The night of February 22, 1981 at the Capital Center in Landover, Maryland, an NHL game was played that perhaps best represents pro hockey in the 1980’s. Headlining the show were two brothers recently arrived from Czechoslovakia, Peter and Anton Stastny.
Records were set that night, records that still stand today. However, the busiest man at the rink on February 22, 1981 wasn’t on the ice. It was the scorekeeper. 18 total goals. 176 minutes in penalties. A brawl that involved eight misconducts, a few fighting majors and three game misconducts.
Perhaps the most bizarre stat of the game: Dale Hunter of the Nordiques only sat a minor penalty and wasn’t involved in any of the festivities.
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The Records
Peter and Anton Stastny were both in their rookie National Hockey League seasons. That night, each tallied eight points. Peter scored three and assisted on five while brother Anton scored four and assisted on four. These are two of only 14 times in NHL history that a player has produced eight or more points in a single regular season game. This is the only time that two players have accomplished the feat in one game.
Darryl Sittler still stands as the only player to total ten points in a game and no one has ended up with nine. But, Sittler was not a rookie with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the game was played at home in Maple Leaf Gardens.
Peter and Anton’s eight point performance is the most by any player in an away game. It is also the most by a rookie in the NHL.
Another record was set that night. Peter and Anton Stastny remain the players with the most points over two consecutive games. Two nights before, the Nordiques beat the Vancouver Canucks 9-3. Peter scored three and assisted on three for six points. Anton equaled the numbers. Their 14 points over two consecutive games still stands as a NHL record and is probably safe to last for a lifetime.
The Game
This was not a battle of the top teams in the National Hockey League during the 1980-81 season. Both teams were playing below .500. Quebec finished up the year fourth in the Adams Division and lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Washington ended up fifth in the Patrick Division and did not qualify for the post season.
Goaltending should not have been a problem, it was a veteran trio that appeared in the game. Dan Bouchard played the full match for the Nordiques. Mike Palmateer took on the first two periods for the Capitals and Wayne Stephenson finished up the game.
It was not a night for save percentage. Bouchard faced 30 shots and allowed seven goals. Palmateer let in eight goals on just 23 shots. Stephenson wasn’t an improvement for Washington, allowing three goals on ten shots.
In the second period, frustration got the best of the players. A brawl at 18:26 saw three game misconducts and eight 10 minute misconducts handed out. Kim Clackson of the Nordiques was one of the game misconducts. He had already fought Howard Walker twice in the period and ended up with 24 PIM. In all, Quebec ended the game with 95 minutes in penalties while Washington had the lesser total of 81 PIM.
Jacques Richard of the Nords had what should have been a highlight game, scoring a hat trick and adding an assist. However, the performance goes relatively unnoticed behind what the Stastny’s did.
Peter Stastny
1980-81 was Stastny’s rookie season in the National Hockey League. His 39 goals and 70 assists for 109 points placed him sixth in overall scoring. He became the first rookie to reach the 100 point plateau. His 70 assists still stand as an NHL rookie record. Of course, he was awarded the Calder Trophy as the league’s top first year player.
Peter would go on to play in 977 regular season games in the NHL, scoring 450 goals and assisting on 789 for 1,239 points. In seven seasons, he topped the 100 point plateau. He played from 1980-81 to 1994-95 with the Nordiques, New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues. Stastny was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998.
Anton Stastny
Of course, 1980-81 was also Anton’s rookie season. In almost any other year, he would have been named the top rookie. However, he stood in his brother’s shadow despite 39 goals and 46 assists for 85 points over 80 games.
Between 1980-81 and 1988-89, Anton played in 650 regular season NHL games, scoring 252 goals and assisting on 384 for 636 points. His entire National Hockey League was played with Quebec.