March 26: Esposito wins 30 games for eighth time

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: March 26
1980:
Tony Esposito
of the Chicago Blackhawks becomes the first goalie in NHL history with eight 30-win seasons.

Esposito's milestone victory comes in a
7-2 road victory against the Quebec Nordiques
, the Blackhawks' first win at Le Colisee. It also comes 10 years to the day after Esposito breaks
Harry Lumley
's 16-year-old "modern" record with his 14th shutout of the season in a
1-0 victory against the Detroit Red Wings
.

MORE MOMENTS
1919: The Seattle Metropolitans and Montreal Canadiens, playing in the fourth game of the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Final,
finish in a 0-0 tie
after 60 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime. The Canadiens even the series three days later with a
4-3 overtime victory
, but neither team is able to play another game because of an influenza outbreak. It marks the first time the Final is not played to completion, and the Stanley Cup is not awarded.
1936: The Toronto Maple Leafs set a playoff record for most power-play goals in one period, scoring four in the second against the Boston Bruins. Toronto's
8-3 win
in Game 2 of the Quarterfinals is led by
Charlie Conacher
, who scores three goals and assists on another.
1950:
Ted Lindsay
gets his NHL-record 55th assist for the Red Wings in a
5-4 season-ending loss
to the Chicago Blackhawks at Olympia Stadium. Lindsay, who leads a 1-2-3 sweep of the race for the Art Ross Trophy with linemates
Sid Abel
and
Gordie Howe
, surpasses the record set by Montreal's
Elmer Lach
in 1944-45.
1961: The Blackhawks defeat the Canadiens
2-1 in Game 3
of their Semifinal series at Chicago Stadium.
Glenn Hall
makes 53 saves before
Murray Balfour
scores the winning goal at 12:12 of the third overtime, 28 seconds after Montreal's
Dickie Moore
is penalized. It's the eighth overtime power-play goal in NHL history.
1985:
Jari Kurri
became the third player in NHL history to score 70 goals in a season. Kurri scores No. 70 with one second remaining in the third period, wrapping up the Edmonton Oilers'
7-5 win against the New York Islanders
. Teammate
Paul Coffey
has two goals and an assist to reach the 100-point mark for the second straight season. It's the first regular-season victory for the Oilers at Nassau Coliseum in 10 tries; they were 0-5 with four ties.
1986: Minnesota North Stars' center
Neal Broten
becomes the first U.S.-born NHL player to score 100 points in a season. He reaches the milestone with two assists in a
6-1 victory
against the Maple Leafs in Toronto.

1988:
Jimmy Carson
of the Los Angeles Kings scores three times to become the second-youngest player (19 years, eight months) in NHL history with 50 goals in a season. He reaches the milestone at 19:05 of the first period with his second goal of the game in a
9-5 win against the Blackhawks
at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Carson scores again early in the second period and gets a third-period assist to reach 100 points for the first time.
On the same night,
Hakan Loob
(three assists) and
Mike Bullard
(one assist) each reaches the 100-point mark in the Calgary Flames'
6-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks
at the Saddledome. it's the third time in NHL history that teammates get their 100th points in the same game.
1992:The New York Rangers clinch their first regular-season NHL championship in 50 years without lifting a finger. The Rangers are assured of finishing on top for the first time since 1941-42 when the
Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Vancouver Canucks 7-3
at the Civic Arena. Vancouver's loss assures that the Rangers will finish with more points than the Canucks, who have the NHL's second-best record.
1996:
Mario Lemieux
scores five goals in a game for the fourth time in his NHL career, tying Gretzky for the most in the NHL's modern era. Lemieux scores two goals in the first period and two more in the second for the Penguins in an
8-4 victory against the St. Louis Blues
at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena.
1999:
Patrick Roy
ties
Jacques Plante
for the most victories (regular season and playoffs) by a goalie in NHL history. Roy gets his 505th win by making 19 saves for the Colorado Avalanche in a
3-1 win against the Washington Capitals
at McNichols Arena.

2002: The Toronto Maple Leafs set a team record by scoring four goals in a span of 1:25 during a
7-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning
at Air Canada Centre. Toronto leads 3-2 until
Robert Reichel
scores at 5:10 of the third period,
Mats Sundin
scores at 5:53 and
Tie Domi
gets back-to-back goals at 6:09 and 6:35.
On the same night,
Brian Rolston
breaks a 27-year-old Bruins record with his eighth shorthanded goal of the season. Rolston passes the mark he's shared with four other players when he scores at 19:04 of the second period in
Boston's 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes
in Raleigh, North Carolina.
2018:The Vegas Golden Knights
defeat the Avalanche 4-1
at T-Mobile Arena to become the first expansion team since 1967-68 to start from scratch and clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in its first NHL season. The Golden Knights go on to win the Pacific Division and advance to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural NHL season.
2019: Alex Ovechkin scores his NHL-leading 49th goal of the season for the Washington Capitals in a
4-1 win against the Hurricanes
at Capital One Arena. It's the 656th goal of Ovechkin's NHL career, tying
Brendan Shanahan
for 13th on the all-time list, and puts him one goal away from becoming the third player in League history with at least eight 50-goal seasons.