DRAFT January 1: Milestone Goal, 1961 Boston''s Willie O''Ree rang in the New Year in style in 1961 when he scored his first career National Hockey League goal. His tally proved to be the game winner, and helped the cellar-dwelling Bruins topple the first-place Canadiens by a score of 3-2. The significance of O''Ree''s goal, however, transcended the outcome on the scoresheet: it was the first NHL goal ever scored by a black player. O''Ree made his debut for Boston three years earlier, on January 18, 1958, becoming the first black man to play in an NHL game. Although he''d finish his career with just four goals in 45 games, O''Ree paved the way for other black hockey players to ascend to the NHL ranks. January 2: Up in Flames, 1918 The NHL''s inaugural campaign in 1917-18 was full of ups and downs, but no team fared worse than the Montreal Wanderers. Its season went up in flames. Literally.
On January 2, 1918, Montreal''s Westmount Arena burned to the ground. The cause? Faulty wiring. At the time, the facility was shared by both the Wanderers and the Canadiens, but although the latter club was able to relocate to the city''s Jubilee Rink in the east end, the Wanderers could find no suitable alternative. The team''s owner, Sam Lichtenhein, threatened to withdraw the club from play unless the NHL committed additional resources in the wake of the fire. The league refused. So, with the Westmount Arena still smoldering, the Wanderers had to forfeit their next match, against Toronto. In the end, the franchise lost its charter and, to pour salt on the wound, was fined $500. In their brief NHL tenure, the Wanderers amassed a record of 1-5-0.
January 3: Brother to Brother.to Brother, 1943 In a game against the Rangers on January 3, 1943, the Bentley brothers stole the show, all three contributing to the Chicago Black Hawks'' first goal of the game. It was also the first goal of Reg Bentley''s career and, assisted by brothers Max and Doug, the first in NHL history when all three points were awarded to the same family. Doug and Max were already Chicago stalwarts, but the league was short of players because of the Second World War, so Reg had been called up just two days before the game. The marker proved to be Reg''s only National Hockey League goal, but with both brothers assisting, it couldn''t have been more special. January 4: Saluting Salming, 1988 When Maple Leafs defenceman Borje Salming became the first European-born NHLer to reach the 1,000 game mark, it should have been a cause for celebration. After all, he was just the 62nd player in league history, and only the fifth Maple Leaf, to reach the milestone. There was only one problem.
Toronto owner Harold Ballard was on vacation leading up to the landmark game and insisted that his player not be honoured until he returned. So when Salming played #1,000 against the Vancouver Canucks on January 4, 1988, there was no pomp or ceremony. Sure, the Swedish blueliner had his brother Stig in the stands to watch the memorable game, and he was saluted by his teammates, but that was about it. Not until the night of his 1,011th NHL game, three weeks later, was Salming officially recognized, when the Maple Leafs hosted the Los Angeles Kings on January 27. The belated tribute included a special moment: Salming was presented with a car and, much to his surprise and delight, inside the vehicle were his parents Erland and Karin, and good friend Inge Hammarstrom. You know what they say: better late than never. January 5: Landmark TV Goes Live, 1957 During the summer of 1956, the NHL and CBS-TV struck a 10-game television contract. It was a big deal, as it signalled the first TV network coverage of hockey in the United States.
As part of the agreement, CBS would televise 10 Saturday afternoon games throughout the 1956-57 season beginning in the New Year. So, when the Bruins and Rangers squared off on January 5, 1957, it wasn''t just simply another game. It marked the first time an NHL contest was televised from coast to coast in the United States. Aside from the broadcasting implications, it was also significant for the Rangers. Matinee games were nothing new to the NHL, but this was the first time the Blue Shirts had ever played one at Madison Square Garden. The game proved to be an easy win for the Rangers, who opened the scoring in the first period, then potted the game winner at the tail end of the second frame. Chicago got on the scoresheet 44 seconds into the final stanza, but the damage had been done. The Black Hawks kept it a one-goal game for most of the period, but the Rangers scored two quick goals, 20 seconds apart, in the final minute to put the game out of reach.
