January 3 1991: Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings becomes the fourth player in NHL history to score 700 goals, then gets two more for his 47th NHL hat trick. He reaches the milestone in a 6-3 victory against the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. January 4 1984: Wayne Gretzky extends his NHL-record assist streak to 17 games and matches his NHL career high for points in a game by scoring four goals and assisting on four others for the Edmonton Oilers in a 12-8 victory against the Minnesota North Stars at Northlands Coliseum. It's the second eight-point game of Gretzky's NHL career and comes less than two months after the first (Nov. 19, 1983, against the New Jersey Devils). It's a highlight of the highest-scoring NHL game in 64 years. Gretzky has 38 assists during the 17-game streak, which ends three nights later against the Hartford Whalers. Exactly two years later, Gretzky becomes the first player in NHL history to get 100 points in seven straight seasons. He reaches the milestone with two assists in a 4-3 victory against the visiting Whalers. January 6 1993: Wayne Gretzky returns after missing 38 games because of a herniated disc and plays in his 1,000th NHL game. Gretzky takes his first shift 48 seconds into the Los Angeles Kings' game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Forum. The shift lasts 45 seconds, and he doesn't touch the puck. The Lightning lead 4-0 early in the second period when Gretzky assists on a power-play goal by defenseman Rob Blake, after which his teammates finally feel free enough to smack him on the back. Gretzky also sets up the second of Mike Donnelly's two goals later in the period to make it 4-3, but the Lightning add goals by Mike Hartman and Bob Beers for a 6-3 victory. Gretzky plays 45 regular-season games for the Kings in 1992-93, finishing with 16 goals and 65 points, then has 15 goals and 40 points in 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games, helping the Kings reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time. January 8 1986: Not even Wayne Gretzky's 37th NHL hat trick can prevent the Edmonton Oilers from losing 11-9 to the Maple Leafs at Maple Leaf Gardens. Gretzky also contributes three assists for a six-point night, and Jari Kurri has a goal and four assists, but Toronto forward Miroslav Frycer scores his fourth goal of the game midway through the third period to break a 9-9 tie. January 10 1989: Wayne Gretzky passes Gordie Howe for the most combined points (regular season and playoffs) in NHL history. Gretzky has four assists for the Los Angeles Kings in a 5-4 victory against the Edmonton Oilers at the Forum in Inglewood, California, giving him a total of 2,011 points in regular-season and Stanley Cup Playoff games. That's one more than Howe amassed in 26 NHL seasons, 25 of them with the Detroit Red Wings. That Gretzky passes Howe's mark against Edmonton is ironic: 1,669 of his regular-season points and 242 of his playoff points come with the Oilers before he's traded to the Kings on Aug. 9, 1988. Gretzky breaks Howe's NHL regular-season record for points on Oct. 15, 1989, also against the Oilers. January 12 1994: Wayne Gretzky scores twice to become the first player in NHL history to reach 2,400 points and the seventh player in Los Angeles Kings history to record 200 goals. The milestones, along with two assists, come in the Kings' 6-4 victory against the Whalers at the Forum in Inglewood, California. January 19 1991: After the crowd at Chicago Stadium drowns out the National Anthem with cheers, Vincent Damphousse of the Toronto Maple Leafs scores four goals to help the Campbell Conference defeat the Wales Conference 11-5 at the NHL All-Star Game. After Operation Desert Storm begins three days earlier, there are questions about whether the game should be played. NHL President John Ziegler ultimately decides that the game will be played. The sellout crowd of 18,472 rocks the building throughout Wayne Messmer's performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner." "I was standing next to Mark Messier during the anthems," Wayne Gretzky recalls years later. "I said to him, 'This is unbelievable.' I've heard it as loud here before when we came into Chicago with the Edmonton Oilers. But never as emotional. The flags of both countries, the banners, the vibrations. You could tell that the fans, like us, were thinking of other things." Damphousse scores three times in the third period to help the Campbell Conference pull away. His four-goal performance matches the All-Star Game record and earns him MVP honors. Gretzky scores once to become the all-time leader in All Star Game goals with 11, one more than Gordie Howe. January 20 1982: Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers becomes the first player in NHL history to have 12 career hat tricks before age 21. He gets his sixth hat trick of the season and 12th of his career when he scores three goals (and has two assists) in an 8-6 victory against the St. Louis Blues at Northlands Coliseum. January 21 1989: Wayne Gretzky moves into second place on the NHL's all-time points list. Gretzky has a goal and three assists in the Los Angeles Kings' 5-4 loss to the Hartford Whalers at the Civic Center, passing Marcel Dionne to become the NHL's all-time No. 2 scorer. Gretzky has 1,771 points in 743 games; Dionne (at the time) has 1,770 in 1,343 games. The only player ahead of him is Gordie Howe with 1,850 points. Gretzky also reaches 100 points for the 10th consecutive season, extending his own NHL record. January 23 1983: Wayne Gretzky scores a goal and has three assists in the Edmonton Oilers' 8-6 victory against the Los Angeles Kings at Northlands Coliseum. Gretzky's 400th assist comes in his 290th NHL game. January 26 1961: The NHL's all-time scoring leader, Wayne Gretzky, is born in Brantford, Ontario. Gretzky's talents are obvious almost from the time he learns to play hockey. At age 6, he plays with 10-year-olds; at 10, he scores 378 goals. He plays junior hockey at age 16; one year later, he signs with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association. But after eight games, the Racers trade him to the Edmonton Oilers. He comes to the NHL with the Oilers in 1979, when the NHL absorbs four teams from the WHA. Gretzky ties for the NHL scoring lead in 1979-80 and wins the Hart Trophy. In 1980-81, he wins the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's top scorer for the first of seven consecutive seasons and repeats as Hart Trophy winner. One year later, he shatters NHL records for goals (92) and points (212). The Oilers make the Stanley Cup Final in 1983, but are swept by the New York Islanders. They avenge that loss one year later, defeating the Islanders to win the Cup for their first of four championships in a five-season span. Three months after the Oilers win in 1988, Gretzky is traded to the Los Angeles Kings. On Oct. 15, 1989, he passes his idol, Gordie Howe, for the all-time NHL lead in points by scoring a goal against his former team at Northlands Coliseum. He leads the Kings to their first Stanley Cup Final in 1993 after missing much of the season with a back injury. The Kings trade him to the St. Louis Blues late in the 1995-96 season, and he signs as free agent with the New York Rangers that summer, rejoining longtime Edmonton teammate Mark Messier. Gretzky plays three seasons in New York before retiring with NHL records of 894 goals, 1963 assists and 2,857 points, as well as playoff records of 122 goals, 260 assists and 382 points. Gretzky also has some memorable birthday moments: 1985: On his 24th birthday, Gretzky scores three goals for his 33rd NHL hat trick in the Oilers' 6-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. That gives him 50 goals in 49 games, the third time in his career he's reached 50 goals in fewer than 50 games. 