When Tony Esposito made his NHL goaltending debut for the Montreal Canadiens in 1968, he took to the ice with a highly-touted reputation and a family name that already meant something in the league. Trouble was the young netminder had to crack a lineup that had veterans Rogatien Vachon and Gump Worsley, not to mention a youngster named Ken Dryden ready to enter the fray.

The Canadiens liked what they saw in the few appearances Esposito made, but because of roster limitations, were forced to leave him exposed to that summer's intra-league waiver draft. The last-place Chicago Blackhawks wasted no time ponying up the $30,000 required to claim the curly-haired goaltender, and soon realized it was one of the best investments they ever made.

Phil Esposito's kid brother joined Chicago for the 1969-70 season and remained there for 16 years. He went on to post 423 career victories and ended up in the Hall of Fame.

Tony Esposito had many tremendous seasons backstopping the Blackhawks, but few could top his first year in the red-white-and-black uniforms of Chicago. After taking away the starting job from veteran Denis DeJordy, Esposito proceeded to win the Calder Trophy as top rookie and the Vezina Trophy as top goalie while earning the nickname "Tony O" for blanking opponents with startling regularity.

In fact, Esposito was so prolific at keeping other teams off the scoreboard that season, he even set a record for doing so.

The mark was established on March 29, 1970 when he whitewashed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0 for his 15th shutout of the season. It not only set a new record for rookies, it established a new high for goaltenders in the modern era of the game, making it one of the great moments in hockey history that took place during the week of March 27 - April 2.

March 27

Ray Bourque makes his presence felt on both ends.(Allsport)

Only days after being traded to the Colorado Avalanche by the Boston Bruins a few weeks ago, Ray Bourque reached a personal milestone by scoring the 400th goal of his career. On this date in 1997, he reached another milestone when he joined Paul Coffey as the only defenseman to record 1,000 career assists. Bourque achieved the distinction by setting up Jean-Yves Roy in the first period of a 6-3 loss to the Islanders.

March 28

Ron Low posted all the wins in Washington's first season.(Provided to SportsLine)

They have been the NHL's hottest team in this century, putting together an amazing run that has vaulted them into serious contention for the Stanley Cup. But things haven't always been so rosy for the Washington Capitals. In fact, during the 1974-75 season, their first in the NHL, the Capitals put together another streak that may well last forever. It came to an end on this date in 1975 when the Caps beat the Oakland Seals 5-3, ending the expansion team's record 37-game road losing streak. Washington finished their first season 1-39 on the road, and 8-67-5 overall.

March 29

Wayne Gretzky set the pace early in his career.(Allsport)

As a rookie, Wayne Gretzky finished the season with as many points as anyone, but lost the scoring title because Marcel Dionne scored two more goals. In his second season, Gretzky took no chances, setting a new single-season scoring record to claim the crown. He set the mark on this date in 1981, getting three assists to surpass Phil Esposito's single-season total of 152 points. Gretzky finished the year with 164 points, a mark he would eclipse in each of the next six seasons

March 30

Grant Fuhr doesn't take too many breathers.(Allsport)

Since NHL coaches generally use goalies who have the hot hand, one can assume that Edmonton's Grant Fuhr was on fire througout the 1988-89 season. On this date in 1989, the Oilers netminder appeared for the 74th time in an 80-game season, breaking the 15-year-old record held by Philadelphia's Bernie Parent. Fuhr finished with 75 appearances, but topped that and set a new NHL record by playing in 79 games for the St. Louis Blues in 1995-96.

March 31

Chris Nilan spent a lot of time in the sin bin.(Allsport)

Every so often Chris Nilan scored an important goal for his team, but they didn't call him "Knuckles" because of the hands he displayed around the net. Nilan earned his reputation as an enforcer during a 12-year career with Montreal, Boston and the Rangers, and never was it more apparent than on this date in 1991. Playing for the Bruins against Hartford, Nilan set a one-game NHL record by receiving 10 penalties. Among them were six minors, two majors, one misconduct and one game misconduct.

April 1

Mike Bossy adapted quickly to the NHL.(Provided to SportsLine)

Back injuries forced Mike Bossy to retire after only 10 seasons, but they couldn't prevent him from leaving behind a legacy of tremendous goal-scoring achievements. Bossy finished his career with 573 regular-season goals and another 129 in the playoffs. He scored at least 50 goals in nine straight seasons, including five years in which he tallied at least 60 times. Perhaps he knew that his career span would be limited because he wasted little time establishing himself as a great scorer. In fact, on this date in 1978, Bossy scored twice against Washington, making him the first player in history to score 50 goals in his rookie season.

April 2

Paul Coffey outscored most forwards in 1985-86.(Allsport)

Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Jari Kurri were the key offensive forces up front for the explosive Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s, but they couldn't have done what they did without a great "quarterback" on the blueline. Paul Coffey was always a key to the Edmonton attack, using his great speed and skill in a way no other defenseman had since Bobby Orr. On this date in 1986, Coffey demonstrated just how much of a scoring threat he was, notching his 47th and 48th goals of the season, beating the record of 46 for defenseman set by Orr a dozen years earlier.