Hat Trick Rick: Martin’s 7 Tricks For Buffalo In 1975-76

Rick Martin was coming off consecutive 52 goal seasons for the Buffalo Sabres in 1973-74 and 1974-75. His goal production dropped to a still respectable 49 for the 1975-76 season. He definitely scored in bunches with half of those 49 coming in just seven games.

In 1975-76, Martin had seven hat tricks. Six of those were three goal games while in one he potted four markers. He is one of just nine players in NHL history to record seven or more three goal games in a single season. The record belongs to Wayne Gretzky. The Great One had ten tricks in both the 1981-82 and 1983-84 campaigns.

It was Rick’s fifth year in the National Hockey League after being a fifth overall pick by the Sabres at the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft. He was selected as a Second Team All-Star at left wing but had no consideration for the Hart Trophy.

Rick Martin’s 7 Hat Tricks

October 19, 1975

The Buffalo Sabres were red-hot out of the gates in 1975-76, and so was Martin. October 19, 1975, the team’s fifth game of the young season, Rick’s three goals on five shots helped the Sabres improve to 5-0 on the year.

In a 5-4 win over the Washington Capitals at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Martin came out flying. He scored his three goals within a 5:06 span in the first period, his 4th, 5th and 6th of the season. All three were scored on Washington goalie Ron Low and all three were assisted by Gilbert Perreault. Gil had four assists on the night.

October 22, 1975

In the following game, Rick crashed the party with three first period goals. They were the only three of the period giving him the Natural Hat Trick. The Sabres were hosting the New York Rangers at the Aud and were not gracious hosts. Buffalo came out on top 9-1.

His goal scoring was complete in the first period but Rick added an assist on a second period goal by Rene Robert for a four point night. John Davidson was left between the pipes for the Rangers for the duration of the rout.

December 18, 1975

Buffalo took it to the visiting Minnesota North Stars 5-2. Martin didn’t waste time, scoring just eleven seconds into the game. He then got his second at the 00:49 second mark for two goals in less than a minute. Both were scored on Pete LoPresti and both were assisted by Peter McNab.

LoPresti made an early exit at 5:39 of the first when Don Luce scored to make it 3-0 on just three shots. Cesare Maniago played the rest of the game for the North Stars. Maniago allowed Rick’s third of the game. Martin also assisted on a first period goal by Jocelyn Guevremont for a four point night.

December 21, 1975

In one of the worst routs in NHL history, the Sabres took it to the visiting Washington Capitals 14-2 (more on that here: Buffalo Sabres 14 goal game. Martin had four goals and an assist for five points. Three of the goals were scored on Ron Low and the fourth was put past Bernie Wolfe. Fred Stanfield of the Sabres also had a hat trick. Danny Gare put up five points on a goal and four assists.

January 5, 1976

Buffalo invaded the unfriendly confines of the Montreal Forum and took out the Canadiens 4-2. Martin scored his 26th, 27th and 28th goals of the season while firing eight shots at Montreal goalie Ken Dryden. Peter McNab assisted on two of Rick’s three goals.

March 5, 1976

At home in the Aud, Buffalo doubled up on the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 with Rick scoring his 37th, 38th and 39th goals of the campaign. All three were assisted by Gil Perreault and Rene Robert. Martin added an assist for four points on the night while Robert totaled five and Perreault had four. Rick fired eight shots at Tony Esposito who was in the Chicago nets for the full game.

March 27, 1976

The Sabres traveled up the QEW to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at Maple Leaf Gardens. Buffalo came out on top 4-2 with Rick scoring his 45th, 46th and 47th goals of the season. He assisted on a Gilbert Perreault goal for four points while Gil also had four with a goal and three assists. Martin had nine shots on Toronto goalie Wayne Thomas.

Rick Martin NHL Career Stats

Regular Season

Season	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1971-72	Buffalo Sabres	73	44	30	74	36
1972-73	Buffalo Sabres	75	37	36	73	79
1973-74	Buffalo Sabres	78	52	34	86	38
1974-75	Buffalo Sabres	68	52	43	95	72
1975-76	Buffalo Sabres	80	49	37	86	67
1976-77	Buffalo Sabres	66	36	29	65	58
1977-78	Buffalo Sabres	65	28	35	63	16
1978-79	Buffalo Sabres	73	32	21	53	35
1979-80	Buffalo Sabres	80	45	34	79	54
1980-81	Buffalo Sabres	23	7	14	21	20
1980-81	Los Angeles Kings	1	1	1	2	0
1981-82	Los Angeles Kings	3	1	3	4	2
	Totals	685	384	317	701	477

Playoffs

Season	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1971-72	Buffalo Sabres	0	0	0	0	0
1972-73	Buffalo Sabres	6	3	2	5	12
1973-74	Buffalo Sabres	0	0	0	0	0
1974-75	Buffalo Sabres	17	7	8	15	20
1975-76	Buffalo Sabres	9	4	7	11	12
1976-77	Buffalo Sabres	6	2	1	3	9
1977-78	Buffalo Sabres	7	2	4	6	13
1978-79	Buffalo Sabres	3	0	3	3	0
1979-80	Buffalo Sabres	14	6	4	10	8
1980-81	Buffalo Sabres	0	0	0	0	0
1980-81	Los Angeles Kings	1	0	0	0	0
1981-82	Los Angeles Kings	0	0	0	0	0
	Totals	63	24	29	53	74