Today in hockey history, a team extends its record, a player begins setting a record, a game missing an important element is played, a new captain is made, a team plays its first game and one of its players sets two firsts, and the first game since an event takes place in a city.
October 7, 1954 – The Red Wings beat the visiting Maple Leafs 2-1, extending their opening-night unbeaten streak to 15 games (14-0-1).
October 7, 1955 – Rangers rookie Andy Hebenton played his first career game, which was also the first of 630 consecutive games, an NHL record at the time. New York beat Chicago 7-4.
October 7, 1983 – In a game of no defense between Minnesota and Vancouver, the North Stars played less. The Canucks won by a ridiculous score of 10-9, the highest-scoring game in team history. The North Stars scored a whopping four power-play goals, but the Canucks scored an insane six power-play goals.
October 7, 1986 – In his fourth season, Steve Yzerman was named the youngest captain in Red Wings history at the young age of 21, the team’s 34th captain. He’d captain the team for 19 seasons.
October 7, 1996 – In the first NHL game played in Arizona, Mike Gartner scored the first goal in Phoenix Coyotes history (after moving from Winnipeg). He added two more to also score the first hat trick in team history (still the first game) as the Coyotes beat the Bruins 5-2.
October 7, 2001 – The first hockey game since the 9/11 tragedy was played in New York City, as the Rangers beat the Sabres 5-4 in overtime. Newly acquired Eric Lindros scored his first goal as a Ranger (and had an assist).
Source: Hockey Hall of Fame
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