This Day in Hockey History

1948 - Gordie Howe appears in 1st All-Star Game

Hockey legend and NHL ironman Gordie Howe appears in his first NHL All-Star Game, helping the league's best beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1. 

Howe would go on to play in an NHL-record 23 All Star spectacles across an absolutely inimitable five decades of professional hockey. 

His last All-Star appearance was as a 51-year-old in 1980, helping Scotty Bowman's Wales Conference topple rookie Wayne Gretzky and the rest of the Campbell Conference All Stars 6-3. 

1940 - Dick Irvin Sr. coaches 1st NHL game

Hall of Famer Dick Irvin mans the Montreal Canadiens bench for the first time, helping guide the Habs to a 1-1 draw with the Boston Bruins. 

It marks the beginning of Montreal's revival as a franchise, who remedy their financial woes with on-ice results under Irvin.

Irvin would go on to guide the Canadiens to eight Stanley Cup Finals in 15 seasons with Montreal, winning three. 

Birthdays

1980 - Matt Carkner
1982 - Pekka Rinne
1982 - Jay Harrison