Normally we’d be in the midst of starting up another hockey season now, 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 December 2nd, featuring Jean Beliveau.
Today in Hockey
Jean Beliveau Dies in 2014
2014: The Montreal Canadiens great passes away at the age of 83. Beliveau scored 507 goals and 1,219 points in 1,125 games all with the Habs. He played with two generations of Montreal stars from the 1950s through the 1970s. The man who wore No. 4 was universally respected.
Beliveau won 10 Stanley Cups as a player and was part of seven more championship winners as an executive. The Hall of Fame waived the normal three-year waiting period and inducted him 1972 after he retired.
Other Notable Events
1909: The precursor to the NHL, the National Hockey Association, forms in Montreal. Charter members include the Montreal Wanderers, Renfrew Creamery Kings and the Canadiens.
1925: The New York Americans play their first game in a 2-1 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Billy Burch gets the first goal in Americans history and Charlie Langlois pots the winner at 3:10 of OT.
1967: Johnny Bucyk becomes the Boston Bruins all-time leading scorer with two goals in a 4-4 tie with the Chicago Blackhawks. He passes Milt Schmidt with his 230th goal in a Bruins’ uniform.
1969: The NHL gives expansion teams to Buffalo and Vancouver at the Board of Governors meeting. The league swells to 14 teams and the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks start play in 1970-71.
1986: New York Islanders defenceman Denis Potvin becomes the first blueliner to get 700 assists. He gets a goal and an assist in a 3-3 tie with the Calgary Flames.
1995: The Detroit Red Wings change the course of history with an 11-1 rout of the Canadiens. Vyacheslav Kozlov scores four goals and Patrick Roy allows nine goals in what would be his last game in a Habs uniform. Roy is dealt to the Colorado Avalanche four days later. Montreal gets a measure of revenge 22 years later with a 10-1 win over Detroit.
2015: Kyle Okposo scored on the first shot of the shootout as the Islanders win in the New York Rangers first visit to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Jaroslav Halak stops all shootout attempts in the 2-1 win.
2017: Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals moves up to 20th on the scoring list when he scores a second-period power-play goal in a 4-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Happy Birthday to You
1933: Val Fonteyne
1934: Bill McCreary
1948: Ralph Stewart
1954: Mario Faubert
1955: Paul Holmgren
1963: Rich Sutter; Ron Sutter
1966: Kelly Buchberger
1972: Sergei Zholtok
1980: Joel Ward
1991: Jesper Fast
1994: Elias Lindholm
