This Day In Hockey History: Dec 27th

1897 - In the only Stanley Cup challenge of the season, the defending champion Montreal Victorias turned back the Ottawa Capitals 15-2 to retain their champion status.

1924 - Montreal Canadiens played the Maroons for the first time at the Forum and tied 1-1 after 20 minutes of overtime.

1942 - Montreal Canadiens defeated Boston 4-2 in Montreal, but lost rookie Maurice Richard, who suffered a broken leg just above the right ankle. His leg broke when he toppled after a check from Bruins' Jack Crawford.

1973 - Buffalo Sabres traded John Gould and Tracy Pratt to Vancouver in exchange for defenseman Jerry Korab.

1982 - Philadelphia's Bobby Clarke scored the 5th (and final) hat trick of his NHL career and added two assists, leading the Flyers past the Red Wings, 8-4 at Detroit.

1990 - Edmonton Oilers recorded their 500th all time NHL victory, 4-1 over the Flames, in Edmonton. The win gave the Oilers a lifetime record of 500-295-120, for a winning percentage of .612, the best of any NHL team.

2000 - Mario Lemieux returned from a 3-1/2 year layoff, and picked up a point on his first shift, finishing the night with with a goal and two assists in the Penguins 5-0 win against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs. Garth Snow got the shutout.

Happy Birthday to Bryan Smolinski, Mickey Redmond, Patrick Sharp, Paul Stastny, Jay Pandolfo, Kevin Constantine and Fernando Pisani.