THIS DATE IN HISTORY, MARCH 28
1980: Don Cherry earns his 250th and final NHL coaching victory with Bill McKenzie earning his second and final career shutout in a 5-0 victory against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.
It is the 100th victory and the third and final shutout in the history of the Rockies, who will move east for the 1982-83 season to be rebranded the New Jersey Devils.
"Grapes," as Cherry is popularly known, had coached the Boston Bruins for six seasons, from 1974-79, and won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top coach in 1975-76.
He enjoyed a .658 winning percentage in Boston, winning 231, losing 105 and tying 64. But there wasn't that kind of success awaiting him in Colorado, his 1979-80 Rockies going 19-48-13 for a .319 percentage.
Cherry spent 16 years playing in the minor leagues, played a single game in the NHL, coached -- and then found his true calling. For the past 35 years, he has been the intermission host of television's Coach's Corner segment.
In a 2002 feature on a day in the life of Coach's Corner, Cherry said he never is entirely certain of what's going to come out of his mouth when the red light glows on the studio camera.
"My father told me it's better to be shot for [being] a wolf than a lamb," he said. "It's no fun if I'm playin' it safe. And let's face it: A lot of people watch the show to see the train wreck. …
"It's like Fawlty Towers," Cherry added of the manic British comedy. "John Cleese put out so much energy that he exhausted you. Maybe I do the same, with all the hollerin'. I know the show takes a lot out of me. I've been weak after some of them."
1929: Rookie Tiny Thompson becomes the second goalie in NHL history to have a shutout in his Stanley Cup Final debut when the Bruins defeat the visiting New York Rangers 2-0 in Game 1 of the first Stanley Cup Final series between two U.S.-based NHL teams.
1967: Chicago Blackhawks center Stan Mikita sets an NHL record for most assists in a season when he picks up his 60th in a 7-2 win against the visiting Detroit Red Wings. Mikita breaks his own single-season record of 59, set in 1964-65.
1975: The Washington Capitals earn the only road victory in their inaugural season when Nelson Pyatt's two third-period goals give them a 5-3 win against the California Seals. The win ends the Capitals' NHL-record 37-game road losing streak; they finish the season with a road record of 1-39-0.
1982: Edmonton Oilers center Wayne Gretzky scores his 92nd goal of 1981-82, which remains the NHL single-season record. Gretzky also ends the 80-game season with 120 assists, giving him an NHL-record 212 points.
1990: Gary Leeman becomes the second player in Toronto Maple Leafs history to score 50 goals in a season in a 6-3 loss against the New York Islanders. Rick Vaive was the first Toronto player with 50 or more, having scored 54 in 1981-82 and 52 in 1983-84.
1993: Alexei Zhamnov scores to make the Winnipeg Jets the first team in NHL history with four 20-goal rookies. Zhamnov joins Teemu Selanne, Evgeny Davydov and Keith Tkachuk on that list by scoring in the Jets' 3-3 tie with the visiting Los Angeles Kings.
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