1991: Midway through his third season with the Kings, Gretzky celebrates his 30th birthday by scoring three goals for his 48th NHL hat trick and has two assists in a 5-4 victory against the Vancouver Canucks. He reaches the 30-goal mark for the 12th consecutive season. January 27 1984: Wayne Gretzky extends his NHL-record point streak to 51 straight games when he scores a first-period goal in the Edmonton Oilers' 3-3 tie against the New Jersey Devils at Northlands Coliseum. The goal gives Gretzky at least one point in each of the Oilers' first 51 games of the 1983-84 season beginning on Oct. 5, 1983. He has 153 points (61 goals, 92 assists) during the streak. That total alone would have been more than enough to win the NHL scoring title; teammate Paul Coffey finishes second with 126 points. January 28 1984: The longest point streak in NHL history ends at 51 games when the Los Angeles Kings keep Wayne Gretzky off the scoresheet and defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 at Northlands Coliseum. The Kings enter the game having allowed an NHL-worst 244 goals in 51 games and last in the Smythe Division at 14-27-10. But goaltender Markus Mattsson, playing in his second game after being recalled from the minors eight days earlier, is perfect through two periods before allowing two third-period goals where Gretzky is not involved. He plays almost all of the final five minutes in an attempt to keep the streak alive but Mattsson stops his fourth and final shot on goal with two seconds remaining. Gretzky finishes the streak with 153 points (61 goals, 92 assists) in 51 games. Counting the final nine games of the previous season, he's scored in 60 consecutive regular-season games since March 11, 1983. January 30 1990: Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings sets an NHL record by reaching 100 points for the 11th consecutive season. The milestone comes when Gretzky has an assist in a 5-2 win against the visiting New Jersey Devils. It's his second 100-point season with the Kings after he reaches triple figures in each of his nine seasons with the Edmonton Oilers. February 1 1980: Wayne Gretzky scores three goals for his first NHL hat trick and has an assist to help the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Winnipeg Jets 9-2 at Northlands Coliseum. He scores once in each period, giving him 31 goals for the season. It comes in Gretzky's 50th NHL game and is the first of his NHL-record 50 hat tricks. February 4 1989: Wayne Gretzky scores three goals for his 44th NHL hat trick and first with the Los Angeles Kings in a 5-3 victory against the Buffalo Sabres at the Forum in Inglewood, California. He gets a little help: One goal is knocked into the Buffalo net by a member of the Sabres, and he is awarded an empty-net goal with one second remaining when the officials rule that a member of the Sabres intentionally knocked the net off its moorings. Exactly 10 years later, Gretzky scores his 1,071st professional goal (regular season and playoffs, including the NHL and World Hockey Association) in the New York Rangers' 8-4 victory against the Vancouver Canucks at Madison Square Garden. It ties him with Gordie Howe for total career goals scored. February 7 1989: Wayne Gretzky, in his first season with the Los Angeles Kings, is named MVP of the NHL All-Star Game at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, his home during the first nine seasons in the League. Gretzky, playing with longtime Oilers linemate Jari Kurri on his right and Kings teammate Luc Robitaille on his left, has a goal and two assists for the Campbell Conference in a 9-5 victory. February 8 1983: Wayne Gretzky puts on a show for the sellout crowd attending the NHL All-Star Game at Nassau Coliseum, scoring four goals in the third period of the Campbell Conference's 9-3 win against the Wales Conference. With the Campbell Conference leading 3-2, Gretzky scores his first goal at 6:20, beats goaltender Pelle Lindbergh at 10:31 and again at 15:32, then ends the night with his fourth goal of the period at 19:18. He breaks Ted Lindsay's record of three goals in an All-Star Game, set in 1950. 1991: Gretzky begins two streaks when he gets a second-period assist for the Los Angeles Kings in a 4-4 tie with the Sabres at Memorial Auditorium. It's the start of a 23-game assist streak and a 25-game point streak. February 11 1988: Wayne Gretzky scores a goal and has two assists in the Edmonton Oilers' 7-2 victory against the Canucks at Pacific Coliseum to give him 101 points, his NHL-record ninth 100-point season. He passes Marcel Dionne, who had eight. February 14 1986: Wayne Gretzky has the third (and final) seven-assist game of his NHL career, helping the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Quebec Nordiques 8-2 at Northlands Coliseum. The seven assists match the League record first set by Billy Taylor of the Detroit Red Wings in 1947. February 15 1999: Wayne Gretzky makes his only NHL appearance in Nashville one to remember. Gretzky finishes with five assists in the Rangers' 7-4 win against the Predators. The five-assist night moves him 1,000 points ahead of runner-up Gordie Howe in the all-time NHL scoring race, and it comes exactly 19 years after he ties an NHL single-game record by getting seven assists for the Edmonton Oilers in an 8-2 win against the Washington Capitals. February 18 1981: Wayne Gretzky, 20, has the first five-goal game of his NHL career to help the Edmonton Oilers to a 9-2 victory against the St. Louis Blues at Northlands Coliseum. Gretzky breaks a 2-2 tie when he scores early in the second period against Mike Liut, then blows the game open by scoring four times in a span of 7:58 in the third period. It's the first of Gretzky's four five-goal games in the NHL. He also becomes the first player in League history to score three or more goals in a game five times before the age of 21. Exactly eight years later. Gretzky scores two goals and has five assists in the Los Angeles Kings' 11-3 victory against the Quebec Nordiques at the Forum in Inglewood, California, giving him 1,800 points in 754 NHL games. February 19 1980: Edmonton Oilers rookie Wayne Gretzky plays against Gordie Howe of the Hartford Whalers for the fourth (and final) time in their NHL careers. Neither player scores in the Whalers' 6-2 win against the Oilers at the Hartford Civic Center. February 21 1984: Wayne Gretzky scores four goals for his 27th NHL hat trick and has an assist to help the Edmonton Oilers defeat the St. Louis Blues 6-5. One night later, Gretzky scores four more against the Pittsburgh Penguins to give him eight goals in two nights. February 22 1984: Wayne Gretzky scores four goals for his 10th hat trick of the season, tying the NHL record he set in 1981-82. It's his second four-goal game in as many days and helps the Edmonton Oilers to a 9-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Civic Arena. February 24 1980: Gretzky, in his and Edmonton's first NHL season, becomes the first player in League history to score 100 points in a season prior to his 20th birthday. Point No. 100 is an assist in a 4-2 loss to the Bruins. It comes in his 61st NHL game. 1982: Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers breaks Phil Esposito's single-season record for goals when he scores his 77th against goaltender Don Edwards and the Buffalo Sabres at Memorial Auditorium. Gretzky enters the game with 76 goals, matching the mark set by Esposito in 1970-71. Edwards stops each of Gretzky's first seven shots on goal, but Gretzky steals the puck from forward Steve Patrick, avoids defenseman Richie Dunn's attempt to hook him and beats Edwards at 13:24 with a low shot from the slot to set the record. Gretzky scores again at 18:16 and 19:43 to complete a hat trick and lift the Oilers to a 6-3 victory. Esposito is on hand to see his record broken. "The only thing I felt nervous about," Gretzky said, "was that Phil had to be here, and I wanted him to get back to the things he had to do. That created all the pressure." February 27 The second trade in Wayne Gretzky's NHL career garners far less attention than the first one. The St. Louis Blues acquire Gretzky from the Los Angeles Kings for Craig Johnson, Patrice Tardif, Roman Vopat, the Blues' first-round pick in the 1997 NHL Draft (Matt Zultek) and a fifth-round pick in the 1996 draft (Peter Hogan). Unlike the Aug. 9, 1988 trade that sends Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Kings, this works out for neither team. The Blues go 6-10-5 with Gretzky and are eliminated in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. None of the players acquired by the Kings make an impact in the League. February 29 In 1996, Wayne Gretzky played his first game with the St. Louis Blues after being acquired in a trade with the Kings two days earlier. Gretzky scored a goal in a 2-2 tie with the Vancouver Canucks. March 1 1988: Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers officially becomes the greatest playmaker in NHL history. Gretzky sets up a first-period goal by longtime linemate Jari Kurri for his 1,050th assist, passing Gordie Howe for No. 1 on the League's all-time list. The record-setting assist comes late in Gretzky's ninth NHL season, 17 fewer than Howe. Gretzky also scores a goal 18 seconds before assist No. 1,050, helping the Oilers defeat the visiting Los Angeles Kings 5-3. March 3 1992: Gretzky extends his own NHL record for consecutive 100-point seasons with an assist for the Los Angeles Kings in a 4-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Forum in Inglewood, California. It's the 13th straight 100-point season for Gretzky. March 4 1989: Wayne Gretzky scores twice to reach 50 goals for the ninth and final time in his NHL career. He also has four assists, all in the second period, to help the Los Angeles Kings to a 6-2 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Gretzky