189 Fun Facts About Hockey

Which NHL player holds the all-time record for most career goals?

Alex Ovechkin scored No. 895 on April 6, 2025, in his 1,487th game, exactly as many as Wayne Gretzky played, and the game came to a standstill with Gretzky in the building to watch.

Which piece of protective equipment did the NHL make mandatory for all new players in 1979?

Helmets became compulsory for anyone who signed after June 1, 1979, but veterans could carry on bareheaded, and Craig MacTavish did so until he retired in 1997.

What is unusual about substitutions in hockey?

They happen during play: skaters hop the boards 'on the fly', and since only five skaters and a goaltender are allowed, a mistimed change draws a too-many-men penalty.

Where did the United States beat the Soviet Union in the 1980 'Miracle on Ice'?

Lake Placid, a village in upstate New York hosting its second Winter Games, saw the upset, but the gold was not yet won: the Americans still had to beat Finland two days later.

What is a "hat trick" in hockey?

Three goals in one game is a hat trick, a term borrowed from cricket, where a bowler who took three wickets with successive balls was traditionally rewarded with a hat.

Which NHL club has won the Stanley Cup the most times?

The Montreal Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup 24 times, more than any other club, and the first of those titles, in 1916, came before the NHL even existed.

Which penalty gets a player ejected for the rest of the night?

A game misconduct ends a player's night, yet his team does not play short for it: a substitute may replace him at once, and the scoresheet charges him ten penalty minutes.

What nickname is given to the area directly in front of the goal where most goals are scored?

The slot is the area directly in front of the goaltender between the faceoff circles. It is prime scoring territory because shooters have the best angle on the net from this position.

Which player was nicknamed "Le Magnifique"?

Mario Lemieux, 'Le Magnifique', missed two months of 1992-93 for cancer treatment, flew to a game on the day of his last radiation session, and still finished the season as the league's top scorer.

What is hockey's penalty box commonly nicknamed?

The sin bin is the penalty box, and a player sent there for a major penalty must sit out every second of it, however many goals the other team scores in the meantime.

Which Bobby Orr moment does one of hockey's most famous photographs show?

His overtime goal to win the 1970 final is the picture: Orr flies through the air, arms raised, because defender Noel Picard tripped him just as the puck went in.

What is "icing" in hockey?

Shooting the puck down the ice untouched from your own half stops play, but a shorthanded team may do it freely, which is why penalty killers fire the puck the length of the rink.

Which team acquired Wayne Gretzky from Edmonton in the 1988 deal known simply as 'The Trade'?

The Los Angeles Kings sent Edmonton players, draft picks and $15 million, and Gretzky's popularity in California is credited with spurring the NHL's spread across the American Sun Belt.

What is the name of the trophy awarded to the NHL's most valuable player during the regular season?

The Hart Memorial Trophy is a replacement: the original Hart Trophy, donated in 1923 by the father of coach Cecil Hart, was retired in 1960, so 'Memorial' was added to its successor.

What drove the Montreal Wanderers out of the NHL's first season?

Fire destroyed their arena on January 2, 1918, four games into the season; already short of players, the Wanderers defaulted two matches and disbanded, leaving the NHL with three teams.

Which goaltender holds the NHL record for most career wins?

Martin Brodeur handled the puck so well that in 2005 the NHL painted a trapezoid behind each net to limit where goaltenders may play it, a change widely nicknamed the 'Brodeur rule'.

Which NHL team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden?

The New York Rangers were founded in 1926 by Garden promoter Tex Rickard, and the city's press promptly dubbed his new club 'Tex's Rangers', a pun on the Texas Rangers that stuck.

What is a "power play" in hockey?

Playing with an extra skater during a penalty is a power play, and scoring on one usually ends it: a goal releases a player serving a minor penalty.

Who coached the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to the "Miracle on Ice" gold medal?

Herb Brooks had been the last player cut from the 1960 US team that won Olympic gold; twenty years later he coached a young team of amateurs past the Soviets.

Which part of the rink was nicknamed Wayne Gretzky's 'office'?

Behind the net was 'Gretzky's office': he would park there with the puck, shielded by the goal, and wait for a teammate to break free, since defenders dared not leave the front of the net to chase him.

Which NHL star's blond hair, skating speed and end-to-end rushes earned him the nickname 'the Golden Jet'?

Bobby Hull took $1 million in 1972 to jump to the rival World Hockey Association, and was left off Team Canada for that year's Summit Series as a result.

What happens during a shootout in the NHL?

Each team takes three penalty shots, then sudden-death rounds if still level; the NHL has used the shootout since 2005-06, but never in the playoffs, where games run on until someone scores.

Who scored the overtime 'Golden Goal' for Canada against the United States in the men's final at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics?

Sidney Crosby scored off Jarome Iginla's pass 7:40 into overtime, which was only needed because Zach Parise had tied the final for the Americans with 25 seconds left in regulation.

What is the blue line in hockey used for?

It divides the rink into three zones, an idea from the Patrick family's Pacific Coast league, which painted two blue lines so that forward passes could be allowed in the centre zone.

Which award goes to the NHL's best defenceman each season?

The Norris Trophy first went to Detroit's Red Kelly in 1954; traded to Toronto in 1960, he switched to centre and won four more Stanley Cups as a forward.

