On This Day December 16th.

December 16: On this day in 1922, the Toronto St. Pats opened their 1922-23 campaign with a 7-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Hall-of-Fame right-winger, Babe Dye fired 5 goals past Montreal goaltender Georges Vezina. It has been the only time in the history of the Toronto franchise that a player scored five goals on opening night.

December 16: On this day in 1961, captain George Armstrong scored his 2nd career hat trick en-route to his best ever season of 21 goals and 32 assists as the Leafs defeated the New York Rangers 4-2. The Leafs and Rangers would clash again the next spring in the opening round of the playoffs with the Leafs prevailing. In the Finals, Armstrong would lead his team to their first Cup victory in 11 years. As at the end of the 2005-06 season, the Leafs have an all-time winning record against the Rangers of W-269, L-206, T-95, OL-3 in 573 games since 1926. The Rangers are ahead in the post season however, having won 5 of the 8 all-time playoff series encounters, including their last meeting in 1971.