This date in National Hockey League history was especially good for players named Bobby. It has also provided many memorable moments all across the state of New York and in the City of Brotherly Love.
Orr’s Enormous Day
Bobby Orr had a ton of memorable days throughout his legendary career, but Nov. 15, 1973, is near the top of the list. On this date, he became the first defenseman in NHL history to have a seven-point game when he scored three goals and added four assists in the Boston Bruins’ 10-2 blowout of the New York Rangers.
The Hall of Famer started his evening off with a goal in two assists in the opening period. After being kept off the scoresheet in the middle frame, he scored two goals and assisted on two others during the third period. This was Orr’s fifth career hat trick, who retired with 10 in total, nine in the regular season and one in the playoffs.
Hat Tricks for the Hulls
Chicago Blackhawks’ legend Bobby Hull scored three goals, on Nov. 15, 1964, for the 13th hat trick of his career. He also added an assist to lead the Blackhawks to a 4-2 victory over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.
Exactly 23 years later, on Nov. 15, 1987, Bobby’s son, rookie Brett Hull, scored his first career hat trick. He had three straight goals in the third period of the Calgary Flames’ 8-4 win over the visiting Vancouver Canucks. This was the first 33 hat tricks in Brett’s career, five more than his father had in the NHL.
New Team Records
Bernie Federko set a St. Louis Blues team record, on Nov. 15, 1980, when he picked up an assist in his eighth straight game. He finished his night with a goal and two assists in a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
When the Hartford Whalers beat the Edmonton Oilers, on Nov. 15, 1986, Ron Francis dressed in his 358th game for the team. He passed Blaine Stoughton for the most games played in franchise history. He eventually played in 1,186 games which are still the record for the Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes.
A decade later, on Nov. 15, 1996, Damian Rhodes became the Ottawa Senators’ leader in victories when he won his 15th game with the team, a 4-3 win over the Blackhawks. He broke the mark of 14 held by Don Beaupre. His 65 wins are still the fifth-most in franchise history.
Tom Barrasso became the Pittsburgh Penguins’ all-time leader in shutouts, on Nov. 14, 1997, in a 5-0 win at the Maple Leafs. His 12th shutout with the team broke the previous record held by Les Binkley. He finished his career with 22 shutouts, which remained the team record until Marc-Andre Fleury recorded 44 during his time in Pittsburgh.
A Big Night in 2002
Nov. 15, 2002, was a very memorable night with numerous personal milestones achieved by some of the best players of the era.
A pair of Hockey Hall of Famers accomplished major feats when the Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2. Mike Modano picked up an assist to become the fifth American-born player in league history to score 1,000 career points. In the losing effort, Patrick Roy became the NHL’s all-time leader in minutes played by a goaltender, passing Terry Sawchuk.
Down in Tampa Bay, Dave Andreychuk became the first player in NHL history to score 250 power-play goals. His milestone tally helped the Lightning knock off the visiting San Jose Sharks 4-2. He retired with 274 power-play goals which are still the league record.
Finally, Mike Comrie became the 51st player in team history to score 100 points with the Oilers, when he picked up a goal and two assists in a 5-0 win over the Blues. Tommy Salo recorded his 31st career shutout in the game.
A Huge Date in New York
All three NHL teams in the state of New York have had their share of memorable moments on this date.
Starting on Nov. 15, 1954, when the Rangers acquired Andy Bathgate and Vic Howe from Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League, in exchange for Glen Sonmor and Eric Pogue. Bathgate played in 719 games for the Rangers, scoring 272 goals and 729 points. He won the Hart Trophy for being voted as the league’s most valuable player of the 1958-59 season and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978.
Steve Vickers became the first rookie in the modern era to have hat tricks in back-to-back games, on Nov. 15, 1972, to lead the Rangers to a 7-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
On Nov. 15, 1983, Mike Bossy scored his 27th career hat trick and added two assists to lead the New York Islanders to a 6-4 win over the Whalers. He retired with 39 hat tricks, the third-most in league history behind Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
Gilbert Perreault picked up his final NHL point, on Nov. 15, 1986, with an assist in the Buffalo Sabres’ 4-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. He retired nine days later with 512 goals, 814 assists, and 1,326 points, all still franchise records.