Despite the name, what were hockey's 'Original Six'?

The NHL's only teams from 1942 to 1967 were not its founders: of the six, only Montreal and Toronto played in the first season of 1917-18, and the other four joined in the 1920s.

What is "offsides" in hockey?

Entering the attacking zone before the puck is judged by the skates, not the stick: a player stays onside as long as one skate is still on or behind the blue line.

Which Bruins centre's season points record did Gretzky break in 1981?

Phil Esposito, traded away by his first NHL club in 1967, scored 152 points for Boston in 1970-71, and the mark stood for a decade until Gretzky's 164 in his second NHL season.

What is a "Gordie Howe hat trick"?

A Gordie Howe hat trick is a goal, an assist and a fight in one game; Howe himself managed it only twice, in October 1953 and March 1954.

Which team drafted Connor McDavid first overall in 2015?

The Edmonton Oilers finished third from bottom yet won the 2015 draft lottery, landing Connor McDavid as their fourth first-overall pick in six drafts.

What is the "crease" in hockey?

The marked zone in front of the goal is painted light blue and is the goaltender's ground: a goal can be disallowed if an attacker there stops him moving freely.

Which team ended a 49-year championship drought in 2010?

The Chicago Blackhawks' 2010 Cup was their first since 1961; they added two more in 2013 and 2015.

Which goaltender became the first woman to play in an NHL game, a 1992 exhibition for Tampa Bay?

Manon Rhéaume survived the first cuts at training camp and played one period of a preseason game, allowing two goals on nine shots; she went on to play in men's minor pro leagues.

By what nickname is Wayne Gretzky, scorer of 92 goals in 1981-82, known?

The Great One reached 50 goals in only 39 games that season, getting there with a five-goal night, and finished with 92; the old standard had been 50 in 50.

During the Original Six era, which pair of clubs took the title in 19 of 25 seasons?

Canadiens and Maple Leafs: Montreal won ten Cups in those 25 seasons and Toronto nine, while Boston and New York never won at all.

What is the Conn Smythe Trophy awarded for?

Playoff MVP is what the Conn Smythe Trophy rewards, and the winner need not be a champion: Detroit goalie Roger Crozier took it in 1966 despite losing the final.

Which NHL team moved to Phoenix in 1996 and became the Coyotes?

The original Winnipeg Jets, a WHA club that joined the NHL in 1979, left for Phoenix in 1996; the name returned in 2011, when Atlanta's Thrashers moved to Winnipeg.

Which award goes to the NHL's best first-year player?

The Calder Memorial Trophy went to 31-year-old Soviet veteran Sergei Makarov in 1990, so the NHL changed the rules: a winner must now be no older than 26.

Which league began play in January 2024 as North America's top tier of women's hockey?

The PWHL was formed in 2023 after its backers bought out the rival PHF, so that the best players would share one league; its six teams played the first season without nicknames.

Which goaltender was famous for an unorthodox style of flopping and rolling on the ice to make saves?

Dominik Hasek, 'The Dominator', saw little playing time with his first NHL club and was traded to Buffalo in 1992; there his flopping style won him six Vezina Trophies.

What is the "Art Ross Trophy" awarded for?

Leading the league in points wins a trophy donated in 1947 by Art Ross, the Boston Bruins boss whose own NHL playing career amounted to three games and a single goal.

Which expansion side reached the NHL final in its very first season, 2017-18?

The Vegas Golden Knights were stocked through an expansion draft with players their old clubs had left unprotected, yet they won their division at the first attempt.

Who scored Canada's winning goal in the final game of the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union?

Paul Henderson scored with 34 seconds left in Game 8 in Moscow on September 28, 1972 — his third straight game-winning goal to close the series.

Which defenceman won his only NHL title in 2001, in the final game of his career?

Ray Bourque had waited his whole career, so when Colorado won in 2001 captain Joe Sakic broke with custom and handed him the Cup to lift first; Bourque retired soon after.

What did the NHL change in 2005, right after its lockout, to open up play?

Eliminated the two-line pass rule: a pass may now travel from the defensive zone to beyond centre ice in one go, so a team can spring a breakaway from deep in its own end.

Which team set the NHL record with a 35-game unbeaten streak in 1979-80?

The Philadelphia Flyers went 35 games without a loss, 25 wins and 10 ties, from October 1979 to January 1980, yet lost that season's final.

Why did the first indoor hockey game use a wooden disc?

To protect the spectators: at that game in 1875 a flat block of wood stayed on the ice instead of flying into the crowd, and players found it easier to control than a ball.

Which sport did a 1994 act name Canada's national summer sport, alongside hockey for winter?

Lacrosse had been thought of as Canada's national game since the 19th century, but never by law; the 1994 act made it official for summer and gave winter to hockey.

Ice hockey made its Olympic debut at a Summer Games, in 1920, in which city?

Antwerp staged the hockey in April 1920, months ahead of the rest of its Summer Games, because the Winter Olympics did not yet exist; the sport moved to them in 1924.

Women's ice hockey was introduced to the Olympics at which Games?

Nagano 1998 staged the first Olympic women's tournament, and the favourites lost: Canada had won every world title, but the United States beat them twice in four days to take gold.

