Nilan Received a Wide Assortment of Different Penalties in 1991 Game

Published on July 26th, 2024 3:19 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Chris Nilan, who was drafted in the 19th round of the 1978 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens, was an absolute bruiser.

Nilan is a relic of a different era - the "enforcer" who would keep the opposing team away from his team's best players.

Nilan wasn't the most skilled player (though he did score 21 goals in 1984-85), but he was tough as nails.

In fact, he would earn the "Knuckles" nickname due to his propensity to drop the gloves.

Nilan would enjoy a decade plus career in the NHL, and actually ended up with a couple of records.

In a March 1991 game against the Hartford Whalers, Nilan (then of the Boston Bruins) managed to insert himself into the record books.

In that game, Nilan ended up with 42 penalty minutes.

That's not the crazy part.

The crazy part is that Nilan ended up with EIGHT different types of penalties in the game, which was won by the Bruins by a score of 7-3.

The Bruins got out to an early 4-0 league in the first period, meaning that Nilan saw an increase in ice time. The Bruins needed him to protect their star players.

Here are the ten different penalties that Nilan received in the game:

1. Holding (2 minutes)
2. Fighting (5 minutes)
3. Misconduct (10 minutes)
4. Roughing (2 minutes)
5. Elbowing (2 minutes)
6. Game Misconduct (-)
7. Unsportslike conduct (2 minutes)
8. Instigator (2 minutes)

It was the last game of the season and the Bruins were getting ready for the playoffs, but Nilan was sending a message to the rest of the league:

Don't mess with our guys.

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When the old Montreal Forum was torn down, Nilan purchased the penalty box that the Canadiens team used.

Nilan had spent so much of his life in that box, so why not buy it and install it in his own home?