One year later, Doug Smith scored his 100th career goal, which was also the 5,000th goal in Sabres’ team history, in a 5-4 win over the Maple Leafs.
Longtime Sabres broadcaster Ted Darling was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on this date in 1994. He joined former New York Americans’ defenseman Lionel Conacher, Harry Watson and Brian O’Neill in the induction class.
The Rangers won their ninth consecutive game, on Nov. 15. 2015, by beating the Maple Leafs 4-3. Mats Zuccarello scored the game-winning goal and added two assists to give the Blue Shirts their longest winning streak since the 1972-73 season.
Finally, on Nov. 15, 2018, the Islanders beat the Rangers 7-5 for their eighth straight win over their inner-city rivals. Anthony Beauvillier was the offensive hero by scoring the first and, so far, only hat trick of his career.
Memories for Three Flyers Legends
Bill Barber became the first player to score 300 goals as a member of the Flyers, on Nov. 15, 1980. He also had an assist in a 5-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Since this date, six more Flyers have scored 300 goals, but Barber is still the team’s all-time leader with 420.
The team retired Bobby Clarke’s No. 16, on Nov. 15, 1984, prior to their 6-1 win over the Whalers. Clarke retired at the end of the previous season as the franchise’s all-time leader with 1,114 games played, 852 assists and 1,210 points. He was the team captain for their back-to-back Stanly Cup championships in 1974 and 1975.
Rookie Eric Lindros lit the lamp three times, on Nov. 15, 1992, for his first career hat trick, while also adding an assist. Mark Recchi had a goal and four assists as the Flyers rolled past the Senators 7-2.
Odds & Ends
Jack Adams earned a win in his NHL coaching debut, on Nov. 15, 1927, as he led the Detroit Cougars, who later become the Red Wings, to a 6-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. He spent 20 seasons as a head coach in Detroit and 36 as the general manager. He is the only person to ever win the Stanley Cup as a player, head coach and general manager. Since the conclusion of the 1973-74 season, the coach voted the best in the league is given the Jack Adams Award.
Tiny Thompson became just the third goaltender in NHL history to record a shutout in his first game, on Nov. 15, 1928, when the Bruins beat the Pirates 1-0. Dit Clapper scored the only goal of the contest.
A decade later, on Nov. 15, 1938, the Bruins extended their overtime undefeated streak to 37 straight games (10-0-27) in a 1-1 tie with Maple Leafs. The 37-game streak began in December if 1934 and is the still longest in NHL history.
The Kings tied the Penguins 3-3, on Nov. 15, 1979, at the Forum. The famed “Triple Crown Line” of Marcel Dionne, Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor combined for five points on the night. This extended the trio’s point scoring streak to a remarkable 56 straight game.
On that same night, Doug Hicks scored the first NHL shorthanded goal in Oilers’ franchise history during a 5-3 defeat to the Flyers.
Rick Middleton scored his 900th career point, on Nov. 15, 1986, with a third period assist as the Bruins tied the New Jersey Devils 5-5. He became the 27th player in NHL history to join the 900-point club.
Greg Adams celebrated his 1,000th career NHL game, on Nov. 15, 2000, by scoring the Florida Panthers’ first goal of the night in a 4-1 win over the visiting Hurricanes. This was the 345th goal of his career.
On this same day, the Bruins traded Anson Carter, along with a first and second-round draft pick, to the Oilers for Bill Guerin. He scored 69 goals and 129 points in 142 games in Boston. Carter played 211 games for the Oilers, scoring 69 goals and 157 points. They used the two draft picks to select Ales Hemsky and Doug Lynch.
The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired future Hall of Famer Sergei Fedorov, on Nov. 15, 2005, from the Mighty Ducks Anaheim for Tyler Wright and Francois Beauchemin. He scored 39 goals and 113 points in 185 games for the Blue Jackets before being traded to the Washington Capitals in 1998.
Happy Birthday to You
A small group of 12 current and former NHL players were born on this date. The most notable of them are John Paul Kelly (61), goaltender Chris Terreri (56), who was traded from the Devils to the Sharks on this date in 1995, Kevan Miller (33) and Brett Pesce (26).