March 13 has been an eventful date throughout National Hockey League history. Hall of Famers hit milestones while there was plenty to cheer about in Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Calgary. The THW time machine is gassed up and is ready for its daily journey through the years to relive the best this date has had to offer.
Wayne Gretzky Does It Faster Than Anyone
On March 13, 1984, Gretzky scored his 82nd goal of the season and had an assist to help the Edmonton Oilers beat the Quebec Nordiques 6-5 in overtime. The two points gave him 900 in his career. He needed just 385 games to become the fasted player to reach this milestone.
One year later, Gretzky had a goal and four assists to lead the Oilers to a 7-6 win over the visiting Detroit Red Wings. Jari Kurri added four points with two goals and two assists. John Ogrodnick scored his sixth and final career hat trick on the losing side and added an assist. The three goals made him the third player in franchise history to score 50 in a season.
Johnny Bucyk’s Memorable Date
Bucyk, at the age of 35, scored a goal on March 12, 1971, during the Boston Bruins’ 6-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. The goal gave him the first 100-point season of his career as he became the fifth player and third Bruin to hit triple digits in points. Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr were the other two Boston players on the list.
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Nine years later, on March 13, 1980, the Bruins retired Bucyk’s No. 9 in a pregame ceremony before a 4-2 win over the visiting Red Wings, the team he started his career with. He played 21 seasons in Boston and scored 545 goals and 1,339 points. He still has the most goals in franchise history and his second in assists, points and games played.
In fact, it was on this date in 1999 when Ray Bourque broke Bucyk’s games-played record when he appeared in his 1.437th contest, a 3-1 loss at the Buffalo Sabres.
The Philadelphia Flyers Make History
Bobby Clarke set a Flyers team record with his 68th assist of the season and the 300th of his career, on March 13, 1975, in a 6-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Bernie Parent recorded his 10th shutout of the season and 36th of his career.
The March 13, 1993 game between the Flyers and the Los Angeles Kings was called off after one period after high winds shattered a window in the Spectrum’s outer lobby. The game was replayed on April 1, with the Kings winning 3-1.
Ron Hextall became the all-time leader in games played by a Flyers goaltender on March 13, 1999, when he appeared in his 487th game, a 4-0 loss at Pittsburgh. He broke the old record set by Bernie Parent.
Mark Recchi became the 60th player to score 1,000 career points, on March 13, 2001, with a goal and two assists in the Flyers’ 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues.
Milestones for the St. Louis Blues
Brett Hull scored his 350th NHL career goal and added an assist, on March 13, 1993, in the Blues’ 6-2 win over the visiting Minnesota North Stars.
Grant Fuhr became the third goalie in franchise history to record 100 wins with the Blues, on March 13, 1999, by beating the Oilers, his former team, 6-4. His 108 wins are still fourth all-time in team history.
The Blues acquired Keith Tkachuk from the Phoenix Coyotes, on March 13, 2001, in exchange for centers Michal Handzus and Ladislav Nagy, the rights to forward Jeff Taffe, and a first-round draft pick. Two years later, Tkachuk scored his 30th goal of the season for the eighth time in his career as the Blues and Canucks skated to a 4-4 tie.
Calgary Flames Stay Hot
Joe Nieuwendyk lit the lamp to become the first player in team history to score 250 goals on March 13, 1993, as the Flames won 4-3 against the visiting New Jersey Devils.
Phil Housley got three assists, on March 13, 1999, during the Flames’ 5-4 overtime win against the Washington Capitals. The trio of helpers gave him 1,066 career points, passing Joe Mullen as the highest-scoring U.S.-born player in league history. He retired with 1,232 points, which are still the third-most among all American players.
The Flames beat the Penguins 4-3 in a shootout, on March 13, 2017, for their 10th straight win. This made the 2016-17 season the first in NHL history in which four teams had a winning streak so of at least 10 games. Before this, the Columbus Blues Jackets won 16 games in a row, the Minnesota Wild went unbeaten in 12 straight games and the Flyers had a 10-game winning streak.
