Feb. 25: Canadiens unbeaten streak ends at 28

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Feb. 25
1978: The Montreal Canadiens' NHL-record 28-game unbeaten streak comes to an end against a goaltender making his NHL debut with the New York Rangers.

Hardy Astrom
makes 29 saves
and six Rangers score goals in New York's stunning 6-3 victory at the Forum, ending a run of 23 wins and five ties by the Canadiens, who come into the game not having lost since Dec. 17 (5-3 to the Pittsburgh Penguins).
"I knew what was going on," says Astrom, who's called up from the American Hockey League because of injuries to
John Davidson
and
Wayne Thomas
and is named to start by coach Jean-Guy Talbot. "I knew that Montreal had not lost in 28 games, that they were a fast‐skating team and that they swarmed all over you."
Steve Vickers
and
Phil Esposito
score in the first period to give the Rangers a lead they never relinquish.
Astrom splits four decisions with the Rangers before playing two seasons with the Colorado Rockies; He finishes his NHL career with 17 wins, 44 losses and 12 ties.
MORE MOMENTS
1930:
Cooney Weiland
becomes the first Boston Bruins player to
score four goals
in a game and
Tiny Thompson
gets his 15th NHL shutout in a 7-0 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It's the 16th consecutive win for the Bruins at Boston Garden.
1940:The Rangers face the Canadiens at Madison Square Garden in the first hockey game televised in the U.S. The game airs on station W2XBS in New York, using one camera in a fixed position, and can be viewed on 300 TV receivers in New York. The viewers who tune in see the Rangers
win 6-2
for their 14th consecutive home victory.

1945:
Maurice Richard
of the Canadiens sets an NHL record with
his 45th goal
of the season, breaking the mark of 44 set by Montreal's
Joe Malone
in 1917-18, the NHL's first season. It comes in the Canadiens' 5-2 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
1971: The Boston Bruins break the NHL record for the fastest three goals during the third period of their
8-3 win against the Vancouver Canucks
at Boston Garden.
Johnny Bucyk
scores the first of his three third-period goals at 4:50 to put Boston ahead 3-2,
Ed Westfall
makes in 4-2 at 5:02 and
Ted Green
caps the historic burst at 5:10. The Bruins score three more goals, two by Bucyk, and outshoot the Canucks 60-34. The previous record is 21 seconds,
set by the Chicago Blackhawks
on March 23, 1952, when
Bill Mosienko
scores the fastest three goals by any NHL player.
1978:
Danny Gare
scores three goals and has two assists, defenseman
Jerry Korab
gets two goals and has three assists, and the Buffalo Sabres defeat the Cleveland Barons 13-3 at Richfield Coliseum. The Sabres become the third team in NHL history
to score 13 goals
in a road game.
1990:
Brett Hull
of the St. Louis Blues scores his 59th goal of the season, breaking the family record of 58 set by his father,
Bobby Hull
. Brett also gets his
60th and 61st goals
for his sixth NHL hat trick, but the Blues lose 6-5 to Montreal at the Forum. Defenseman
Eric Desjardins
scores the 15,000th goal in Canadiens history.

1993:
Cam Neely
returns to the Bruins lineup after missing 106 games during two seasons because of a knee injury. Neely scores a power-play goal
4:51 into the game
, but the Minnesota North Stars rally for a 3-3 tie at Boston Garden.
2004:
Martin Brodeur
of the New Jersey Devils becomes the first goaltender in NHL history to win 30 games in nine consecutive seasons. He breaks a tie with
Patrick Roy
when
the Devils defeat the Sabres 8-2
in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

2019:
Roberto Luongo
passes
Ed Belfour
for sole possession of third place on the
NHL's all-time wins list
when he makes 36 saves for the Florida Panthers in a
4-3 overtime win
against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center. It's Luongo's 485th regular-season win, more than anyone in NHL history except
Brodeur
(691) and
Patrick Roy
(551).
On the same night, the Tampa Bay Lightning reach the 100-point mark with a
4-3 shootout victory and Patrick Roy (551). On the same night, the Tampa Bay Lightning reach the 100-point mark with a 4-3 shootout victory against the Los Angeles Kings at Amalie Arena. The Lightning become the fourth team in NHL history to reach 100 points in 63 or fewer games, and the first one since the 1977-78 Canadiens, who do it in 62 games.)
against the Los Angeles Kings at Amalie Arena. The Lightning become the fourth team in NHL history to reach 100 points in 63 or fewer games, and the first one since the 1977-78 Canadiens, who do it in 62 games.
2020:The Rangers set a team record with their eighth consecutive road victory by
defeating the New York Islanders 4-3
in overtime at Nassau Coliseum. Mika Zibanejad scores 28 seconds into OT to give the Rangers the victory after Brock Nelson of the Islanders ties the game with 18 seconds remaining in the third period. Artemi Panarin scores the first goal for the Rangers and sets up Zibanejad's game-winner to extend his point streak to 10 games and become the seventh player in team history to have more than one double-figures streak in the same season.