Records for points, goals, assists in an NHL game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Scoring three goals in a hockey game is rare enough that it gets its own nickname. Anything beyond that, and you just have to tip your hat.
From a seven-goal game to a 10-point performance, there are some outlandish NHL records. Wayne Gretzky is known as the NHL’s preeminent scorer, but even he couldn’t catch up to a couple of lesser-known skaters in some categories.
Here’s a look at Gretzky and other NHL leaders for points, goals and assists in a single game.
What is the record for points in an NHL game?
Only one player in NHL history has racked up double-digit points in an NHL game.
Darryl Sittler holds the NHL record with his 10-point onslaught against the Boston Bruins on Feb. 7, 1976. The Toronto Maple Leafs center scored six times and dished out four assists in an 11-4 victory.
The historic performance puts Sittler two points up on any other NHL player for a single game. Eleven other skaters have reached eight points in a game, with Gretzky and Mario Lemieux as the only players to do it twice.
Here is a look at the greatest single-game point totals in NHL history:
1. Darryl Sittler, TOR: 2/7/1976 vs. BOS – 10 (6 G, 4 A)
T-2. Maurice Richard, MON: 12/28/1944 vs. DET – 8 (5 G, 3 A)
T-2. Bryan Trottier, NYI: 12/23/1978 vs. NYR – 8 (5 G, 3 A)
T-2. Mario Lemieux, PIT: 12/31/1988 vs. NJD – 8 (5 G, 3 A)
T-2. Bert Olmstead, MON: 1/9/1954 vs. CHI – 8 (4 G, 4 A)
T-2. Tom Bladon, PHI: 12/11/1977 vs. CLE – 8 (4 G, 4 A)
T-2. Peter Stastny, QUE: 2/22/1981 vs. WSH – 8 (4 G, 4 A)
T-2. Wayne Gretzky, EDM: 1/4/1984 vs. MNS – 8 (4 G, 4 A)
T-2. Sam Gagner, EDM: 2/2/2012 vs. CHI – 8 (4 G, 4 A)
T-2. Anton Stastny, QUE: 2/22/1981 vs. WSH – 8 (3 G, 5 A)
T-2. Wayne Gretzky, EDM: 11/19/1983 vs. NJD – 8 (3 G, 5 A)
T-2. Paul Coffey, EDM: 3/14/1986 vs. DET – 8 (2 G, 6 A)
T-2. Mario Lemieux, PIT: 10/15/1988 vs. STL – 8 (2 G, 6 A)
T-2. Beanie Nicholls, LAK: 12/1/1988 vs. TOR – 8 (2 G, 6 A)
What is the record for goals in an NHL game?
Sittler may have the record for points in a game, but he came one goal shy of tying a Joe Malone mark that has stood alone for over 100 years.
Malone is the only player in NHL history to score seven goals in one game, doing so for the Quebec Bulldogs on Jan. 31, 1920. Sittler is among seven players to score a double hat trick – six goals – in one game.
1. Joe Malone, QUE: 1/31/1920 vs. TSP – 7
T-2. Newsy Lalonde, MON: 1/10/1920 vs. TSP – 6
T-2. Joe Malone, QUE: 3/10/1920 vs. SEN – 6
T-2. Corb Denneny, TOR: 1/26/1921 vs. HAM – 6
T-2. Cy Denneny, OTT: 3/7/1921 vs. HAM – 6
T-2. Syd Howe, DET: 2/3/1944 vs. NYR – 6
T-2. Red Berenson, STL: 11/7/1968 vs. PHI – 6
T-2. Darryl Sittler, TOR: 2/7/1976 vs. BOS – 6
It’s been 47 years since a player scored six times in a game. Buffalo Sabres star Tage Thompson became the latest player to light the lamp five times during a tilt against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 7, 2022.
What is the record for assists in an NHL game?
On top of being the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, Gretzky is far and away the league’s all-time assist leader. That passing prowess was on display in record-tying fashion with three seven-assist games, including two in the 1985-86 season.
Only one other NHL player has tallied seven apples in one game. Billy Taylor Sr. became the first player to do so in 1947 with the Detroit Red Wings.
T-1. Billy Taylor Sr., DET: 3/16/1947 vs. CHI – 7
T-1. Wayne Gretzky, EDM: 2/15/1980 vs. WSH – 7
T-1. Wayne Gretzky, EDM: 12/11/1985 vs. CHI – 7
T-1. Wayne Gretzky, EDM: 2/14/1986 vs. QUE – 7
There have been 25 six-assist performances in NHL history. Leon Draisaitl is the most recent player to reach the feat, doing so in an 8-6 win for his Edmonton Oilers over the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 31, 2021.
