Facts from a 2011 Scotiabank Hockey Club magazine:
The 1928-29 Chicago Blackhawks failed to score a single goal in eight consecutive games.
Latvian-born Helmut Balderis is the oldest player to be drafted by an NHL team. He was 36 when chosen by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1989 draft.
Detroit’s franchise, which was known as the Cougars before becoming the Red Wings, played its first NHL season, 1926-27, in Canada, at Windsor’s Border Cities Arena.
Patrice Lefebvre scored a whopping 200 points in his final junior season. But the former Shawinigan Cataractes’ star, who holds the CHL record of 595 points in his junior career, played just three NHL games and was pointless. (Maybe because he was only 5’6″, 160 lbs.)
Phil Esposito scored his 50th goal three times on his birthday – Feb. 20.
There are ice hockey associations in India, Thailand, Mexico, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates.
A rare doubleheader was held at New York’s Madison Square Garden on March 3, 1968. The Philadelphia Flyers, who had their home rink damaged in a storm two days earlier, played the Oakland Seals in a matinee contest. That was followed by a match that night between the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks.
