Gretzky-86-TDIH 12-5

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Dec. 5
1986:
Wayne Gretzky
becomes the fifth player in NHL history with 1,400 points when he has three assists in the
Edmonton Oilers' 4-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins 
at the Civic Arena.

Gretzky, 25, reaches 1,400 points in 580 games, faster than any of his predecessors:
Gordie Howe
,
Marcel Dionne
,
Phil Esposito
and
Stan Mikita
. The milestone comes nine months to the day after he gets point No. 1,300 against the Los Angeles Kings.
He needs 40 games before reaching 1,500 points on March 11, 1987.

MORE MOMENTS
1939:
Eddie Shore
plays his final game as a member of the Boston Bruins and scores the winning goal in
a 2-1 victory
against the New York Americans at Boston Garden. The defenseman, a four-time
Hart Trophy
winner, is traded to the Americans on Jan. 25, 1940, retires at the end of the season and is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947.

1968:
Tony Esposito
makes his first NHL start when the Montreal Canadiens face the Bruins at Boston Garden and
finishes with 33 saves
in a 2-2 tie. The only Boston player to beat the rookie goalie is his older brother;
Phil Esposito
opens the scoring in the first period and ties the game midway through the third. Tony Esposito plays 13 games with Montreal before being taken by the Chicago Blackhawks in the intraleague draft on June 11, 1969.

1991:
Mario Lemieux
has
two goals and four assists
, and
Kevin Stevens
gets his fourth hat trick in 10 games, in the Penguins' 8-0 victory against the San Jose Sharks at the Cow Palace. It's the biggest road win in Penguins history. The first-year Sharks have to use three goalies;
Brian Hayward
comes out of the stands after starter
Jeff Hackett
and backup
Arturs Irbe
leave with injuries.
Exactly one year later, the Penguins visit the Sharks again; this time, Lemieux
scores a goal and has six assists
in a 9-4 victory.
2001:Mike Keenan becomes the second man in NHL history to coach seven different teams when the
Florida Panthers defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-0
in his first game as their coach.
2002:
Michal Handzus
of the Philadelphia Flyers becomes the second player in NHL history to score an overtime goal on a penalty shot. After being taken down from behind by New York Rangers defenseman
Tom Poti
with 36.7 seconds left in OT, Handzus lifts a backhand shot over goalie
Dan Blackburn
to give the Flyers
a 3-2 victory
against the visiting Rangers.
2014:
Sergei Gonchar
scores for the Canadiens in
a 4-3 loss
to the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center. The 40-year old defenseman becomes the oldest player ever to score a goal for Montreal in the regular season or Stanley Cup Playoffs. Before Gonchar, that distinction is held by defenseman
Mathieu Schneider
, who's 39 years and 301 days old when he scores against the Bruins at TD Garden in Montreal's next-to-last game of the 2008-09 season.
2017:
Jacob Markstrom
gets his first NHL shutout in his 129th game (115 starts) when the
Vancouver Canucks defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0
at Rogers Arena. He makes 30 saves. The record for most games without a shutout is 132 by
Eldon "Pokey" Reddick
, who plays for three teams from 1986-94.
2019: Jonathan Toews becomes the first modern-era member of the Chicago Blackhawks to score a regular-season overtime goal in Boston. Toews scores 54 seconds into OT to give the Blackhawks a
4-3 victory against the Bruins
at TD Garden. He ends Boston's eight-game winning streak with the 14th overtime goal of his career, the most in team history and the first in Boston since
Red Hamill
on
Feb. 3, 1942
.