joins Bossy as the only players with nine seasons of 50 or more goals. Exactly three years later, Gretzky is credited with his 1,500th NHL assist in the Kings' 4-3 win against the San Jose Sharks. March 5 1991: Wayne Gretzky becomes the first player in NHL history with 1,400 career assists when he sets up all of the Kings' goals in a 3-3 tie against the Washington Capitals in Landover, Maryland. Assist No. 1,400 comes when Tony Granato converts his pass for a power-play goal at 13:11 of the first period to give the Kings a 2-0 lead. Gretzky also assists on a goal by defenseman Rod Buskas in the first period and another by Tomas Sandstrom in the second. March 7 1998: Wayne Gretzky of the New York Rangers scores his 1,000th NHL goal (878 in the regular season, 122 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs) in a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils at Continental Airlines Arena. The milestone goal comes when Gretzky beats goalie Martin Brodeur during a power play at 15:29 of the second period. Exactly 17 years earlier, Gretzky becomes the first player in League history to have six NHL hat tricks before age 21 when he scores four goals for the Edmonton Oilers in a 5-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Spectrum. The four goals give Gretzky 100 in his first 145 NHL games. Ten years after that, Gretzky, playing for the Los Angeles Kings, reaches 100 assists for the 11th consecutive season during a 3-2 road loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. March 11 1987: Wayne Gretzky scores a goal and sets up three others, all in the third period, to reach 1,500 points. The milestone comes in his 620th NHL regular-season game, a 6-3 victory against the Red Wings at Northlands Coliseum. March 13 1984: Wayne Gretzky reaches 900 points in his NHL career when he has a goal and an assist in the Edmonton Oilers' 6-5 road victory against the Quebec Nordiques. Point No. 900 comes in Gretzky's 385th NHL game, the fewest ever needed to reach that milestone. He scores his 82nd goal of the season at 8:44 of the first period and assists on Paul Coffey's goal at 4:35 of overtime. March 14 1991: Wayne Gretzky sets an NHL record with an assist in his 18th consecutive game, surpassing the mark of 17 that he shares with Coffey. It comes in the Los Angeles Kings' 6-3 loss to the Blackhawks at Chicago Stadium. The winning goaltender is Ed Belfour, who sets a team record with his 39th victory of the season. March 15 1981: Wayne Gretzky becomes a 50-goal scorer for the second straight season. He gets No. 50 midway through the third period, giving the Edmonton Oilers a 3-3 tie against the Calgary Flames at Stampede Corral. March 17 1990: Wayne Gretzky scores a goal and has two assists to lead the Los Angeles Kings to a 5-victory against the Bruins at Boston Garden. Gretzky scored 40 or more goals for the 11th consecutive season, an NHL record. He also reaches 100 assists for the 10th season, another NHL record. March 18 1986: Wayne Gretzky becomes a 50-goal scorer for the seventh consecutive season. Gretzky's 50th comes in the Edmonton Oilers' 6-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Northlands Coliseum. 1996: Gretzky scores his 1,000th pro hockey goal (including NHL, WHA, regular season and playoffs), in the St. Louis Blues' 3-1 road win against the Los Angeles Kings. Gretzky joins Howe and Bobby Hull in the 1,000 pro goal club. March 20 1994: Wayne Gretzky scores twice to tie Gordie Howe's NHL record of 801 goals. He scores 6:16 into the first period and again at 19:11 of the third to give the visiting Los Angeles Kings a 6-6 tie against the San Jose Sharks. March 23 1994: Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings scores his 802nd NHL goal, breaking Gordie Howe's career record. The goal comes at 14:47 of the second period in the Kings' 6-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California. Gretzky takes a cross-ice pass from defenseman Marty McSorley on a give-and-go that leaves Vancouver goalie Kirk McLean badly out of position and allows Gretzky to score into a virtually empty net. The sellout crowd erupts when teammates, led by Luc Robitaille and followed closely by McSorley, mob him after Gretzky raises his arms in triumph. Gretzky surpasses Howe during his 15th NHL season and finishes his NHL career in 1999 with 894 goals and 2,857 points, records that have yet to be approached. March 25 1982: Wayne Gretzky reaches another scoring mark considered unreachable when he becomes the first player in NHL history to score 200 points in one season. Point No. 200 comes when Gretzky assists on a first-period goal by Pat Hughes in the Edmonton Oilers' 7-2 win against the Calgary Flames at Stampede Corral. Gretzky also assists on a goal by Dave Semenko later in the period and sets another NHL record by scoring two shorthanded goals in a span of 27 seconds in the second period. Gretzky finishes the night with 203 points; he ends the season with 212. March 28 1982: Wayne Gretzky scores his 92nd and final goal of the 1981-82 season in the Edmonton Oilers' 6-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Gretzky beats Mike Blake 1:50 into the third period to make it 6-1. He also has an assist, his 116th of the season. Though his 92 goals are 16 more than the previous record set by Phil Esposito in 1970-71, Gretzky says years later that he was somewhat disappointed he didn't score more. He gets four assists in Edmonton's final two games, but no goals. "It was a thrill to get 92 goals, but in some ways, I thought I let myself down by not getting 100," he says. "Maybe I should have pushed myself more." 1996: Gretzky reaches the 100-point mark for the 15th and final time in his NHL career. Gretzky gets to 100 by scoring a shorthanded goal and two assists in the St. Louis Blues' 4-4 tie with the visiting New Jersey Devils. March 29 1981: Wayne Gretzky breaks Phil Esposito's NHL record for most points in a season with three assists in the Edmonton Oilers' 5-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Civic Arena. Gretzky assists on Mark Messier's second-period goal and sets up third-period goals by Brett Callighen and Jari Kurri, moving him past Esposito's record of 152 points set in 1970-71. Exactly 18 years later, Gretzky scores the 894th and final regular-season goal of his NHL career for the New York Rangers in a 3-1 victory against the New York Islanders. It's the 1,072nd goal of his career (regular season and playoffs, NHL and WHA), surpassing Gordie Howe as the leading scorer in pro hockey history. April 2 1980: Edmonton Oilers rookie Wayne Gretzky becomes the first teenager to score 50 goals in an NHL season. Gretzky, 19, scores in a 1-1 tie against the Minnesota North Stars at Northlands Coliseum. April 6 1986: Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers wins the Art Ross Trophy for a sixth consecutive season with an NHL-record 215 points, three more than his record total from 1981-82. Gretzky gets his 163rd assist, also an NHL record, in Edmonton's season-ending 3-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks at Pacific Coliseum. April 7 1982: The Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers set a single-game Stanley Cup Playoff record by combining for 18 goals. The Kings outscore the Oilers 10-8 at Northlands Coliseum in Game 1 of the Smythe Division Semifinals. Fifteen players score at least one goal; Kings forward Charlie Simmer breaks an 8-8 tie with 5:04 left in the third period. April 9 1987: Wayne Gretzky ties the single-game playoff record with six assists and passes Hall of Famer Jean Beliveau for the all-time career playoff scoring lead during the Edmonton Oilers' 13-3 victory against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 2 of the Smythe Division Semifinals. Gretzky gets his 177th point, moving him past Beliveau for the most points in Stanley Cup play (he extends his record to 382 before retiring in 1999). The Oilers set a record of their own for most goals in a playoff game. April 11 1981: Wayne Gretzky scores the first playoff hat trick of his career to help the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Montreal Canadiens 6-2 in Game 3 of the best-of-5 Preliminary Round series. His first goal at 8:15 in the second period extends the Oilers' lead to 3-0. Montreal gets within 3-2 at 15:33 in the second, but Gretzky's second goal at 18:56 of the period gives Edmonton a lead it doesn't relinquish. Gretzky completes his hat trick with seven seconds remaining in the game to lead the Oilers to a series sweep. April 12 1987: The Great One scores a goal and has four assists to help the Edmonton Oilers to a 6-3 win against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4 of the Smythe Division Semifinals at the Forum in Inglewood, California. The goal and three of the assists come in the third period, when the Oilers score four times to blow open a game that's even at 2-2 through two periods. 