March 30: Toronto becomes first NHL team to win Stanley Cup

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: March 30
1918:The
Toronto Arenas defeat the Vancouver Millionaires 2-1
in the final game of their best-of-5 series to become the first NHL team to win the Stanley Cup.

The Arenas, who later would be renamed the Toronto St. Patricks and then the Maple Leafs, win the inaugural NHL championship and earn the right to play the Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association in a Stanley Cup challenge.
The different rules used by the leagues present a problem: The NHL uses six players on the ice while the PCHA employs a rover as a seventh player. An agreement is reached: PCHA rules will be used in even-numbered games, NHL rules employed in the odd-numbered games.
The Millionaires win Games 2 and 4 playing seven a side. Toronto sweeps Games 1, 3 and 5 with one fewer player on the ice.
Alf Skinner
scores eight goals in five games for Toronto. Cyclone Taylor scores nine goals for Vancouver.
MORE MOMENTS:
1916:The Montreal Canadiens, a member of the pre-NHL National Hockey Association, win the first of their 24 Stanley Cup championships, defeating the Portland Rosebuds of the PCHA 2-1 in the fifth and deciding game of the Final. Each Montreal player receives $238 for the victory.
1944:The Canadiens set a playoff record for goals in one period when they score seven in the third period of Game 5 in their Stanley Cup Semifinal series. Five of the seven come in a span of 3:36.
Maurice Richard
and
Ray Getliffe
lead the way with five points apiece as
Montreal wins 11-0
to clinch the series.
On the same night, Chicago Blackhawks center
Doug Bentley
has a hat trick for the second consecutive game, keying a
5-2 series-clinching victory against the Detroit Red Wings
at Olympia Stadium in Game 5 of the other Semifinal series.
1957: Richard has a goal and an assist to become the first NHL player with 100 career points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Richard's milestone comes in an
8-3 victory against the New York Rangers
at the Forum in Game 3 of the Semifinals.

1969:
Pat Stapleton
of the Chicago Blackhawks ties an NHL single-game record for defensemen with six assists in a
9-5 win against the Detroit Red Wings
. Stapleton also becomes the first defenseman in League history to be credited with 50 assists in one season. Detroit's
Gordie Howe
has two goals and two assists; he finishes the season with 60 assists and 103 points, setting NHL records for right wings in each category. It's Howe's only 100-point season in the NHL.
1974:
Bernie Parent
sets an NHL single-season record for most wins in a season. He gets his 45th victory when the Philadelphia Flyers defeat the Bruins 5-3 at the Spectrum. Parent surpasses the mark of 44 set by
Terry Sawchuk
with the Red Wings in 1950-51 and matched in 1951-52.
1975:The Flyers become the first NHL team to win 13 games in one month with a
4-1 victory against the Blackhawks
at the Spectrum.
Rick MacLeish
has a goal and two assists for the Flyers.
On the same night,
Steve Vickers
scores four goals and
Rod Gilbert
has five assists for the New York Rangers in an
8-2 victory
against the Kansas City Scouts at Madison Square Garden. All of the points except one assist (by
Gilles Marotte
) are credited to forwards. New York outshoots Kansas City 59-18.
1976:
Jean Ratelle
reaches the 100-point mark when he scores a goal and has two assists for the Boston Bruins in a
4-4 tie against the Buffalo Sabres
at Boston Garden. Ratelle, a center acquired from the Rangers on Nov. 7, 1975, becomes the first NHL player to have 100 points while playing for two teams in the same season.
1979:The NHL announces that it will expand from 17 to 21 teams
with the addition of four clubs from the World Hockey Association
. The Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Winnipeg Jets and Quebec Nordiques will begin play in October 1979. The Oilers become the most successful of the four teams, winning the Stanley Cup five times from 1984-90. They are also the only one of the four teams that has not relocated.

1989:
Mario Lemieux
of the Pittsburgh Penguins sets a single-season NHL record with his 13th shorthanded goal, breaking the mark set by
Wayne Gretzky
in 1983-84. It's one of four goals scored by Lemieux in a
9-5 loss
to the visiting Hartford Whalers.
1991:
Guy Lafleur
scores his final NHL goal, the 560th of his career, in the Quebec Nordiques'
4-3 loss to the Canadiens
at the Forum. Of Lafleur's 560 goals, 518 come as a member of the Canadiens before he retires in 1984, only to return to the NHL four years later.
On the same night, Detroit's
Steve Yzerman
reaches the 50-goal mark for the fourth consecutive season. He scores goal No. 50 at 6:01 of the second period in the
Red Wings' 6-5 win
against the Rangers at Joe Louis Arena.
1993:
Teemu Selanne
becomes the first NHL player to score 20 goals in one month. The Winnipeg Jets rookie scores a goal and has two assists in a
5-4 road victory
against the Calgary Flames.
1995:
Ray Bourque
becomes the second defenseman in NHL history with 900 assists when he sets up two first-period goals for the Boston Bruins in a
3-2 win against the New York Islanders
at Nassau Coliseum. He retires in 2001 with 1,169, still the NHL record for defensemen.
2004:Pat Burns became the ninth NHL coach to win 500 games and
Martin Brodeur
becomes the eighth goaltender in NHL history to have 75 shutouts when the New Jersey Devils
defeat the Rangers 5-0
in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
2013:The Penguins become the first team in NHL history to win every game during a full calendar month. They finish March with a 15-0-0 record after
defeating the New York Islanders 2-0
at Consol Energy Center.
Tomas Vokoun
makes 35 saves for the shutout.
2018:The Maple Leafs reach the 100-point mark for the fourth time in their history when they
defeat the Islanders 5-4
at Barclays Center. The victory gives Toronto (47-24-7) 101 points; the only time the Maple Leafs end a season with more points is 2003-04, when they have 103. Frederik Andersen earns his 37th win, tying the Maple Leafs' single-season record held by
Ed Belfour
(2002-03) and
Andrew Raycroft
(2006-07).
2019: Alex Ovechkin becomes a 50-goal scorer for the eighth time in his NHL career. Ovechkin scores twice for the Washington Capitals in their
6-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning
at Amalie Arena, giving him 51 goals and making him the first player to reach 50 for the season. The 33-year-old also becomes the fifth player in NHL history to have multiple 50-goal seasons after his 30th birthday, joining
Phil Esposito
(four),
Bobby Hull
(two),
Marcel Dionne
(two) and
Mario Lemieux
(two). The two goals give Ovechkin 658 in his career, passing
Brendan Shanahan
for 13th place on the League's all-time list.