This has been a very interesting date in National Hockey League history. One of the truly unbreakable streaks in all of sports came to an end. The league saw its first-ever penalty shot, had a game postponed due to a November heatwave and got a new player atop the all-time goals list.
The Streak of All Streaks Ends
For the first time in over seven years, on Nov. 10, 1962, Glenn Hall’s hockey team took to the ice without him. The Hall of Fame goaltender had started and played every minute of 502 consecutive games, but three days earlier, he had to leave the Chicago Blackhawks’ game against the Boston Bruins due to a back injury.
For the first time since the opening game of the 1955-56 season with the Detroit Red Wings, Hall was not in uniform. On this night, Dennis DeJordy started in his absence at the old Montreal Forum. He made 33 saves to lead the Blackhawks to a 3-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
DeJordy started the next three games for the Blackhawks before Hall returned from injury on Nov. 17, 1962. There are very few certainties in sports, but one of them is that Hall’s streak will never be broken.
Historic Date for Mr. Hockey
We go from Mr. Goalie to Mr. Hockey. Gordie Howe became the NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer on this date in 1963. He scored his 545th career goal in a 3-0 victory over the Canadiens. It was appropriate that Montreal was in town for this milestone, as it was Habs legend Maurice Richard’s record that was broken on this night.
After Howe scored his historic goal, a shorthanded tally late in the second period, the crowd of nearly 16,000 fans at Olympia Stadium gave their hero a 10-minute ovation. Overshadowed by Howe’s goal was another major achievement between the pipes.
Goaltender Terry Sawchuk stopped all 39 shots he faced to earn his 94th career shutout. This tied him with the great George Hainsworth for the most shutouts in NHL history, at the time. He retired with 103, which were the record until Martin Brodeur passed him by in 2009.
One year later, on Nov. 10, 1964, Howe played in the 1,200th game of his career. He picked up an assist in a 3-3 tie with the Bruins. He is one of only four players to ever play in at least 1,200 games for the Red Wings. His 1,687 games played are still the most in franchise history.
Old School Highlights
On Nov. 10, 1934, Armand Mondou of the Canadiens is the first player in league history to ever be awarded a penalty shot. His attempt is stopped by Hainsworth as Montreal eventually loses 2-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime.
Goaltender Turk Broda recorded his 10th career shutout, on Nov. 10, 1938, as the Maple Leafs beat the Canadiens in a rare penalty-free game. His 61 career shutouts still lead all Toronto goaltenders in franchise history.
The New York Rangers got two overtime goals from Bryan Hextall, Sr and Lynn Patrick, on Nov. 10, 1942, to defeat the Blackhawks 5-3. This was back when the NHL played a full 10-minute overtime period instead of the sudden death format we are used to today. This was the last NHL game to go to overtime for over 40 years. The league eliminated overtime 11 days later, due to wartime restrictions, and did not reinstate it until the start of the 1983-84 season.
Unseasonable heat in Boston, on Nov. 10, 1948, forced the postponement of a game between the Bruins and Red Wings. After nine minutes of play, thick fog and soft ice forced referee Bill Chadwick to call the game. It was replayed the following night with the Bruins taking home a 4-1 victory.
A Night of Firsts
The St. Louis Blues beat Canadiens 5-0, on Nov. 10, 1973, to become the first post-1967 expansion team to register 200 victories. Win No. 200 came early in their seventh NHL season as goaltender Wayne Stephenson earned the second shutout of his career.
On Nov. 10, 1977, the Buffalo Sabres registered their first-ever victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at the Spectrum. Their 3-2 win snapped a 0-15-2 streak in the City of Brotherly Love dating back to the club’s inaugural season of 1970-71.
Michel Goulet scored the first goal of his career, on Nov. 10, 1979, in the Quebec Nordiques’ 5-4 loss at the Rangers. The future Hockey Hall of Famer went on to score 548 goals over 15 seasons with the Nordiques and Blackhawks.
Brendan Shanahan scored the first of his 656 goals, on Nov. 10, 1987, to help the New Jersey Devils beat the Rangers 3-2. Exactly 14 years later, on Nov. 10, 2001, Shanahan picked up his 500th career NHL assist in a 3-2 Red Wings’ loss at the Los Angeles Kings.
Scott Mellanby became the first player to score 300 points in Florida Panthers’ franchise history, on Nov. 10, 1999, when he picked up two third-period goals in a 4-1 win against the visiting Atlanta Thrashers.
On that same night, Rob Valicevic scored three goals in the first period for the first hat trick in Nashville Predators’ team history. The Predators held on for a 4-2 win in Chicago.
Odds & Ends
Gilbert Perreault, on Nov. 10, 1976, became the second player in Sabres’ team history to score 200 goals. He scored his milestone goal and added an assist came in a 5-0 win over the visiting Blues. Goaltender Gerry Desjardins made 38 saves to earn the 38th shutout of his career.
On Nov. 10, 1991, the Red Wings retired the numbers of Ted Lindsay (No. 7) and Alex Delvecchio (No. 10) in a pre-game ceremony at the Joe Louis Arena. They then went on to beat the Blues 6-4.
Staying in Detroit, on Nov. 10, 1999, Steve Yzerman became the all-time scoring leading among players who have spent their entire career with one team. He scored a goal in the Red Wings’ 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars to give him 1,495 points, one more than Mario Lemieux scored for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He retired with 1,755 points, all scored while wearing a Red Wings uniform.
Jeremy Roenick scored his 500th career goal, on Nov. 10, 2007, to help the San Jose Sharks beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-1. He became just the second U.S.-born player to ever score 500 NHL goals.
Goaltender Roberto Luongo made 24 saves, on Nov. 10, 2017, to lead the Panthers past the Sabres 4-1, in Buffalo. He passed Curtis Joseph for fourth all-time in league history with his 455th career victory.
Happy Birthday to You
There are currently no players in the NHL who were born on Nov. 10. The most notable among the 23 former players born on this date are Don Saleski (71), Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland (65), Cale Hulse (47), Kristian Huselius (42) and the late Al Smith and Bob Stewart.