1988: The opponent and venue are different but Gretzky's numbers are the same: He has a goal and four assists in the Oilers' 6-2 victory against the Winnipeg Jets in Game 5 of the Smythe Division Semifinals. Mark Messier and Jari Kurri each score twice for the Oilers, who eliminate the Jets and go on to win the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in five years. 1991: Gretzky is in his third season with the Kings, but his April 12 magic hasn't disappeared. He has four assists to power Los Angeles to a 7-4 victory against the Vancouver Canucks in Game 5 of the Smythe Division Semifinals. The four assists give him 200 in Stanley Cup Playoff competition. April 15 1989: The Los Angeles Kings end the Edmonton Oilers' hopes for a three-peat with a 6-3 victory in Game 7 of the Smythe Division Semifinals at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Bernie Nicholls scores twice and has two assists as the Kings, and Wayne Gretzky caps the win against his former team by scoring his second goal of the game with 1:35 remaining in the third period. It's the third straight win for the Kings after they lose three of the first four games to the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs. April 17 1983: Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky sets a playoff record for most points in a playoff game with seven (four goals, three assists) in a 10-2 road win against the Calgary Flames. Gretzky scores two goals in each of the first two periods; he gets one assist in the first period and two in the third. Gretzky also scores one of the Oilers' record-tying three shorthanded goals. He matches his own single-game record in 1985 and 1987 before Patrik Sundstrom of the New Jersey Devils breaks the mark with eight points in a game on April 22, 1988. April 18 1999: Wayne Gretzky says goodbye to the NHL as only he can. Before a packed house at Madison Square Garden, Gretzky earns the 2,857th and final point of his NHL career, an assist in the New York Rangers' 2-1 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in their final game of the season. Before the game, the festivities include videotaped messages from Gordie Howe, his boyhood idol. After Pittsburgh's Jaromir Jagr ends the game by scoring at 1:22 of OT, Gretzky takes a few laps around the Garden ice; they are reminiscent of the ones he took with the Stanley Cup during his days with the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s. Gretzky is still in uniform when he meets the media; when that's done, he sits for a while longer, allowing the moment to linger. "Probably, subconsciously, I don't want to take it off,'' he says when asked why he hasn't changed. "I'm not going to pull it on ever again. It's hard. It's hard to take it off right now. I have to be honest with you. I don't want to take it off. "I was a boy that happened to love a game and got lucky, and the good Lord gave me a passion for it." April 20 1992: Wayne Gretzky becomes the first player with 300 playoff points when he's credited with four assists for the Los Angeles Kings in an 8-5 victory against his former team, the Edmonton Oilers, in Game 2 of the Smythe Division Semifinals at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California. Gretzky finishes his NHL career with 382 points in the playoffs; 87 more than runner-up Mark Messier. April 21 1988: Wayne Gretzky scores a shorthanded goal at 7:54 of overtime to give the Edmonton Oilers a 5-4 win at the Calgary Flames in Game 2 of the Smythe Division Final. With Mark Messier in the penalty box, Gretzky beats Mike Vernon for the third shorthanded OT goal in Stanley Cup Playoff history; it comes 10 days after Brent Sutter of the New York Islanders scores the second one against the New Jersey Devils. April 23 1997: Wayne Gretzky gets his NHL-record ninth hat trick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs when he scores three goals in a span of 6:23 during the second period, powering the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory against the Florida Panthers at Madison Square Garden in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. ''Things like that happen," says Gretzky, 36, who would finish his career with 10 playoff games of three or more goals. "I guess they used to happen more when I was younger." Gretzky ties the game 1-1 by scoring a power-play goal at 3:07 and puts the Rangers ahead 2-1 when he beats John Vanbiesbrouck with a slap shot at 6:46, finishing off a 2-on-1 break. His third goal, which proves to be the game-winner, comes when he takes a low slap shot that goes through a screen and past Vanbiesbrouck at 9:30. ''It's nice to have Wayne Gretzky on your team,'' defenseman Brian Leetch says after the Rangers take a 3-1 lead in the series. ''We're lucky to have him.'' April 24 1989: Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading goal-scorer in Stanley Cup competition when he scores 11:20 into the first period of the Los Angeles Kings' 5-3 home loss against the Calgary Flames, who complete a four-game sweep in the Smythe Division Final. The goal is Gretzky's 86th, one more than Mike Bossy scored during 10 seasons with the New York Islanders. Gretzky is the leader with 122 career playoff goals, 13 more than Mark Messier. April 25 1985: Wayne Gretzky has the second seven-point playoff game of his career. Gretzky scores three goals and sets up four more to power the Edmonton Oilers to an 8-3 road victory against the Winnipeg Jets in Game 4 to complete a sweep of the Smythe Division Final. He has two goals in the first period, then completes his hat trick by scoring a shorthanded goal into an empty net midway through the third. Three of his four assists come on goals by Jari Kurri. With the seven points, he matches the single-game record he set two years earlier. May 7 1985: The Edmonton Oilers stay unbeaten in the 1985 playoffs and set a postseason record when they defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-3 in Game 2 of the Campbell Conference Final at Northlands Coliseum. The victory is the 12th straight for Edmonton, at the time the longest winning streak in Stanley Cup Playoff history. Jari Kurri scores three times for the Oilers, with two coming during their four-goal third period. 1993: Wayne Gretzky makes history twice in the Los Angeles Kings' 7-4 victory against the Vancouver Canucks in Game 3 of the Smythe Division Final. Gretzky scores twice in the third period to become the first NHL player with 100 goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. His unassisted goal early in the period gives Los Angeles a 5-2 lead and proves to be the game-winner. It's his 19th game-winning goal in the playoffs, moving him past the previous record-holder, Maurice Richard of the Montreal Canadiens. May 13 1993: The Los Angeles Kings advance to the conference finals for the first time in their 26-year history. Wayne Gretzky scores one goal and has two assists in a 5-3 victory against the visiting Vancouver Canucks in Game 6 of the Smythe Division Final. Gretzky sets up second-period goals by Tomas Sandstrom and Warren Rychel before scoring an unassisted goal midway through the third period. It's the first time since entering the NHL in 1967 that the Kings win multiple Stanley Cup Playoff series in the same year. May 14 1985: Paul Coffey sets a single-game playoff record for a defenseman with six points in the Edmonton Oilers' 10-5 win against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 5 of the Campbell Conference Final at Northlands Coliseum. Coffey finishes the night with one goal and five assists. The goal and three of the assists come during a stretch of seven straight goals that blow the game open. Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri each score twice for the Oilers, who outshoot the Blackhawks 51-23. May 16 1985: Jari Kurri sets a Stanley Cup Playoff record with his third hat trick in the same postseason year, then scores a fourth goal to help the Edmonton Oilers clinch the Campbell Conference championship by defeating the Blackhawks 8-2 at Chicago Stadium in Game 6. Kurri scores the first goal of the game at 5:12 of the first period, gets two more in the second and completes the scoring with 1:43 remaining in the third. Wayne Gretzky assists on all four goals. May 17 1987: Wayne Gretzky becomes the first player to reach 200 career playoff points when he gets a goal and an assist in Edmonton's 4-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of the Final at Northlands Coliseum. Gretzky opens the scoring late in the first period and assists on a goal by Paul Coffey during Edmonton's three-goal third period. May 18 1997: Wayne Gretzky gets his 10th and final playoff hat trick by scoring three times in the New York Rangers' 5-4 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Spectrum in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final. Gretzky scores twice in less than two minutes in the first period and completes his hat trick midway through the second. His former Edmonton teammate, Paul Coffey, beats New York goaltender Mike Richter early in the second period to join Larry Murphy as the only defensemen in NHL history to score playoff goals for five different teams. May 19 1984: One dynasty ends, another begins. The New York Islanders' drive for a fifth consecutive Stanley Cup comes up short when they lose 5-2 to the Edmonton Oilers at Northlands Coliseum in Game 5 of the Final. Wayne Gretzky scores two first-period goals and assists on Ken Linseman's goal early in the second period. Islanders rookie Pat LaFontaine scores twice in the first minute of the third period to cut Edmonton's lead to 4-2, but goaltender Andy Moog keeps New York from getting any closer until Dave Lumley hits the empty net. The Oilers are the first former World Hockey Association team to win the Cup. Linseman becomes the first player in NHL history to score three series-clinching goals in the same year. Edmonton, which was swept by the Islanders in the Final a year earlier, goes on to win the Cup four times in five years. The Islanders' streak of consecutive series victories ends at 19, still an NHL record. May 24 1988: A power outage knocks out the lights at the Boston Garden 16:37 into the second period in Game 4 of the Final, with the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers tied 3-3. After efforts to restore power prove fruitless, NHL President John Ziegler cites League by-laws and announces that though the scoring totals will count, the game will be replayed, if necessary, in Boston at the end of the series as Game 7. The series continues two nights later in Edmonton. May 25 1985: Wayne Gretzky has a hat trick in the first period and the Edmonton Oilers hold on for a 4-3 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 3 of the Final at Northlands Coliseum. Defenseman Paul Coffey assists on all three of Gretzky's goals, as well as a second-period power-play goal by Mike Krushelnyski that proves to be the game-winner when the Flyers rally in the third period. Mark Howe and Brian Propp score to make it a one-goal game with 5:34 remaining, but Grant Fuhr finishes with 27 saves to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. May 26 1988: The Edmonton Oilers continue their dynasty and establish an NHL tradition on the same night. The Oilers win their fourth Stanley Cup in five seasons, defeating the Boston Bruins 6-3 in Game 5 of the Final at Northlands Coliseum. The Oilers win the series 4-0, with Game 4 not finished and not counted because of a power failure at Boston Garden. Wayne Gretzky has a goal and two assists for the Oilers in Game 5 to become the first player in NHL history to have 250 career points in the playoffs. Edmonton becomes the first team in NHL history to win 11 home games in one playoff year. After the game, the Oilers are the first team to pose for a team picture with the Cup on the ice. May 27 1993: Wayne Gretzky saves the best for last in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final. The Toronto Maple Leafs hold Gretzky off the score sheet through regulation, but he scores a power-play goal 1:41 into overtime to give the Los Angeles Kings a series-tying 5-4 victory at the Great Western Forum. Gretzky keeps alive the Kings' hopes of making the Stanley Cup Final for the first time when he redirects a pass from Luc Robitaille past Toronto goaltender Felix Potvin for the win. "I thought something good was going to happen, but I didn't dream it would be a big overtime goal," Gretzky says. "There's no question it was one of the biggest goals for me." May 29 1993: Wayne Gretzky carries the Los Angeles Kings into the Stanley Cup Final with one of the greatest performances of his career. Gretzky sets an NHL record with his eighth career playoff hat trick to lead the Kings to a 5-4 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the Campbell Conference Final at Maple Leaf Gardens. The win puts the Kings, who entered the NHL in 1967, into the Stanley Cup Final for the first time. Gretzky scores once in each period. He completes his hat trick by scoring with 3:14 remaining in the third by circling behind the net and backhanding the puck off the skate of Toronto defenseman Dave Ellett and past goaltender Felix Potvin. It comes 37 seconds after Mike Donnelly's goal puts the Kings ahead 4-3. Gretzky's third goal proves to be the game-winner when Ellett scores with 1:07 remaining. "I've played 14 years, and I did not want to be remembered as the guy who didn't play well in the semifinals versus Toronto," Gretzky says with a smile. "This isn't pressure. It's fun to play in a game like this. It's what kids dream about, playing for the Stanley Cup." Gretzky believes the Toronto media has written him off and uses that as inspiration. He's booed when he takes the ice for Game 7 but is showered with praise afterward. "The greatest player in the world beat us tonight," Toronto general manager Cliff Fletcher says. "It was a great, great effort." May 30 1985: The Edmonton Oilers roll to their second Stanley Cup championship by defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 8-3 in Game 5 of the Final at Northlands Coliseum. Jari Kurri matches the single-season Stanley Cup Playoff record by scoring his 19th goal 4:54 into the first period; he ties the mark set by Reggie Leach of the Flyers in 1976. The primary assist goes to Wayne Gretzky, who finishes with a goal and three assists. Gretzky wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after setting single-season playoff records with 30 assists and 47 points. He ends up plus-28 in Edmonton's 18 playoff games. Paul Coffey and Mark Messier score two goals each for the Oilers, who lead 4-1 after one period and 7-1 after two. The win is the fourth in a row for the Oilers after they lose the series opener in Philadelphia. May 31 1987: The Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup for the third time in four seasons by defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 in Game 7 of the Final at Northlands Coliseum. Jari Kurri scores at 14:59 of the second period to put the Oilers ahead 2-1, and Glenn Anderson makes it 3-1 with 2:24 remaining in the third. Edmonton outshoots Philadelphia 43-20, but rookie goaltender Ron Hextall makes 40 saves to keep the Flyers in the game. Hextall also becomes the fourth player from the losing team to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. "I'm proud of winning the [Conn] Smythe," he said years later, "but I'd take the other Cup ahead of that one." June 1 1993: The Los Angeles Kings make their first Cup Final game a success by defeating the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 at the Forum. Wayne Gretzky sets up the Kings' first three goals before hitting an empty net with 1:58 remaining. Kelly Hrudey makes 31 saves for the Kings, who are the last of the remaining 1967 expansion teams to reach the Final. June 6 1989: Wayne Gretzky becomes the first player in NHL history to win the same award nine times when he is named the recipient of the Hart Trophy as League MVP. This one comes after his first season with the Los Angeles Kings; he won the previous eight playing with the Edmonton Oilers. June 23 1999: The Hockey Hall of Fame wastes little time inducting Wayne Gretzky. The Hall waives the usual three-year waiting period and announces that Gretzky will be part of the Class of 1999, along with referee Andy van Hellemond and longtime NHL referee and hockey executive Ian "Scotty" Morrison, who's honored in the Builder category. The announcement comes just over two months after Gretzky stuns the hockey world by announcing that he will retire after the 1998-99 season, his third with the New York Rangers. He hangs up his skates owning dozens of NHL records, including career marks in goals (894), assists (1,963) and points (2,857). He also holds the single-season records in all three categories. July 16 1988: In an event dubbed by Canadian media as "the royal wedding," Edmonton Oilers star center Wayne Gretzky marries actress Janet Jones before a crowd of about 700 people in Edmonton. Gretzky and Jones first meet in the early 1980s when he serves as a celebrity judge on the TV show "Dance Fever," but they don't start dating until 1987, after they meet again at a basketball game. Thousands of fans line the route from the church to the reception to wish the new couple well. The newlyweds find themselves on the move less than a month later when Gretzky is traded to the Los Angeles Kings. July 21 1996: The Great One comes to the Big Apple. Wayne Gretzky, the greatest scorer in NHL history, rejoins former