May 1: Beliveau becomes first Conn Smythe winner

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: May 1
1965:
Jean Beliveau
becomes the first winner of the
Conn Smythe Trophy
, awarded to the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Beliveau wins the brand-new trophy after scoring the first of the Montreal Canadiens' four first-period goals in a
4-0 win
against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 7 of the Final at the Forum.

Beliveau sets a record for the fastest Cup-winning goal when he beats
Glenn Hall
14 seconds after the opening faceoff. He assists on a goal by
Dick Duff
less than five minutes later, and
Yvan Cournoyer
and
Henri Richard
score late in the period. Beliveau finishes the playoffs with 16 points (eight goals, eight assists).
Gump Worsley
makes 20 saves to become the second goalie to have a shutout in Game 7 of the Final. The Canadiens win their
first championship
since
1960
.
MORE MOMENTS
1980: The New York Islanders set a playoff record by winning their seventh consecutive road game when
Bobby Nystrom
scores at 1:20 of double overtime for a
2-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres
at Memorial Auditorium in Game 2 of the Semifinals.
Billy Smith
makes 41 saves before Nystrom scores the third of his four career overtime goals to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.
1992: For the first time in their history, the New York Rangers win a Game 7.
Adam Graves
scores two goals and sets up two others in an
8-4 victory against the New Jersey Devils
at Madison Square Garden in the Patrick Division Semifinala. The Rangers also get two goals and an assist from
Mark Messier
and 33 saves by
John Vanbiesbrouck
. It's the first time the Rangers play a Game 7 at home after going 0-4 as the road team.
On the same night,
Pat LaFontaine
of the Sabres becomes the first player in NHL history to score a goal in each of his team's first seven playoff games in one year. Despite that, the
Sabres lose 3-2 to the Boston Bruins
at Boston Garden in Game 7 of the Adams Division Semifinal.
Also,
Mario Lemieux
has a goal and an assist for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a
3-1 win against the Washington Capitals
in Game 7 of their Patrick Division Semifinal at Landover, Maryland. The win caps Pittsburgh's comeback from a 3-1 series deficit.
1993:
Nikolai Borschevsky
scores at 2:35 of overtime to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a
4-3 win
against the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of the Norris Division Semifinals at Joe Louis Arena. The Maple Leafs trail 2-1 and 3-2, but force overtime when
Doug Gilmour
scores with 2:43 remaining in the third period. Borschevsky then beats
Tim Cheveldae
to become the second player in NHL history to score his first playoff goal in overtime of a Game 7.
1995: The Canadiens are assured of a non-playoff season for the first time in 25 years when they lose
2-0 to the Sabres
at Memorial Auditorium. Goaltender
Dominik Hasek
makes 32 saves and
Richard Smehlik
and
Alexander Mogilny
score goals to eliminate Montreal from the playoff race. It's the first time since 1970 that Montreal will not take part in the postseason.

2004:
Joe Sakic
ties
Maurice Richard
's career playoff record with his sixth overtime goal, giving the Colorado Avalanche a
2-1 win
against the San Jose Sharks in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals at San Jose Arena. It's the second overtime goal in as many games for Sakic, who ties the game midway through the third period before scoring the winner at 1:54 of OT.
2008:
Johan Franzen
scores three goals in
Detroit's 8-2 win against the Avalanche
at Pepsi Center, giving him an NHL-record nine goals in a four-game series. Franzen also breaks the Red Wings record for goals in a series of any length, set by
Gordie Howe
in 1949 (eight goals in seven games). He matches Colorado's total goals in the Western Conference Quarterfinal series and becomes the first player with two hat tricks in a series since
Jari Kurri
of the Edmonton Oilers in 1985.
2009: The Red Wings make history in a
3-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks
at Joe Louis Arena in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. It's the 18th consecutive time the Red Wings have started a series at home, a playoff record. Defenseman
Nicklas Lidstrom
has two assists before scoring the winning goal with 49.1 seconds remaining in the third period. Detroit also becomes the first NHL team to win consecutive games in one playoff year by scoring tiebreaking, game-winning goals in the last minute of the third period.
2018:Alex Ovechkin scores with 1:07 remaining in the third period to give the Capitals a
4-3 win against the Penguins
in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins trail 3-2 entering the third period, but Matt Niskanen ties the game by beating goalie Matt Murray at 5:06 before Ovechkin gets the winner.
2019: Curtis McElhinney became the oldest goalie in NHL history to make his first career playoff start, eclipsing the mark set by Pittsburgh's
Les Binkley
in Game 1 of the 1970 Quarterfinals. McElhinney (35 years, 343 days) is 37 days older than Binkley when he makes 28 saves for the Carolina Hurricanes in a
5-2 victory against the Islanders
in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at PNC Arena. The victory gives Carolina a 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.