It's the longest overtime game in the Final until 1990, when the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Boston Bruins
3-2 in Game 1
on a goal by
Petr Klima
at 55:13 of OT.
1942:
Eddie Bush
sets a record for points by a defenseman in a Cup Final game when he gets five (one goal, four assists) for the Detroit Red Wings in a
5-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs
in Game 3 at Olympia Stadium. Bush never gets another point in his NHL career.
1946:The Canadiens win the Stanley Cup for the second time in three years by
defeating the Boston Bruins 6-3
in Game 5 of the Final at the Forum.
Elmer Lach
scores a goal and assists on two others for the Canadiens, who score three unanswered goals in the third period for the win.
1963:
Dick Duff
of the Maple Leafs sets a playoff record for the fastest two goals from the start of a game. He scores twice against
Terry Sawchuk
of the Red Wings in the first 1:08 of Game 2 of the Final, sparking Toronto to a
4-2 victory
.
1968:
Wayne Connelly
of the Minnesota North Stars becomes the first player in NHL history to score on a penalty shot in a playoff game (the two previous attempts had failed). Connolly beats Sawchuk at 16:56 of the second period during the North Stars' 7-5 win against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 3 of the Quarterfinals at Met Center.
1972:
Pit Martin
sets a playoff record for the fastest overtime goal when he scores 12 seconds into OT to give the Chicago Blackhawks a
6-5 victory
against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Civic Center, completing a four-game sweep.
Bobby Hull
scores once in the second period and twice in the third for his second and final hat trick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

1987:
Wayne Gretzky
ties a single-game playoff record with six assists and passes Hall of Famer
Jean Beliveau
for the all-time career playoff scoring lead during the Edmonton Oilers'
13-3 victory against the Los Angeles Kings
in Game 2 of the Smythe Division Semifinals. Gretzky gets his 177th point, moving him past Beliveau for the most points in Stanley Cup play (he extends his record to 382 before retiring in 1999). The Oilers set a record of their own for most goals in a playoff game.

1993: The Penguins break the NHL's record for consecutive victories, and they do it with a flourish.
Mario Lemieux
scores five goals and
Joe Mullen
has three to lead the Penguins to a
10-4 win against the New York Rangers
at Madison Square Garden for their 16th consecutive victory, surpassing the mark they had shared with the 1981-82 New York Islanders. The game is tied 2-2 after one period before Lemieux breaks it open in the second, scoring once on the power play, once while the Penguins are shorthanded and once at even strength for his 31st NHL hat trick. He and Mullen each score twice in Pittsburgh's five-goal third period.

2006: Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks has two assists in a
4-1 victory against the Dallas Stars
to set an NHL record for most points by a player who's traded during that season. The Sharks acquire Thornton from the Bruins on Nov. 30, 2005. His 113th point surpasses the mark of 112 set by
Bernie Nicholls
with the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers in 1989-90. Thornton finishes with a League-leading 125 points; he is still the only player to win the Art Ross Trophy after being traded in the same season.
2015:
Jaromir Jagr
of the Florida Panthers has two assists in a
4-2 win against the Bruins
to become the fourth player in NHL history to reach 1,800 points. He joins Gretzky (2,857),
Mark Messier
(1,887) and Howe (1,850) as the only players to score 1,800 points in the NHL.
2017:The Red Wings
defeat the New Jersey Devils 4-1
in the final NHL game played at Joe Louis Arena, their home since December 1979. Center Riley Sheahan, who enters Detroit's season finale without a goal in 80 games, scores twice. Red Wings captain
Henrik Zetterberg
plays his 1,000th game, all with Detroit, and scores a goal. The Red Wings move to Little Caesars Arena for the 2017-18 season.

On the same night, the Anaheim Ducks win the Pacific Division title for the fifth consecutive season by
defeating the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in overtime
at Honda Center. Shea Theodore scores 53 seconds into OT for the win, which caps Anaheim's season-ending 11-0-3 run.
Also, Connor McDavid gets his NHL-leading 100th point when he assists on a third-period goal by Leon Draisaitl in
Edmonton's 5-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks
at Rogers Place. The 20-year-old center becomes the youngest player to win the Art Ross Trophy as NHL scoring champion since Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins does it at age 19 in 2006-07. The Oilers finish the season 47-26-9 and qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2006.