Gretzky 99

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Oct. 9
Wayne Gretzky
has a trio of memorable moments on this date:

1982: Gretzky
scores twice and has an assist
in the Edmonton Oilers' 6-3 victory against the Vancouver Canucks. The two goals give him 200 in 242 NHL games. He's the fastest to 200 goals in League history.
1993: Gretzky, now with the Los Angeles Kings,

in a 10-3 victory against the Detroit Red Wings at the Forum in Inglewood, California.
Tomas Sandstrom
assists on each of Gretzky's goals on his way to a Kings-record six-assist night. Gretzky assists on two of the three goals scored by defenseman
Dominic Lavoie
, who gets his only NHL hat trick.
2002:The Kings retire Gretzky's No. 99 prior to their
season-opening game against the Phoenix Coyotes
. A bronze statue of Gretzky in his Kings uniform is unveiled outside Staples Center, and he tells the packed house that, "To be remembered as an L.A. King is something special."

MORE MOMENTS
1952: Announcer Danny Gallivan calls his first NHL game (on radio), a
3-2 loss by the Montreal Canadiens to the Chicago Blackhawks
at the Forum. He goes on to broadcast nearly 2,000 games on radio and television, including 16
Stanley Cup championships
by the Canadiens, before retiring in 1984.

Danny-Gallivan

1970:The Vancouver Canucks, one of two expansion teams that joins the NHL for the 1970-71 season, lose 3-1 to the Kings at Pacific Coliseum in their first regular-season game. The crowd of 15,062 at Pacific Coliseum sees defenseman
Barry Wilkins
score the first goal in Canucks history
2:14 into the third period
.
1978:The Kings acquire goalie
Ron Grahame
from the Boston Bruins in a trade that costs them their first-round pick in the 1979 NHL Draft. The Bruins use that pick to select future Hall of Fame defenseman
Ray Bourque
. Exactly 15 years later, Bourque has an assist in
Boston's 7-3 victory against the Quebec Nordiques
to become the second defenseman in NHL history to reach 1,100 points.
1980:
Mark Howe
of the Hartford Whalers becomes the first NHL defenseman to
score two shorthanded goals
in one game. He gets them at 5:28 and 19:36 of the second period in Hartford's 8-6 road loss to the St. Louis Blues. The second shorthanded goal completes Howe's first NHL hat trick.
1997:The New York Rangers become the first team in NHL history to start its season with four consecutive ties. They set the record with
a 1-1 tie
against the Calgary Flames at the Saddledome. The Rangers are outshot 28-14, but
Pat LaFontaine
's goal 7:03 into the second period and 27 saves by
Jason Muzzatti
enable New York to earn a point.
2000:
Brett Hull
of the Dallas Stars scores his 611th NHL goal, breaking a tie with
his father Bobby
on the all-time goal list. Brett Hull also has two assists to help the Stars defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs
3-1 at Air Canada Centre
.

2014:Corey Perry scores
three goals
for the Anaheim Ducks in a season-opening 6-4 loss at the Pittsburgh Penguins. Perry becomes the third NHL player since 1981 to have a hat trick in a season-opener that his team loses, joining
Alexander Mogilny
of the Buffalo Sabres (at Quebec) on
Oct. 8, 1992
, and
Mikhail Grabovski
of the Washington Capitals (at Chicago) on
Oct. 1, 2013
.

Perry-2014

2019:The Vancouver Canucks match their team record for most goals in a home opener by
defeating the Los Angeles Kings 8-2
at Rogers Arena. After Bo Horvat is introduced as the 14th captain in Canucks history, Vancouver gets goals from seven players, including the first in the NHL from rookie defenseman Quinn Hughes, and scores eight times on 25 shots against Kings goalie Jonathan Quick. The eight goals in their opener equal the team record set in
1978
and matched in
1987
.