Dec. 28: Richard scores five goals, sets NHL record with eight points

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Dec. 28
1944:
Maurice Richard
spends the afternoon moving his family from one apartment to another, then uses the evening hours to set an NHL single-game scoring record.

An exhausted Richard arrives at the Forum for the Montreal Canadiens' game against the Detroit Red Wings after the all-day move. But he's not too tired to
score five goals and assist on three others
in a 9-1 victory.
Richard has a goal and an assist in the first period, completes his hat trick by scoring twice in eight seconds early in the second and finishes the period with four goals and two assists. He scores his fifth goal of the game midway through the third period and assists on
Elmer Lach
's goal with 13 seconds remaining to get his record-setting eighth point.
When the historic nature of Richard's achievement is announced to the crowd, 13,000 fans erupt into one of the longest, loudest ovations the Forum has ever heard.
Richard's eight points remain a single-game Canadiens record (
Bert Olmstead
ties it with eight points against the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 9, 1954). Toronto Maple Leafs center
Darryl Sittler
had 10 points (six goals, four assists) on Feb. 7, 1976, an NHL record that still stands.
MORE MOMENTS
1918:
Georges Vezina
becomes the first NHL goalie with an assist when teammate
Newsy Lalonde
picks up the puck after a Vezina save, skates the length of the ice and scores. It came in the Canadiens'
6-3 win
against the Toronto Arenas.
1929:
Terry Sawchuk
is born in Winnipeg. Sawchuk plays seven games with Detroit during the 1949-50 NHL season, then becomes the Red Wings' full-time starting goalie in 1950-51 and wins 44 games in each of his first two NHL seasons. He plays 21 seasons in the NHL, setting records (since broken) with 445 victories and 103 shutouts. He also
makes 40 saves against the Canadiens
in Game 6 of the
1967 Stanley Cup Final
to help the Toronto Maple Leafs win their most recent championship. He retires after playing for the New York Rangers in 1969-70 and dies in a freak accident after a scuffle with a teammate less than two months after his last game.

1967:
Jean Beliveau
is credited with four assists in the Canadiens'
6-2 victory
against the Minnesota North Stars at the Forum to move past Richard into second place on the NHL's all-time points list. His 967 points are one more than Richard's career total, and he trails only
Gordie Howe
.
1975: The New York Rangers become the first NHL team to play a team from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Red Army defeats the Rangers 7-3 in front of a full house at Madison Square Garden in the opener of the first "Super Series" between Soviet and NHL teams. Vladimir Petrov scores two goals and has two assists for the Red Army, and
Vladislav Tretiak
makes 38 saves.
2002:
Scott Niedermayer
becomes the second NHL defenseman with seven regular-season overtime goals when he scores with 49.5 seconds left in OT to give the New Jersey Devils
a 2-1 victory
against the visiting Washington Capitals. Niedermayer matches the record held by
Brian Leetch
.

2010:The Vancouver Canucks
end a 14-game home winless streak
against the Philadelphia Flyers with a 6-2 victory at Rogers Arena. It's their first win against the Flyers in Vancouver since Jan. 17, 1989. They are 0-9-1 with four ties during the 14 games.
2017:The Vegas Golden Knights set an NHL record for the longest winning streak by a team in its inaugural season when David Perron's goal at 3:30 of overtime gives them a
3-2 victory against the Los Angeles Kings
at Staples Center. It's the sixth consecutive win for the NHL's newest team and extends the Golden Knights' point streak to 11 games, also the most by a first-year team.
2019: Alex Ovechkin scores the 256th power-play goal of his NHL career, passing
Teemu Selanne
for third place on the
all-time list
, in the Washington Capitals'
6-4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes
at PNC Arena. Ovechkin passes Selanne at 9:56 of the second period when he scores with a one-timer from his "office," the left face-off circle. It's Ovechkin's 437th and final goal of the 2010s, by far the most of any player in the decade.

A few hours later, Marc-Andre Fleury ties
Curtis Joseph
for sixth place on the NHL's all-time list with his 454th win when he makes 27 saves in the
Golden Knights' 4-1 win
against the Arizona Coyotes at T-Mobile Arena.