The following short stories from the NHL’s epic history are included in our book for Amazon Kindle: 169 Stories From The Epic History Of NHL Hockey . The have also been previously published at our Facebook Page.
The last NHL player to score 4 in a Stanley Cup final series game? A very likely suspect.
Five times in the history of the National Hockey League, a player has scored four goals in a Stanley Cup final series game. The last time was 67 years ago by a guy fairly well known for putting pucks in the net.
On April 6, 1957, the Montreal Canadiens hosted the Boston Bruins at the Forum for game one of the Stanley Cup finals. The Habs eliminated the Rangers in the semi-final while the Bruins took out the Red Wings, setting up the showdown between the defending champs and a Boston team that didn’t reach the playoffs the year before.
Fleming Mackell opened the scoring at 7:37 of the second period with Boston’s only goal of the game. Maurice Richard soon after came back with a pair of goals, the second would be the game winning goal. Before the period was over, the Rocket added his third of the game to put Montreal up 4-1. In the third, Richard scored his fourth of the match, assisted by his brother Henri Richard. All Montreal goals were scored on Don Simmons in the 5-1 win.
That one game accounted for half of Richard’s eight goals in the 1956-57 playoffs. He propelled Doug Harvey to a three assist night while the Pocket Rocket had two helpers. The Habs went on to win the series in five games for their second of five consecutive Stanley Cup wins.
Purple and Gold Magic Moment: Marcel Dionne Becomes Kings 1st To 50 In Style
Marcel Dionne was just coming off a two goal and three point performance in his previous game, a 7-5 win over the Colorado Rockies, the Kings third last game of the 1976-77 NHL season. The goals were number 47 and 48 on the campaign for Dionne.
On April 2, 1977, the Kings hosted the Minnesota North Stars in their final home game of the season. Marcel didn’t let his foot off the gas. He scored the only two goals of the second period, his 49th and 50th, just 1:57 apart. It was the first time in the ten year history of the Kings that a player reached the coveted 50 goal plateau.
He didn’t stop there. Dionne scored his third of the game and 51st of the season at 5:38 of the third period for the hat trick. Marcel also assisted on first period goals by Glenn Goldup and Vic Venasky for a five point night.
In total, Dionne fired eight shots on net that night. Pete LoPresti was in goal for the first of Marcel’s two, including the magic number 50. Gary Smith came in for the third period in relief and allowed Marcel’s third of the game.
In the final game of the season, in Denver against the Colorado Rockies, Dionne capped off his historic season with two more goals, 52 and 53, while Butch Goring stole the show with a hat trick and an assist for four points.
The 53 goal performance only remained as a Los Angeles team record for two years. In 1978-79, Dionne broke his own mark with 59 goals. The current team record belongs to Bernie Nicholls and the 70 markers he contributed in 1988-89 with the help of Wayne Gretzky.
The only 5 goal game in Chicago Blackhawks history. Bobby Hull? Stan Mikita? Jeremy Roenick? Patrick Kane?
None of the above…
On February 3, 1982, it was Grant Mulvey that became the only Blackhawks player to score five goals in a single game, a franchise record that still stands today. His seven points that night also tied him for the team record, equaling the output from Max Bentley back in 1943. Grant’s four first period goals still have him tied with 17 others for the NHL record for most goals in a single period.
That night, the Hawks were hosting the St. Louis Blues at the Chicago Stadium. The Blackhawks came out on top 9-5, thanks to Mulvey’s five goals and two assists. In a penalty filled affair that saw over 100 minutes handed out just one of Grant’s goals were on the powerplay. He finished off the first period with three consecutive for a natural hat trick.
The performance helped Terry Ruskowski to a five assist night while Al Secord had two goals and two assists. Chicago’s Dave Hutchison put up a Gordie Howe Hat Trick with a goal, assist and a third period fight with Jim Nill.
1981-82 was the swansong of Grant Mulvey’s NHL career. He scored 30 goals for Chicago over 73 games, one of five from the team to reach the 30 goal plateau. He would play just 15 more games in the National Hockey League, three with the Blackhawks in 1982-83 and 12 with the New Jersey Devils in 1983-84.