April 18: Gretzky plays final NHL game

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: April 18
1999:
Wayne Gretzky
says goodbye to the NHL as only he can.

Before a packed house at Madison Square Garden, Gretzky earns the 2,857th and final point of his NHL career, an assist in the New York Rangers'
2-1 overtime loss
to the Pittsburgh Penguins in their season finale.
The pregame festivities include videotaped messages from
Gordie Howe
, his boyhood idol. After Pittsburgh's
Jaromir Jagr
ends the game by scoring at 1:22 of OT, Gretzky takes a few laps around the Garden ice; they are reminiscent of the ones he takes with the Stanley Cup during his days with the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s.
RELATED: Gretzky farewell one to remember
Gretzky is still in uniform when he meets the media; when that's done, he sits for a while longer, allowing the moment to linger.
"Probably, subconsciously, I don't want to take it off,'' he says when asked why he hasn't changed. "I'm not going to pull it on ever again. It's hard. It's hard to take it off right now. I have to be honest with you. I don't want to take it off.
"I was a boy that happened to love a game and got lucky, and the good Lord gave me a passion for it."

MORE MOMENTS:
1942: The Toronto Maple Leafs complete the greatest comeback in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by
defeating the Detroit Red Wings 3-1
in Game 7 of the Final. The Maple Leafs become the first team in NHL history to win a best-of-7 series after losing the first three games; they're still the only one to do it in the Final.
Sweeney Schriner
scores two of Toronto's three third-period goals. "I still look back and think about that club winning four after losing three in the Finals,"
Gaye Stewart
, a rookie forward on that team, remembers decades later, "and only one word comes to mind: phenomenal."

1959:The Montreal Canadiens become the first team to win the Stanley Cup four years in a row by
defeating Toronto 5-3
at the Forum in Game 5 of the Final.
Bernie Geoffrion
scores twice to become the second player in NHL history to reach 50 playoff goals, and rookie
Ralph Backstrom
has a goal and three assists.

1963:
Dave Keon
of the Maple Leafs sets an NHL record by becoming the first player to score two shorthanded goals in one playoff game. Keon scores while killing a first-period penalty and again into an empty net with five seconds remaining in the third period and teammate
Bob Pulford
in the penalty box during a
3-1 win
against the Detroit Red Wings in Game 5 of the Final at Maple Leaf Gardens. The victory gives Toronto back-to-back championships.
1968:Two of the NHL's newest teams win their first playoff series with Game 7 victories on the road. The St. Louis Blues advance by
defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1
behind a 26-save performance by goalie
Glenn Hall
. They advance to the Semifinals against the Minnesota North Stars, who
defeat the Los Angeles Kings 9-4
at the Forum in Inglewood, California.
Milan Marcetta
leads the North Stars with two goals and two assists, and
Dave Balon
contributes one goal and three assists.
1983:The Calgary Flames bid farewell to their first home, the Stampede Corral, by
defeating the Edmonton Oilers 6-5
in Game 4 of the Smythe Division Final. The Flames spend their first three seasons in Calgary at the Corral after moving from Atlanta in 1980; they move to the Saddledome (now Scotiabank Saddledome) for the 1983-84 season.
1987:
Pat LaFontaine
scores at 68:47 of overtime to give the New York Islanders a
3-2 victory
against the Washington Capitals in Game 7 of the Patrick Division Semifinals in Landover, Maryland. The game starts on Saturday night and lasts into the early hours of Sunday morning, becoming known as the "Easter Epic." Islanders goalie
Kelly Hrudey
makes 73 saves before LaFontaine's turnaround slap shot from just inside the blue line whizzes past a screened
Bob Mason
for the win.
RELATED: LaFontaine, others recall 'Easter Epic'

1994:The San Jose Sharks win the first playoff game in their history,
shocking the Red Wings 5-4
in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. The Sharks stun the full house at Joe Louis Arena by scoring three goals in the first period, but the game is tied 4-4 until 18-year-old defenseman
Vlastimil Kroupa
scores the go-ahead goal with 4:24 remaining in the third period. The Sharks become the first team since the Islanders in 1975 to win their first playoff game.
1996:The Tampa Bay Lightning get their first playoff win by
defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 in overtime
in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at Core States Center.
Brian Bellows
scores the winning goal at 9:05 of OT.
2001:
Patrick Roy
becomes the first goalie to play in 200 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Roy gets his 125th postseason victory by making 22 saves to help the Colorado Avalanche
defeat the Vancouver Canucks 5-1
at GM Place.
2012: The Penguins tie two playoff records when they
defeat the Flyers 10-3
at Wells Fargo Center in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Pittsburgh equals the record for most goals in a playoff game by a road team, set by the Los Angeles Kings in 1982 and matched by the Edmonton Oilers a year later. The Penguins also tie the single-game record for goals by a team facing elimination, matching a 10-3 victory by the Canadiens against the Maple Leafs in Game 5 of the 1945 Semifinals.
2018:Sidney Crosby has a goal and an assist in Pittsburgh's
5-0 win against the Flyers
at Wells Fargo Center in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round to become the Penguins' all-time leader in playoff scoring. He finishes the night with 173 points (62 goals, 111 assists), passing
Mario Lemieux
.
2019:For the first time in Stanley Cup Playoff history, there are multiple games with goals scored within 20 seconds of the opening face-off. Andrew Copp got the Winnipeg Jets off to a fast start in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round by scoring 12 seconds into their game against the game against the St. Louis Blues at Bell MTS Place, but the Blues overcame the early goal for a
3-2 victory
and a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series. Warren Foegele of the Carolina Hurricanes scored 17 seconds into Game 4 of their game against the Washington Capitals at PNC Arena.
Carolina wins the game 2-1
to tie the series 2-2. It's the fastest goal from the start of a playoff game for the Jets/Atlanta Thrashers and Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers franchises.