Dec. 11: Oilers, Blackhawks combine for 21 goals
Plus: Bettman named NHL's first commissioner; Lemieux announces he's returning as player
The 21 goals are the most by two teams in one game since the adoption of the red line in 1943. The Oilers and Blackhawks also tie an NHL record by combining for 12 goals in the second period.
Edmonton leads 6-0 early in the second before
Denis Savard
gets the Blackhawks on the scoreboard with a power-play goal. Chicago gets as close as 7-5 and 8-6 before goals by
Marty McSorley
and
Glenn Anderson
late in the period give Edmonton a 10-6 lead, and
Jari Kurri
scores two third-period goals to keep the Oilers comfortably in front.
Kurri finishes with a hat trick.
Wayne Gretzky
doesn't score a goal but matches the NHL single-game record with seven assists.
Troy Murray
and
Ken Yaremchuk
score two goals apiece for Chicago.
MORE MOMENTS
1969: Kate Smith's rendition of "God Bless America" is played at the Spectrum for the first time, and the Philadelphia Flyers respond by
defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3
. The Flyers go 19-1-1 in the next three seasons when "God Bless America" is played.
1971:Montreal Canadiens rookie forward
Guy Lafleur
scores three goals for his first hat trick in a
4-3 win against the Minnesota North Stars
at the Forum. He finishes his NHL career with 17 regular-season hat tricks and two in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
1977:
Tom Bladon
of the Flyers sets an NHL single-game record for most points by a defenseman when he scores four goals and has four assists for
an eight-point night
in an 11-1 victory against the Cleveland Barons at the Spectrum. Bladon also sets an NHL record with a plus-10 rating. He finishes the season with 35 points (11 goals, 24 assists) in 79 games.
1981:
Dennis Maruk
scores two goals and has three assists for the Washington Capitals in an
11-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs
at Capital Centre. It's Maruk's second game with at least five points in one week. He finishes the season with 60 goals and 136 points.
1982:
Peter Stastny
of the Quebec Nordiques scores three goals for his seventh NHL hat trick and had three assists for a six-point night in a
7-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins
at the Civic Arena. Older brother
Marian Stastny
contributes two goals and three assists.
1988:
Brent Ashton
of the Winnipeg Jets
scores on a penalty shot
for his 200th NHL goal in an 8-6 loss to the Vancouver Canucks at Pacific Coliseum. It's the first penalty-shot goal for the Jets since they enter the NHL from the World Hockey Association in 1979.
1992:The NHL names Gary Bettman as its first commissioner, effective Feb. 1, 1993.
2000:
Mario Lemieux
, already a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, announces he will return to the Penguins as a player after a layoff of 3 1/2 years. Lemieux retires in 1997 at age 32 and says he'll never play again because he's worn down by health issues as well as frustration with the way the game is being played. In the meantime, he's become the owner of the Penguins when he and some investors purchase the team out of bankruptcy. He becomes the NHL's first player-owner when he plays 16 days later.
2002:
Joe Sakic
becomes the 31st player in NHL history to score 500 goals. Sakic reaches the milestone when he scores for the Colorado Avalanche in
a 3-1 road loss
to the Vancouver Canucks. He retires in 2009 with 625 goals.
2003:
Dave Andreychuk
of the Tampa Bay Lightning passes
Johnny Bucyk
for the most NHL games played by a left wing. Andreychuk scores his 618th NHL goal in his 1,541st game, but the Lightning
lose 3-2
at the Ottawa Senators. Andreychuk finishes his NHL career with 1,639 games played and joins Bucyk in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.
2018: Alex Ovechkin extends his point streak to 12 games when he scores three goals for the Capitals in a
6-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings
at Capital One Arena. It's Ovechkin's first hat trick since Nov. 25, 2017, and the 21st of his NHL career, tying him with
Glenn Anderson
and
Richard Martin
for 12th in League history.
2019: John Carlson of the Capitals becomes the fifth different defenseman in NHL history to have 45 points in 33 games or fewer. Carlson has a goal and an assist in Washington's
3-2 victory against the Boston Bruins
at Capital One Arena. He's the first defenseman with 45 points in 33 or fewer games since
Al MacInnis
of the Calgary Flames in 1990-91.
