Image: Minas Panagiotakis/iStock
About This Quiz
The National Hockey League is the premier league for ice hockey on the planet and has been around for over 100 years. It features fast-paced action and is without a doubt one of the most exciting sports leagues on the planet. What was once a league with only four Canadian teams now features 31 teams across Canada and the USA. As you can imagine with a league that has been around since 1917, there's a lot of history.
There are historic NHL teams, historic moments and dozens of players who will never be forgotten for what they've done for the sport. While millions of people call themselves fans of the NHL and hockey in general, just how much do you know about the league? Do you know which player once scored 76 goals as a rookie? How about which team has the longest winning streak in league history?
This quiz will test your knowledge on a wide range of things such as players, stats, historical moments, teams and so much more. However, only knowing the present-day landscape of the NHL isn't going to cut it. We're also going to go back several decades to look at influential players, unforgettable moments and unbelievable stats.
Without any further ado, drop your gloves and get ready to duke it out with this challenging quiz on all things NHL.
The New Jersey Devils moved to New Jersey in 1982. What city was the franchise based in before then?
Quebec City, Quebec
Tacoma, Washington
Denver, Colorado
The Colorado Rockies played in Denver from 1976 until they left for New Jersey. They played their first two seasons as the Kansas City Scouts.
Who is the Stanley Cup named after?
Lord Stanley of Preston
Lord Stanley, the Governor-General of Canada at the time, commissioned a silver cup in 1892 to be awarded to the top amateur hockey team. The NHL didn't exist at the time, but would adopt the Stanley Cup as its championship trophy in 1926.
The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado
Port Stanley, Ontario
What is the area immediately in front of the goal called?
the crease
A player who interferes with the goalie while in the crease can be called for a penalty.
the hemisphere
the angle
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The Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup in 2014. How many times had they won the Cup before 2014?
five times
once
The Kings also won the Stanley Cup in 2012. They went to the finals in 1993, with Wayne Gretzky as team captain, but they lost to the Montreal Canadiens.
never
Which NHL team's fans rioted in 1957 after their star player, Maurice Richard, was suspended for the remainder of the season for striking an official?
Boston Bruins
Montreal Canadiens
The Richard Riot was caused as much by simmering tensions between French- and English-speaking Canadian fans of the Montreal Canadiens as the suspension itself.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL record for most goals scored in a single season. How many goals did he score to set the record?
72
126
92
Gretzky scored 92 goals playing for the Edmonton Oilers in the 1981-82 regular season. The Oilers were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs by the Los Angeles Kings that year.
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Which country do most NHL players come from?
Canada
Roughly half of all NHL players are Canadian.
United States
Sweden
What are the officials who determine if a play is offsides called?
assistant referees
linesmen
The linesmen who call offsides also call icing and break up fights between players.
spotters
Which NHL player was the first to score 50 goals in 50 games?
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Cashman
Maurice Richard
Richard was the first to accomplish "50-in-50," doing it in 1944-45 with the Montreal Canadiens. The feat wasn't duplicated until 1980-81, when Mike Bossy did it with the New York Islanders.
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How thick is the ice in an NHL arena?
3/4 inch
Water is sprayed onto a chilled concrete surface to form a layer of ice. Lines are painted on, then another thin layer of ice is added, to keep the paint from wearing away too easily, and creating a 3/4 inch thick surface.
3 inches
1/8 inch
Who was the first goalie in the NHL to score a goal?
Ron Hextall
Billy Smith
This is a tricky one -- Billy Smith was credited with a goal in 1979 because he was the last player to touch the puck before the opposing team accidentally scored on themselves, so he's the official first goalie to score. Hextall was the first to actually shoot the puck intentionally into the other team's net, however.
Martin Brodeur
Which team holds the NHL record for the longest winning streak?
Montreal Canadiens
Pittsburgh Penguins
The 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins won 17 games in a row.
Vancouver Canucks
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When both the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks entered the NHL in 1970, how did the league determine which team made the first pick in the entry draft?
Tickets were drawn out of a hat.
A dart was thrown at a giant dart board.
A giant wheel was spun.
A large wheel with different sections marked for each team was spun by league president Clarence Campbell. The Sabres won and selected Gilbert Perrault.
How many times has an NHL season been interrupted by a labor dispute?
twice
once
four times
A 10-game strike in 1992 was followed by a lockout that cut the 1994-95 season in half. Lockouts also eliminated the entire 2004-05 season and half of 2012-13.
