How has the NHL regular season wins record evolved over time?

HOW HAS THE NHL REGULAR SEASON WINS RECORD EVOLVED OVER TIME?

Currently, Martin Brodeur holds the National Hockey League's regular-season wins record (with 656 wins through 2011-12).

This table presents the top three NHL goaltenders on the regular season wins leader board, at the conclusion of each regular season.

My next step - and this is harder - is identifying the date/game where the leader took over the top spot. This is straightforward for recent seasons/records, but becomes more complicated as we go back into time.

Any errors in this table reflect an error in my database, so please contact me with any corrections. Thanks!

SEASON	FIRST PLACE	WINS	SECOND PLACE	WINS	THIRD PLACE	WINS
1917-18	Georges Vezina	12	Harry 'Hap' Holmes	9	Clint Benedict	9
1918-19	Georges Vezina	22	Clint Benedict	21	Harry 'Hap' Holmes	9
1919-20	Clint Benedict	40	Georges Vezina	35	Harry 'Hap' Holmes	9
1920-21	Clint Benedict	54	Georges Vezina	48	Jake Forbes	15
1921-22	Clint Benedict	68	Georges Vezina	60	Howard 'Holes' Lockhart	16
1922-23	Clint Benedict	82	Georges Vezina	73	John Ross Roach	24
1923-24	Clint Benedict	98	Georges Vezina	86	John Ross Roach	34
1924-25	Clint Benedict	107	Georges Vezina	103	John Ross Roach	53
1925-26	Clint Benedict	127	Georges Vezina	103	John Ross Roach	65
1926-27	Clint Benedict	147	Georges Vezina	103	John Ross Roach	80
1927-28	Clint Benedict	171	Georges Vezina	103	John Ross Roach	98
1928-29	Clint Benedict	185	John Ross Roach	119	Alex Connell	105
1929-30	Clint Benedict	191	John Ross Roach	136	Alex Connell	126
1930-31	Clint Benedict	191	John Ross Roach	155	Alex Connell	136
1931-32	Clint Benedict	191	John Ross Roach	178	Alex Connell	154
1932-33	John Ross Roach	203	Clint Benedict	191	George Hainsworth	165
1933-34	John Ross Roach	212	George Hainsworth	191	Clint Benedict	191
1934-35	George Hainsworth	221	John Ross Roach	219	Clint Benedict	191
1935-36	George Hainsworth	244	John Ross Roach	219	Lorne Chabot	199
1936-37	George Hainsworth	246	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	219	John Ross Roach	219
1937-38	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	249	George Hainsworth	246	John Ross Roach	219
1938-39	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	268	George Hainsworth	246	John Ross Roach	219
1939-40	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284	George Hainsworth	246	John Ross Roach	219
1940-41	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284	George Hainsworth	246	John Ross Roach	219
1941-42	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284	George Hainsworth	246	John Ross Roach	219
1942-43	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284	George Hainsworth	246	John Ross Roach	219
1943-44	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284	George Hainsworth	246	John Ross Roach	219
1944-45	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284	George Hainsworth	246	John Ross Roach	219
1945-46	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284	George Hainsworth	246	John Ross Roach	219
1946-47	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284	George Hainsworth	246	John Ross Roach	219
1947-48	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284	George Hainsworth	246	Walter 'Turk' Broda	236
1948-49	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284	Walter 'Turk' Broda	258	George Hainsworth	246
1949-50	Walter 'Turk' Broda	288	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284	Frank Brimsek	252
1950-51	Walter 'Turk' Broda	302	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284	Frank Brimsek	252
1951-52	Walter 'Turk' Broda	302	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284	Frank Brimsek	252
1952-53	Walter 'Turk' Broda	302	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284	Frank Brimsek	252
1953-54	Walter 'Turk' Broda	302	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284	Frank Brimsek	252
1954-55	Walter 'Turk' Broda	302	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284	Harry Lumley	274
1955-56	Walter 'Turk' Broda	302	Harry Lumley	295	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284
1956-57	Walter 'Turk' Broda	302	Harry Lumley	295	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284
1957-58	Harry Lumley	306	Walter 'Turk' Broda	302	Cecil 'Tiny' Thompson	284
1958-59	Harry Lumley	314	Walter 'Turk' Broda	302	Terry Sawchuk	291
1959-60	Harry Lumley	330	Terry Sawchuk	315	Walter 'Turk' Broda	302
1960-61	Harry Lumley	330	Terry Sawchuk	327	Walter 'Turk' Broda	302
1961-62	Terry Sawchuk	341	Harry Lumley	330	Walter 'Turk' Broda	302
1962-63	Terry Sawchuk	363	Harry Lumley	330	Jacques Plante	311
1963-64	Terry Sawchuk	388	Jacques Plante	333	Harry Lumley	330
1964-65	Terry Sawchuk	405	Jacques Plante	343	Harry Lumley	330
1965-66	Terry Sawchuk	415	Jacques Plante	343	Harry Lumley	330
1966-67	Terry Sawchuk	430	Glenn Hall	349	Jacques Plante	343
1967-68	Terry Sawchuk	441	Glenn Hall	368	Jacques Plante	343
1968-69	Terry Sawchuk	444	Glenn Hall	387	Jacques Plante	361
1969-70	Terry Sawchuk	447	Glenn Hall	394	Jacques Plante	379
1970-71	Terry Sawchuk	447	Glenn Hall	407	Jacques Plante	403
1971-72	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	419	Glenn Hall	407
1972-73	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Glenn Hall	407
1973-74	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Glenn Hall	407
1974-75	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Glenn Hall	407
1975-76	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Glenn Hall	407
1976-77	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Glenn Hall	407
1977-78	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Glenn Hall	407
1978-79	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Glenn Hall	407
1979-80	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Glenn Hall	407
1980-81	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Glenn Hall	407
1981-82	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Glenn Hall	407
1982-83	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	418
1983-84	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	423
1984-85	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	423
1985-86	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	423
1986-87	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	423
1987-88	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	423
1988-89	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	423
1989-90	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	423
1990-91	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	423
1991-92	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	423
1992-93	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	423
1993-94	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	423
1994-95	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	423
1995-96	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	423
1996-97	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	423
1997-98	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	423
1998-99	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434	Tony Esposito	423
1999-00	Terry Sawchuk	447	Patrick Roy	444	Jacques Plante	434
2000-01	Patrick Roy	484	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434
2001-02	Patrick Roy	516	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434
2002-03	Patrick Roy	551	Terry Sawchuk	447	Jacques Plante	434
2003-04	Patrick Roy	551	Terry Sawchuk	447	Ed Belfour	435
2004-05	Patrick Roy	551	Terry Sawchuk	447	Ed Belfour	435
2005-06	Patrick Roy	551	Ed Belfour	457	Terry Sawchuk	447
2006-07	Patrick Roy	551	Martin Brodeur	494	Ed Belfour	484
2007-08	Patrick Roy	551	Martin Brodeur	538	Ed Belfour	484
2008-09	Martin Brodeur	557	Patrick Roy	551	Ed Belfour	484
2009-10	Martin Brodeur	602	Patrick Roy	551	Ed Belfour	484
2010-11	Martin Brodeur	625	Patrick Roy	551	Ed Belfour	484
2011-12	Martin Brodeur	656	Patrick Roy	551	Ed Belfour	484

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