At hockey's Christmas 'teddy bear toss' nights, what is the cue for fans to throw their toys onto the ice?

The home side's first goal sends the bears flying, a custom begun in Kamloops in 1993, and every toy is then gathered up and given to children's hospitals and charities.

Which rink marking did the NHL add in 1943-44?

The centre red line let defenders pass the puck out of their own zone for the first time, which made for a faster game with more team play.

Which team became the NHL's 32nd club in 2021?

The Seattle Kraken were new, but their city's claim was old: the Seattle Metropolitans won the Stanley Cup in 1917, the first American team to do so.

Which nickname did Salt Lake City's NHL team adopt in 2025 after a season as a plain 'Hockey Club'?

Mammoth won a fan vote after four rounds of surveys; the name honours an animal that roamed the region during the last Ice Age.

Which office in Canada did Lord Stanley hold when he donated the Stanley Cup in 1892?

As Governor General, Lord Stanley had the silver bowl made in London for the country's champion hockey club, then sailed home in 1893 without ever seeing a Cup game.

Who won the very first Stanley Cup, in 1893?

The Montreal Hockey Club, the team of the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, was simply handed the first Cup as reigning league champion; no final was played for it.

What happens when the Stanley Cup fills up with names?

The oldest band is removed and preserved, the others slide up and a blank one is added at the bottom; each band holds 13 champions, so the Cup never grows.

What does each member of a Stanley Cup-winning team traditionally get to do?

Spend a day with it: every winner gets the Cup for a day in the summer, a far cry from 1924, when that year's champions forgot it at the roadside after stopping to change a flat tyre.

Which 1977 Paul Newman film follows a failing minor-league hockey team that turns to brawling?

Slap Shot's brawling Hanson Brothers were based on three real minor-league brothers, and two of them, along with a teammate, played the parts themselves.

Which 1527 Irish law banned a sport called 'hokie'?

The 1527 Statute of Galway outlawed 'hokie', described as the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves.

Which fuzzy orange NHL mascot became an internet sensation after his 2018 debut?

Gritty had been on the scene barely a month when his home city's council passed a formal resolution welcoming him, declaring that he 'may be a hideous monster, but he is our hideous monster'.

Which player finally passed Gordie Howe's NHL games-played record of 1,767 in 2021?

Patrick Marleau passed Gordie Howe in his 1,768th game on April 19, 2021 and finished on 1,779, yet he retired without ever winning the Stanley Cup.

With which team did Gordie Howe play a final NHL season at 51?

The Hartford Whalers got all 80 games and 15 goals from Howe in 1979-80, by which time he had been in the Hall of Fame for years, inducted after first retiring in 1971.

Who was the first NHL player to score 50 goals in a season, in 50 games in 1944-45?

Maurice Richard was such a hero in Quebec that when the NHL suspended him for the rest of the season in March 1955, fans rioted in Montreal.

Which nickname did Montreal's top forward line of the 1940s, centred by Elmer Lach, go by?

The Punch Line ended when left winger Toe Blake broke his ankle in 1948; he returned as Montreal's coach and won the Stanley Cup eight times in thirteen seasons.

In 1970 Bobby Orr became the first defenceman to win what?

The scoring title had never gone to a defenceman until Orr took it in 1970, and he did it again in 1975, remaking his position with end-to-end rushes.

With which team did Bobby Orr finish his career after ten seasons in Boston?

Bobby Orr joined the Chicago Black Hawks in 1976 on the advice of agent Alan Eagleson, although Boston had offered a deal including a stake in the club; bad knees held him to 26 games.

For which club in his Czech hometown did Jaromír Jágr keep playing past his 50th birthday?

Rytíři Kladno, the Knights of his birthplace, counted Jágr as an owner as well as a right winger, so in his fifties he was still suiting up for a club he ran.

In which league did Jaromír Jágr spend three seasons after leaving the NHL in 2008?

Russia's KHL was brand new in 2008 when Avangard Omsk signed Jágr; after three seasons there he returned to the NHL at 39 and stayed until 2018.

Which goaltender is the only player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy three times?

Patrick Roy won it as a 20-year-old rookie in 1986 and again in 1993 with Montreal, then in 2001 with Colorado, where he was traded after being left in net for nine goals one night in 1995.

Which Canadiens goaltender later became a Liberal MP and federal cabinet minister?

Ken Dryden sat out the whole 1973-74 season in a pay dispute with Montreal, working as an articling clerk at a Toronto law firm, then came back to win four more championships.

Which expansion team lured Jacques Plante out of retirement in 1968?

The St. Louis Blues talked Jacques Plante back at 39 from a 1965 retirement, and he and fellow veteran Glenn Hall promptly shared the Vezina Trophy for the league's fewest goals against.

Which goaltender refused to return to the ice without his mask after a 1959 facial cut?

Jacques Plante had worn the mask only in practice because coach Toe Blake feared it would spoil his view; he refused to give it up when the cut healed, and Montreal's unbeaten run stretched to 18 games.

Which goaltender's 103 career shutouts stood as the NHL record until 2009?

Terry Sawchuk piled up 103 shutouts even though Detroit traded him away in 1955, straight after his third championship in four years, to make room for young Glenn Hall.

