Today in Hockey History: June 1 – Hockey Writers – Hockey History

June 1 was a busy day in the history of the National Hockey League. It has seen champions crowned, eras end, historic arenas built, and the coaching changes that accompany ice sports. Let’s start our daily journey back to enjoy all the top moments that this date has to offer.
Championship Memories in Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Penguins won their second straight championship on June 1, 1992, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 6-5 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The win was 11 for the Penguinsth straight into the postseason, tying the record the Blackhawks had set in the series against Pittsburgh.
The Penguins held a three-point one-goal lead in the first half thanks to goals from Jaromir Jagr, Kevin Stevens, and Mario Lemieux, but all three of those goals were answered by Dirk Graham’s first hat trick. Rick Tocchet and Jeremy Roenick added goals in the second half. Larry Murphy and Ron Francis gave the Penguins a two-goal lead early in the third period. Roenick scored again with less than nine minutes to play, but the Blackhawks couldn’t find the equalizer.
Lemieux, who added two assists to go along with his goal, wins his second consecutive Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason’s most valuable player. He had 16 goals and 34 points in 15 games during the tournament.
The Penguins also beat the San Jose Sharks 2-1 on June 1, 2016, in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Phil Kessel opened the scoring in the second half before Justin Braun forced overtime late in the period. Just 2:35 into overtime, Conor Sheary scored from the left circle to give the Penguins a 2-0 series lead. He became the first rookie since Brian Skrudland in 1986 to score an overtime goal in the Finals.
More Misery for the Blackhawks
Losing in the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals wasn’t the only heartbreak the Blackhawks suffered on this day. On June 1, 1995, they lost 2-1 in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. Joe Murphy gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead on a power play goal in the first half. After Keith Primeau tied the game in the middle frame, Nicklas Lidstrom scored one minute into overtime. This was the Red Wings’ first overtime win at home since 1960, ending a 10-game losing streak.
Chicago’s woes continued on June 1, 2014, when their reign as Stanley Cup champions ended. The Los Angeles Kings entered the United Center and beat them 5-4, in overtime, in Game 7 of the Western Conference Final.
The Blackhawks were unable to score as Marian Gaborik forced overtime with seven minutes left to play. Alec Martinez sent the Kings to the Stanley Cup Finals when his shot hit the knee of Blackhawks defenseman Nick Leddy and went behind goaltender Corey Crawford. Justin “Mr. Game 7” Williams scored the seventh Game 7 goal of his career, tying Glenn Anderson for the most in league history.
Two Seasons Will End
On June 1, 1979, Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Bernie Parent announced his retirement from the NHL due to an eye injury. Parent played in 608 career games, 486 of those with the Flyers. He is second in franchise history with 231 wins, and his 50 shutouts are more than any other Flyers netminder. He won the Vezina and Conn Smythe Trophies in both 1974 and 1975 while leading the Flyers to back-to-back Stanley Cup wins.
Al Arbor announced his resignation as head coach of the New York Islanders on June 1, 1994, after coaching 1,606 NHL games, the most of anyone in league history, at the time. Arbor became the new Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Islanders. He returned to coach one game in the 2007-08 season and earned his 740thth career victory in New York. His 782 career coaching wins are the fifth most in NHL history.
Odds & Ends
On June 1, 1931, construction began on Toronto’s new stadium, Maple Leaf Gardens. The building opened 165 days later, on November 12, 1931. It served as the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs until Feb. 13, 1999.
The NHL announced an increase in its regular season schedule from 60 to 70 on June 1, 1949.
The Calgary Flames fired head coach Al MacNeil on June 1, 1982, and replaced him with Bob Johnson. This was Johnson’s first NHL job after serving 15 years as the head coach at the University of Wisconsin. He eventually led the Flames to the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals.
On June 1, 1988, Jean Perron resigned as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, citing major differences with general manager Serge Savard. In Perron’s three years as coach, the Canadiens were 126-84-30 in the regular season and 30-18 in the playoffs. He was replaced by Pat Burns, who was 21St head coach in franchise history.
That day, the Flyers named Paul Holmgren their new head coach, the seventh in the team’s 22-year history. Holmgren replaced Mike Keenan and became the first former player to return to coach the team.
Wayne Gretzky worked his magic on June 1, 1993, as the Kings beat the Canadiens 4-1 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Gretzky assisted on the Kings’ first three goals before adding an empty netter for good measure. This was the Kings’ first win in the Stanley Cup Finals, but it would be their last until 2012, as the Canadiens won the next four games.
The Florida Panthers advanced to their last Stanley Cup Final in franchise history on June 1, 1996. Tom Fitzgerald scored the decisive goal in a 3-1 victory over the Penguins in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final. Goalkeeper John Vanbiesbrouck made 39 saves.
The Dallas Stars defeated the New Jersey Devils on June 1, 2000, in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. Brett Hull scored both goals for the Stars while Scott Stevens scored his 100th career point with an assist on Alexander Mogilny’s first-period goal.
On June 1, 2011, the Vancouver Canucks beat the Boston Bruins 1-0 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Raffi Torres scored the only goal of the night with 19 seconds left in the third period. Roberto Luongo made 36 saves to become just the sixth goaltender in NHL history to get a shutout in his Finals start.
On June 1, 2021, Andrei Vasilevskiy became the third goaltender in Tampa Bay Lightning history to allow one or fewer goals in three consecutive postseason games when he allowed one in a 2-1 Game 2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. He joined Nikolai Khabibulin and Ben Bishop in this game. It was also his 39th NHL win, tying the aforementioned Khabibulin for the most among Russian-born goaltenders. Of course, he is now well past that as he won the Stanley Cup that year and is now playing in another Eastern Conference Final in 2022.
In that game, Victor Hedman became the seventh defenseman in NHL history to record at least 10 assists through the first eight games of a single season.
happy Birthday to you
A total of 33 current and former NHL players were born on this day. Morris Lukowich (68), Paul Coffey (63, Hall of Fame), Dan Quinn (59), Murray Baron (57), Jeff Hackett (56), Mike Dunham (52), Michal Grosek (49), Mark Fistric (38 ) ), Roman Josi (34), Dylan Sikura (29), Tanner Laczynski (27), Kristian Vesalainen (25) and Emil Bernstrom (25) are among the June 1 boys.
*Originally created by Greg Boysen
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