Paul Coffey clicked for record-breaking assists and points on this night in 1991
Kevin Stevens and Bob Errey helped teammate Paul Coffey make history 34 years ago tonight.
Stevens scored in the first period and Errey scored in the third, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins past the New York Islanders 8-5.
But more importantly, their goals gave Coffey 744 career assists and 1,053 career points, giving him the NHL records for defensemen in both categories.
Stevens' goal was assist number 743 and Errey's goal was point number 1,053, lifting Coffey past former Islanders’ captain Denis Potvin, who held the old records of 742 and 1,052.
"It's a thrill," Coffey told a reporter afterward. "Denis Potvin is one of the greatest defensemen that ever played the game. To have a chance to even share numbers like him is one thing, but to have a chance to pass him is another."
Coffey's teammate Bryan Trottier, who had also been Potvin's longtime teammate on the Island, had a unique perspective to share. "Paul's a tremendous hockey player," he said. "Rightfully, he's the new leader and all hats are off to Paul Coffey."
Potvin remained atop the career goals list with 310 for three more weeks before Coffey surpassed that mark too, on Nov. 8, 1991.
Coffey retired in 2001 with 396 goals, 1,135 assists, and 1,531 points, but he is now second to Ray Bourque in all three all-time lists for scoring by defensemen.
Also on this date:
1974 – Jack Egers’ first goal of the season at 8:46 of the third period lifted the Washington Capitals past the Chicago Black Hawks 4-3, the first regular season win in Capitals’ franchise history. Denis Dupere, with two goals, and Ron Anderson scored twice for Washington, which won only seven more times in that season. The Caps’ 8-67-5 record in 1974-75 remains the worst performance by a team in NHL history over a season of 70 or more games.
1989 – Doug Gilmour and Paul Ranheim capped one of the wildest comebacks in NHL history, scoring shorthanded goals in the last 15 seconds of the third period to give the Calgary Flames an 8-8 tie with the Quebec Nordiques. The Nords led 8-3 with less than seven minutes remaining, but three goals in a 27-second span – Gary Roberts at 13:27 and again at 13:43, and Jim Peplinski at 13:54 – kick-started Calgary’s comeback. Even so, it looked bleak for the Flames when Roberts took a double-minor at 19:41 to leave them a man short and still trailing by two goals. Gilmour scored four seconds after the ensuing faceoff, and then won the next draw and set up Ranheim for the tying marker at 19:49. These last two goals remain an NHL record for the two fastest shorthanded goals in history.
1992 – Jari Kurri of the Los Angeles Kings scored into an empty net to clinch an 8-6 win over the Boston Bruins and pick up the 500th goal of his regular season career. He was the 18th NHL player to reach the mark, and the third to do so with an empty-net goal, following Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky. The Helsinki native was also the first European-trained player to score 500 goals; Stan Mikita, born in Slovakia, was the first player born in Europe to score 500, but he grew up and learned his hockey in Canada.
2000 – Goaltender Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche stopped 27 of 30 shots in a 4-3 victory over the Capitals, the 446th regular season win of his career, breaking Terry Sawchuk’s record of 445. Sawchuk had held the record since November 1961, when he earned his 331st win and surpassed Harry Lumley. Roy retired in 2003 with 551 victories and is now third on the all-time list behind Martin Brodeur and Marc-Andre Fleury.