skip navigation

April 7th

  • Apr
  • 7
April 7th
  • All Day Event  

1965:  Former NHL center Don Biggs born in Missisauga, Ont. Biggs played in the NHL 1984-85 through 1989-90 with the Minnesota North Stars and Philadelphia.

1971:  Minnesota North Stars’ Barry Gibbs set a team playoff record for most penalty minutes in a game when he picked up 27 PIM in the second period of a 3-2 win St. Louis, in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Quarter-Finals.

1973:  Goaltender Cesare Maniago recorded the third and final shutout of his playoff career as the Minnesota North Stars won 5-0 over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers, in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Quarter-Finals.

1979:  Former NHL left winger Pascal Dupuis born in Laval, Que. Dupuis played in the NHL 2000-01 through 2015-16 with Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, Atlanta Thrashers and Pittsburgh Penguins.

1982:  Greg Fox scored at 3:34 of overtime to give Chicago a 3-2 win over the North Stars in Game 1 of the Norris Division Semi-Finals, at Minnesota. Goalie Murray Bannerman set a record (later broken) with 45 saves in his first NHL playoff start.

1982:  Minnesota North Stars set a franchise playoff record for most penalty minutes in a game, with 64 in a 3-2 loss against the visiting Chicago Black Hawks, in Game 1 of the Norris Division Semi-Finals.

1983:  Bobby Smith scored two goals, including the winner at 5:03 of overtime (and also had an assist) in the North Stars' 5-4 win over Toronto in Game Two of the Norris Division Semi-Finals, in Minnesota.

1983:  Mark Pavelich scored a goal and added two assists to lead the Rangers to a 4-3 win at Philadelphia, in Game 2 of the Patrick Division Semi-Finals.

1984:  Mark Pavelich scored a goal and added two assists to lead the Rangers to a 7-2 win over the Islanders, at MSG in Game 3 of the Patrick Division Semi-Finals.

1993:  Ottawa's Mike Peluso became the first player in team history to pick up 300 penalty minutes in one season, when he got 12 PIM in a 6-1 loss to the visiting Hartford Whalers.

2007:  Nick Schultz became the first defenseman in team history to play all 82 games in a season; he also picked up an assist in a 5-1 win over the visiting St. Louis Blues.

2009:  Marian Gaborik became just the second player to appear in 500 games with the Minnesota Wild, and celebrated with a goal and two assists in a 3-1 victory over the visiting Dallas Stars.

2012:  Minnesota Wild loses 4-1 to Phoenix Coyotes to close out the 2011-2012 season.  Wild Defenseman - Chay Genoway had an assist in Wild lone goal, in the only NHL game he ever played in.

2013:  Niklas Backstrom reached the 20-win plateau for the sixth time in his seven NHL seasons and recorded the Wild's first-ever shutout at Columbus (and the 28th of his career) as Minnesota beat the Blue Jackets 3-0.

2014:  Ilya Bryzgalov recorded his second straight shutout (34th of his NHL career) and improved to 6-0-3 with Minnesota as the Wild beat the Jets 1-0 for their first shutout at Winnipeg. Charlie Coyle scored the only goal of the game.

2015:  N.Y. Islanders Forward, and Edina, MN native - Anders Lee scored 2 goals in the Islanders' 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

2015:  Edmonton Oilers Forward, and Minneapolis, MN native - Tyler Pitlick scored the game-winning goal to earn the #1 Star of the Night in the Oilers 4-2 win over Los Angeles Kings.

2015:  Minnesota Wild defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 behind Jason Zuckers' game-winning goal for his 19th goal of the season.  With the win, Minnesota Wild clinched a spot in the 2015 Stanley Cup play-offs for the third straight season - a franchise best streak.  Per Elias Sports Bureau, the Wilds' 11th straight road win was just shy of the NHL-record 12 road wins held by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2005-2006 season.  

2015:  Minnesota Wild Goaltender - Devan Dubnyk made his 39th consecutive start in goal starting on January 6th (38th with Wild) in the 2-1 win vs. Chicago - which marked his last start in net with the play-off clinch.  Per Elias Sports Bureau, Dubnyk's 39 straight starts was the most in the NHL since Evgeni Nabokov started 43 in a row for the San Jose Sharks in 2007-2008 (Darcy Keumper started following game vs. Nashville Predators on 4-9-2015)

2019:  Buffalo Sabres General Manager Jason Botterill announced that South St. Paul, MN native (Hockey Hall of Fame) Head Coach - Phil Housley was relieved of his duties as Coach.

Tag(s): This Day In MN History