Mickey Redmond Scores 50 as Detroit Rolls at Maple Leaf Gardens

Mickey Redmond arrived at Maple Leaf Gardens on March 27, 1973, one goal away from making Detroit Red Wings history. By the time he left, he had passed the milestone with an encore to spare. Redmond scored his 50th and 51st goals just 18 seconds apart as Detroit overwhelmed the Toronto Maple Leafs 8–1.

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Highlights

• Redmond became Detroit’s first 50-goal scorer on March 27, 1973.

• His milestone goal came at 16:47 of the third period.

• He scored his 51st just 18 seconds later.

• Detroit defeated Toronto 8–1 at Maple Leaf Gardens.

• Bill Collins contributed two goals and an assist, including the winner.

• Redmond finished 1972–73 with 52 goals and scored 51 the following season.

• He became the third NHL player with multiple 50-goal seasons.

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Playing his 73rd game of the 1972–73 season, Redmond carried 49 goals into the matchup and remained there until late in the third period. At 16:47, he beat Toronto goaltender Ron Low with Gary Bergman drawing the assist. The goal gave Detroit a 6–1 lead and made Redmond the first player in franchise history to score 50 goals in a season.

The celebration had barely begun when Redmond struck again. His unassisted goal at 17:05 pushed Detroit’s lead to 7–1 and brought his season total to 51. He finished the campaign with 52, becoming the seventh player in NHL history to reach the 50-goal mark. Philadelphia’s Rick MacLeish also joined the club that season, becoming its eighth member.

Bill Collins, meanwhile, had a strong claim to the night’s best all-around offensive performance. He assisted on Henry Boucha’s opening goal before scoring the eventual winner just 3:44 into the first period, with assists going to Red Berenson and Ron Stackhouse. Boucha returned the favour in the second period, helping Collins score his second goal of the game and 20th of the season. Collins finished with two goals and an assist.

Redmond’s breakthrough was the beginning of a remarkable two-season stretch. He followed his 52-goal campaign with 51 in 1973–74, becoming only the third player in NHL history to record more than one 50-goal season, following Bobby Hull and Phil Esposito. For Detroit, the night in Toronto marked the arrival of its first member of hockey’s exclusive 50-goal club.

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Ross Lonsberry’s Last-Second Goal Gives Kings a 5–4 Win Over Rangers in 1970

Ross Lonsberry waited until the final second to make his offensive contribution count. On January 28, 1970, at the Forum in Los Angeles, he scored with one second remaining to give the Kings a dramatic 5–4 victory over the New York Rangers. His ninth goal of the season capped a finish that featured three goals in the final 2:38.

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Highlights

• Lonsberry scored at 19:59 of the third period on January 28, 1970.

• His ninth goal of the season gave Los Angeles a 5–4 victory.

• The teams combined for three goals in the final 2:38.

• Lonsberry accumulated nine penalty minutes, including a fight with Brad Park.

• Neither team scored a power-play goal.

• Leon Rochefort and Larry Cahan assisted on the winner.

• Bill Flett recorded seven shots, while Wayne Rutledge made 22 saves.

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Before delivering the winner, Lonsberry had been busy collecting penalty minutes. He received a hooking minor just 47 seconds into the game, fought Brad Park in the second period and took another hooking penalty in the third. That left him with nine minutes in the box. Park also received a ten-minute misconduct following their fight, having already dropped the gloves with Skip Krake in the opening period.

Despite the trips to the penalty box, neither team scored a power-play goal. The Rangers held a 2–1 lead entering the third period, but goals by Jimmy Peters and Butch Goring put Los Angeles ahead. Walt Tkaczuk answered at 10:12, bringing New York back into a 3–3 tie and setting up a frantic finish.

Bill Flett restored the Kings’ lead at 17:22 with his eighth goal of the season. Just 87 seconds later, Bob Nevin replied for the Rangers, with Park supplying the assist. With the score tied 4–4 and the clock winding down, the teams appeared headed for a draw.

Lonsberry changed that at 19:59, beating Ed Giacomin with assists from Leon Rochefort and Larry Cahan. The winner came on Los Angeles’ 31st shot, with Flett leading the Kings with seven shots on goal. At the other end, Wayne Rutledge made 22 saves to earn the victory. After spending much of his night on the penalty sheet, Lonsberry claimed the final, and most important, entry on the scoresheet.

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Rick Martin and René Robert Combine for Six Third-Period Points Against Rangers

Rick Martin and René Robert needed just ten seconds between goals to turn a close game into a comfortable Buffalo lead. On January 10, 1974, the two French Connection wingers combined for eight points in a 7–2 victory over the New York Rangers at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Six of those points came in the third period, including four in the opening 31 seconds. Gilbert Perreault, so often the driving force behind Buffalo’s offence, finished with a single assist.

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Highlights

• Buffalo defeated New York 7–2 on January 10, 1974.

• Martin and Robert each finished with four points.

• Six of their eight combined points came in the third period.

• Robert scored at 0:21 of the third; Martin followed at 0:31.

• Both assisted on Jim Lorentz’s first-period power-play goal.

• Martin finished the season with a franchise-first 52 goals.

• Buffalo missed the 1974 playoffs before reaching the 1975 Stanley Cup Final.

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Martin and Robert first appeared on the scoresheet late in the opening period, assisting on Jim Lorentz’s power-play goal against Ed Giacomin at 18:27. Lorentz scored again in the second, while Brad Park answered for New York. The Sabres carried a narrow 2–1 lead into the final frame, with little indication on the scoreboard of the outburst to come.

Robert started the third-period fireworks just 21 seconds after the faceoff, scoring his 13th goal of the season with assists from Martin and Perreault. Ten seconds later, Martin buried his 29th, helped by Robert and Jerry Korab. In barely half a minute, Buffalo’s one-goal advantage had grown to three, and Martin and Robert had already collected two points apiece in the period.

Don Luce and Korab also scored during Buffalo’s five-goal third period. Martin added his second of the night and 30th of the season at 14:54, with Robert earning the lone assist. Ted Irvine supplied New York’s other goal as the Sabres finished off the 7–2 win. Martin ended the evening with two goals and two assists, while Robert contributed a goal and three helpers.

Martin went on to become Buffalo’s first 50-goal scorer, finishing the 1973–74 season with 52 goals and 86 points. He matched that goal total the following year. Robert finished with 65 points, while Perreault recorded 51 in just 55 games. Buffalo missed the playoffs that spring, but the setback was temporary: the Sabres returned in 1974–75 and advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.

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