1999-2000
• The NHL rings in the new millennium by having all teams wear an "NHL 2000" patch.
• For the first time in nearly two decades, the league returns to Atlanta with the birth of the Atlanta Thrashers. The city had been without an NHL team since the Flames moved to Calgary in 1980.
• In an effort to settle more games that end up tied in regulation, the NHL institutes a couple new overtime rules. Teams now play overtime with four skaters per side. And the losing team gets a single point in the standings. That leads to a fourth figure being added to the standings -- overtime losses.
• With his career winding down and not having won the Stanley Cup, the Boston Bruins trade Ray Bourque to the Cup-contending Colorado Avalanche. Bourque's new team would be eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals.
• The New Jersey Devils win their second Stanley Cup in six years, beating the defending champion Stars in six games. The Devils clinch the Cup on Jason Arnott's goal in the second overtime of Game Six.
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