Feb. 20: Esposito scores 50th goal of season on birthday three times

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Feb. 20
Hockey Hall of Famer
Phil Esposito
enjoys quite a trio of birthday celebrations.

1971:On his 29th birthday, Esposito becomes the fourth player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season, joining
Maurice Richard
,
Bobby Hull
and
Bernie Geoffrion
. The Boston Bruins center
scores in a 5-4 loss
to the Los Angeles Kings at the Forum in Inglewood, California.
1972: Esposito celebrates his 30th birthday by
scoring two goals
, including his 50th of the season. He also has an assist in Boston's 3-1 win against his former team, the Chicago Blackhawks, at Chicago Stadium. It's Esposito's second straight 50-goal season.
1974:Two years later, Esposito again reaches 50 goals on his birthday. This time, he becomes the first player in NHL history with four straight 50-goal seasons by
scoring three times
for his 22nd NHL hat trick in Boston's 5-5 tie against the Minnesota North Stars at Met Center.

MORE MOMENTS
1930:
Clint Benedict
of the Montreal Maroons
becomes the first goalie to wear a mask in an NHL game
. Benedict dons the mask after being hit in the face by a puck during
a 3-3 tie
against the New York Americans.

1944:The Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs play the first "perfect game" in NHL history. Goalies
Mike Karakas
of Chicago and
Paul Bibeault
of Toronto battle to
a 0-0 tie
, and referee Bill Chadwick does not call a penalty. The game is played in one hour, 55 minutes.
1971:
Jean Beliveau
of the Montreal Canadiens becomes the second player in NHL history to reach 1,200 points when he has three assists in
a 7-1 win against the Blackhawks
at the Forum. Montreal's
Peter Mahovlich
scores twice in five seconds during the third period and rookie
Phil Roberto
has his first NHL hat trick.
1981:Rookies
Peter Stastny
and
Anton Stastny
each has a hat trick
to help the Quebec Nordiques to a 9-3 victory against the Vancouver Canucks at Pacific Coliseum. The brothers each have three assists for six-point nights.

1982:The New York Islanders break the NHL record for consecutive victories by defeating the Colorado Rockies 3-2 at Nassau Coliseum for their 15th straight win.
John Tonelli
breaks a 2-2 tie
at 19:13 of the third period
when he beats former teammate
Glenn Resch
through the five-hole with a slap shot from the left circle for the win. The Islanders break the 52-year-old record set by the Bruins in 1929-30. New York averages 6.5 goals per game during the streak.
2016:Florida Panthers forward
Jaromir Jagr
scores twice in
a 3-1 victory
against the Winnipeg Jets at BB&T Center to
move past
Brett Hull
into third on the NHL's all-time list with 742 goals. He ties Hull at 4:53 of the second period with a redirection past Jets goalie Michael Hutchinson, then moves past him by scoring his 20th goal of the season with 6:23 remaining in the third.
2018: The Colorado Avalanche score all of their goals on the power play in a
5-4 overtime victory
against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. Defenseman Tyson Barrie scores one goal and assists on the other four, including the game-winner by Nathan MacKinnon at 3:36 of OT that caps Colorado's comeback after the Canucks take a 4-1 lead late in the second period.
2019: Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames and MacKinnon each scores in victories, bringing the number of 30-goal scorers for the 2018-19 season to 16. That's the most through 928 games since 1998-99 (18).