Which team has won the most Stanley Cups?
Boston Bruins
San Jose Sharks
Montreal Canadiens
Montreal has won the Cup 23 times as an NHL team, and they also won it once in the pre-NHL era.
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What happened to Bill Barilko after he won the Stanley Cup with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1951?
He joined the army and was killed in Korea.
He died in a plane crash while on a fishing trip.
Barilko was in a plane crash and his fate was unknown until the wreckage was found in 1962. The Tragically Hip even wrote a song called "50 Mission Cap" about the incident.
He was killed going over Niagara Falls in a steel barrel.
Which player holds the record for most penalty minutes in his career?
Rob Ray
Bob Probert
Dave "Tiger" Williams
Williams played in the 1970s and 80s and racked up 3,966 penalty minutes. He managed to score a decent number of goals in his career even though it seems like he must have spent most of his time in the penalty box.
Which goalie first regularly wore a goalie mask in NHL games?
Gump Worsely
Glenn Hall
Jacques Plante
Plante started wearing a fiberglass mask in 1959 after a shot cut his face open. Goalie Clint Benedict had worn a leather mask for a few games in the 1930s, but Plante was the first to make the mask a regular part of his gear. It's hard to imagine playing goalie without one!
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When a player is given a penalty and his team plays with one fewer player on the ice, the other team is said to have what?
breakaway
fielder's choice
power play
A power play is sometimes known as a "man-advantage." The penalized team is playing short-handed.
What is the NHL record for fastest goal from the start of a game?
5 seconds
Not only is the record an astoundingly fast at just 5 seconds, it's happened three different times!
21 seconds
30 seconds
Which team won the Stanley Cup the most times between 2010 and 2015?
Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago took home the Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. Some fans might even call that a dynasty.
Los Angeles Kings
Ottawa Senators
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When the goal judge sees the puck go into the net, he or she triggers what?
a bright red light
While the goal judge's red light signals the puck crossing the goal line, the referee and video goal judge make the final decision as to whether a goal has been scored.
a buzzer
a burst of confetti
When a team wins the Stanley Cup, players traditionally take turns holding it as they skate around the rink. What do they traditionally do with the Cup in the locker room?
pose for selfies next to it
drink Champagne from it
Every young hockey player dreams of sipping Champagne from the Stanley Cup. Selfies are fun, but they're a more recent phenomena.
wear it on their heads for postgame interviews
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in what city?
New York City, New York
Montreal, Quebec
Toronto, Ontario
A replica of the Stanley Cup is kept at the Hall in Toronto, along with many other artifacts and trophies from the NHL's history.
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What is the name of the award for the league's best goalie?
The Verrazano Trophy
The Vezina Trophy
The awarding of the Vezina isn't tied to a specific goaltending statistic -- the league's general managers vote on the winner.
The Norris Trophy
The Original Six era lasted from 1942 until 1967. The six teams of this era include the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs and what other team?
St. Louis Blues
Detroit Red Wings
The NHL doubled in size in 1967, adding six new teams and ending the Original Six era, which included the Detroit Red Wings.
Quebec Nordiques
Former Boston Bruin Willie O'Ree accomplished a major milestone in NHL history. What was it?
He was the first black player in the NHL.
O'Ree played between 1958 and 1961. There were no other black players in the NHL until 1974. He's sometimes referred to as the Jackie Robinson of hockey.
He was the first player to play a full season without having a single penalty called against him.
He scored the first ever double hat trick.
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Which of these is NOT a reason a penalty shot might be awarded?
An opponent other than the goalie closed his hand on the puck while in his team's goal crease.
A player had a clear breakaway and was tripped from behind.
The opposing team's coach stepped onto the ice to confront the officials.
A coach who steps onto the ice in anger will likely face a suspension and a fine, but his goalie won't have to face a penalty shot.
Only one NHL player has ever died as the result of an on-ice incident. Who was that player?
Bill Masterton
Masterton was injured in 1968 game when he was knocked back and slammed his head on the ice. He may have suffered a previous concussion that lead to severe brain swelling. He died in the hospital less than two days after the injury occurred.
Claude Pronovost
Sid Abel
Which goalie holds the NHL record for most shutouts in his career?
Turk Broda
Martin Brodeur
Brodeur's 125 career shutouts is a record that may never fall. The closest active goalie, Roberto Luongo, has about half as many.
Dominik Hašek
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You Got:
/30
Minas Panagiotakis/iStock