Which trophy took over the Vezina's old fewest-goals-against rule when the Vezina became a voted award in 1981-82?

The William M. Jennings Trophy was created because the old rule tended to reward the best team's goalie, not the best goalie; general managers now vote on the Vezina instead.

Georges Vezina died in 1926 of which disease?

Tuberculosis forced Georges Vezina out of a game in November 1925, the first he had failed to finish in 15 seasons with the Canadiens, and he died four months later.

What was Georges Vézina's nickname, a nod to his calm and his hometown?

The Chicoutimi Cucumber never missed a game for the Canadiens in 15 seasons, and when he died in 1926 the club's owners donated the goaltending trophy that still carries his name.

What quality does the NHL's Lady Byng Trophy reward, alongside a high standard of play?

Sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct win the Lady Byng; its donor was so impressed when Frank Boucher took it in all but one season from 1928 to 1935 that she let him keep the original.

Which Red Wings centre, nicknamed 'the Magic Man', won the Lady Byng Trophy four years running from 2006?

Pavel Datsyuk was passed over in two drafts and taken only 171st overall in 1998, yet he also won the Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Which Canadiens forward won the first four Selke Trophies as the NHL's best defensive forward?

Bob Gainey was a checker, not a scorer, with 239 goals in 1,160 games, yet his defensive work also earned him the 1979 Conn Smythe Trophy.

Which coach is the only three-time Jack Adams Award winner, each time with a different Original Six team?

Pat Burns won it with Montreal, Toronto and Boston, yet his only championship came with a fourth club, New Jersey, in 2003; before coaching he had been a police officer.

Which Presidents' Trophy winner lost Game 7 of the 2011 final at home?

The Vancouver Canucks had the league's best record, a club-record 117 points, and led the final 3-2 before Boston shut them out 4-0 in the deciding game; fans then rioted in the streets.

Which Presidents' Trophy winner was swept in the first round of the 2019 playoffs?

The Tampa Bay Lightning matched the then-record 62 wins, then lost four straight to Columbus, a club that had never won a playoff series in its history.

Which Ontario city was chosen as the home of the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1943, before it moved to Toronto?

Kingston won the Hall on James Sutherland's argument that hockey was born there, but by 1958 no building had been funded, so the NHL pulled out and took it to Toronto.

Which country won its first hockey world title in 1995, beating host Sweden?

Finland beat Sweden 4-1 on a Ville Peltonen hat trick, then made 'Den glider in', the song the hosts had recorded for the tournament, a hit of its own back home.

Which country won the Nagano 1998 men's gold, the first Olympics with NHL players?

The Czech Republic beat Russia 1-0 in the final on a Petr Svoboda goal, having knocked out Canada in a semifinal that went to a shootout.

What is the name of the trophy awarded to the KHL playoff champion?

The Gagarin Cup honours cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, and its first final went the distance: Ak Bars Kazan won Game 7 on April 12, 2009, the anniversary of his flight.

Which KHL team lost almost its entire roster in a September 2011 plane crash?

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl's plane crashed on take-off on September 7, 2011 as the team flew to its season opener in Minsk; 44 of the 45 aboard died.

Which comic strip, drawn by a hockey-mad cartoonist who built his own ice arena, made a running gag of the Zamboni?

Peanuts creator Charles Schulz built the Redwood Empire Ice Arena in Santa Rosa, played in his own senior tournament there each summer, and drew Zambonis into the strip from 1980.

Which creature have Detroit Red Wings fans thrown onto the ice during the playoffs since 1952?

An octopus first hit the ice in 1952, thrown by two brothers from a Detroit fish market: each arm stood for one of the wins then needed to lift the Cup.

Which Kings defenceman's illegal stick drew the penalty that turned the 1993 final?

Marty McSorley was caught when Canadiens coach Jacques Demers asked for a measurement with Los Angeles leading late in Game 2; Montreal tied it, won in overtime and took the next three games.

Where does a 'five-hole' shot beat the goaltender?

Between the legs: the four corners of the net count as holes one to four, which makes the gap between the goalie's pads number five.

Which two teams played the first NHL Winter Classic in 2008?

Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins played through falling snow before a then-record 71,217 fans at the Bills' stadium, and the Penguins' 20-year-old captain won it in a shootout.

Which 2003 game in Edmonton, five years before the first Winter Classic, was the NHL's first regular-season outdoor game?

The Heritage Classic at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium on November 22, 2003 drew 57,167 fans in bitter cold; Michigan State's 2001 'Cold War' game had helped inspire it.

Who won the $1 million prize at the revamped 2024 NHL All-Star Skills competition?

Connor McDavid won the fastest-skater and accuracy-shooting events on his way to the title, in a format rebuilt so that 12 stars competed across several skills for one prize.

What do hockey players call the unwritten rules that govern fighting?

The code is enforced by the enforcers, or 'goons', whose role is to fight and intimidate; the NHL, unlike European leagues, does not automatically eject players for fighting.

What is a player called whose job is to needle opponents into taking penalties?

A pest gets under opponents' skin: Sean Avery once turned his back on the play to wave his stick in a goalie's face, and the NHL outlawed the tactic the very next day.

