March 6 has been a date full of new records, both league-wide and with various franchises. This date has also given us some great moments inside the blue paint and saw some Hall of Famers change addresses. Let’s take our daily trip back in time through National Hockey League history and relive the best this date has had to offer.
New Records Set
Bill Durnan earned his fourth consecutive shutout and 25th of his career, March 6, 1949, as the Canadiens beat the Bruins 1-0. He broke Frank Brimsek’s old record of three straight shutouts set in 1938.
The Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3 on March 6, 1971, to break the NHL record for the most wins in a season. This road victory was their 47th win of the season, one more than the 1968-69 Montreal Canadiens. Phil Esposito scored three times for his sixth hat trick of the season, a new NHL record.
Chuck Lefley scored a goal in the first period and added four assists in the third period, on March 6, 1976, to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 7-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blues set a team record with two shorthanded goals within a span of 51 seconds during the third period.
Orest Kindrachuk scored his first career hat trick on that same night as the Philadelphia Flyers extended their team-record home winning streak to 12 straight games, with a 6-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
Dale Hawerchuk picked up an NHL record five assists during the second period, on March 6, 1984, as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Los Angeles Kings 7-3.
Mark Howe scored two goals and added four assists on March 6, 1986, as the Flyers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-4. His six points set new Philadelphia team records for goals, assists, and points in a season by a defenseman.
In Montreal, on this same night, Mats Naslund set a team record when he recorded his 57th assist of the season, breaking the record for left wingers set by Bert Olmstead in 1955-56. The Canadiens lost the
Brian Bellows had a goal and an assist to become the first U.S.-born player to score at least 60 points for seven straight seasons, on March 6, 1991, in a Minnesota 5-1 North Stars’ win over the visiting Edmonton Oilers. The seven seasons in a row with 60 points were also a new team record.
Craig Janney tied a Blues’ team record by picking up an assist in his 10th straight game, on March 6, 1992, in a 5-3 loss at the Oilers.
Sandis Ozolinsh scored twice to become the first defenseman in San Jose Sharks history to get 20 goals in a season, on March 6, 1994, in a 6-0 victory over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
Scott Mellanby tied a St. Louis team record with four power-play goals on March 6, 2003, as the Blues won 6-3 over the visiting Phoenix Coyotes. This was his first career hat trick in 1,209 NHL games.
Hall of Famers Find New Addresses
The Quebec Nordiques traded veteran Peter Stastny to New Jersey Devils, on March 6, 1990, in exchange for Craig Wolanin. Stastny scored 380 goals and 1,048 points during his 10 seasons with the Nordiques. He played 217 games with the Devils, scoring 64 goals and 173 points.
On the same date, the New York Rangers acquired Mike Gartner from the Minnesota North Stars, for Ulf Dahlen. Seven years later, on March 6, 1997, Gartner scored twice during the Coyotes’ 5-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The two tallies made him the first player in NHL history to score at least 30 goals in 17 straight seasons and gave him 1,300 career points.
The Bruins traded away a pair of future Hall of Famers, on March 6, 2000, in defenseman Ray Bourque and forward Dave Andreychuk. They send the duo to the Colorado Avalanche forwards Brian Rolston and Samuel Pahlsson, defenseman Samuel Pahlsson and a first-round draft pick. Bourque returned to the Avalanche the following season and concluded his 22-season career with a Stanley Cup victory. Andreychuk returned to the Buffalo Sabres the following season, with who he started his career with before playing four seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he won a championship in 2004.
Goaltenders Rule the Day
Robbie Moore became the 15th goaltender in league history to earn a shutout in his NHL debut on March 6, 1979, as he led the Flyers to a 5-0 win over the Colorado Rockies. He went 3-0-1 with two shutouts in his five games for Philadelphia. He played only one more NHL game for the Washington Capitals during the 1982-83 season.
Three years later, Rogie Vachon won his 355th and final game in the Bruins’ 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings. This was also the 51st and last shutout in the league.
Chris Osgood became just the second goaltender to score a goal by shooting the puck into the net, on March 6, 1996, in the Red Wings 4-2 win over the Hartford Whalers. He fired the puck down the length of the ice for an empty-net goal with just 11 seconds to play.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves on March 6, 2019, to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a 2-1 win over the visiting Calgary Flames. The victory was the 437th of his career, tying him with Jacques Plante for eighth place on the NHL all-time wins list. Travis Hamonic’s goal ended his shutout streak at 200:41.
Odds & Ends
Maurice Richard scored the 2,000th goal in Canadiens’ history on March 6, 1946, and Toe Blake picked up three assists in a 7-3 win over the Rangers.
Guy Lafleur hit the 50-goal mark for the third straight season, on March 6, 1977, by scoring the lone goal in a 4-1 Canadiens’ loss at the Sabres.
Ron Francis scored the first of his 11 career regular-season hat tricks on March 6, 1983, as the Whalers lost 7-3 to the Nordiques.
Playing in his final NHL game, on March 6, 1993, veteran defenseman Randy Carlyle scored the only goal of his 17th NHL season to get his 500th career point. It came in a 4-2 Jets’ loss in Toronto, where he started his career in 1976.
Jari Kurri scored his 561st NHL goal to pass Guy Lafleur into eighth place on the all-time scoring list on March 6, 1995, as the Kings lost 8-2 at the Dallas Stars.
On March 6, 2004, Peter Bondra scored his 25th goal of the season for the 11th time in his career and added an assist in an Ottawa Senators’ 4-2 win over the visiting Nashville Predators. Jacques Martin became the 14th head coach to win 400 regular-season games.
Mike Sillinger made his debut with the Blues on March 6, 2004, to become the third player in league history to play for 10 different teams. He picked up three assists in a 4-2 win at the Islanders. He played for a total of 12 teams before he retired.
Joe Thornton became the 13th player to ever record 1,000 career assists on March 6, 2017, when he picked up the helper on Joe Pavelski’s game-winning goal in the Sharks’ 3-2 victory at the Jets.
Happy Birthday to You
A total of 29 current and former NHL players share a birthday today. Among the most notable of this group include Daniel Winnik (36) Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (36), Louis Domingue (29), Sam Lafferty (26) and Anthony Angello (25).