April 19, 2021: The Vegas Golden Knights beat the San Jose Sharks, 3-2 in a shootout at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, on the Las Vegas Strip.
Center Patrick Marleau played 17 minutes and 21 seconds for the Sharks, missing one shot in regulation, and leading off the shootout by being stopped on his shot by Knights goaltender Robin Lehner. It was not a good game for him.
But it the 1,768th National Hockey League game of Marleau's career. He thus broke the League record for most games played. Gordie Howe had played in 1,767 from 1946 to 1971 and then again in 1979-80.
It should be noted that Howe played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1979, so his actual career total of regular-season games is 2,186.
Born in 1979 in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Marleau reached the NHL with the Sharks in 1979, and retired at the end of the 2020-21 season, so he didn't raise the record by much, to 1,779. But the record seems safe: At the end of the 2021-22 season, Joe Thornton (a Sharks teammate, 2005-17 and again 2019-20) and Zdeno Chára both retired, having played in 1,714 and 1,680, respectively.
Marleau left the Sharks in 2017, played 2 seasons for the Toronto Maple Leafs, returned to the Sharks for 2019-20, played 5 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins at the end of that season, and returned to the Sharks for his last season, 2020-21.
He retired having scored 566 goals with 631 assists, for a total of 1,197 points. He played in 3 NHL All-Star Games, and is the Sharks' all-time leader in most offensive categories. He played on the Team Canada that won the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, and the Gold Medal at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. However, he only played in 1 Stanley Cup Finals, with the Sharks in 2016, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
UPDATE: The Sharks retired Marleau's uniform Number 12 in 2023. At the close of the 2025-26 season, the active leader in games played.is Brent Burns, then with the Colorado Rockies, with 1,579. He was a Sharks teammate of Marleau's from 2011 to 2017, and again in 2019-20, and again in 2020-21. He is 41 years old, and while he has played in all 82 games in each of the last 5 seasons, he would have to play 4 more to reach Marleau's record -- and 8 more to catch Howe.
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April 19, 2021 was a Monday. There were 7 other games played in the NHL:
* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2 at the Amalie Arena (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa. Yanni Gourdie scored the winning goal with 2:10 left in overtime.
* The Florida Panthers beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-2 at the BB&T Center (now the Amerant Bank Arena) in the Miami suburb of
Sunrise, Florida.
* The Nashville Preadtors beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-2 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
* The Dallas Stars beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 in a shootout at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas.
* The Minnesota Wild beat the Arizona Coyotes, 5-2 at the Gila River Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.
* The Ottawa Senators beat the Calgary Flames, 4-2 at the Saddledome in Calgary.
* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
These 7 Major League Baseball games were played:
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox, 11-4 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-0 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. How many Giants pitchers does it take to pitch a 7-hit shutout? This time, 4: Kevin Gausman, 6 hits over 6 innings; Matt Wisler, a perfect 7th; Camilo Doval, a hit in the 8th; and Wandy Peralta, a perfect 9th.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals, 12-5 at Nationals Park in Washington.
* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Kansas City Royals, 4-1 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the San Diego Padres, 3-1 at Petco Park in San Diego.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels, 6-4 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.
* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
Football was out of season. There were 9 games in the NBA:
* The Chicago Bulls beat the Boston Celtics, 102-96 at the TD Garden in Boston.
* The Golden State Warriors beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 107-96 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia. Steph Curry scored 49 points.
* The Washington Wizards beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 119-107 at the Capital One Arena in Washington.
* The Miami Heat beat the Houston Rockets, 113-91 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.
* The Detroit Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 109-105 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Indiana Pacers, 109-94 at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis.
* The Phoenix Suns beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 128-127 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
* The Denver Nuggets beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 139-137 in double overtime at the Ball Arena in Denver. Nikola Jokić led all scorers on the night with 47 points.
* And the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 111-97 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.
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