Which broadcaster made 'He shoots, he scores!' famous as the first radio voice of Hockey Night in Canada?

Foster Hewitt opened each national broadcast with 'Hello, Canada, and hockey fans in the United States and Newfoundland', calling the play from a gondola hung high above the ice.

Which co-host joined Don Cherry on Coach's Corner from 1986 to 2019?

Ron MacLean sat beside Don Cherry on Coach's Corner from 1986 until Cherry's firing in November 2019; Cherry himself played just one NHL game, a 1955 playoff game for Boston.

Which entertainment company founded the NHL's Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 1993, naming them after its own film?

Disney launched the team a year after its film The Mighty Ducks, and paid half of the $50 million entry fee straight to the Los Angeles Kings for sharing their market.

Which nation won the men's field hockey World Cup four times between 1971 and 1994?

Pakistan won the men's World Cup in 1971, 1978, 1982 and 1994; the tournament had been proposed by Pakistan's Air Marshal Nur Khan.

Which Indian field hockey legend's birthday, August 29, is India's National Sports Day?

Dhyan Chand was born Dhyan Singh; fellow soldiers are said to have added 'Chand', Hindi for moon, because he practised by moonlight after his army duties.

Who was the first woman to play full-time pro men's hockey as a skater?

Hayley Wickenheiser had planned to play in Italy until its federation barred women from men's leagues, so she joined the men of HC Salamat instead and became the first woman to score in men's pro hockey.

Which Canadian scored the winner in three Olympic finals, earning 'Captain Clutch'?

Marie-Philip Poulin earned 'Captain Clutch' above all at Sochi in 2014: she tied the final with under a minute left, then won it herself in overtime.

What is the NCAA men's hockey championship weekend called?

The Frozen Four is the last weekend of a 16-team knockout first played in 1948, and it has been lost only once, when the pandemic cancelled the 2020 tournament.

Whom did the Memorial Cup originally honour when donated in 1919?

Those who died in World War I were honoured at the urging of OHA president James Sutherland, then serving overseas; in 2010 the cup was rededicated to all Canada's war dead.

In which Swiss town is the Spengler Cup, an invitational tournament dating from 1923, played each December?

Davos doctor Carl Spengler gave the cup in 1923 so that clubs from German-speaking Europe, at risk of being shunned after World War I, could meet their old rivals on the ice.

Under which name is the Maple Leafs franchise credited with its 1918 championship, won in the NHL's first season?

Toronto Arenas is the name later engraved on the Cup: the club was run by the Toronto Arena Company, and that first season the press still called it the Blueshirts or simply the Torontos.

Under what name were the Red Wings founded in 1926?

Founded in 1926 as the Detroit Cougars, with players bought from the WHL's Victoria Cougars, the club became the Falcons in 1930 and the Red Wings in 1932.

Which arena did the Red Wings call home for 52 years before Joe Louis Arena?

Olympia Stadium was not yet built when the club arrived in 1926, so it spent its first season across the river in Windsor, Ontario, before 52 years in the 'Old Red Barn'.

Which team did Colorado sweep in the 1996 final, in the club's first season in Denver?

Colorado swept the Florida Panthers in 1996, Uwe Krupp scoring in triple overtime of Game 4, to become Denver's first major-league champion.

What was the nickname of the Pittsburgh Penguins' former home, the Civic Arena?

The Igloo opened in 1961 as a home for Pittsburgh's Civic Light Opera, under a steel dome built to slide open to the sky; the Penguins moved in six years later and stayed until 2010.

Which Florida city have the Panthers called home since leaving Miami in 1998?

Sunrise, in Broward County, got the Panthers when the county built them an arena in 1998; the NHL's southernmost team went on to win its first two titles in 2024 and 2025.

Which defending champion did the Kraken upset in their first playoff series, in 2023?

The Colorado Avalanche lost Game 7 by 2-1 on a pair of Oliver Bjorkstrand goals, making Seattle the first expansion team to beat the reigning champions in its first playoff series.

Which arena was home to the Nordiques from 1972 to 1995?

The Colisée de Québec opened in 1949 and became 'the House that Béliveau Built', filled by crowds who came to watch young Jean Béliveau; the Nordiques left it for Denver in 1995.

Hartford's NHL franchise, later the Hurricanes, played in the WHA under what name?

The New England Whalers won the first WHA title in 1973; on joining the NHL in 1979 they became the Hartford Whalers after the Bruins objected to a second 'New England' club.

Which team captain scored the winning goal in the 1980 'Miracle on Ice' game against the Soviet Union?

Mike Eruzione scored midway through the final period to make it 4-3, then gave up top-level hockey after the Games, feeling the gold medal had fulfilled every goal he had in the sport.

Which 20-year-old Soviet goaltender starred against Canada in the 1972 Summit Series?

Vladislav Tretiak had been written off by Canadian scouts, who watched him let in 8 goals the day before his wedding; then he backstopped a 7-3 Soviet win in Game 1 in Montreal.

Which junior club did Sidney Crosby lead to the 2005 Memorial Cup final?

Sidney Crosby scored 66 goals for the Rimouski Océanic in 2004-05 and took them to the Memorial Cup final, where they lost 4-0 to the London Knights.

Which Russian club did Alexander Ovechkin play for before joining the Capitals?

