Oct. 14: Gretzky scores first NHL goal

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Oct. 14
1979:
Wayne Gretzky
scores his first NHL goal
in the Edmonton Oilers' 4-4 tie with the Vancouver Canucks at Northlands Coliseum.

Gretzky beats goalie
Glen Hanlon
for a game-tying power-play goal with 1:09 remaining in the third period. He also assists on a first-period goal by defenseman
Risto Siltanen
.
Exactly eight years later, Gretzky reaches another milestone goal in a
5-4 home loss
to the Calgary Flames. His goal at 1:46 of the second period is the 545th of his NHL career, moving him past Hockey Hall of Famer
Maurice Richard
on the all-time list.
MORE MOMENTS
1967: The Los Angeles Kings
defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2
at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California, to win their NHL debut.
Brian Kilrea
scores two goals, including the first one in Kings history.
1972: In the first NHL regular-season game played in the southern United States, the Atlanta Flames
tie the Buffalo Sabres 1-1
at the Omni.
Ernie Hicke
scores a power-play goal for the Flames 2:03 into the first period and
Phil Myre
makes 30 saves, 17 in the third period, allowing only a first-period goal by
Jim Lorentz
.

1979:The Flyers begin the longest unbeaten streak in NHL history by defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs
4-3 at the Spectrum
. The Flyers go 35 games (25 wins, 10 ties) without a defeat before the streak ends with
a 7-1 road loss
to the Minnesota North Stars on Jan. 7, 1980.
On the same night, the Winnipeg Jets become the first of the four teams (Jets, Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques) added from the World Hockey Association to defeat an NHL team. The Jets top the Colorado Rockies
4-2 at Winnipeg Arena
.
1991:
Mike Gartner
scores his 500th NHL goal in the New York Rangers'
5-3 loss
to the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden. Gartner, who begins his NHL career with the Capitals in 1979, beats
Mike Liut
3:27 into the game to become the 16th player in NHL history to reach the milestone, but the first to do so in a Rangers uniform.

1998:The New York Islanders become the first team since 1927 to shut out the same opponent in four consecutive games. Tommy Salo makes 22 saves for the visiting Islanders in a
2-0 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning
.
2002:
Mats Sundin
of the Maple Leafs becomes the first Sweden-born NHL player to score 400 goals. Sundin scores No. 400 and has an assist in a
5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins
at Air Canada Centre.
Mario Lemieux
caps a four-point night by scoring the winning goal with 2:18 remaining in the third period.
2006:
Mike Sillinger
becomes the first NHL player to score a goal for 12 teams when he gets one for the Islanders in a
4-1 victory against the Boston Bruins
at Nassau Coliseum. Sillinger finishes his NHL career with 240 goals in 1,049 games.
2017: Two longtime NHL coaches reach milestones. Ken Hitchcock gets his 783rd victory, passing Al Arbour for third on the all-time list, when the
Dallas Stars defeat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1
. Mike Babcock becomes the 16th coach in League history to have 600 wins when the
Maple Leafs defeat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in overtime
. The win also ends Toronto's 14-game losing streak to its oldest rival.
On the same night.
Jaromir Jagr
gets his first point for the Calgary Flames, an assist in a
5-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks
at Rogers Arena. It's the 1,915th point of the 45-year-old forward's NHL career, more than anyone else in League history except Gretzky.
2019:David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins scores all of his team's goals in a
4-2 victory against the Anaheim Ducks
at TD Garden. It's the third four-goal game in the first 13 days of the 2019-20 season; there were four games of four or more goals in all of 2018-19. It's also the third four-goal game by a Boston player since the start of the 1999-2000 season.