Perhaps the greatest defenseman in NHL history hit a milestone, with two different teams, on this day. Also, the Nassau Coliseum has hosted several memorable moments, and the current general manager built his Hall of Fame credentials during his tenure. So, let’s take a trip back in time and remember all the good times from Oct. 24.
Orr Makes More History
When you had Hall of Fame defensive tackle Bobby Orr, you would talk about him almost every day in these types of history posts. October 24 was especially memorable as it had big moments with two different teams.
First, on Oct. 24, 1969, Orr had three assists, including the 100th of his NHL career as the Boston Bruins earned a 4-2 road victory over the Oakland Golden Seals 4-2.
Seven years later, on Oct. 24, 1976, Orr scored two goals to help the Chicago Blackhawks beat the St. Louis Blues 7-2 at old Chicago Stadium. Both goals came from his former Boston teammate, goaltender Eddie Johnston, to give him 900 career points.
Orr became the first defenseman to score 900 points in the NHL, hitting the milestone in 638 games. Since then, 11 other defensemen have scored at least 900 points, two of which will appear later in the column. This was one of the last great moments of Orr’s legend as he played only 19 more games before a knee injury forced his retirement in 1978.
Roy Resets The Bar
On October 24, 2002, Patrick Roy helped lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 3-2 road win over the Phoenix Coyotes. The victory came in his 972n.d game for a living, passing Terry Sawchuk for the most games played by a goaltender in NHL history.
Roy retired in 2003 with 1,029 games played. He held the record until Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils passed him in 2009. He currently sits in third place on the all-time leading scorer list, with Roberto Luongo in second place.
Nassau Coliseum Memories
Shortly after the New York Islanders joined the NHL, they hosted the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 24, 1972, at the Nassau Coliseum. The Canadiens won the first ever meeting between these two franchises, 4-3. Jacques Lemaire scored three goals and assisted on Montreal’s fourth goal for the first hat trick in the club’s history. This was one of the losses of 60 Islanders during their launch.
On October 24, 1981, the Islanders beat the Washington Capitals, 6-4, on home ice. Mike Bossy had a goal and two assists to lead the offensive attack. He became the first member of the Islanders to score 250 goals. He accomplished this in 315 games, making him the fastest player of all time.
Related – 5 Most Effective Islanders in Franchise History
Exactly seven years later, on Oct. 24, 1988, Bossy officially announced his retirement. He missed the entire 1987-88 season with a back injury and was unable to return. He retired with 573 goals and 1,126 points in just 752 games, leading many to wonder how much higher he would have gone on the scoring list if he hadn’t been a terrible defender.
Finally, on Oct. 24, 1992, Benoit Hogue scored his first NHL hat trick to lead the Islanders to a 4-2 victory over the Hartford Whalers. Hogue was originally acquired in a trade that sent Pat LaFontaine to the Buffalo Sabres. He scored 105 goals and 229 points in 258 games with the Islanders over four seasons.
Francis’ Great Day
Long before Ron Francis became the first general manager of the Seattle Kraken, he scored 1,798 points during his 23 season Hall of Fame career. He reached two important milestones on this day.
On October 24, 1987, Francis had an assist, in the Hartford Whalers’ 5-3 victory over the Blackhawks, for his 500th.th the point of his work. He scored 382 goals and 1,175 points in his two seasons with the Whalers and Carolina Hurricanes.
In 1991, Francis was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. There were Penguins, on Oct. 24, 1992, where he picked up two assists to record his 900th NHL point in a 4-3 win over the Devils.
Odds & Ends
On October 24, 1968, 44-year-old defenseman Doug Harvey assisted on two goals in 28 seconds of the third period to lead the St.
The Minnesota North Stars, on October 24, 1971, won 6-3 at the Los Angeles Kings. Forward Murray Oliver was involved in every goal with a goal and five assists. One of those assists came on Bob Nevin’s 500th goalth point of the NHL veteran’s career.
Gilbert Perreault scored a goal on October 24, 1986, during the Sabers’ 5-4 loss to the visiting Whalers. The target was 508th in his career, he took him ahead of Canadiens legend Jean Beliveau for 11 yearsth Enter the league’s top scorers list.
One year later, on Oct. 24, 1987, Phil Housley scored to become the Sabers’ all-time leading scorer among defensemen with 352 points. However, it was not enough as Buffalo lost to Pittsburgh, 5-3, thanks to Mario Lemieux scoring three goals in the third period for the ninth hat trick of his career.
Brian Propp hit 400th his career goal, on October 24, 1991, in a 5-2 loss to his former team, the Philadelphia Flyers. He was 35 years oldth player in league history to score 400 goals. Propp scored 369 career goals in his 11 seasons with the Flyers.
That same night, Paul Coffey scored his 310th career goal to tie Islanders’ Hall of Famer Denis Potvin as the top-scoring defenseman in NHL history. The historic goal came in the Penguins’ 4-2 loss to the Devils.
The Bruins retired Terry O’Reilly’s number 24 in a pregame ceremony, Oct. 24, 2002, before their first home game of the 2002-02 season. O’Reilly spent his entire 14-season career in Boston, scoring 202 goals and 606 points in 891 games. When the game started, the Bruins tied 2-2 with the visiting Ottawa Senators.
On October 24, 2003, the Detroit Red Wings recorded their 15th consecutive home win, a 4-0 win over the Dallas Stars. Goaltender Dominik Hasek recorded his 62nd shutout and first since returning from a one-year retirement.
Goaltender Carey Price came up big with 49 saves on Oct. 24, 2015, as the Canadiens defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 at the Bell Centre. The victory gave the Habs a perfect record of 9-0-0 to start the season, with all wins coming in regulation. This broke the record for most consecutive games to start a season, which was first set by the 1975-76 Sabres. However, the Canadiens missed the playoffs that season, despite a good start.
On this day in 2021, Red Wings rookie phenom Lucas Raymond scored his first NHL hat trick and became the second youngster to do so in franchise history joining general manager Steve Yzerman who did it twice in his rookie season. Raymond also became the third youngster to record a four-point game, joining the aforementioned Yzerman and the legendary Gordie Howe.
On October 24, 2023, Doug Armstrong appeared in his 1,000th game as Blues general manager and became the 25th person to reach the milestone with a single franchise.
October 24, 2023, marked the first “Frozen Frenzy” event that saw all 32 teams in action.
happy Birthday to you
A total of 16 current and former NHL players were born on Oct. 24. Most recognized names include Harold Snepsts (70), former blueliner Joe Micheletti (70), Jim Peplinski (65), Jamal Mayers (50), Jonas. Gustavsson (40), Kyle Rau (32), and Tony DeAngelo (29).
*Originally created by Greg Boysen
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