Dynamo Moscow was a family club: Ovechkin's mother Tatyana, a two-time Olympic basketball champion, captained its women's team, and he went back there during the 2012 NHL lockout.

Which OHL team drafted Connor McDavid first overall in 2012?

The Erie Otters took Connor McDavid first overall in the 2012 OHL draft after Hockey Canada granted him exceptional-player status to play junior at 15.

In which Ontario city was Wayne Gretzky born and raised?

Wayne Gretzky was born in Brantford, Ontario in 1961 and learned the game on the backyard rink his father Walter flooded each winter.

How many NHL records did Wayne Gretzky hold or share when he retired in 1999?

Wayne Gretzky left the game with 61 records to his name, and one still startles: his 1,963 assists alone outnumber any other player's total points.

Which distinction does Mario Lemieux hold regarding the Stanley Cup?

Mario Lemieux is the only man on it as player and owner: he won twice as Pittsburgh's captain, bought the bankrupt club in 1999 and saw it win again in 2009, 2016 and 2017.

Which Red Wings centre was captain from age 21 for two decades?

Steve Yzerman got the job because coach Jacques Demers 'wanted a guy with the Red Wings crest tattooed on his chest', and he kept it until he retired in 2006.

Which Swede, known as 'the Perfect Human', won seven Norris Trophies with Detroit?

Nicklas Lidström finished runner-up for the award three years running before finally winning it at 31, then took it in most of his remaining seasons.

Which 6-foot-9 defenceman captained the Boston Bruins for fourteen seasons?

Zdeno Chára stood so tall that the NHL granted him a special exemption from its 63-inch limit on stick length; he wore the Bruins' C from 2006 to 2020.

Bandy is now dominated by Sweden and Russia, but which country published its first organised rules in 1882?

England's Charles Tebbutt of the Bury Fen club set down the 1882 rules, and he is credited with carrying the game abroad on tours of northern Europe.

Which winger, nicknamed 'the Finnish Flash', is the highest-scoring Finn in NHL history?

Teemu Selänne scored 76 goals as a rookie in 1992-93, still the record, and marked the record-breaker by tossing a glove in the air and 'shooting' it down with his stick.

Which Rangers goaltender was crowned 'King' by fans during his rookie season?

Henrik Lundqvist was only the 205th pick of the 2000 draft, yet he won 30 games as a rookie and New York's fans and press were soon calling him 'King Henrik'.

Which NHL team's early-1980s dynasty is credited with starting the playoff beard tradition?

The New York Islanders let their beards grow through four straight championship runs from 1980 to 1983, and the superstition spread to playoff teams across the sport.

Which tournament, won by Canada over the United States in overtime, replaced the NHL All-Star Game in 2025?

The 4 Nations Face-Off came with an edge: Montreal's crowd booed the American anthem, Boston's booed Canada's before the final, and Canada took the title 3-2.

Why are NHL pucks frozen before a game?

To reduce bouncing and keep the puck flat on the ice, game pucks are frozen beforehand; the 2024 All-Star skills contest was a rare exception, played with unfrozen pucks.

Which US network made the puck glow on screen for TV viewers from 1996 to 1998?

Fox built infrared emitters into its FoxTrax pucks so they glowed blue on screen and left a trail on hard shots; the idea was dropped when the network lost its NHL rights.

The first recorded hockey goaltender to wear a mask, in 1927, borrowed it from which sport?

Queen's University netminder Elizabeth Graham wore a metal fencing mask in a 1927 game, mainly to protect her teeth — the first recorded mask in hockey.

Which NHL goalie wore the first crude leather mask in 1930, to protect a broken nose, decades before Jacques Plante's?

Clint Benedict of the Montreal Maroons wore a leather mask for a few games in 1930 after a Howie Morenz shot broke his nose, then discarded it because it blocked his view.

How long does a player sit out for a standard minor penalty in hockey?

Two minutes used to be served in full however often the other side scored, until Jean Béliveau struck three times during one penalty in 1955 and the NHL let players out after a goal.

Hockey Night in Canada began on national radio in 1931 featuring which team?

The Toronto Maple Leafs were the show from its first night in November 1931, the opening of Maple Leaf Gardens; Montreal's teams were added for Quebec listeners by 1933.

Which rival network bought 'The Hockey Theme' in 2008 after it had opened Hockey Night in Canada for 40 years?

CTV bought the tune outright when the CBC's talks to renew its licence failed, and moved it to TSN and RDS broadcasts; Dolores Claman had composed it in 1968.

Which goaltender became the first in NHL history to score by shooting the puck into an empty net, in 1987?

Ron Hextall fired the puck the length of the ice against Boston, then did it again in the playoffs a season later against Washington.

Which 42-year-old arena worker, often called a Zamboni driver, won an NHL game in 2020 as an emergency goalie?

David Ayres let in the first two shots he faced, then stopped the next eight to seal Carolina's win over Toronto, the very club that employed him.

Which Boston Bruins goaltender had a stitch mark drawn on his mask for every puck that struck it?

Gerry Cheevers started it as a joke, when a trainer inked stitches where a practice shot had hit, and the gag grew into the tradition of decorated goalie masks.

