One of the greatest lines in NHL history was put together for the first time on this date. Also, one of Montreal’s biggest legends hits two personal milestones, 12 years apart, and perhaps hockey’s most famous family set a league record. It’s time for our daily look back at all the top moments in hockey history.
A Punchy Day in 1943
The puck dropped on the 1943-44 season, on this date, with a very memorable game between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins.
Earlier in the day, future Hall of Fame goaltender Bill Durnan signed his first NHL contract and made his league debut versus the Bruins that night. This was the same game in which head coach Dick Irvin decided to have Elmer Lach center a line between wingers Toe Blake and Maurice Richard. This line eventually became known as the “Punch Line.”
Blake had the game-tying goal, late in the third period, as the two rivals skated to a 2-2 draw. This started Durnan’s rookie-record 14-game unbeaten streak to start his career, going 12-0-2 before losing his first NHL game.
The “Punch Line” stayed together until Blake suffered a career-ending injury in 1948. They played a big part in the Canadiens’ Stanley Cup championships in 1944 and 1946. During the 1944-45 season, Richard became the first player to score 50 goals in a season, in just 50 games, while Lach set a new single-season scoring record with 80 points.
Related – Rocket Richard & The 50 Goal Season
On that same night, Toronto Maple Leafs’ rookie Gus Bodnar scored just 15 seconds into his first game, setting a league record for the fastest goal scored by a player making his debut. He added a second goal and an assist as the Leafs beat the New York Rangers 5-2.
A Pair of Milestones for Beliveau
On Oct. 30, 1957, Canadiens legend, Jean Beliveau scored a goal and an assist in a 6-2 win at the Maple Leafs. This gave him 300 career points in just 267 games.
A dozen years later, on Oct. 30, 1969, Beliveau picked up an assist, in a 2-2 tie at the St. Louis Blues, for his 1,100th point in 1,001 regular-season games. He retired following the 1970-71 season with 1,219 points in 1,125 games for the Habs.
A Big Date for the Sutter Family
The Sutter family has etched their place in hockey history with six brothers combining for over 5,000 NHL games and three of their sons making the league as well.
On Oct. 30, 1982, Brian Sutter scored his fifth career hat trick and added an assist as the Blues lost 6-5 to the visiting Washington Capitals.
One year later, on Oct. 30, 1983, the family made history as four brothers play in the same game for the first time ever. The New York Islanders, with Brent and Duane, beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-2, with twin brothers Rich and Ron. Brent led the way with a pair of goals and an assist.
A Busy Day in 1988
The eventful day of Oct. 30, 1988, began with the Winnipeg Jets firing John Ferguson, who had been their only general manager since they joined the NHL in 1979. He was replaced by Mike Smith, who held the job until 1994. He drafted future stars Keith Tkachuk, Alex Zhamnov, and Nikolai Khabibulin.
Later that night, rookie Tony Granato scored four goals, including his first NHL hat trick, to lead the Rangers to a 9-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The night closed out with Doug Wilson and Dirk Graham each scoring shorthanded goals, 24 seconds apart in the second period, to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a 5-2 win at the Edmonton Oilers.
Odds & Ends
On Oct. 30, 1962, goaltender Glenn Hall played in his 500th consecutive regular-season game as he led the Blackhawks to a 5-3 win over the Rangers on home ice.
Future Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke scored his first career NHL goal on Oct. 30, 1969, in a 3-3 tie against the Rangers. This was the Flyers’ fourth straight home game that ended in a draw.
Fred Glover became the first person in NHL history to coach two different NHL teams in one season. He was named coach of the Los Angeles Kings just 12 days after being fired by the Oakland Seals. He made his debut behind the Kings’ bench on Oct. 30, 1971, and lost 5-1 to the visiting Blackhawks.
Bruins legend Johnny Bucyk became the seventh player in league history to score 500 career goals, on Oct. 30, 1975. His milestone came with a first-period goal in a 3-2 win over the Blues.
On that same day, the Blues acquired Bucyk’s former teammate and two-time Stanley Cup winner, Derek Sanderson, from the Rangers for their 1977 first-round draft pick. He played in 97 games with St. Louis, scoring 32 goals and 88 points, before being traded to the Vancouver Canucks in 1977.
Vincent Damphousse scored three times for his seventh career hat trick to give him 200 career NHL goals on Oct. 30, 1993, as the Canadiens beat the Maple Leafs 5-2. Exactly six years later, now as a member of the San Jose Sharks, Damphousse scored his 350th career goal in a 1-1 tie with the Penguins.
The Penguins made history on Oct. 30, 1998, in a 2-2 tie with the Canucks. Both goals came on the power-play to give them 10 straight goals while on the man advantage. This broke the previous record of eight consecutive power-play conversions by the Buffalo Sabres during the 1991-92 season.
Speaking of Buffalo, on Oct. 30, 2003, Miroslav Satan became the 10th player in team history to score 200 goals while wearing a Sabres sweater. He also added an assist in a 5-3 win over the visiting Maple Leafs.
On Oct. 30, 2008, Steven Stamkos scored the first two goals of his NHL career. He also had an assist as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Sabres 5-2. Stamkos, who was the first overall pick of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, scored a total of 23 goals during his rookie season.
Marian Hossa became the 80th player in league history to score 1,000 career points on Oct. 30, 2014. He reached the plateau with a third-period goal in a 5-4 shootout win over the Ottawa Senators. It was the Senators who originally drafted Hossa in the first round (12th overall) of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. He scored the first 390 points of his career with Ottawa.
Taylor Hall became the second player from the 2010 NHL Draft to reach 600 points after Stars forward Tyler Seguin (640 in 752 games) on Oct. 30, 2021. He reached it in a 3-2 shootout win over the Panthers. His teammate, Brad Marchand also recorded his 400th assist, becoming the tenth player to reach that feat in Bruins history.
Finally, the Blackhawks set a franchise record for consecutive losses to start a season, dropping their ninth straight in a 1-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 30, 2021.
On Oct. 30, 2022, Marc-Andre Fleury passed Henrik Lundqvist for the most shootout victories in NHL history when he bested his former team the Blackhawks 4-3. It was his 62nd win in the one-on-one talent competition.
On Oct. 30, 2023, Sam Reinhart became the third player in Panthers history with eight goals through his first eight games in a season, joining Pavel Bure in 1998-99 and Scott Mellanby in 1995-96.
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, now-Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell took part in his 1,200th game as a GM – only two active GMs have reached that milestone game: Lou Lamoriello and Doug Armstrong. Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour also hit a significant milestone, recording his 500th point (380 games) since becoming a coach in the NHL. Only three coaches in NHL history did it in fewer games: Dan Bylsma (370), Don Cherry (377), and Toe Blake (379).
Speaking of milestones, Nikolaj Ehlers hit one of his own in the Jets’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Rangers. He hit 400 points in his career when he scored his second of the season in the third period. With it, he became the eighth player in Jets/Thrashers history to reach the mark.
Staying on the milestone train, Roope Hintz collected an assist on Thomas Harley’s game-opening goal against the Blue Jackets and improved his career totals to 119 goals and 250 points in 318 games. He became the fastest player in Stars team history to reach the 250-point mark.
Happy Birthday to You
Oct. 30 is the birth date of 23 current and former NHL players. The most notable of this group are Andy Greene (42), Drew Stafford (39), Chris Stewart (37), Artemi Panarin (33), Dennis Gilbert (28), Tage Thompson (27), Cale Makar (26), Jesper Boqvist (26) and the late Cal Gardner.
*Originally constructed by Greg Boysen
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