Plenty of hockey memories were made on Christmas Day

For years, the NBA was the only game in town on Christmas Day. Nowadays, the NFL has taken over the day, just like every other date on the calendar. There was a time when the NHL played on Christmas Day. In fact, hockey was played on Dec. 25 for nearly 50 years.

Blackhawks Christmas History

The Blackhawks played on their very Christmas back in 1926. They hosted the Detroit Cougars, with a pair of Hall of Famers, George Hay and Dick Irvin, scoring in a 2-0 win. Hugh Lehman recorded the second shutout in franchise history, with the first coming two weeks earlier in Montreal.

During the championship season of 1960-61, the Blackhawks traveled to the Motor City to take on the Red Wings. They gave us a preview of the Stanley Cup Final by beating Detroit 3-0. Stan Mikita and Ab McDonald both had a goal and an assist, while Eric Nesterenko’s power-play goal iced the game in the third period. Glenn Hall stopped all 30 shots he faced.

Three years later, in 1963, the Blackhawks hosted the Montreal Canadiens on Christmas Day in the first game broadcast locally on the radio. Fans got to listen to a 3-1 win featuring goals from Bobby Hull and Mikita. Billy Hay had a pair of assists, including one on Reggie Flemming’s late empty-net goal. Hall picked up another Christmas win by making 28 saves.

Mikita had another big Christmas in 1967, when he scored a goal in a 3-1 win over the Canadiens. He also recorded an assist to extend his franchise-record assist streak to 14 games. He had 18 helpers over the course of those 14 games.

The Blackhawks’ final Christmas Day game was played in 1969 at the old Metropolitan Sports Center. Mikita scored twice, while Hull and Gilles Marotte added goals in a 4-4 tie with the Minnesota North Stars.

Overall, the Blackhawks played 37 games on Dec. 25, going 13-15-9. Their 13 Christmas Day wins are the fifth-most in NHL history.

More Christmas History

The NHL played games on Christmas Day as early as 1919. There was at least one Christmas Day game every year between 1926 and 1971, when the league ended its tradition of playing on the holiday. The first Christmas goal was scored in 1920 by Didier Pitre of the Canadiens, who lost 5-4 to the Toronto St. Patricks at the Mutual Street Arena. The final Christmas goal was scored in 1971 by Stan Gilbertson, who led the Oakland Golden Seals to a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

During that final Christmas Day with NHL games in 1971, the New York Rangers beat the North Stars 2-1. This was the 25th Christmas victory, the most in NHL history. They are followed by the Boston Bruins (17), Toronto Maple Leafs (16), Red Wings (15), and Blackhawks (13). The Kings went 0-3-0 on Christmas and are the only team to play on Dec. 25 that never won.

They loved playing on Christmas in Detroit. In 1930, the Falcons (later the Red Wings) beat the Maple Leafs 10-1, becoming the first and only team to score double-digit goals on Christmas Day. In 1956, Red Wings legend Gordie Howe had his first career six-point game with three goals and three assists in an 8-1 blowout of the Rangers. In 1969, Alex Delevecchio recorded two assists in a 6-3 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The two helpers gave him 967 points, putting him ahead of Maurice Richard for third all-time in points. At this time, he trailed only Jean Beliveau and his teammate, Howe.

The final Christmas Day game at the legendary Montreal Forum was played in 1965. Henri Richard scored late in the third period to give the Canadiens a 4-3 victory over the visiting Red Wings.

There have been 13 players in NHL history born on Dec. 25: Steve Wojciechowski, Fred Sasakamoose, Larry Cahan, Noel Picard, Gerry Abel, Brian Stapleton, Dave Kryskow, Dmitri Mironov, Vitali Prokhorov, Jim Dowd, Joel Savage, Stu Barnes, and Mark Friedman.