teammate Mark Messier when he signs a two-year contract to play for the New York Rangers. Gretzky says the chance to play with his old friend and teammate from their Stanley Cup-winning days with the Edmonton Oilers is a big reason he came to New York after finishing the 1995-96 season with the St. Louis Blues. "I guess what probably tipped the scale was the chance to play with Mark and the opportunity to get a chance to play with a team that is really focused on trying to win a championship," he says during his introductory press conference after signing a two-year contract worth $10 million, which is a pay cut. "I'm probably one of the first free agents to ever come to New York that came for a less-money situation. This will be my last stop. I'll make that clear." Gretzky and Messier spark the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final in 1997 before they are eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers in five games. Messier then leaves to go to the Vancouver Canucks, and Gretzky plays two more seasons with the Rangers before retiring in April 1999. August 9 1988: In the biggest trade in NHL history, the Edmonton Oilers send record-setting center Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings. The trade comes less than three months after Gretzky leads the Oilers to their fourth Stanley Cup championship in five seasons, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP for the second time. But Bruce McNall, the new owner of the Kings, offers Oilers owner Peter Pocklington $15 million, center Jimmy Carson, forward Martin Gelinas and three first-round draft picks for Gretzky; defenseman Marty McSorley and forward Mike Krushelnyski also go to L.A. The deal comes together while Gretzky and his new wife, actress Janet Jones, are spending part of the summer living in the Hollywood home of actor Alan Thicke. With Gretzky unlikely to remain with the Oilers after his contract expires, Pocklington agrees to the trade. After an emotional press conference in Edmonton when he tosses away a prepared statement and speaks from the heart, Gretzky flies to Los Angeles to meet the media. Longtime Kings broadcaster Bob Miller later calls it "obviously the biggest press conference the Kings have ever had." With Gretzky, the Kings become the must-see team in Los Angeles and reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in their history in 1993. The Gretzky-fueled boom fuels the growth of hockey in Southern California and other non-traditional markets. The Oilers win a fifth Cup in 1990 without Gretzky but are never the same. September 15 1987: Canada wins arguably the best hockey series ever played by defeating the Soviet Union 6-5 at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario, in Game 3 of the Final to win the Canada Cup. The game, like the series, sees huge momentum swings. The Soviets lead 3-0 eight minutes into the first period. Canada rallies to take a 5-4 lead, but a goal by Alexander Semak at 12:21 of the third period ties the game 5-5. The third overtime in as many games is less than 90 seconds away when Mario Lemieux scores on a pass from Wayne Gretzky for the win. Gretzky finishes with tournament-highs of 18 assists and 21 points in nine games and is named MVP. Many of his assists come on passes to Lemieux, who leads all scorers with 11 goals, including the winner in Games 2 and 3. September 16 1991: Canada defeats the United States 4-2 to compete a two-game sweep in the final and win the Canada Cup for the fourth time in five tries. Canada and the U.S. tie for first in round-robin play and breeze past their semifinal opponents. Canada wins 4-1 in Game 1, but Game 2 is tied in the third period until Steve Larmer scores a shorthanded goal with 7:47 remaining in the third period. Dirk Graham's empty-net goal with 42 seconds remaining gives Canada its fourth championship in the five editions of the Cup. Goaltender Bill Ranford, who goals 6-0-2 with a 1.75 goals-against average for Canada, is named MVP. Canada wins despite the absence of Wayne Gretzky, who sits out with back spasms and a twisted knee after being driven into the boards from behind by U.S. defenseman Gary Suter midway through Game 1. Gretzky still leads all scorers with 12 points in seven games. 1978: Gretzky, 17, attends his first professional training camp as a member of the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association, though he ends up playing eight games with Indianapolis before being sold to the Edmonton Oilers. After the 1978-79 season, the Oilers and three other WHA teams are absorbed into the NHL; however, the Oilers manage to keep Gretzky. Exactly one year later, he attends his first NHL training camp. September 19 1990: The Pittsburgh Penguins defeat Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings 5-3 in a preseason game at St. Petersburg, Fla. The game draws an announced crowd of 25,581 fans to the Suncoast Dome, then the largest for any NHL game. September 27 1991: In a harbinger of things to come, the NHL heads outdoors with the Los Angeles Kings defeating the New York Rangers 5-2 in a game played on a rink built over the parking lot of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Despite temperatures in the mid-80s, the ice holds up well and the sellout crowd of 13,000 sees the Kings score five unanswered goals after falling behind 2-0. "We were a little bit in awe and I'm sure [the Rangers] were too," said Wayne Gretzky, who scores the game's final goal. "We kept looking at each other and couldn't believe we were playing hockey in 80-degree weather. But it was real nice." More than two decades later, the Kings use the success of the 1991 game in their pitch for an outdoor game in Southern California. It works; the League stages a regular-season game between the Kings and Anaheim Ducks at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 25, 2014. October 1 1999: The Edmonton Oilers raise Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 to the rafters at Skyreach Centre prior to their season-opening 1-1 tie against the New York Rangers. Gretzky gets a five-minute standing ovation from a crowd of more than 17,000 that includes his family and many former teammates. He's hugged by former coach Glen Sather, and given a portrait by longtime Oilers teammates Mark Messier, Jari Kurri and Dave Semenko. Gretzky said he accepted his retirement decision the moment he announced it in the final week of the 1998-99 season; he played his final NHL game on April 18, 1999 with the Rangers. "The fact I can't do it [play hockey], it kills me," he said, "but I've got peace of mind because it was time to move on. "When I saw that banner go up, there was no turning back." October 5 1983: Wayne Gretzky begins his NHL-record 51-game scoring streak with a goal and an assist to help the Edmonton Oilers defeat Toronto 5-4 at Northlands Coliseum. Gretzky gets at least one point in every Oilers game until Jan. 28. October 6 1988: Gretzky's debut a smash hit The acquisition of Gretzky from the Oilers on Aug. 9, 1988, was a turning point for the Kings, who had struggled to win and attract attention in a crowded sports market. All that changed when The Great One stepped onto the ice in a Kings jersey. A sellout crowd packed the Forum for his first game with the Kings and was rewarded with a typical Gretzky performance: He scored a goal on his first shot with his new team and finished with a goal and three assists in an 8-2 victory against the Detroit Red Wings. "If we win 8-2 every night, I'll be satisfied," Gretzky said. "Playing was easy. I was nervous when I went out there and was introduced. I didn't want to fail." October 9 1982: Gretzky scores twice and has an assist in the Edmonton Oilers' 6-3 victory against the Vancouver Canucks. The two goals give him 200 in 242 NHL games, faster than anyone else has reached that milestone. 1993: Gretzky, now with the Los Angeles Kings, has two goals and four assists in a 10-3 victory against the Detroit Red Wings at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Tomas Sandstrom assists on each of Gretzky's goals on his way to a team-record six-assist night. Gretzky assists on two of the three goals by defenseman Dominic Lavoie, who gets his only NHL hat trick. 