Jan. 2: Howe plays in fifth decade

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Jan. 2
1980:
Gordie Howe
, age 51, becomes the first NHL player to play in five decades when he takes the ice for the Hartford Whalers in
a 3-3 tie
against the Edmonton Oilers at Northlands Coliseum.

The game comes more than 33 years after Howe's first NHL appearance. He's 18 when he skates for the Detroit Red Wings on
Oct. 16, 1946
.
Howe doesn't get a point in the game, but an 18-year-old who idolizes him does.
Wayne Gretzky
, who later breaks Howe's scoring records, has an assist on a first-period power-play goal by
Blair MacDonald
.
Howe takes a regular shift that night and plays all 80 games for the Whalers; the last four come after he celebrates his 52nd birthday.

MORE MOMENTS
1986:
Mike Bossy
becomes the 11th NHL player to score 500 goals, and the first to do so with the New York Islanders. Goal No. 500 comes when he scores into an empty net with 17 seconds remaining to clinch
a 7-5 victory
against the Boston Bruins at Nassau Coliseum. He scores his 499th goal with 2:22 remaining, breaking a 5-5 tie. Bossy scores 500 goals in 647 games, fewer than anyone in NHL history at that time (
Wayne Gretzky
later does it in 575 games).

1992: In one of the biggest trades in NHL history, the Toronto Maple Leafs send
Gary Leeman
,
Michel Petit
,
Craig Berube
,
Jeff Reese
and
Alexander Godynyuk
to the Calgary Flames for
Doug Gilmour
,
Ric Nattress
,
Jamie Macoun
,
Rick Wamsley
and
Kent Manderville
. The big prize turns out to be Gilmour, who helps Toronto advance to the conference final in 1993 and 1994.
1999:
Damian Rhodes
of the Ottawa Senators becomes
the first NHL goalie to score a goal and get a shutout in the same game
. He makes 30 saves in a 6-0 win against the visiting New Jersey Devils and is credited with a first-period goal when he is the last Senators player to touch the puck before Devils defenseman
Lyle Odelein
inadvertently shoots it into his own net during a delayed penalty.
Exactly two years later,
Jose Theodore
of the Montreal Canadiens matches Rhodes' accomplishment
in a 3-0 win
against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. Theodore makes 32 saves and backhands the puck down the ice and into an empty net with nine seconds remaining in the third period after the Islanders pull goalie
John Vanbiesbrouck
.
2002:
Ron Francis
reaches two milestones on the same night. Francis plays in his 1,000th game with the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes franchise and scores his 500th NHL goal in
Carolina's 6-3 loss to the visiting Bruins
. Francis joins Gretzky, Howe,
Mark Messier
and
Marcel Dionne
as the only NHL players with 500 goals and 1,000 assists.
2012: The
New York Rangers defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2
in the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist makes 34 saves, the biggest of which comes when he stops
Daniel Briere
on a penalty shot with 19.8 seconds remaining in the third period.

2018: Alex Ovechkin extends his NHL record for overtime goals to 22 when he scores at 1:57 of OT to give the
Washington Capitals a 5-4 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes
at PNC Arena. Ovechkin also becomes the ninth player in NHL history to score 100 game-winning goals.
On the same night, Marc-Andre Fleury makes 29 saves and the
Vegas Golden Knights defeat the Nashville Predators 3-0
at T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights extend their winning streak to eight games and their point streak to 13 (12-0-1), the longest such runs in NHL history by a team in its inaugural season.
2019: Elias Pettersson scores three goals, helping the Vancouver Canucks
defeat the Ottawa Senators 4-3 in overtime
at Canadian Tire Centre. The Sweden-born center completes his first NHL hat trick when he scores ta 1:38 of overtime. He goes on to win the
Calder Trophy
as the League's top rookie.