Odds & Ends
Carl Liscombe of the Red Wings set the record for the fasted three goals on March 13, 1938, when he picked up a hat trick in a span of 1:52 during a 5-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. His record stays intact until Bill Mosienko of the Blackhawks scored three goals in just 21 seconds on March 23, 1952.
On March 13, 1954, Camille Henry scored an NHL-record four power-play goals in the New York Rangers 5-2 at the Red Wings. To make the record even more impressive, all four goals were scored against Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuk. Seven players have since matched his record, but nobody has broken it yet.
Maurice Richard was ejected for a violent altercation, on March 13, 1955, during the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 loss to the Bruins. After being high-sticked by Hal Laycoe, he retaliated by striking him in the face and shoulders with his stick. He eventually broke away from the officials and broke his stick on Laycoe. While being restrained, he knocked out linesman Cliff Thompson with two punches to the face. The incident not only earned him a match penalty; the Boston police tried to arrest him after the game, but his teammates barred the locker room door. This was Richard’s second physical altercation with an official, which led to NHL president Clarence Campbell suspending him for the remainder of the season.
Glenn Hall became the second NHL goaltender to have six 30-win seasons, on March 13, 1966, by making 29 saves in the Blackhawks 5-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Henri Richard, the younger brother of Maurice, became the fourth player in Canadiens franchise history to score 350 goals during a 3-3 tie with the Blackhawks.
Billy Reay won his 501st game with the Blackhawks, on March 13, 1976, with a 4-1 victory at the North Stars. This made him the winningest head coach with one team in NHL history, passing Toe Blake, who won 500 games with the Canadiens.
Alexander Mogilny scored his 350th NHL goal, on March 13, 2000, in what turned out to be his final goal with the Canucks. The next day, he was traded to the New Jersey Devils for Brendan Morrison and Denis Pederson.
Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios scored the first regular-season overtime goal of his 19-year NHL career on March 13, 2002. Igor Larionov added four assists to lead the Red Wings to a 4-3 win over the visiting Oilers.
On that same night, Scott Stevens became the eighth player in NHL history to appear in 1,500 games in the Devils’ 3-2 win over the visiting New York Islanders.
Ron Francis joined Gordie Howe as the only player to have at least 50 points in 22 straight seasons, on March 13, 2003, when he had two assists in the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 loss at the Flyers.
Cam Atkinson scored a goal in his 600th game with the Blue Jackets on March 13, 2021, when his team defeated the Dallas Stars in overtime 4-3. Now a member of the Flyers, he finished his decade-long career in Ohio with 213 goals and 402 points in 627 games when he was traded in the offseason for former Blue Jacket Jakub Voracek.
On that same night against the Canadiens, Sean Monahan picked up his 200th goal with the Calgary Flames when he put his team up 1-0 at 5:38 of the first period in what eventually became a 3-1 win. He required the seventh-fewest games to score that many. Nieuwendyk still holds the record, taking only 334 games to do it.
The “Great 8” Alexander Ovechkin scored his 716th goal on his 5,638th shot on March 13, 2021, against the Flyers passing Jaromir Jagr for second in NHL history.
Joe Thornton also made history on this night in 2021 with the Maple Leafs when he played his 1,653rd game in the NHL, passing Mark Recchi for sixth all-time.
On March 13, 2022, Craig Anderson became the second goalie to win three NHL outdoor games when his Buffalo Sabres beat the Maple Leafs 5-2 in the 2022 NHL Heritage Classic.
The Minnesota Wild retired long-time forward Mikko Koivu‘s No. 9 in a pregame ceremony on March 13, 2022. He finished his career in Minnesota with 205 goals and 709 points in 1,028 games before playing his final seven NHL games with the Blue Jackets in 2020-21. Overall he spent 15 years with the Wild.
Alex Killorn and Jonathan Quick both played their 700th games in the NHL on this date in 2022.
Happy Birthday to You
There are 25 former and current NHL players who share a birthday today. The most notable March 13 birthday boys are Blaine Stoughton (71), Barry Pederson (63), Petri Skriko (62), Landon Wilson (49), Daulton Prout (34) and Brayden Point (28).
*Originally constructed by Greg Boysen