Jan. 18: O'Ree first black player in NHL

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Jan. 18
1958:
Willie O'Ree
becomes the first black player to appear in an NHL game when he debuts for the Boston Bruins' game against the Montreal Canadiens at the Forum. O'Ree plays on a line with
Don McKenney
and
Jerry Toppazzini
but is kept off the scoresheet in Boston's
3-0 victory
.

O'Ree plays two games with Boston before being sent back to the minors. But he returns in 1960-61, scoring four goals and 14 points in 43 games. He is traded to Montreal, but never plays for the Canadiens. Instead, he spends most of the next 13 seasons in the Western Hockey League with Los Angeles and San Diego before retiring in 1979. O'Ree plays more than two decades of professional hockey despite being almost completely blind in his right eye, the result of being struck with a puck in a junior game during the 1955-56 season.
O'Ree joins the NHL in 1998 as director of youth development for the League's diversity task force, encouraging boys and girls from diverse backgrounds to play hockey. He is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018.

MORE MOMENTS
1945: A crowd of 7,687 wait at Olympia Stadium for more than three hours to see the game between the Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers, who are delayed by bad weather. The Red Wings
defeat the Rangers 7-3
in a game that begins at 11:15 p.m. and ends at 12:56 a.m.
1964:
Terry Sawchuk
becomes the NHL's all-time shutout leader when he
makes 36 saves
in the Red Wings' 2-0 victory against Montreal at the Forum. It's the 95th shutout for Sawchuk, moving him past
George Hainsworth
. Sawchuk finishes his NHL career in 1970 with 103 shutouts.
On the same night, the Bruins defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 11-0 at Boston Garden for the biggest shutout win in their history.
Dean Prentice
scores three goals
and assists on three more, and
Andy Hebenton
has his third NHL hat trick and an assist.
Ed Johnston
gets the shutout.

1967: The NHL All-Star Game is held at midseason for the first time. The Stanley Cup champion Canadiens defeat the All-Stars 3-0 at the Forum.
John Ferguson
scores two goals and goalies
Charlie Hodge
and
Gary Bauman
combine for the shutout, still the only one in All-Star Game history.
1973:In the highlight of their first NHL season, the expansion New York Islanders stun the defending Stanley Cup champion Bruins 9-7 at Boston Garden, ending a 12-game losing streak and a 20-game winless streak on the road. The Islanders take a 5-0 lead in the first period and survive
a four-goal game
by Boston's
Johnny Bucyk
for the victory, one of two road wins by New York all season. The Islanders finish 12-60 with six ties, setting NHL records for fewest wins and points.
2000:
Steve Yzerman
scores his 614th goal, the most in NHL history by a player who spends his entire career with one team. Yzerman breaks
Mario Lemieux
's record during Detroit's
6-1 road loss
to the Calgary Flames.
2002:Detroit's
Luc Robitaille
scores his 611th goal during
a 3-1 victory
against the Washington Capitals at Joe Louis Arena to become the leading goal-scorer among left wings in NHL history. He passes
Bobby Hull
, who has 610 goals when he retires in 1980.
2018;The Vegas Golden Knights become the fifth team in NHL history to reach the 30-win mark in its first season when they defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 at Amalie Arena. Marc-Andre Fleury makes 28 saves to help Vegas get win No. 30 in its 44th game, by far the fastest of any first-year NHL team.
2019:The Islanders make coach Barry Trotz's return to Washington for the first time since guiding the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup championship the previous June a happy one with a
2-0 victory
at Capital One Arena. Thomas Greiss makes 19 saves, and New York gets third-period goals by Josh Bailey and Cal Clutterbuck.