Boston versus Montreal is one of the greatest rivalries in all professional sports, and both cities had big moments on this date in National Hockey League history. Also, we saw a lot of goals scored in a very short period of time, and a handful of goaltenders had memorable nights. It’s time for our daily trip back in time to take a look at all the best Feb. 10 has had to offer over the years.
Big Time Date for Bruins
The NHL voted to admit a franchise from Boston into the league on Feb. 10, 1924, which would eventually become the Bruins. They were the first team from the United States to play in the NHL when they debuted on Dec. 1, 1924.
The Bruins had a once-in-a-lifetime experience on Feb. 10, 1942. Their famous “Kraut Line” of stars Milt Schmidt, Bobby Bauer, and Woody Dumart put up a combined 11 points in an 8-1 blowout of the Montreal Canadiens. This was their final game before all three of them left the team to serve in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Following the game, they were given watches by the team as well their pay for the rest of the season and playoffs. Even the Canadiens took part in the postgame festivities and helped carry the trio off the ice while the large crowd at Boston Garden sang “Auld Lang Syne” in unison.
Bobby Orr scored a goal and added three assists on Feb. 10, 1972, as the Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks 9-1. Goaltender Gerry Cheevers extended his personal unbeaten streak to 20 straight games (15-0-5).
Milestones in Montreal
The Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-2 on Feb. 10, 1945, as Maurice Richard scored twice to give him 43 goals for the season. This made him one goal short of the league record of 44 set by Joe Malone with the Habs in 1917-18, the NHL’s first season.
Jacques Plante became the first goaltender in team history to record seven 30-win seasons on Feb. 10, 1962, in a 4-2 Canadiens’ win at the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Guy Lafleur scored three goals on Feb. 10, 1972, to become the first rookie in the modern era to have three hat tricks in a season. He also added an assist in the Canadiens big 7-1 defeat of the visiting Chicago Blackhawks. Frank Mahovlich picked up an assist on all three of Lafleur’s goals.
Related – Frank Mahovlich: Highs & Lows of a Hall of Fame Career
Exactly eight years later, on Feb. 10, 1980, Lafleur recorded an assist to give him 100 points on the season in a 3-2 win at the Bruins. This gave him 100 points for six straight seasons, and it was the last time he hit this plateau in his Hall of Fame career.
Denis Savard potted his first and only hat trick with the Habs on Feb. 10, 1992, to lead the way in an 8-3 victory over the Canucks. The performance made him the 37th player in NHL history to score 400 career goals.
Scoring in Quick Bunches
On Feb. 10, 1983, the Minnesota North Stars and New York Rangers combined to break the record for the three fastest goals scored in an NHL game. Mark Pavelich started the onslaught with a goal late in the second period before his Rangers teammate Ron Greschner scored nine seconds later. Six seconds after that, Willi Plett of the North Stars scored to complete a sequence of three goals in 15 seconds. The North Stars won the game 7-5.
A decade later, on Feb. 10, 1993, the Calgary Flames had a record-shattering night in their 13-1 beating of the San Jose Sharks. First, they set the record for the three fastest goals to start a period when Gary Suter, Chris Lindberg, and Ronnie Stern all scored in the first 53 seconds of the third period. Jeff Reese set a new record for goaltenders by recording three assists. Finally, Theo Fleury scored a goal, added five assists, and finished with a record plus-9 rating.
Viktor Kozlov set a Florida Panthers’ team record for the fastest two goals on Feb. 10, 2004, by scoring twice in seven seconds during the second period of a 2-1 win over the visiting Canadiens. He broke the record of two goals in 50 seconds set by Scott Mellanby in 1997.
Good Day in the Crease
St. Louis Blues’ goaltender Mike Liut held the Wales Conference scoreless for over 31 minutes on Feb. 10, 1981, as the Campbell Conference won the NHL Al-Star Game 4-1. He was named the MVP for his efforts in a game hosted by the Los Angeles Kings.
Martin Brodeur became the first goaltender to record 10 shutouts in a New Jersey Devils uniform on this date in 1996, with a 3-0 blanking of the Rangers.
Curtis Joseph played in his 500th NHL game on Feb. 10, 1999, a 6-5 Maple Leafs’ loss to the visiting Carolina Hurricanes. He tied a team record for goaltenders by picking up his fifth assist of the season.
One year later, on Feb. 10, 2000, Olaf Kolzig became the Washington Capitals’ all-time leader in career shutouts, when the 15th of his career came in a 1-0 win at Montreal. He broke the previous record of 14 set by Jim Carey.
That same night, Patrick Roy became the first goaltender in NHL history to get 20 wins in a season 14 times in his career, as the Colorado Avalanche won 3-2 against the visiting Flames.
Odds & Ends
The Red Wings traded their star defenseman, Red Kelly, on Feb. 10, 1960, to the Maple Leafs for fellow blueliner Marc Reaume. This move came three days after Kelly was traded to the Rangers, but he refused to report. Kelly played 470 games for Toronto and was moved from the back end to the center position by head coach Punch Imlach. He scored 119 goals and 351 points and was part of four Stanley Cup championships.
Alex Delvecchio set up Gordie Howe’s goal on Feb. 10, 1971, in the Red Wings’ 5-2 road loss at the Kings. This was the 825th and final career assist for Delvecchio.
On Feb. 10, 1980, Bobby Clarke passed Bobby Orr on the NHL’s all-time scoring list with his 916th and 917th career points during the Philadelphia Flyers’ 5-2 win over the Kings.
In his 1,300th career game, on Feb. 10, 1999, Ron Francis scored two goals and added three assists in the Hurricanes’ 6-5 win at Toronto. Sergei Berezin scored his first career hat trick in the losing effort for the Maple Leafs.
Later that evening, Russ Courtnall played in his 1,000th NHL game in the Kings’ 3-0 loss at the Phoenix Coyotes. The milestone made the Courtnalls, Russ and Geoff, the first two brothers in history to each play 1,000 career NHL games.
Pavel Bure scored four goals and added an assist on this date in 2001 to lead the Panthers to a 7-3 win at the Atlanta Thrashers. He was the first player to have a five-point game in Florida franchise history.
Brett Hull entered the Red Wings’ game at the Sharks on Feb. 10, 2003, stuck on 699 career goals for the previous seven games. Finally, late in the second period, he became just the sixth player to join the NHL’s 700-goal club. The only player who needed fewer games to score 700 goals was Wayne Gretzky.
Happy Birthday to You
Feb. 10 is the birth date of 19 current and former NHL players. The most successful of this group includes Steve Konroyd (61), Peter Popovic (54), Mike Riberio (42), Jakub Kindl (35), Justin Braun (35), Alexander Georgiev (26), Keaton Middleton (24), Axel Jonsson Fjällby (24), Maksim Sushko (23), and the late Hall of Fame Builder, Bud Polie.