Nov. 12: Maple Leaf Gardens hosts first NHL game

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Nov. 12
1931:The first NHL game is played at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe manages to get the new arena built in a remarkable five-month span during the depths of the Great Depression. An opening-night crowd of 13,233, the largest ever to attend a hockey game up to that time, pays anywhere from 95 cents (general admission) to $2.75 (best seats in the house).
Pipe Major James Fraser and the 48th Highlanders of Canada Pipes and Drums commence precisely at 8:30 p.m. to indicate the start of the opening ceremony, during which Toronto captain
Hap Day
boldly predicts that the Maple Leafs will win the Stanley Cup.
The Maple Leafs disappoint the big crowd by
losing 2-1
to the Chicago Blackhawks, but they come through when it matters most by fulfilling Day's prediction and winning the Cup.
The Maple Leafs play at the Gardens until they move to Air Canada Centre in 1999.
MORE MOMENTS
1942:
Bep Guidolin
, a 16-year-old forward, becomes the youngest player in NHL history when he plays for the Boston Bruins in
a 3-1 loss
at the Maple Leafs. Guidolin plays 10 seasons with the Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Blackhawks, scoring 107 goals in 519 NHL games, and coaches the Bruins from 1972-74 and the Kansas City Scouts from 1974-76. He also coaches the Edmonton Oilers for 63 games during the 1976-77 World Hockey Association season.
1983:
Wayne Gretzky
gets his 20th NHL hat trick and sets up two other goals to help Edmonton to a
7-3 victory
against the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. The Oilers set a team record (since broken) with their eighth consecutive victory.

1988:
Esa Tikkanen
sets an NHL record for the
fastest two shorthanded goals
during a 6-2 Oilers win in Toronto. Tikkanen scores at 10:44 of the first period and again at 10:56, breaking the previous record of 16 seconds set by
Pep Kelly
of the Chicago Blackhawks
against the Montreal Canadiens
at the Forum on Dec. 26, 1940. Tikkanen also scores in the third period to complete a hat trick.
2005: The Atlanta Thrashers set a single-game team record for goals with
a 9-0 road win
against the Carolina Hurricanes, ending Carolina's nine-game winning streak. Ilya Kovalchuk scores twice for Atlanta. The loss is the worst for the Hurricanes since moving from Hartford in 1997.
2009: Florida Panthers goalie
Tomas Vokoun
has a perfect night against the Bruins at TD Garden,
making 40 saves
through overtime and four more in a shootout before
Cory Stillman
scores to make him a 1-0 winner. Vokoun is at his best in the second period, when Boston outshoots Florida 19-1. It's Vokoun's third shutout in four starts after beginning his season 1-7-1.

2016:Carey Price becomes the first goalie in NHL history to win his first 10 games in a season when he
makes 25 saves
in Montreal's 5-0 victory against the Red Wings at Bell Centre. It's Price's 13th consecutive win, including his final three decisions in 2015-16, and his 38th NHL shutout. The Canadiens (13-1-1) set a team record with their 10th straight win at home from the start of a season and have the most victories through 15 games in their history.

2017:The New Jersey Devils win a game after trailing by three goals for the first time in 11 years. Miles Wood's first NHL hat trick helps the Devils rally for a
7-5 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks
at United Center. Wood scores his second goal of the game late in the second period to start New Jersey's rally after Chicago takes a 4-1 lead. It's the first time the Devils win after trailing by three goals since April 18, 2006.
2018:Henrik Lundqvist ties
Jacques Plante
for seventh place on the all-time NHL wins list when he makes 25 saves to help the
New York Rangers defeat the Vancouver Canucks 2-1
at Madison Square Garden. It's the 437th NHL win for Lundqvist, who moves within eight victories of tying
Terry Sawchuk
(445) for sixth.
2019: The Florida Panthers become the 19th team overall and ninth road team in NHL history to win a game after trailing by at least four goals in the third period. The Panthers trail the Bruins 4-0 entering the final 20 minutes at TD Garden, but rally to tie the game before
winning 5-4
when Mike Hoffman scores the deciding goal in the shootout. It's the third time in 2019-20 that a team wins a game after trailing by at least four goals. The Panthers are the first team to win after trailing by at least four goals in the third period since the Minnesota Wild top the Blackhawks
6-5 in a shootout
on Jan. 9, 2010, and the first road team to do so since the St. Louis Blues defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs
6-5 in overtime
on Nov. 29, 2000.