2002: The Kings retire Gretzky's No. 99 prior to their season-opening game against the Phoenix Coyotes. A bronze statue of Gretzky in his Kings uniform is unveiled outside Staples Center, and he tells the packed house that, "To be remembered as an L.A. King is something special." October 10 1979: Wayne Gretzky makes his NHL debut with the Edmonton Oilers and gets his first point, an assist, in a 4-2 road loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Gretzky's assist comes on the first NHL goal in franchise history, by defenseman Kevin Lowe at 9:49 of the first period. Dave Hunter scores just over five minutes later to tie the game 2-2, but power-play goals by John Marks at 18:55 of the first period and Troy Murray at 15:36 of the second are enough to give the Blackhawks the win. Gretzky doesn't score his first NHL goal until his third game, but he finishes the season with 51 goals and 137 points, tying him with Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings for the NHL lead. October 11 1997: Wayne Gretzky gets his 50th NHL hat trick and first with the New York Rangers in a 6-3 victory against the Vancouver Canucks at GM Place. Gretzky also has assists on two goals by defenseman Bruce Driver for his 66th five-point game. October 14 1979: Wayne Gretzky scores his first NHL goal in the Edmonton Oilers' 4-4 tie with the Vancouver Canucks at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton. Gretzky beats goaltender Glen Hanlon for a game-tying power-play goal with 1:09 remaining in the third period. He also assists on a first-period goal by defenseman Risto Siltanen. Exactly eight years later, Gretzky reaches another milestone goal in a 5-4 home loss to the Calgary Flames. His goal at 1:46 of the second period is the 545th of his career, one more than Hockey Hall of Fame member Maurice Richard. October 15 1989: Wayne Gretzky passes Gordie Howe to become the NHL all-time scoring leader, and he does it in front of the fans who cheered for him for nearly a decade. Gretzky ties Howe's record of 1,850 points when he has an assist on Bernie Nicholls' first-period goal, giving the Los Angeles Kings a 1-0 lead against Gretzky's former team, the Edmonton Oilers, at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton. Gretzky had 1,669 points during nine seasons with the Oilers. The Kings rally from deficits of 2-1 and 3-2, but the Oilers score again and take a 4-3 lead into the final minute of the third period. With time running out, Gretzky picks up a loose puck to the left of the crease and flips a backhand shot past Oilers goaltender Bill Ranford with 53 seconds remaining to tie the game and pass Howe. "My initial reaction was, 'Hey, we've tied it,'" Gretzky says. "Then it struck me, 'Wow, that's the record breaker.'" Gretzky gets a three-minute standing ovation from the crowd of 17,503. The game is stopped for a 15-minute celebration that includes Howe and Gretzky's parents. To cap the evening, Gretzky scores again at 3:24 of the third period to give the Kings a 5-4 victory. October 20 1978: Wayne Gretzky, a 17-year-old center for Indianapolis of the World Hockey Association playing in his second game, scores his first two goals as a professional, doing so against his future team, the Edmonton Oilers, in a 4-3 loss. Gretzky plays six more games for Indianapolis before being traded to Edmonton. Exactly 15 years later, Gretzky has a goal and two assists for the Los Angeles Kings in a 4-3 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It's the first time Gretzky plays an NHL game against younger brother Brent, a 21-year-old center for Tampa Bay. October 26 1990: Wayne Gretzky becomes the first player in NHL history to reach 2,000 career points. He gets point No. 2,000 with an assist in the Los Angeles Kings' 6-2 road loss to the Winnipeg Jets. The assist gives him 684 goals and 1,316 assists in 857 NHL games. 1997: Gretzky has two assists in the New York Rangers' 3-3 tie with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim at Madison Square Garden, They are the 1,850th and 1,851th of his career and give Gretzky more assists than any other player in NHL history has points (he passes Gordie Howe's career point total of 1,850). October 31 1981: Wayne Gretzky becomes the first player in NHL history to have seven hat tricks before his 21st birthday when he scores four times (and has an assist) in an 11-4 victory against the Quebec Nordiques at Northland Coliseum. Gretzky scores early in the second period to give the Oilers a 3-0 lead, then finishes his big night with three more goals (and the assist) in the third period against Michel Plasse. It gives him 13 goals in Edmonton's first 13 games. Exactly eight years later, Gretzky gets his 46th career hat trick and has three assists for a six-point night in the Los Angeles Kings' 8-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Civic Arena. Pittsburgh star Mario Lemieux has two assists to begin a 46-game point scoring streak. It's the second-longest in NHL history, five games short of Gretzky's record. November 2 1978: After eight games with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association, 17-year-old Wayne Gretzky becomes a member of the Edmonton Oilers. With Indianapolis struggling financially, owner Nelson Skalbania sells Gretzky, goaltender Eddie Mio and forward Peter Driscoll to Edmonton. Gretzky finishes the season with 46 goals and 110 points and is named the last WHA Rookie of the Year. When the Oilers are among the four teams absorbed by the NHL from the WHA during the summer of 1979, they are able to retain Gretzky, who becomes the cornerstone of their 1980s dynasty. November 4 1987: Wayne Gretzky beats Marcel Dionne to the 1,000-assist mark, and he does it in person. Gretzky and Dionne each enter the New York Rangers' game against the Edmonton Oilers with 998 assists. But Gretzky gets to the milestone with two assists (in addition to a hat trick) in Edmonton's 7-2 victory at Northlands Coliseum. He gets his 1,000th assist in his 645th NHL game. Dionne has one assist, his 999th. He gets No. 1,000 three nights later against his former team, the Los Angeles Kings. November 6 1983: Wayne Gretzky scores four goals (his 19th career hat trick) and assists on three others to help the Edmonton Oilers to an 8-5 road win against the Winnipeg Jets. Exactly five years later, Gretzky becomes the third player in NHL history to score 1,700 points when he gets two goals and an assist in career game No. 711, helping the Los Angeles Kings to a 5-3 road win against the Chicago Blackhawks. November 8 1985: Wayne Gretzky is held without a goal, but his Edmonton Oilers teammates more than make up for it in a 13-0 victory against the Vancouver Canucks at Northlands Coliseum. Dave Lumley has a hat trick and two assists, Jari Kurri scores twice and Gretzky chips in with four assists. November 9 1984: The Edmonton Oilers defeat the Washington Capitals 8-5 at Capital Centre to establish a League record for the longest undefeated streak from the start of the season (15 games; 12 wins, three ties). Wayne Gretzky scores twice and has four assists, and Jari Kurri gets his 11th NHL hat trick and an assist. The Oilers surpass the previous record of 14 games (11-0-3) set by the 1943-44 Montreal Canadiens. November 12 1983: Wayne Gretzky gets his 20th NHL hat trick and sets up two other goals to help Edmonton to a 7-3 victory against the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. The Oilers set their record with their eighth consecutive victory. November 17 1979: One era ends and another begins when two of hockey's greatest players face each other for the first time in their NHL careers during the Hartford Whalers' 4-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers at the Hartford Civic Center. Gordie Howe, age 51, assists on a second-period goal by Mike Rogers that gives the Whalers a 2-0 lead. Wayne Gretzky, 18, and the Oilers are unable to score on 23 shots against Hartford goaltender Al Smith. It's the first of four matchups between the Great One and Mr. Hockey (who retires after the season). Howe does not have a point in any of the other three; Gretzky scores a goal in a 3-0 win at Northlands Coliseum on Dec. 9 and has an assist in a 3-3 tie in Edmonton on Jan. 2. Neither gets a point in Hartford's 6-2 home win on Feb. 19. November 19 1983: Wayne Gretzky has an eight-point game (three goals, five assists), and Jari Kurri scores five goals in the Edmonton Oilers' 13-4 victory against the New Jersey Devils at Northlands Coliseum. Willy Lindstrom also has a hat trick for the Oilers, who score their 13 goals after spotting New Jersey a 2-0 lead. November 23 1988: Wayne Gretzky scores his 600th career goal and has five assists to power the Los Angeles Kings to an 8-3 victory against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. At age 27, Gretzky becomes the fifth player in NHL history to reach 600 goals when he converts a pass from Dave Taylor at 8:23 of the first period, giving Los Angeles a 2-0 lead. He also assists on five goals for a six-point night. Gretzky becomes the third player in NHL history to have 600 or more goals and 900 or more assists. He reaches the milestone in his 718th regular-season game. November 25 1981: Getting eight hat tricks in a career is pretty remarkable. To get that many before your 21st birthday, you'd have to be Wayne Gretzky. The Great One earned the eighth hat trick of his NHL career two months before turning 21 when he scores four times in the Edmonton Oilers' 11-4 victory against the Los Angeles Kings at Northlands Coliseum. Gretzky scores twice in the first period, completes the hat trick with a power-play goal early in the second and tacks on No. 4 at 1:30 of the third. For good measure, he also has an assist. Gretzky goes on to set the NHL single-season record with 10 hat tricks, a mark he matches in 1983-84. November 26 1983: Wayne Gretzky begins an NHL-record 17-game assist streak when he has five for the Edmonton Oilers in an 8-6 loss at the St. Louis Blues. It comes in the midst of his NHL-record 51-game point streak. December 1 1988: Bernie Nicholls sets team records with six assists and eight points in the Los Angeles Kings' 9-3 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Nicholls' big night overshadows a five-assist performance by Wayne Gretzky and a hat trick by Dave Taylor. 