Oct. 30: 'Punch Line' debuts for Canadiens

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Oct. 30
1943: One of the most famous lines in NHL history makes its debut when the Montreal Canadiens open their season with a
2-2 tie against the Boston Bruins
at the Forum.

Montreal coach Dick Irvin puts center
Elmer Lach
between left wing
Toe Blake
and right wing
Maurice Richard
(wearing No. 9 for the first time), a trio that quickly
becomes known as the "Punch Line."
Blake scores the tying goal against Boston with 4:28 remaining in the third period.
The trio helps the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup twice (1944 and 1946) before a broken leg forces Blake to retire in 1948. Lach sets an NHL single-season record in 1944-45 with 80 points in a 50-game schedule. Many of his 54 assists come on goals by Richard, who sets an NHL record with 50 goals in 50 games.
Though the Punch Line ends after Blake's injury forces his retirement, Lach remains with the Canadiens through the 1953-54 season, ending his career as the NHL's all-time scoring leader. Richard breaks that mark and sets an NHL record with 544 goals before his retirement in 1960.
MORE MOMENTS
1943:
Gus Bodnar
of the Toronto Maple Leafs sets an NHL record for the
fastest goal by a player in his first NHL game
. He scores 15 seconds into his NHL debut and later has another goal and an assist to help
Toronto defeat the New York Rangers 5-2
at Maple Leaf Gardens.
1962:
Glenn Hall
plays in his
500th consecutive regular-season game
, a 5-3 victory by the Chicago Blackhawks against the Rangers at Chicago Stadium.
1975:
Johnny Bucyk
becomes the
seventh player in NHL history to score 500 career goals
. He reaches the milestone by scoring in the first period of the Boston Bruins' 3-2 win against the St. Louis Blues at Boston Garden.

1983: There are Sutters everywhere in a 6-2 victory by the New York Islanders against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Spectrum.
Brent Sutter
and
Duane Sutter
of the Islanders oppose twin brothers
Rich Sutter
and
Ron Sutter
of the Flyers. It's the first time
four brothers play in the same NHL game
. Brent has a big night with two goals and an assist. Duane has one assist; Rich and Ron are held without a point.
1998:The visiting Pittsburgh Penguins set an NHL record during a
2-2 tie against the Vancouver Canucks
by scoring their ninth and 10th consecutive power-play goals. They break the mark of eight straight power-play goals set by the Buffalo Sabres in 1991-92.
2008: Tampa Bay Lightning rookie Steven Stamkos scores his
first two NHL goals and has an assist
in a 5-2 road win against the Buffalo Sabres. The goals come in his ninth NHL game. Stamkos, the No 1 pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, finishes his rookie season with 23 goals.

2014: The New Jersey Devils
end their NHL-record streak of 18 consecutive shootout losses
by winning their game against the Winnipeg Jets. After the teams are tied 1-1 through overtime, New Jersey's
Jacob Josefson
scores the only goal in the shootout for a 2-1 win.
On the same night,
Marian Hossa
of the Chicago Blackhawks becomes the 80th player in NHL history to have 1,000 points in his career. He reaches the milestone with a goal at 13:50 of the third period during a
5-4 shootout victory against the Ottawa Senators
, the team that originally selects him in the first round (No. 12) of the 1997 NHL Draft. It comes in his 1,100th NHL game.
2017: Andrei Vasilevskiy matches the NHL record for wins by a goalie in October. He finishes the month 10-1-0 by making 18 saves in the
Lightning's 8-5 victory against the Florida Panthers
at BB&T Center. Vasilevskiy equals the mark set by
Manny Legace
of the Red Wings in October 2005 and equaled by Craig Anderson of the Colorado Avalanche four years later. It's also Vasilevskiy's ninth consecutive victory, a Lightning record.