Lemieux started his day in Pittsburgh undergoing his 22nd and final radiation treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma, then joined the Pittsburgh Penguins in Philadelphia for their game against the Flyers.
Lemieux’s return comes as a surprise even to his teammates, and he receives a warm ovation from spectators at the Spectrum when he steps up to the ramp before the national anthem.
“Every time you have such an injury or fight cancer or any disease, it takes a lot of courage. If you don’t have one, you won’t win the battle, he said afterwards. But to fight is in my nature. “
As if that wasn’t enough, Lemieux, who hasn’t played since Jan. 5, scores a goal – his 40th of the season – at 1:54 of the second period against goalkeeper Dominic Roussel. He adds an assist on Kevin Stevens’ goal 1:35 later.
Despite Lemieux’s brilliance on his return, the Flyers won 5-4.
***
That same night, Selanne broke the NHL record for goals by a rookie. He’s ahead of Mike Bossy in scoring three times for the Winnipeg Jets.
Two nights after scoring four times to become the third rookie to score 50 goals in NHL history, Selanne continues her momentum against the Quebec Nordiques. He scored his 52nd goal of the season 15 seconds after the initial face-off and he tied the record set by Bossy in 1977-78 late in the second period.
As the crowd at Winnipeg Arena bustles every time he jumps onto the ice, Selanne breaks the record at 9:26 of the third period. Tie Domi lobbed a long pass from Jets defensive territory; Selanne passes defender Adam Foote, arrives at the puck just before goaltender Stéphane Fiset and sweeps it into the gaping cage for his 54th goal. The game is interrupted as the Jets players leave the bench to celebrate with Selanne.
Much like Lemieux, however, the outcome of the game does not turn in Selanne’s favor. But if his third goal gives Winnipeg a 4-3 lead, the Nordiques rebound with four goals en route to a 7-4 victory.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
1918 : Joe Malone is blanked in the Montreal Canadiens’ 5-3 loss in their final game of the season to the Toronto Arenas, but he completes the NHL’s first season atop the scoring list with 44 goals in 22 met. The NHL record lasted until 1944-45, when Maurice Richard scored 50 in 50 games.
1966 : Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks becomes the first player in NHL history to twice reach the 50-goal mark. Hull scored his 50th goal, tying his 1961-62 season tally, when he defeated Hark Bassen at 5:15 of the third period in a 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Chicago Stadium.
The same evening, Jean Béliveau moved to third place on the list of all-time top scorers. The Canadiens captain scored the 380th goal of his career, edging out Ted Lindsay in a 3-3 tie against the Toronto Maple Leafs. At the time, Richard and Gordie Howe were the only players ahead of him.
1969 : Phil Esposito becomes the first player in NHL history to collect 100 points in a season when he scores twice in the third period in the Boston Bruins’ 4-0 win over the Penguins at Boston Garden. He achieved the feat one night after breaking the record for points in a single season (97), set by Stan Mikita of the Black Hawks.
1976 : New York Islanders ‘Bryan Trottier ties NHL records for assists (52, by Jude Drouin) and points (77, by Marcel Dionne) by a rookie with an assist on Billy Harris’ second-period goal. a 2-1 win over the California Seals at the Nassau Coliseum. Drouin, now Trottier’s teammate with the Islanders, scores the game-winning goal in the third period.
1991 : Brett Hull reached the 70-goal plateau for the second straight season and added three assists to help the St. Louis Blues draw a 4-4 draw against the Flyers at the Spectrum. Hull ends the season with 86 goals, a career high in the NHL, and this is the second of three consecutive seasons he has reached the 70-goal milestone.
1995 : Joe Mullen becomes the second NHL player to play 300 games with three different teams after Bill Gadsby, as he scores a goal for the Penguins in a 6-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabers. Mullen plays 379 games with Pittsburgh after playing 301 with the Blues and 345 with the Calgary Flames.
2000 : The Blues become the second team in NHL history to win 10 consecutive away games when they defeat the Atlanta Thrashers 5-2 at Philips Arena. Pavol Demitra scores his 100th NHL goal to help the Blues equal the mark set by the Sabers in 1983-84.
That same night, the Vancouver Canucks’ Mark Messier scored a goal in a 3-1 victory over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks to become the fourth player in NHL history to score 1,700 points.
2001 : Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils becomes the third goaltender in NHL history to stick six seasons of at least 30 wins. He won his 30th win of the 2000-01 season as the Devils beat the Carolina Hurricanes 7-3 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
2018 : Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist becomes the third goaltender in NHL history to make at least 50 saves in two straight games – and the first goaltender to win each of them. Two days after a 50-save performance in a 6-5 overtime win over the Canucks, Lundqvist made 50 in a 3-1 win over the Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Lundqvist also becomes the first NHL goalie to record multiple wins of at least 50 saves in the same season since Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers in 2003-04.
Lundqvist’s second 50-save win comes exactly one year after he joined Grant Fuhr at No. 10 on the all-time NHL wins list on his 35th birthday, making 21 saves for New York in a 2-1 triumph over the Bruins at TD Garden.
2019 : The Tampa Bay Lightning equaled the NHL record for the fewest games played before reaching the 50-game mark when they defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-1 at Amalie Arena. With their 50th win in their 66th game of the season, the Lightning equaled the record set by the Red Wings of 1995-96. The Lightning gets goals of Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak, marking the first time since the Lightning joined the NHL in 1992 that four of its defensemen have scored in the same game.
2020 : Leon draisaitl scores four goals and set another for the Edmonton Oilers in an 8-3 win over the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. It is the first four-goal game of his career for Draisaitl, who becomes the third player in NHL history to score more than one goal in five consecutive games against the same opponent. He joined Punch Broadbent of the Ottawa Senators from 1921-22 (against the Canadiens) and Lemieux of the Penguins from 1987-88 (against the Nordiques).
– .