January 6: Undefeated, 1980 The Philadelphia Flyers hold a team record that likely will never be broken. On this day in 1980, they beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 to extend their record-setting unbeaten streak to an unfathomable 35 games. Over the course of that span, the Broad Street Bullies went 25-0-10. The last time they had suffered a defeat was at the hands of the Atlanta Flames nearly three months earlier, on October 13, 1979. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. The next night, the Flyers took on the North Stars in Minnesota before a crowd of 15,962 fans, and were starched 7-1. January 7: Hockey on the Air, 1933 On January 7, 1933, professional hockey was beamed by radio into the homes of Canadians from coast to coast for the first time, with a CBC broadcast of an NHL game between the Red Wings and the Maple Leafs. Toronto lost the contest 6-1.
Less than twenty years later, Detroit was part of broadcasting history again when they faced off against Montreal on October 11, 1952, in the first televised NHL game in Canada. The game was called in French by Ren Lecavalier. Less than a month later, Foster Hewitt, making his television debut, called the first English-language TV broadcast of a hockey game in Canada, as the Maple Leafs hosted the Bruins. January 8: Babe''s Six Helpers, 1944 Maple Leafs defenceman Walter "Babe" Pratt had himself quite the game on January 8, 1944. Not only did he assist on half of his team''s goals; he also did something that no other blueliner had accomplished in NHL history: he recorded 6 assists in a single game. Pratt was instrumental in Toronto''s 12-3 win over Boston, and set a new gold standard for rearguards. In the decades since, other future Hall of Famers of the likes of Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey have matched Pratt''s record, but no defenceman has surpassed Babe. In fact, among all NHL players, only Bill Taylor and Wayne Gretzky have recorded seven helpers in a game.
January 9: Shutouts Galore, 2004 When Phoenix''s Brian Boucher recorded a shutout on New Year''s Eve 2003, nobody - not even the goaltender himself - would''ve thought it he was about to make history. That night marked the beginning of the two modern NHL records: most consecutive shutouts and the longest shutout streak. Nine days later, on January 9, Boucher picked up his fifth-straight shutout to pass Montreal''s Bill Durnan, who had recorded four consecutive shutouts in the 1948-49 season. Boucher finally let a puck slip by two days later, but by then he had made history yet again by extending his shutout streak to 332:01 minutes, surpassing Durnan''s mark of 309:21. Boucher would end his career as a journeyman goaltender, but for nearly two weeks in January 2004 he was impenetrable. January 10: The Unlucky St. Patricks, 1920 The St. Patricks certainly didn''t have the luck of the Irish on their side when they met the Canadiens on January 10, 1920.
That night, they were trounced 14-7. The combined total of 21 goals - six by the Canadiens'' Newsy Lalonde - is still the most in NHL history, although some games have come close. Sixty-five years later, on December 11, 1985, Edmonton and Chicago equalled that mark in a matchup that saw Wayne Gretzky rack up seven assists as the Oilers defeated the Black Hawks 12-9. January 11: Killing Time, 1983 Edmonton''s Pat Hughes wasn''t thinking about scoring goals when he was killing a penalty against the St. Louis Blues on January 11, 1983. "My first responsibility is to kill the penalty," he said, "not score goals." That night, however, Hughes set an NHL record by scoring the fastest two short-handed goals in league history. The Oilers were trailing 2-1 in the second period when the winger''s tallies, just 25 seconds apart, turned the game around.
Edmonton went on to beat St. Louis 7-5 that night. More impressive, perhaps, was that Hughes had eclipsed the previous record holder: none other than Wayne Gretzky, the Great One having scored a pair of short-handed goals 27 seconds apart on March 25, 1981 against Calgary. With his feat, moreover, Hughes became the first player to break any Gretzky record, a claim few players can make. January 12: Joe Malone Makes History, 1918 Joe Malone was no stranger to scoring goals. The forward, nicknamed "Phantom Joe" for his deceptive quickness and his uncanny ability to appear at the right time to tap home a goal, rightfully earned his moniker. During his days in the National Hockey Association, the precursor to the NHL, he reportedly lit the lamp nine times in Stanley Cup action against the Sydney Millionaires. When the NHL''s first games were played on December 18, 1917, Malone scored five goals in his debut for the Canadiens.
Less than a month later, on January 12, 1918, he matched that output in a game against Ottawa to become the new NHL''s first 20-goal scorer. By the time the season ended in March, Malone had racked up an incredible 44 goals in just 20 games.