This Week in Centennial History

As part of the League's Centennial Celebration, NHL.com is taking a look back at memorable events each week.
Here are Centennial highlights from Dec. 24-31:

Dec. 31, 1988:
Mario Lemieux
rings out the old year with a one-of-a-kind performance.
Lemieux scores five goals
-- one at each at even strength, shorthanded, on the power play, via a penalty shot and into an empty net --
in the Pittsburgh Penguins' 8-6 win
against the New Jersey Devils at the Civic Arena. He also assists on three goals for an eight-point game. Lemieux's big night is
selected as the NHL's Greatest Moment in voting by fans
.

Dec. 30, 1981:
Wayne Gretzky
shatters the NHL record for the fastest 50 goals in a season
. Three nights after scoring four goals against the Los Angeles Kings,
Gretzky scores five
in the Edmonton Oilers' 7-5 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Northlands Coliseum. Only
Maurice Richard
and
Mike Bossy
had scored 50 goals in as few as 50 games.

Dec, 29, 1945:Richard scores twice for the Montreal Canadiens
in a 5-4 loss
to the Chicago Blackhawks at the Forum,
giving him 100 goals in 145 NHL games
. It's the fastest 100 goals by any player in NHL history at that time.
Dec. 28, 1944:After spending the afternoon helping his family move into a new apartment, Richard
sets an NHL single-game scoring record that night
. An exhausted Richard arrives at the Forum for the Canadiens' game against the Detroit Red Wings after the all-day move. But he's not too tired
to score five goals and assist on three others
in a 9-1 victory.

Dec. 27, 2000: After 44 months in retirement, Lemieux, now the owner of the Penguins and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame,
makes a comeback for the ages
. He assists on Jaromir Jagr 's goal 33 seconds into his first shift, scores a goal and has an assist in the second period and finishes with a three-point night in
Pittsburgh's 5-0 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs
at Mellon Arena.

Dec. 26, 1996:
Sergei Fedorov

scores all five of the Red Wings' goals
, the last one at 2:39 of overtime,
in a 5-4 victory against the Washington Capitals
at Joe Louis Arena. The overtime goal makes Fedorov the first player in NHL history to score all the goals for his team in a game when at least five are scored.

Dec. 25, 1956:
Gordie Howe
celebrates Christmas with the biggest scoring night
of his NHL career.
Howe has six points
(three goals, three assists) for the Red Wings in an 8-1 victory against the New York Rangers at Olympia Stadium.
Dec. 24, 1949:The Canadiens and New York Rangers stage one of the
best goaltending duels in NHL history
. Bill Durnan of the Canadiens and Chuck Rayner of the Rangers
match saves for 60 minutes in a 0-0 tie
at the Forum. It's the only 0-0 tie in League history to be played on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.