March 9: Gordie Howe skates on line with sons
Plus: Orr sets single-season record for goals by defenseman; Robitaille scores No. 650
by John Kreiser @jkreiser7713 / NHL.com Managing Editor
THIS DATE IN HISTORY: March 9
1980: Gordie Howe skates on the same line with his sons, Mark and Marty, for the Hartford Whalers at Boston Garden for a shift midway through a 1-1 tie with the Boston Bruins at Boston Garden.
Howe retires from the NHL in 1971 after 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. But he returns to pro hockey in 1973 with the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association to be able to play with his sons. All three move to the Whalers after Houston folds and come to the NHL when Hartford is one of four WHA teams absorbed by the League for the 1979-80 season.
Mark Howe plays all of 1979-80 with the Whalers and goes on to become a Hall of Fame defenseman. But Marty Howe spends much of it in the minor leagues before being recalled in early March, setting up the chance to take a shift with his father and brother.
MORE MOMENTS
1937: Frank Boucher of the New York Rangers becomes the first NHL player to have 250 assists in his career. Boucher, an original member of the Rangers, scores a goal in the first period, then gets assist No. 250 when he sets up a second-period goal by Alex Shibicky in a 7-5 overtime win against the New York Americans at Madison Square Garden.
1952: Center Sid Abel scores his final goal as a member of the Red Wings and their famed "Production Line." The goal by Abel, assisted by longtime linemates Howe and Ted Lindsay, helps Detroit defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 at Olympia Stadium.
1975: Bobby Orr of the Bruins sets the NHL single-season record for goals by a defenseman when he scores his 38th in a 5-2 win against the visiting Atlanta Flames. He breaks his own mark, set in 1970-71. Orr finishes the season with 46 goals. He also has three assists and becomes the first defenseman in League history to reach 600 in his career.
1991: Theo Fleury of the Calgary Flames sets an NHL record by scoring three shorthanded goals in an 8-4 road victory against the St. Louis Blues. Fleury scores his first at 5:52 of the first period with Al MacInnis in the penalty box, gets the second one 24 seconds into the third period, and completes his shorthanded hat trick at 17:35 with an unassisted goal.
1999: Martin Brodeur becoms the first goalie in NHL history to win at least 30 games in four consecutive seasons. Brodeur gets his 30th win of 1998-99 when he makes 21 saves for the visiting New Jersey Devils in a 3-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He goes on to win at least 30 games in each of his next eight seasons as well.
2004: Luc Robitaille becomes the 10th player in NHL history to score 650 goals in his career. No. 650 is a game-winner, giving the Los Angeles Kings a 3-2 victory against the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center.
2006: Nicklas Lidstrom passes Borje Salming to become the highest-scoring Swedish defenseman in NHL history. Lidstrom has a goal and three assists for the Red Wings in a 7-3 win against the Kings at Joe Louis Arena, giving him 789 points, two more than Salming.
2015: Evgeny Romasko becomes the first referee born in Russia to officiate an NHL game. Romasko and longtime NHL referee Paul Devorski combine to call eight minor penalties in the Red Wings' 5-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Joe Louis Arena.
2019: The Boston Bruins become the fourth team in NHL history to score the game-winning goal in the final minute of the third period in consecutive games. David Krejci's goal with 45 seconds remaining gives the Bruins a 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden, two days after Patrice Bergeron scores the game-winner against the Florida Panthers with 30 seconds remaining. The win extends Boston's point streak to 19 games (15-0-4), the second-longest in Bruins history. The Bruins also sweep a six-game homestand for the second time since entering the NHL in 1924.