Today in Hockey History: Feb. 6

Arguably the best father and son duo in National Hockey League history had huge moments on this date. One of the greatest goal scorers in the game did something no other player had ever done before. Plus, a number was retired league-wide, and a bunch of Hall of Famers made some history of their own. It is time to take our daily trip back in time to relive the best moments from Feb. 6.

Hulls Make History

Bobby and Brett Hull were elite goal scorers during their Hall of Fame careers. Both father and son had memorable nights on this date.

On Feb. 6, 1971, Bobby scored three goals in the Chicago Blackhawks’ 6-2 win over the Minnesota North Stars. This gave him 26 hat tricks in his career, tying him with Montreal Canadiens’ icon Maurice Richard for the most in NHL history. His younger brother and Brett’s uncle, Dennis Hull, had two goals and an assist in the win.

Brett Hull Bobby Hull
The Golden Jet & the Golden Brett (THW Archives)

Brett put himself and his dad in a class of their own on Feb. 6, 1990, when he scored a goal in the St. Louis Blues’ 6-4 victory versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. This gave him 50 goals on the season, making the Hulls the first father-son combination to have 50-goal seasons. Bobby, who was in attendance this night, had five 50-goal seasons in his career. The 1989-90 season was the first of six straight seasons of at least 54 goals for Brett.

Big Night for Bossy

Mike Bossy scored his 18th career hat trick and picked up two assists on Feb. 6, 1982, in the New York Islanders’ 6-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. John Tonelli chipped in with two goals and a pair of helpers as the Islanders won their ninth straight game on home ice.

Five years later, on Feb. 6, 1987, Bossy became the first player in NHL history to score 30 goals in each of his first 10 seasons. He scored his 30th goal of the season in a 3-3 tie with the Oilers in Edmonton. He finished the 1986-87 season with 38, the lowest output of his career. Back injuries limited him to just 63 games and forced him to retire the following offseason.

All-Star Game Moments

A pair of NHL All-Star Games were played on this date, starting in 1993 when the Montreal Forum hosted the 44th edition of the yearly game. Mike Gartner of the New York Rangers scored a first-period hat trick and finished with four goals and an assist to lead the Wales Conference to a huge 16-6 win over the Campbell Conference. He took home the MVP award for being the fourth player to have a four-goal All-Star Game. The only reason he was at the game in the first place was as a replacement for Rangers teammate Mark Messier.

The festivities returned to Toronto on Feb. 6, 2000, the site of the first-ever All-Star Game back in 1947. Before the game, Wayne Gretzky’s No. 99 was raised to the rafters of the Air Canada Centre to officially retire it league-wide.

In the game, Pavel Bure of the Florida Panthers won the MVP with three goals and an assist as the World All-Stars beat the North America All-Stars 9-4. Messier and Ray Bourque both set a new All-Star Game record by each picking up their 13th career assists.

Hall of Fame Memories

Charlie Conacher set an NHL record for the fastest goal from the start of a game on Feb. 6, 1932, when he scored just seven seconds into the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 6-0 win over the Boston Bruins. Goaltender Lorne Chabot recorded his 48th career shutout.

Elmer Lach set a new Canadiens franchise record on Feb. 6, 1943, when he picked up six assists in an 8-3 victory against the visiting Bruins. He assisted on all five of Ray Getliffe’s goals.

On Feb. 6, 1963, Doug Harvey became the second defenseman in NHL history to score 500 career points during the Canadiens’ 6-3 loss at the Rangers. Bill Gadsby was the first defenseman to join the 500-point club earlier that season, on Nov. 4, 1962.

Related – Doug Harvey: Greatest of Them All?

Phil Esposito reached the 100-point mark for the second straight season on Feb. 6, 1971, when he scored a goal and picked up two assists in the Bruins’ 4-3 win versus the Buffalo Sabres.

Phil Esposito Boston Bruins
Esposito was an all-time great in Boston. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)

Steve Yzerman scored a second-period natural hat trick on Feb. 6, 1988, during the Red Wings’ 5-4 road win in Montreal. His fourth career hat trick erased a 4-2 deficit to spark the come-from-behind victory.

Calgary Flames defenseman Phil Housley became the 10th blueliner in NHL history to record 600 career assists on Feb. 6, 1995, in a 5-4 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

One year later, Guy Carbonneau appeared in his 1,000th career NHL game and picked up an assist in a 5-2 Dallas Stars’ win at the Blues. He became the 108th player in league history to play in 1,000 games.

Doug Gilmour became the 13th player in NHL history to record 900 career assists on Feb. 6, 2001, in the Sabres’ 6-3 road win at the Rangers.

Paul Kariya celebrated his 500th NHL game with his seventh career hat trick on Feb. 6, 2002, as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim beat the visiting Philadelphia Flyers 5-4.

Odds & Ends

Defenseman Connie Madigan became the oldest rookie in NHL history on Feb. 6, 1973, when he made his league debut, at the age of 38, for the Blues in a 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

Ivan Boldirev scored his 300th career NHL goal on Feb. 6, 1983, as the Red Wings picked up a 5-3 road win at the Islanders.

Mike Liut became the first goaltender in Blues franchise history to record 150 victories on Feb. 6, 1985, in a 4-0 win against the visiting Canucks. This was the 10th shutout of his career.

Goalie Mike Liut
Liut won his 150th game with the Blues on this date. (Photo by B Bennett/Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)

Rick Tocchet scored his 350th NHL goal on Feb. 6, 1997, in the Bruins’ 5-3 loss to the visiting Hartford Whalers.

Fredrik Olausson scored a goal to become the second European-born defenseman to score 500 career points on Feb. 6, 1999, in the Mighty Ducks’ 4-3 win in St. Louis.

Radek Bonk became the first player to appear in 600 games as a member of the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 6, 2003, in a 2-2 tie with the Flyers.

Tuukka Rask made 26 saves on Feb. 6, 2019, to lead the Bruins to a 3-2 road win in Detroit. This extended his personal point streak to 21 straight games (19-0-2). He became the 11th NHL goaltender to earn at least one point in 21 games in a row.

On Feb. 6, 2023, Artemi Panarin hit 300 points in a Rangers uniform in only 236 games, surpassing Mark Messier who did it in 249. He also became the first player in Rangers history to have at least 40 assists in each of his first four seasons. He did it in a win too as the Rangers won 5-4 in overtime over the Flames.

On that same night, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice won his 800th game behind the bench, becoming the sixth coach to reach that milestone in NHL history. He had previously coached the Jets, Maple Leafs, and Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers.

Happy Birthday to You

The late Hall of Fame defenseman Harry Cameron headlines a group of 24 current and former NHL players born on Feb. 6. Other recognizable names from the lot are Mike Hough (61), Scott Gordon (61), Mike Hudson (57), Tim Taylor (55), Adam Henrique (34), Vinni Lettieri (29), Ville Husso (29), Benoit-Olivier Groulx (24), and Gabriel Fortier (24).

*Originally constructed by Greg Boysen


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