June 4: Gordie Howe retires for good at age 52

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: June 4
1980:At age 52,
Gordie Howe retires again, this time for good
.

Howe's first retirement, from the Detroit Red Wings after the 1970-71 season, lasts two years before he joins the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association, where he plays with sons
Mark Howe
and
Marty Howe
. All three Howes move to the New England Whalers in 1977, and Mr. Hockey returns to the NHL (with his sons) two years later when the franchise is one of four WHA teams admitted to the League.
Howe plays all 80 regular-season games for the now-Hartford Whalers in 1979-80, finishing with 41 points (15 goals, 26 assists). He scores a goal and has an assist in Hartford's three-game loss to the Montreal Canadiens in the Preliminary Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Howe retires as the NHL's all-time leader in games played (1,767), goals (801), assists (1,049), and points (1,850).
Wayne Gretzky
breaks Howe's three scoring records, but his mark for games played still stands.

MORE MOMENTS
1996:
Patrick Roy
passes
Billy Smith
to become the NHL's all-time leader in games played by a goalie in the playoffs when he appears in No. 133 and helps the Colorado Avalanche defeat the Florida Panthers 3-1 in
Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final
at McNichols Arena. Roy makes 25 saves, allowing only a first-period goal to
Tom Fitzgerald
, and the Avalanche score three times in a span of 3:49 in the second period.
1998:The Washington Capitals advance to the Cup Final for the first time since entering the NHL in 1974 when
Joe Juneau
scores
at 6:24 of overtime
for a 3-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final at Marine Midland Arena. Sabres goalie
Dominik Hasek
stops a stuff attempt by
Brian Bellows
, but Juneau controls the loose puck and sends it under Hasek's glove. The Capitals tie the game 2-2 on a power-play goal by
Peter Bondra
with 5:59 remaining in the third period.

1999:
Mike Keane
scores twice in 4:05 span of the second period
to help the Dallas Stars defeat the Avalanche 4-1 in Game 7 of the Western Conference Final at Reunion Arena.
Ed Belfour
makes 18 saves, allowing a third-period goal to Colorado's
Joe Sakic
after Dallas builds a 4-0 lead. The win puts the Stars into the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1991, when they were the Minnesota North Stars.
2008:
Nicklas Lidstrom
becomes the first NHL captain born in Europe to hoist the Stanley Cup when the Detroit Red Wings defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in
Game 6 of the Final
at Mellon Arena to
win the Cup for the fourth time
since
1997
. Henrik Zetterberg scores what proves to be the Cup-winning goal and wins the
Conn Smythe Trophy
as playoff MVP. At age 46, Detroit defenseman
Chris Chelios
becomes the oldest player ever to win the Cup.

2011: Alexandre Burrows scores
11 seconds into overtime
to give the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 victory against the Boston Bruins in Game 2 of the Final at Rogers Arena and a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. Burrows matches the second-fastest overtime goal in Stanley Cup Playoff history, equaling
J.P. Parise of the New York Islanders in 1975
.
Mark Recchi
's second-period power-play goal gives Boston a 2-1 lead and puts the 43-year-old into the record book as the oldest player to score a goal in the Final.
2014: Justin Williams scores
4:36 into overtime
to give the Los Angeles Kings a 3-2 win against the New York Rangers in Game 1 of the Final at Staples Center. Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi puts the puck on the stick of Kings center
Mike Richards
, who finds Williams alone in the slot for a shot that beats goalie Henrik Lundqvist to the stick side. It's the eighth goal of the 2014 playoffs for Williams; they've all come in Kings victories.
2016:The San Jose Sharks win a Stanley Cup Final game for the first time in their 25-year history when rookie Joonas Donskoi scores at
12:18 of overtime
for a 3-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 3 at SAP Center. Donskoi becomes the sixth rookie to score an overtime goal in the Final when he circles the net and beats Matt Murray over the shoulder to the short side. San Jose goalie Martin Jones gives Donskoi the chance to be the overtime hero by making 40 saves.

2018:The Washington Capitals move within one victory of winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since entering the NHL in 1974 by
defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 6-2
in Game 4 of the Final at Capital One Arena. Evgeny Kuznetsov assists on four goals for the Capitals, who win for the third straight time after losing the opener of the best-of-7 series.