IT HAPPENED ON… January 18th
1958 : Willie O’Ree becomes the first black player to appear in an NHL game when he makes his Boston Bruins debut against the Montreal Canadiens at the Forum. O’Ree played in a trio completed by Don McKenney and Jerry Toppazzini and collected no points in the Bruins’ 3-0 victory.
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HIGHLIGHTS IN HISTORY: January 17th | January 16 | January 15th
O’Ree played two games for Boston before being sacked in the minor leagues. However, he returned in 1960-61, amassing four goals and 14 points in 43 games. He was traded to Montreal, but he would never play for the Canadiens. He spent the majority of the next 13 seasons in the Western Hockey League with Los Angeles and San Diego before retiring in 1979. O’Ree spent more than two decades in professional hockey, despite the fact that ‘he is nearly blind in one eye after being hit in the face by a puck in a junior game in the 1955-56 season.
O’Ree joined the NHL in 1998 as director of youth development for the Diversity League business unit, encouraging boys and girls of diverse backgrounds to play hockey. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
[1945: A total of 7,687 fans wait for more than three hours at Olympia Stadium to watch a game between the Detroit Red Wings and the New York Rangers. The match is delayed due to bad weather. The Red Wings defeat the Rangers 7-3 in a game that starts at 11:15 p.m. and ends at 12:56 a.m.
1964 : Terry Sawchuk became the all-time shutout leader when he made 36 saves in the Red Wings’ 2-0 win over Montreal at the Forum. This is Sawchuk’s 95th shutout, which puts him ahead of George Hainsworth. Sawchuk ended his NHL career in 1970 with 103 shutouts.
1967 : The NHL All-Star Game is being held mid-season for the first time. The defending Stanley Cup champions the Canadiens defeat the All-Stars 3-0 at the Forum. John Ferguson scores a brace and goaltenders Charlie Hodge and Gary Bauman unite for the shutout, a feat unique in All-Star Game history.
1973 : In the highlight of their first NHL season, the New York Islanders upset defending Stanley Cup champions the Bruins 9-7 at Boston Garden to end a 12-game losing streak and a 20-game streak abroad without a win. The Islanders took a 5-0 lead in the first period and held on, despite a four-goal performance from Johnny Bucyk, to sign the win, one of New York’s two road wins this season. The Islanders are 12-60 with six draws, setting NHL records for lowest overall wins and points in the standings.
2000 : Steve Yzerman scored his 614th goal, a record in NHL history for a player who spends his entire career with one team. Yzerman breaks Mario Lemieux’s record in the Red Wings’ 6-1 loss to the Calgary Flames.
2002 : Luc Robitaille of the Red Wings scores his 611th goal in a 3-1 victory over the Washington Capitals at Joe Louis Arena to become the leading left-wing scorer in NHL history. He overtook Bobby Hull, who claimed 610 goals when he retired in 1980.
2018 : The Vegas Golden Knights become the fifth team in NHL history to reach the 30-game mark in their first season when they defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 at Amalie Arena. Marc-André Fleury made 28 saves to help Vegas secure its 30th win in its 44th game, a speed record by far for an expanding NHL team.
2019 : The Islanders are making the return of coach Barry Trotz to Washington a success with a 2-0 victory at Capital One Arena. Trotz had led the Capitals to the Stanley Cup a few months earlier. Thomas Greiss made 19 saves, and New York got goals in the third period of Josh Bailey and Cal Clutterbuck.
2020 : Alex Ovechkin hits the target three times to score a hat trick in two straight games for the third straight season, helping the Capitals come from behind and beat the Islanders 6-4 at the Nassau Coliseum. Ovechkin’s goal in the first period allowed him to join Mario Lemieux in 10th place on the list of the best scorers (690), while his two goals in third saw him join Yzerman in ninth place with 692 goals. He joins Joe Malone and Wayne Gretzky as the only players to score consecutive hat tricks in three straight seasons.
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