QUICK CLICKS
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Brad Marchand, Connor McDavid, Brock Nelson named NHL’s ‘Three Stars’ of the week
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Alexander Kerfoot suspended two games for boarding
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Mats Zuccarello celebrated by Rangers, fans in return to MSG
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Erik Cernak to have hearing for actions in Lightning game
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Thanksgiving Showdown highlights week in NHL
PREVIEW OF TODAY’S ACTION
Six teams are in action on the 102nd anniversary of the League’s founding, including an all-Original Six matchup between the Bruins and Canadiens at Bell Centre in Montreal – approximately 600 meters from the Windsor Hotel where the NHL was
officially formed on Nov. 26, 1917.
* The NHL was founded following three days of meetings involving owners from the National Hockey Association – which suspended operations after one of its six teams, the Toronto 228th Battalion, had been called to fight in World War I during the 1916-17 season. As noted in the hand-written meeting minutes (pictured below), the owners decided “that the Canadiens, Wanderers, Ottawa and Quebec Hockey Clubs unite to comprise the National Hockey League.”
* Quebec’s entry into the NHL was delayed until 1919-20, but Toronto was granted a franchise and the League began with four clubs – the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Arenas.
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Frank Calder was elected president of the NHL, which set forth with a 48-game schedule, with the first contests slated for
Dec. 19, 1917. The League champion would earn the right to play the winner of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association for the Stanley Cup.
* The Wanderers played only four games before a fire destroyed their arena, causing them to forfeit two contests and eventually withdraw from play, leaving the Canadiens, Senators and Arenas to compete for the League’s inaugural title in a condensed 24-game schedule. The Arenas emerged and defeated the PCHA’s Vancouver Millionaires to become the first NHL team to win the Stanley Cup.