Oct. 11: Lemieux scores on first shift in debut with Penguins

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Oct. 11
1984:
Mario Lemieux
wastes no time announcing his arrival in the NHL, scoring a goal on his first shot, on his first shift, in his NHL debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Lemieux pokes the puck past All-Star defenseman
Ray Bourque
of the Boston Bruins, races in on a breakaway and beats goalie
Pete Peeters
2:59 into the game. The No. 1 pick in the 1984 NHL Draft also assists on the second of two goals by
Warren Young
, but the Penguins fail to hold leads of 2-0 and 3-1,
losing 4-3
at Boston Garden. Bourque scores the winning goal with 5:32 remaining in the third period.

MORE MOMENTS
1924: The Bruins and Montreal Maroons are granted NHL franchises for $15,000 each. The Bruins, who become the first U.S. team to join the League, name Art Ross as their general manager.
1930:The Toronto Maple Leafs acquire
King Clancy
in a trade from Ottawa in exchange for
Art Smith
,
Eric Pettinger
and $35,000. The cash involved is a record payment for any hockey player.

1961:
Jean Beliveau
is named captain of the Montreal Canadiens. He succeeds
Doug Harvey
, who's traded to the New York Rangers on June 13. Harvey, serving as player-coach, scores a goal in his debut to help the
Rangers defeat the Bruins 6-2
at Boston Garden.

1975:
Guy Lafleur
of the Canadiens becomes the first player in NHL history to have at least three points in each of his team's first three games of a season. Lafleur scores a goal and has two assists in
Montreal's 7-2 win against the St. Louis Blues
at the Forum.
1979: After retiring from the Red Wings in 1971,
Gordie Howe
returns to play in the NHL for the Hartford Whalers. He goes scoreless in Hartford's
4-1 loss to the Minnesota North Stars
at Met Center. It's the first NHL game for the Whalers after they are one of four teams from the World Hockey Association that join the League for the 1979-80 season.

1987:The longest consecutive games streak in NHL history ends at 964 games when Whalers forward
Doug Jarvis
doesn't dress for Hartford's
5-2 loss to the Bruins
at Boston Garden. Jarvis is then sent to the minors and never plays another NHL game.
1997:
Wayne Gretzky
scores three goals for his 50th NHL hat trick and first with the
New York Rangers in a 6-3 victory against the Vancouver Canucks
at GM Place. Gretzky also has assists on two goals by defenseman
Bruce Driver
for his 66th five-point game in the NHL.

2001: Peter Laviolette becomes the first coach in NHL history to begin his career with four consecutive road victories when the
New York Islanders defeat the New Jersey Devils 6-4
in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

2014: The Minnesota Wild become the fifth team since the adoption of the red line in 1943 to
begin a season with back-to-back shutouts
by defeating the Colorado Avalanche 3-0 at Pepsi Center. The win comes two nights after the
Wild's 5-0 victory against Colorado
at Xcel Energy Center. Less than an hour after the Wild complete their second shutout, the San Jose Sharks match that accomplishment when they
defeat the Winnipeg Jets 3-0
at SAP Center; that victory comes three nights after San Jose starts its season by
defeating the Los Angeles Kings 4-0
at Staples Center. The Wild and Sharks join the 1955-56 Montreal Canadiens, the 1973-74 Philadelphia Flyers, the 2001-02 Calgary Flames and the 2005-06 Florida Panthers as the only teams to begin their season with consecutive shutouts.
2017:
Jaromir Jagr,
plays for his ninth NHL team when he takes the ice for the Flames against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center. The 45-year-old forward, the second-leading scorer in League history, plays 13:38 but goes without a point in
Calgary's 4-3 overtime victory
.
2018:Auston Matthews scores two goals and John Tavares has four assists for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a
5-3 victory against the Detroit Red Wings
at Little Caesars Arena. The goals are the eighth and ninth for Matthews in Toronto's first five games. He becomes the third player to score in each of Toronto's first five games in a season, joining
Sweeney Schriner
of the 1944-45 Maple Leafs (nine goals in six games), and
Corb Denneny
of the 1921-22 St. Patricks (seven goals in five games).

2019:The Carolina Hurricanes set a franchise record for wins from the start of a season when they
defeat the New York Islanders 5-2
at PNC Arena. It's the first time in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers history that they start 5-0-0.