On This Day March 20th.

30 goals in 20 games during the inaugural NHL season
March 20: On this day in 1918, Reg Noble became the first Toronto player to register 3 points in one period of an NHL playoff game. He had 2 goals and 1 assist in a 5-3 victory in Game 1 of the 1918 Finals against the Vancouver Millionaires. Noble remained a stalwart with the franchise when it was renamed the St. Patricks in 1919-20. During this period, he formed one of hockey's great early lines with right winger Cecil "Babe" Dye and center Corb Denneny. Noble was a crowd favorite at the old Mutual Street Arena and one loyal fan used to wind up a siren whenever Noble stole the puck from an opposing attacker, sending the rest of the crowd into a frenzy. It was the NHL's first playoff season. Several Leafs players have since tied this team record but as of 2008, it has never been beaten. The NHL record for most points in a period of a playoff game is four, set by several players.

March 20: On this day in 1922, Cecil "Babe" Dye scored at 4:50 of the first overtime period to give the Toronto St. Pats a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Millionaires in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. It was only the 2nd overtime goal in NHL playoff history. It proved to be a crucial goal as the St. Pats needed a fifth game in their best-of five series to capture the Cup.

March 20: On this day in 1949, the Leafs were defeated 7-2 by the Boston Bruins and ended their 1948-49 regular season campaign on a 3 game losing streak. By the end of March however, Toronto had eliminated the Bruins from the playoffs, 4 games to 1 in their opening round series. In the finals, the Leafs defeated the Red Wings in four straight. They became just the second team in NHL history to post a losing regular season record (22-25-13), but then go on to win the Cup. The first team to do it was the 1937-38 Black Hawks.

March 20: On this day in 1955, defenseman Marc Reaume made his NHL debut with the Leafs in the last game of the regular season. The Leafs lost 3-2 to the Rangers. Reaume played all four games for the Leafs in the 1955 playoffs as well, as the Leafs were swept by the Red Wings in the opening round. Altogether, Marc Reaume played 267 games with Toronto, collecting 47 points through February of 1960 when he was traded for Red Kelly.

March 20: On this day in 1957, legendary Frank Mahovlich made his NHL debut wearing sweater number 26 for the Leafs in a 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Before the season was out, Mahovlich had played 3 games and had scored his first NHL goal, one of 296 as a Leaf and one of 533 in his illustrious NHL career.

March 20: On this day in 1963, Dave Keon of the Leafs scored the tying goal with just 8 seconds left in the third period of their third from last regular season game. The single point from the 3-3 tie against the Canadiens clinched first place overall for the Leafs. With a record of 35-23-12, the Leafs finished with 82 points in 70 games, just one point ahead of the second place Chicago Black Hawks. It was the Maple Leaf's first league championship in 15 years. As of the end of the 2008-09 season, 1963 was the last time a Leaf team finished first overall in the NHL.

March 20: On this day in 1983, Al Secord of the Chicago Black Hawks became the last NHL player to score 50 goals in one season while not wearing a helmet. His 50th was scored on Mike Palmateer as the Hawks defeated the Leafs 7-3. Secord himself became a Leaf in 1987 and scored 20 goals in one and a half seasons.

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