Which goaltender stopped 36 of 39 Soviet shots in the 1980 Olympic upset known as the Miracle on Ice?

Jim Craig beat Finland two days later for the gold medal, and the American flag he draped over his shoulders later went on display in a New York sports museum.

Which goaltending style has the goalie drop to the knees and spread the pads to seal the bottom of the net?

Butterfly takes its name from the way the spread pads and hands resemble wings, and its trade-off is a more exposed top half of the net.

Which goaltender did the Pittsburgh Penguins draft first overall in 2003, before three Stanley Cup wins together?

Marc-André Fleury is known as 'Flower', a play on his French surname, and after leaving Pittsburgh he was voted the league's best goalie in 2021 with Vegas.

Which Montreal goaltender was voted both the NHL's most valuable player and its best goalie for the 2014-15 season?

Carey Price led the league in wins, save percentage and goals-against average that season, a sweep that also earned him the players' own vote as their MVP.

What shape is the area outlined behind an NHL net, the only place back there a goaltender may play the puck?

A trapezoid has been painted behind NHL nets since the 2005-06 season, and a goalie who handles the puck elsewhere behind the goal line draws a delay-of-game minor.

Which Edmonton goaltender of the 1980s became the first Black player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Grant Fuhr was inducted in 2003 after five Stanley Cup wins with the Oilers, and he was also the first Black player to have his name engraved on the trophy.

Which American goaltender was named most valuable player of the 2010 Olympic tournament despite losing the final?

Ryan Miller went 5-0-1 in Vancouver and left with a silver medal, beaten only by Canada's overtime winner in the gold-medal game.

Which goaltender, known as 'Mr. Goalie', set an NHL record by playing 502 consecutive regular-season games?

Glenn Hall kept the streak alive across eight seasons, even though he was so anxious before games that he would routinely throw up.

Which Russian goaltender backstopped Tampa Bay to back-to-back Stanley Cups and won the 2021 Conn Smythe Trophy?

Andrei Vasilevskiy won 18 games in the 2020 postseason, a record made possible only by that year's extra play-in round.

Which Vancouver Canucks goaltender was named team captain in 2008, despite a league rule against goalie captains?

Roberto Luongo was the first goalie to captain an NHL team since the 1947-48 season, and with the letter barred from his jersey he had a C worked into his mask art.

Which goaltender won the 2012 Conn Smythe Trophy as the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup?

Jonathan Quick's 2012 run has been called the best statistical postseason ever by a goalie, and it began by knocking out top-ranked Vancouver in five games.

Which goaltender wore a snarling dog on his mask, inspired by the Stephen King novel that shared his nickname?

Curtis Joseph, known as 'Cujo', reached the NHL the hard way: no team drafted him, even after he played college hockey at Wisconsin.

Which Chicago goaltender, brother of a Boston scoring star, posted 15 shutouts as a rookie in 1969-70?

Tony Esposito, known as 'Tony O', set a modern NHL record with that total, and he and his older brother Phil, a centre, both reached the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Which New York Islanders goaltender, a four-time champion, was the first NHL goalie credited with a goal?

Billy Smith never shot it: he was the last Islander to touch the puck before a Colorado Rockies player's blind pass slid the length of the ice into his own empty net.

Which goaltender, whose mask art earned him the nickname 'the Eagle', won the Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999?

Ed Belfour was passed over in the draft and signed with Chicago as a free agent, then won his only championship after joining the Stars in 1997.

Which Anaheim goaltender won the 2003 Conn Smythe Trophy even though the Mighty Ducks lost the final?

J.-S. Giguère was only the fifth player to take the award from the losing side, after carrying the seventh-seeded Ducks through three rounds to face New Jersey.

Which Washington Capitals goaltender, nicknamed 'Godzilla', was born in South Africa and played for Germany?

Olaf Kölzig was born to German parents and raised in Canada, but he never took Canadian citizenship, which kept him eligible to play for Germany.

Which long-time Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman died in a 1974 car crash while playing for the Buffalo Sabres?

Tim Horton was 44 and still an NHL regular when he died, ten years after opening the first shop of the coffee and doughnut chain that carries his name.

Which Arizona-raised centre scored four goals in his NHL debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016?

Auston Matthews, the first overall pick that summer, grew up going to Phoenix Coyotes games after his family moved to Scottsdale when he was a baby.

Which centre is the only player to captain two franchises, Edmonton and New York, to the Stanley Cup?

Mark Messier publicly guaranteed a win with the Rangers one loss from elimination in 1994, then delivered it himself with three goals in the third period.

Which Chicago winger, picked first overall in 2007, became the first American-born player to win the NHL scoring title?

Patrick Kane, nicknamed 'Showtime', topped the scoring race in 2016 and was voted league MVP too, and he holds the record for career points by an American-born player.

Which centre, nicknamed 'Burnaby Joe', captained the Colorado Avalanche to Stanley Cups in 1996 and 2001?

Joe Sakic spent his entire 21-year NHL career with one franchise, which began as the Quebec Nordiques, and his wrist shot was rated among the best in the league.

Which NHL team's coach Scotty Bowman played five Soviet-trained skaters together as the 'Russian Five' in the 1990s?

The Detroit Red Wings had drafted three of the five in 1989 and 1990 and helped them defect from the Soviet Union, and the unit powered the 1997 championship run.

