On March 18, 1945 Elmer Lach Scores
1945: It’s the Montreal Canadiens’ 50th — and final — game of the season and their star right wing, Maurice Richard, needs a goal to become the first NHL player to score 50 goals in a season.
There’s less than three minutes left in the game in Boston and “The Rocket” still is stuck on 49. But with 2:15 remaining, the fiery Richard takes a pass from Elmer Lach and scores to achieve the milestone.
Richard’s goal ties the game 2-2 and Montreal goes on to win 4-2, with Richard setting up the winning goal by Toe Blake 57 seconds after his score.
It will be 36 seasons until another NHL player (Mike Bossy) will score 50 goals in the season’s first 50 games.
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