POINT OF FACT
? When and where was the National Hockey League organized?
•On Nov. 22, 1917, at Montreal. Five teams were charter members: two from Montreal (the Canadiens and the Wanderers) and one each from Ottawa, Quebec and Toronto. Quebec, however, did not play during that first season.
? The Montreal Canadiens won their fourth consecutive NHL championship last season. Has any other team won that many league titles in a row?
•Yes. The Detroit Red Wings were NHL champions seven straight years (1949-55). The Canadiens had another four-year streak between 1944 and 1947. These two teams have dominated the NHL, with 12 championships apiece in the 44-year history of the league.
? What team holds the record for consecutive undefeated games?
•The Boston Bruins played 23 games without a loss during the 1941 season. Included in this streak were 15 victories and eight ties.
? Only five players have scored more than 300 goals in the NHL. Who are they?
•Maurice Richard leads with 544, followed by Gordie Howe (469 at the end of last season), Ted Lindsay (365 at the end of last season), Nels Stewart (324) and Bernie Geoffrion (304 at the end of last season).
? The Hart Memorial Trophy, which is a warded to the league's most valuable player, was won by Bernie Geoffrion last year. Has any player won the award two seasons in a row?
•Gordie Howe of Detroit won the award a record five times (1952, 1953, 1957, 1958 and 1960); Eddie Shore of Boston won in 1935 and 1936, as well as in 1933 and 1938; Howie Morenz of the Canadiens won in 1928, 1931 and 1932.
? Gordie Howe also won the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer a record five times (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954 and 1957). How many times did Maurice Richard win the scoring title?
•None. He finished second five times—1945 (the year he scored a record 50 goals), 1947 (missed by one point), 1951, 1954 and 1955 (scored a personal high of 74 points but lost to teammate Geoffrion by a point when he was suspended from the last three games of the season). He also came in third two times (1953 and 1956) and fourth in 1950.
? Jacques Plante of the Canadiens won the Vezina Trophy—awarded to the league's best goalie—five consecutive seasons (1956-60). Has any other goalie won the award more times than Plante?
•Bill Durnan, an earlier Canadien goalie, won four straight years (1944-47) and then again in 1949 and 1950. Tiny Thompson of Boston is the only other goalie to win the award more than three times (1930, 1933, 1936 and 1938).
? What goalie holds the record for the most shutouts in one season?
•George Hainsworth of the Montreal Canadiens was unscored upon in 22 of 44 games in the 1928 season. He also holds the record for most career shutouts (94 in 10½ seasons).
? What player has led the league in penalty minutes the most times?
•Red Horner of the Toronto Maple Leafs is the incontestable leader, having led the league for eight straight seasons (1933-40).
ILLUSTRATION