Which team did high-scoring winger Jarome Iginla captain to the 2004 Stanley Cup Final?

The Calgary Flames landed him before he had played an NHL game, in a 1995 trade that sent Joe Nieuwendyk to the Dallas club that had drafted him.

Which twin brothers were drafted second and third overall in 1999 and spent 17 NHL seasons together in Vancouver?

Henrik and Daniel Sedin were born six minutes apart, Henrik first, and they won the NHL scoring title in back-to-back seasons, Henrik in 2010 and Daniel in 2011.

Which winger, nicknamed 'the Russian Rocket' for his speed, led the NHL in goals with Vancouver in 1993-94?

Pavel Bure was only the 113th pick of the 1989 draft, yet he was named the league's best rookie in his first season and carried his team to the 1994 final.

Which Cologne-born Edmonton forward became the first German voted the NHL's most valuable player, in 2020?

Leon Draisaitl also led the league in points that season and won the players' own vote as its most outstanding player.

Why was the 1919 Stanley Cup Final between Montreal and Seattle abandoned with the two teams level?

A flu outbreak, part of the Spanish flu pandemic, put most of the Canadiens in hospital, and defenceman Joe Hall died four days after the deciding game was called off.

Which Boston Bruins winger became the NHL's first Black player in 1958 while secretly blind in one eye?

Willie O'Ree had lost the sight in his right eye to a stray puck two years earlier and kept it quiet, because it would have barred him from the league.

What nickname was given to the Detroit forward trio of Gordie Howe, Sid Abel and Ted Lindsay?

The Production Line, a nod to Detroit's car factories, was formed in 1947 when a new coach put his two fastest young wingers beside the veteran Abel.

In early seven-man hockey, what was the additional skater with no set position called?

Rover was a free role, wandering the ice at will, until the forerunner of the NHL dropped it soon after starting up, while Pacific coast teams kept it.

Which 44-year-old New York Rangers coach put on the pads himself when his goaltender was hurt in the 1928 final?

Lester Patrick stepped in after Lorne Chabot took a puck in the eye, at a time when teams rarely carried a spare goalie, and let in one goal in an overtime win.

Which Toronto defenceman scored an overtime winner in the 1964 Stanley Cup Final on a fractured ankle?

Bobby Baun's goal against Detroit levelled the best-of-seven series at three wins apiece, and Toronto took the decider for a third straight championship.

Which Montreal Canadiens star, the 'Stratford Streak', died in 1937 from complications of a leg broken in a game?

Howie Morenz was mourned at a funeral held in the Montreal Forum, the rink where he had starred, and a benefit all-star game there raised money for his family.

Which Toronto star's career was ended in 1933 by a hit from Boston's Eddie Shore that fractured his skull?

Ace Bailey survived, and at the benefit game staged for him two months later he shook hands with Shore at centre ice and had his jersey number retired.

Which gold-rush town sent a team 4,000 miles by dog sled, ship and train to play for the 1905 Stanley Cup?

Dawson City's Nuggets spent weeks on the journey, then lost the second game 23-2 to Ottawa, whose Frank McGee scored 14 of the goals himself.

Which early scoring star is the only NHL player to score seven goals in one game, a feat he managed in 1920?

Joe Malone also scored 44 goals in only 20 games in the NHL's first season, a goals-per-game pace that nobody has beaten in the century since.

What is it called when a hockey attacker has only the goaltender left to beat on the way to the net?

A breakaway that is illegally stopped earns a free one-on-one attempt at goal, and if the net has been left empty the attacker is simply awarded the goal.

What is it called when a hockey official restarts play by dropping the puck between two opposing players?

A face-off was originally known as a puck-off, and one is held at centre ice to open every period and again after every goal.

What colour is the light that flashes behind a hockey net to signal that a goal has been scored?

Red lights were traditionally switched on by a goal judge sitting behind the net, who only advises: the referee alone has the authority to award the goal.

What is the hockey term for a legal hit that separates an opponent from the puck?

A body check was allowed at the first women's world championship in 1990, then ruled out of almost every women's league afterwards.

What is the overtime format called in which the first goal ends a hockey game immediately?

Sudden death returned to NHL regular-season games in 1983: for four decades before that, a game level after 60 minutes simply went down as a tie.

What term describes a hockey team playing with fewer skaters than its opponent because of a penalty?

Short-handed teams get one break in most competitions: they may ice the puck without the play being stopped, which buys time to change lines.

What material is a standard ice hockey puck made from, a choice that replaced the wooden pucks of the 1870s?

Vulcanized rubber pucks were first made by slicing a rubber ball and trimming the disc square, which is why the earliest ones were not round.

Which class of NHL penalty lasts five minutes and is always given for fighting?

A major must be served in full however many goals the other team scores, whereas a two-minute penalty ends as soon as the opposition scores.

Which hockey penalty is called for using the stick to tug at or hold back an opponent?

Hooking does not cover every tangle of sticks: the NHL rule says that when the only contact is stick on stick, no penalty is to be called.

Which on-ice hockey officials are mainly responsible for calling offside and icing?

The linesmen can also report fouls such as too many players on the ice to the referees, who are marked out in the NHL by orange armbands.