March 12: Hull sets NHL single-season record with 51st goal

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: March 12
1966:
Bobby Hull
passes
Maurice Richard
and
Bernie Geoffrion
for
the most goals in one season when he scores No. 51
for the Chicago Blackhawks in the third period of a
4-2 victory against the New York Rangers
at Chicago Stadium.

The Rangers take a 2-0 lead into the third period. Hull assists on a goal by
Chico Maki
that makes it 2-1 and ends a Chicago goal drought that lasts more than 11 periods. With New York defenseman
Harry Howell
in the penalty box, Hull gets the record by taking a straightaway slap shot that beats goalie
Cesare Maniago
for a power-play goal at 5:34.
The game stops while the Blackhawks mob Hull and the packed house erupts.
Chicago takes the lead when Maki scores at 7:25, and
Doug Mohns
gets an insurance goal with 1:19 remaining.
Exactly 14 years later, Hull scores the 610th and final goal of his NHL career for the Hartford Whalers in a
4-4 tie
with the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.
MORE MOMENTS
1935:The St. Louis Eagles
defeat the Red Wings 3-2
in their final home game of the 1934-35 season. The Eagles fold at the end of the season, and the NHL does not have a team in St. Louis again until 1967.
1961:Five years before setting the single-season record for goals, Hull scores the 100th of his NHL career in a
6-2 Blackhawks loss to the Montreal Canadiens
at Chicago Stadium. He becomes the third-fastest to 100 goals, trailing Richard and
Jean Beliveau
.

1967: The Blackhawks clinch first place for the first time since entering the NHL in 1926 by
defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-0
at Chicago Stadium.
Ken Hodge
and
Lou Angotti
each scores twice for the Blackhawks, and Hull scores his 49th goal of the season. The Blackhawks are the last Original Six team to win the
Prince of Wales Trophy
, then given to the first-place finisher in the regular season.
1974:
Bobby Orr
becomes the first player to score 100 points in five straight seasons when he has an assist in the Boston Bruins'
4-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres
at Boston Garden.
Gilles Gilbert
gets his seventh NHL shutout.
1980:
Gordie Howe
's final visit to Detroit as an NHL player is one to remember. Three days after Howe plays a shift on a line with his sons, Mark and Marty, for the Hartford Whalers,
the three begin the game against the Detroit Red Wings
at Joe Louis Arena with Gordie at center, Marty on left wing and Mark on right wing. None of the three scores on that shift, but Gordie gets an assist later in the first period of a
game that ends 4-4
.

1997:
Jari Kurr
i scores his 594th NHL goal during a
2-1 win by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
against the Red Wings at Arrowhead Pond. It gives him 1,369 points, tying Kurri with
Johnny Bucyk
for 11th on the
NHL career scoring list
. The win gives the Mighty Ducks a team-record nine-game point streak (six wins, three ties).
2002:
Artem Chubarov
becomes the first player in NHL history whose first four goals are all game-winners. Chubarov scores the first goal of the game at 2:25 of the first period for the Vancouver Canucks in a
5-0 win against the Nashville Predators
at Gaylord Entertainment Center.
Dan Cloutier
makes 23 saves and ties a team record with his sixth shutout of the season.
2015:Ken Hitchcock becomes the fourth member of the NHL 700-win club for coaches when the
St. Louis Blues defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 1-0
in a shootout. The victory improves Hitchcock to 700-424-95 with 88 ties. The first three coaches to reach 700 wins -- Scotty Bowman, Al Arbour and Joel Quenneville -- also spend time running the Blues during their careers.
Win No. 700 comes exactly 15 years after Hitchcock gets his 200th NHL victory when the
Dallas Stars defeat the Blues 4-2
. It comes in his 358th game.

2018: Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals scores twice in a
3-2 overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets
to become the 20th player in NHL history to reach 600 goals. He's the fourth to do it in fewer than 1,000 games (990), joining
Wayne Gretzky
(718),
Mario Lemieux
(719) and
Brett Hull
(900).
On the same night, Marc-Andre Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights becomes the 13th goalie in NHL history to reach 400 victories. Fleury makes 38 saves and Ryan Carpenter scores the winning goal with 2:40 left in the third period to give the Golden Knights a
3-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers
at Wells Fargo Center.
2019: The top two picks in the 2004 NHL Draft each reaches a milestone in the third period when the Pittsburgh Penguins
defeat the Washington Capitals 5-3
at PPGA Paints Arena. Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin gets his second assist of the game on a power-play goal by Phil Kessel at 11:56 for his 1,000th NHL point. At 14:02, Ovechkin assists on a power-play goal by John Carlson for his 1,200th point. Ovechkin (No. 1) and Malkin (No. 2) become the fourth players taken with the first two picks in the same draft year to reach the 1,000-point mark.