1996: Gretzky becomes the first (and still only) player in NHL history to reach the 3,000-point plateau (including Stanley Cup Playoffs) when he has a goal and an assist in the Rangers' 6-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden. Gretzky finishes his career with 2,857 regular-season points and 260 in the playoffs, a total of 3,117. December 5 1986: Wayne Gretzky becomes the fifth NHL player to reach 1,400 career points when he has three assists in the Edmonton Oilers' 4-2 road victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Gretzky amasses his 1,400 points in 580 games, far faster than any of his predecessors: Gordie Howe, Marcel Dionne, Phil Esposito and Stan Mikita. It comes nine months to the day after he gets point No. 1,300 against the Los Angeles Kings, and he needs 40 games to reach 1,500 points (March 11, 1987). December 6 1987: If a five-goal night can be a ho-hum occurrence for anyone, it's Wayne Gretzky. No. 99 scores three times in the first period and once each in the second and third to help the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Minnesota North Stars 10-4 at Northlands Coliseum. It's the fourth time in his career Gretzky gets five goals in a game, the most by a modern-era player (though Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins later equals his mark). He does it twice in 1981 and on Dec. 15, 1984. The five goals give Gretzky 25 for the season, moving him past Lemieux for the NHL lead. Gretzky also has an assist on Esa Tikkanen's goal 42 seconds into the game for a six-point night. December 7 1982: Wayne Gretzky scores two goals to extend his NHL-record point streak to 30 games and help the Edmonton Oilers defeat the visiting St. Louis Blues 3-2. Gretzky scores 24 goals and has 52 assists for 76 points during the streak, which ends two days later. December 9 1979: Wayne Gretzky plays against Howe for the second of four times in their NHL careers when the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Hartford Whalers 3-0 at Northlands Coliseum. Gretzky scores a goal for the Oilers; Howe goes without a point but leads Gretzky in career goals, 797-11. 1982: Gretzky's NHL-record 30-game point streak comes to an end when he's held off the scoresheet in the Oilers' 3-3 tie with the Los Angeles Kings at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Rookie goaltender Gary Laskoski makes 32 saves for Los Angeles. December 10 1986: Wayne Gretzky, in his eighth NHL season, becomes the first player in League history with 40 career hat tricks when he scores three goals to lead the visiting Edmonton Oilers to a 7-4 victory against the Winnipeg Jets. He scores twice in the first period and completes the milestone hat trick by beating Winnipeg goaltender Daniel Berthiaume 1:47 into the second. Gretzky finishes his career with 50 hat tricks, still the NHL record. Exactly three years later, Gretzky becomes the first player in NHL history to reach 1,900 points with an assist during in the Los Angeles Kings' 8-4 road victory against the Quebec Nordiques. December 11 1985: The Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks play one of the wildest games in modern NHL history. The Oilers and Blackhawks combine to score 21 goals on 90 shots in Edmonton's 12-9 victory at Chicago Stadium. The 21 goals are the most in one game since adoption of the red line in 1943, and the teams set a League record by combining for 12 goals in the second period. Edmonton leads 6-0 early in the second before Denis Savard gets the Blackhawks on the scoreboard with a power-play goal. Chicago gets as close as 7-5 and 8-6 before goals by Marty McSorley and Glenn Anderson late in the period give Edmonton a 10-6 lead, and Jari Kurri scores two third-period goals to keep the Oilers comfortably in front. Kurri finishes with a hat trick. Wayne Gretzky doesn't score a goal but matches the NHL single-game record with seven assists. Troy Murray and Ken Yaremchuk each score twice for Chicago. December 13 1983: Gretzky scores his 300th NHL goal in the Edmonton Oilers' 8-5 loss to the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. He reaches the milestone by scoring during a power play late in the third period of his 350th game. 1985: In a 6-3 road victory against the Winnipeg Jets, Gretzky scores twice and has two assists. The four-point night gives him 1,200 points, an average of nearly 2.4 points in his 504 NHL games. 1989: Gretzky sets up Luc Robitaille's third-period goal in the Los Angeles Kings' 5-2 win against the Hartford Whalers at the Civic Center to extend his assist streak to 17 games, a Kings record. He has a total of 35 assists during the streak, more than two per game. December 17 1983: Wayne Gretzky reaches two career milestones when he scores a goal and gets an assist on five others to help the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Quebec Nordiques 8-1 at Northlands Coliseum. In his 352nd NHL game, Gretzky gets his 500th assist and 800th point. No one has reached either total faster. Exactly three years later, Gretzky scores four goals, including a natural hat trick in the first 12:38 of the first period, and assists on the other in a 5-3 home win against the Nordiques. The hat trick is the 41st in the NHL. December 18 1983: Wayne Gretzky reaches 100 points in the Edmonton Oilers' 34th game of the season by scoring two goals and contributing two assists in a 7-5 win against the Winnipeg Jets. Gretzky gets to 100 points faster than any player in NHL history and finishes the season with 205. December 19 1984: Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers reaches 1,000 points in the fewest games in NHL history when he scores two goals and has four assists in a 7-3 victory against the Los Angeles Kings. Gretzky gets his 1,000th point in his 424th game; the previous record-holder, Guy Lafleur, did it in 720 games. December 20 1985: Jari Kurri scores four times and Wayne Gretzky has six assists in the Edmonton Oilers' 9-4 victory against the Los Angeles Kings at Northlands Coliseum. December 23 1988: Wayne Gretzky moves past Bobby Hull for fourth place on the NHL's all-time goal-scoring list by scoring two empty-net goals for the Kings in a 5-2 victory against the Vancouver Canucks at Pacific Coliseum. The two goals give Gretzky 611 in his NHL career, one more than Hull. He also has two assists. December 27 1981: Wayne Gretzky reaches the 100-point mark in his 38th game of the season by scoring four goals and assisting on another in the Edmonton Oilers' 10-3 victory against the Kings at Northlands Coliseum. It's the fastest anyone has ever reached 100 points; that mark lasts until he does it in 34 games two years later. Gretzky finishes the night with 400 points in 197 NHL games. December 29 1984: Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers scores three goals for his 32nd NHL hat trick and sets up three more in a 6-3 victory against the Detroit Red Wings to give him 100 points in 35 games. It's the second-fastest 100 points in NHL history. December 30 1981: Wayne Gretzky doesn't just break the record for the fastest 50 goals, he shatters it. Three nights after scoring four goals against the Los Angeles Kings, Gretzky takes the ice for the Edmonton Oilers at Northlands Coliseum against the Philadelphia Flyers with 45 goals in 38 games, putting him on track to better the mark of 50 goals in 50 games held by Maurice Richard and Mike Bossy. Gretzky has a game for the ages and reaches 50 goals by scoring five times in the Oilers' 7-5 victory. He scores twice in the first period, once in the second and gets his fourth goal of the game early in the third period to give the Oilers a 6-3 lead. The Flyers score twice midway through the period to cut the Oilers' lead to 6-5; with time running out, they pull goaltender Pete Peeters for an extra skater. The move backfires when Gretzky scores into an empty net to get No. 50. He goes on to finish the season with 92 goals, still the NHL record