On this date in National Hockey League history, the best two players of their generation both hit major milestones on the same night. Also, a whole slew of Hockey Hall of Famers had big nights and his date has given fans in Boston plenty to cheer about. Let’s take our daily trip back through time and look at all the big moments from Jan. 30.
A Huge Night in 1990
Jan. 30, 1990, turned out to be quite the historic night throughout the league. Wayne Gretzky became the first player to score at least 100 points in 11 straight seasons when he an assist in the Los Angeles Kings’ 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils. Defenseman Larry Robinson chipped in with a goal and an assist to tie Bobby Orr for second place on the all-time points list among defensemen with 915 points.
Mario Lemieux picked up assists on all three goals of Tony Tanti’s hat trick during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 6-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. This extended his point streak to 40 straight games, the second-longest in NHL history, only to Gretzky’s 51-game point streak during the 1983-84 season.
Phil Housley scored the first-ever shorthanded goal while the team was two men short in Buffalo Sabres’ history. The extremely rare goal came in a 5-2 win against the Quebec Nordiques.
Finally, rookie goaltender Curtis Joseph recorded his first NHL victory as the St. Louis Blues picked up a 2-1 road win at New York Islanders. Brett Hull led the offense with a goal and an assist in the game.
Bruins Own the Day
The Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-0, on Jan. 30, 1940, in a penalty-free game. Goaltender Frank Brimsek recorded his 13th career shutout, while Mel Hill and Roy Conacher each had a goal and two assists.
Derek Sanderson scored his first career hat trick and added an assist, on Jan. 30, 1969, to lead the Bruins to a 7-5 at the Kings.
On Jan. 30, 1972, Bobby Orr scored a goal and added three assists as the Bruins beat the Blues 5-2.
Exactly three years later, Orr recorded the eighth hat trick of his NHL career and added an assist as the Bruins beat the Oakland Seals 6-0. Goaltender Gilles Gilbert recorded his 10th career shutout. However, the hero of the night was Johnny Bucyk as he became the sixth player in league history to score 1,200 career points with a goal and two assists.
Rookie Joe Juneau scored a goal and added three assists, on Jan. 30, 1993, to lead the way in a 6-5 win at the Islanders. Adam Oates picked up four assists as first-year goaltender John Blue earned his first NHL road victory.
Ray Bourque became the Bruins’ all-time leading scorer, on Jan. 30, 1997, in a 3-1 loss at the Florida Panthers. His goal gave him 1,339 career points, one more than what Bucyk retired with in 1978.
Hall of Fame Moments
Alec Connell became the first goaltender in the early history of the league to record 10 shutouts in one season, on Jan. 30, 1926, by leading the Ottawa Senators to a 1-0 victory over the New York Americans.
Nels Stewart of the Americans became the second player in NHL history to score 250 career goals, on Jan. 30, 1936, in a 3-2 loss to the visiting Montreal Maroons. One year later, became the NHL’s all-time goals leader when he scored his 272nd to move ahead of Howie Morenz. Goaltender Alfie Moore picked up a shutout in a 4-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
Speaking of the Canadiens, on Jan. 30, 1971, Jean Beliveau played in his 1,100th career regular-season game and scored a goal in a 5-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Tony Esposito became the second goaltender in Blackhawks’ franchise history to record 250 wins, on Jan. 30, 1977, in a 9-3 victory over the visiting Cleveland Barons.
Defenseman Mark Howe recorded five assists, on Jan. 30, 1980, to help lead the Hartford Whalers to a big 8-2 win over the Bruins. Mike Rogers scored his first NHL hat trick in the victory.
Guy Lafleur became the 66th player in NHL history to appear in 1,000 career games, on Jan. 30, 1989. He celebrated the milestone with an assist on a goal by rookie Brian Leetch as the New York Rangers beat the Islanders 7-3.
Peter Stastny scored his 400th NHL goal, on Jan. 30, 1991, as the Devils picked up a 4-2 road win in Los Angeles. He became the 32nd player in the NHL to join the 400-goal club. Gretzky had an assist to reach the 100-point mark for the 12th straight season exactly one year after setting the record for 100 points in 11 seasons in a row.
Paul Coffey played his first game with the Red Wings, on Jan. 30, 1993, and made a heck of a debut with two assists in a 4-4 with the Vancouver Canucks.
On that same night, Ron Francis scored his 300th NHL goal in the Penguins’ 4-2 win over the Flyers. The win extended Pittsburgh’s unbeaten streak against Philadelphia to 14 games (10-0-4).
Carolina Goaltending Memories
The Carolina Hurricanes were outshot by the Canadiens 45-10, on Jan. 30, 1999, and still won 3-1. They scored all three of their goals in the second period where they registered eight of their 10 shots on goal. They did not get a single shot on goal in the third period and were outshout 18-0. The 10 shots allowed were the fewest the Canadiens ever allowed in a game. Goaltender Arturs Irbe was the star by making 44 saves in stealing a win.
Cam Ward set an NHL record for the longest relief appearance by giving up a goal, on Jan. 30, 2015, in the Hurricanes’ 3-2 shootout loss to the Blues. Ward jumped onto the ice just 3:25 into the game after starter Anton Khudobin surrendered two goals on the first three shots he saw. He made 29 saves during his 61:35 in regulation and overtime before allowing a shootout goal to Kevin Shattenkirk. He broke the old record of 60:05 set by Bob Essensa of the Red Wings in 1994.
Odds & Ends
Dean Prentice and Paul Ronty each scored in the second period, on Jan. 30, 1954, to lead the Rangers to a 2-1 win at the Canadiens. This was their last win at the Forum in Montreal until Feb. 16, 1957, after losing 21 straight games.
Six years later, on Jan. 30, 1960, Prentice scored the 5,000th goal in Rangers history in a 3-2 loss at the Maple Leafs.
The Blackhawks had their biggest shutout win in franchise history, on Jan. 30, 1969, when they beat the 12-0 of the Flyers at the Spectrum. Dennis Hull led the offensive attack with two goals and three assists and Jim Pappin scored his second career hat trick. Denis DeJordy earned the 13th shutout of his career.
Rookie Mike Foligno ended the Red Wings’ penalty-shot drought, on Jan. 30, 1980, in a 6-4 loss at the Maple Leafs. This was the first penalty-shot goal scored by a Detroit player since Norm Ullman did it in 1967.
Alexander Mogilny scored his 250th NHL goal, on Jan. 30, 1996, in a 3-2 Canucks’ loss to the visiting Devils.
On that same night, the San Jose Sharks established a franchise record with six goals in the second period. Kevin Miller scored his first hat trick with the team in an 8-2 blowout of the visiting Hartford Whalers.
Jeremy Roenick scored a goal to give him 1,000 points in his NHL career, on Jan. 30, 2002, in the Flyers’ 3-1 loss at the Ottawa Senators.
On Jan. 30, 2004, the Blackhawks ended their franchise-record road losing streak of 19 straight games. Rookie Tuomo Ruutu scored a pair of goals in a 5-3 win over the Flames in Calgary.
The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Flames 4-2, on Jan. 30, 2018, for their 33rd win over the season. This tied the record for most wins in an expansion team’s first season, set by both the 1993-94 Florida Panthers and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The difference was the Golden Knights only 49 games to equal this mark.
Happy Birthday to You
A group of 35 current and former NHL players have been born on this date. The most notable of this lot are Steve Heinze (51), Trent Klatt (50) Chris Simon (50), Dan Hinote (44), Torrey Mitchell (36), Luca Sbisa (31), Ryan Spooner (29), Justin Holl (29), Colin White (24) and Thomas Chabot (24).