Thornton, the No. 1 pick in the 1997 NHL Draft, is off to a hot start with 33 points in Boston's first 24 games. But in the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he goes without a point in seven games while playing with broken ribs, and the Bruins are upset by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round. When the Bruins struggle at the start of the 2005-06 season after a number of players leave as free agents, general manager Mike O'Connell feels he needs to make a major move to overhaul his team.
Thornton makes himself right at home in San Jose, putting up 92 points in 58 games. He finishes the season with a combined 125 points, winning the
Art Ross Trophy
as the NHL's top scorer and the
Hart Trophy
as MVP. He remains one of the NHL's most reliable playmakers for more than a decade.
None of the three players acquired by the Bruins make much of an impact, though the cap flexibility created by the trade later enables Boston to sign players such as defenseman Zdeno Chara.
MORE MOMENTS
1954: The Chicago Blackhawks
tie the Montreal Canadiens 3-3
in a game played in Omaha, Nebraska. The Blackhawks play six home games during the 1953-54 season away from Chicago Stadium, in Omaha, St. Louis and St. Paul, Minnesota.
1968: Forward
Val Fonteyne
of the Pittsburgh Penguins
extends his NHL-record penalty-free streak to 185 games
when the Penguins defeat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 at the Forum. Fonteyne's streak ends the next night when he's called for a minor penalty in the first period of Pittsburgh's game at the Oakland Seals.
1977:
Phil Esposito
moves into second place behind
Gordie Howe
on the NHL's all-time goals list with a
hat trick for the visiting New York Rangers in a 4-0 victory
against the St. Louis Blues. The three goals give Esposito 605 in his career, one more than
Bobby Hull
.
1980:
Peter Stastny
becomes the first rookie in NHL history to have at last one point in each of his first 16 games. Stastny reaches the milestone with an assist in a
7-3 loss to the New York Islanders
at Le Colisee.
1995:
Grant Fuhr
becomes the 11th goalie in NHL history to reach
the 300-victory mark
. The milestone win comes when the visiting Blues defeat the Winnipeg Jets 4-1. Fuhr finishes his NHL career with a record of 403-295 and 114 ties.
1996:
Mario Lemieux
of the Pittsburgh Penguins becomes the
ninth player in NHL history to reach 1,400 points
when he scores a goal and has three assists in a 6-2 victory against the visiting Boston Bruins.
Ron Francis
sets up two second-period goals to become the ninth player to reach 900 assists. Lemieux's milestone comes one year to the day that he scores four goals in a 9-6 win at Boston.
