We’re normally getting ready for another hockey season, but we’re in a different world. Last Word on Hockey is still going to look back at each date’s historical significance to the game. We’ll remember the moments that shaped the sport of hockey that happened on this day. Here’s our look at this date in hockey history for October 12, featuring Auston Matthews.
Today in Hockey History
Auston Matthews Scores Four in Debut
2016: Matthews is the first player in the modern era to score four goals in first NHL game. The Scottsdale, Ariz. native nets all four goals in the Toronto Maple Leafs season-opener against the Ottawa Senators. He scores his fourth of the game with three seconds left in the second period.
However, the Senators would have the last laugh after Kyle Turris scores in the 3-on-3 overtime. Turris’ goal 37 seconds into the extra frame gave Ottawa a 5-4 victory
Other Notable Events
1972: Germain Gagnon scores with 1:09 remaining in regulation as the New York Islanders earn their first-ever win. Top pick of the 1972 NHL Draft Billy Harris scores twice in the 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
1976: New York Rangers forward Don Murdoch ties Howie Meeker‘s mark of most goals by a rookie in a single game. Murdoch’s five markers lead the Rangers to a 10-4 win over the Minnesota North Stars.
1977: The Montreal Canadiens extend their unbeaten run (11 wins, four ties) in season-openers to 15. Guy Lapointe gets three points in a 7-3 victory over the North Stars.
1980: Toronto’s Wilf Paiement scores an empty-net goal for the league’s 100,000th goal in history. The Leafs beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2. Paiement goes on to have a career season of 40 goals and 97 points for the former second overall choice in the 1974 NHL Draft.
1996: Washington Capitals centre Dale Hunter is the first to get 300 goals and 3,000 penalty minutes in the Caps’ 4-3 loss against the Kings.
2005: Alex Ovechkin is the first Capitals player to get points in his first five career games. The mark comes in a 7-2 loss at the Carolina Hurricanes.
2006: Ryan Smyth breaks one of Wayne Gretzky‘s Edmonton Oilers records in a 6-4 win over the San Jose Sharks. Smyth scores three goals in a 2:01 span, which was 17 seconds faster than Gretzky. It’s also Smyth’s fifth career hat trick.
2017: Roberto Luongo ties Curtis Joseph on the all-time goalie wins list with 454. Luongo makes 37 stops in the Florida Panthers 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues.
Happy Birthday to You
1930: Denis Brodeur
1940: Larry Jeffrey
1959: Eddy Beers
1963: Randy Wood
1965: J.J. Daigneault; Todd Krygier
1969: Dwayne Roloson
1975: Randy Robitaille
1985: Mike Green; Carl Soderberg
1986: Adam McQuaid
1994: Sean Monahan
