Dec. 18: Richard first NHL player to score 400 goals

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Dec. 18
1954:
Maurice Richard
of the Montreal Canadiens becomes the first player in NHL history to score 400 goals during
a 4-2 road victory
against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Richard reaches the milestone when he beats goalie
Al Rollins
at 4:05 of the third period. It's his 16th goal of the season and proves to be the game-winner.
Richard retires after the 1959-60 season with an NHL-record 544 goals.
MORE MOMENTS
1928:Goalie
George Hainsworth
sets an NHL record with his fifth consecutive road shutout when the Canadiens defeat the Blackhawks 5-0.
Howie Morenz
scores two goals
and has an assist for Montreal.
1952: Rookie
Jean Beliveau
scores three goals
for his first NHL hat trick, and
Bernie Geoffrion
also scores three (for his second NHL hat trick), in the Canadiens' 6-2 win against the New York Rangers. Each player scores in the first period. Beliveau completes his hat trick with two goals in the second period and Geoffrion gets his by scoring twice in the third.

1955: The Detroit Red Wings defeat Montreal 2-0 at Olympia Stadium for their third consecutive shutout.
Glenn Hall
makes 26 saves
for the Red Wings. Hall, the winner in all three games, gets plenty of help from his teammates; he faces 56 shots on goal during the shutout streak.
1965:There's
a hat trick of hat tricks
in the Toronto Maple Leafs' 8-4 victory against the Rangers at Maple Leaf Gardens. Toronto's
Dave Keon
gets his first NHL hat trick and
Bob Pulford
completes his second by beating
Ed Giacomin
late in the third period. New York forward
Earl Ingarfield
also scores three times.

1977:The Canadiens begin a 28-game undefeated streak by defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 2-0 at the Spectrum.
Ken Dryden
makes
22 saves
for his 39th NHL shutout. It's the start of a stretch that sees the Canadiens go 23-0 with five ties. Their next loss comes against the Rangers on Feb. 25.
1983:
Wayne Gretzky
reaches 100 points in the Edmonton Oilers' 34th game of the season by
scoring two goals and contributing two assists
in a 7-5 win against the Winnipeg Jets. Gretzky gets to 100 points faster than any player in NHL history and finishes the season with 205.
2007:Jacques Lemaire is the first to coach 1,000 NHL games after playing in more than 800 during his career. Lemaire coaches the Minnesota Wild to
a 3-2 victory
against the Nashville Predators at Xcel Energy Center after trailing 2-0 in the third period.

2016:John Tortorella becomes the first NHL coach born in the United States
to reach 500 victories
when Seth Jones scores 46 seconds into overtime to give the Columbus Blue Jackets
a 4-3 victory
against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. He's the 24th coach in League history with 500 wins.