Bobby Smith Explodes For 7 Points As North Stars Destroy Jets 15-2 In 1981

On November 11, 1981, the Winnipeg Jets walked into the Met Center for a road game against the Minnesota North Stars and quickly found themselves trapped in one of the most lopsided games in NHL history.

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Highlights:

• Bobby Smith recorded 4 goals and 3 assists for a 7-point night

• Minnesota defeated Winnipeg by a staggering 15-2 score

• The North Stars scored 8 goals in the second period alone

• Three of Bobby Smith’s goals came on the power play

• Minnesota’s 15 goals remain tied for the second most in NHL history

• Gilles Meloche stopped 40 of 42 shots despite the blowout

• The North Stars also scored two shorthanded goals in the game

• Doug Soetaert faced 51 shots and allowed 15 goals for Winnipeg

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For much of the opening half of the game, things were still relatively close. Winnipeg trailed only 2-1 early in the second period before the North Stars unleashed an offensive explosion that completely buried the Jets. Beginning at the 4:05 mark of the second, Minnesota scored eight goals in the period, turning the game into an unforgettable nightmare for Winnipeg goaltender Doug Soetaert.

The chaos started when Kent-Erik Andersson scored with assists from Bobby Smith and Dino Ciccarelli. That goal sparked a stretch where four goals were scored in just 1:11, three by Minnesota and one by Winnipeg. It narrowly missed the NHL record at the time for the fastest four combined goals in a game.

Bobby Smith became the star of the night. The North Stars captain scored four goals, including three on the power play, while also adding three assists for a massive seven-point performance. Smith factored into goals by Andersson, Dino Ciccarelli and Curt Giles as Minnesota piled up 51 shots on net.

An incredible 15 of those 51 shots beat Soetaert, tying the second-highest single-game goal total ever recorded by one NHL team. Only the Montreal Canadiens scored more, netting 16 goals against the Quebec Bulldogs back in 1920.

Lost in the offensive madness was the workload handled by Minnesota goalie Gilles Meloche. Despite his team winning by 13 goals, Meloche still faced 42 shots and stopped 40 of them. Winnipeg’s only goals came from Morris Lukowich and Bengt Lundholm.

The North Stars even managed a pair of shorthanded goals during the rout, including one by Neal Broten and another from Anders Hakansson that was assisted by Meloche himself. By the final buzzer, the scoreboard read an almost unbelievable 15-2 in favor of Minnesota, one of the greatest offensive outbursts the NHL has ever seen.

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Norm Ullman And Jean Beliveau Traded Hat Tricks In A 14-Goal 1967 Original 6 Shootout

The 1967-68 NHL season featured its share of high-scoring games, but most of them came against the league’s brand new expansion clubs. On December 17, 1967, however, two Original Six rivals combined for 14 goals in a wild showdown at Detroit Olympia. The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Montreal Canadiens 8-6 in a game highlighted by hat tricks from both Norm Ullman and Jean Beliveau.

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Highlights:

• Norm Ullman recorded a hat trick for Detroit

• Jean Beliveau answered with a hat trick of his own

• The Red Wings defeated the Canadiens 8-6 at Detroit Olympia

• Gordie Howe scored just 34 seconds after Montreal opened the scoring

• Henri Richard scored twice for Montreal in the high-scoring affair

• Montreal scored two goals eight seconds apart in the second period

• Gary Marsh scored the game-winning goal, the only NHL goal of his career

• The game featured 14 total goals between two Original Six rivals

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Montreal opened the scoring on a power play at 6:10 of the first period when Henri Richard converted a setup from Beliveau and Dick Duff. Detroit answered almost immediately, with Gordie Howe tying the game just 34 seconds later. Late in the opening period, Ullman scored his first of the night to give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead heading into intermission.

Beliveau struck only 52 seconds into the second period to even the score again, but Ullman took over from there. The Detroit center scored twice more in the middle frame to complete his hat trick and put the Wings ahead 4-2. Montreal refused to go away, though, as Beliveau and Henri Richard scored eight seconds apart before the period ended to tie the game once more.

The offensive fireworks continued in the third. Gary Jarrett scored early for Detroit, prompting Montreal to pull veteran goalie Gump Worsley in favor of Rogie Vachon. The move did little to slow the Red Wings attack, as Detroit added three more goals in the period. Beliveau completed his own hat trick at 8:18 of the third, but the Canadiens could not keep pace in the 8-6 defeat.

The most unlikely hero of the night ended up being Gary Marsh. The little-known Red Wings forward scored what proved to be the game-winning goal, the only NHL goal of his career. Marsh appeared in just six games for Detroit that season and one more for the Toronto Maple Leafs the following year, finishing with a seven-game NHL career and a permanent place in one of hockey’s wildest Original Six games.

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Chicago’s John Marks Set An NHL Record In Just 33 Seconds

On November 13, 1975, the Chicago Blackhawks stormed into the Spectrum in Philadelphia and made NHL history almost immediately. Forward John Marks needed only 33 seconds from the opening faceoff to score twice against the defending Stanley Cup champion Flyers, setting a new NHL record for the fastest two goals by one player from the start of a game.

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Highlights:

• John Marks scored twice in the first 33 seconds of the game

• The record-setting game took place on November 13, 1975

• Marks broke Bill Hicke’s previous NHL record

• Chicago built an early 5-1 lead over Philadelphia

• Gary Dornhoefer recorded four points for the Flyers

• Philadelphia scored three goals in a 50-second span

• The game ended in a dramatic 5-5 tie

• Mike Knuble later broke the NHL record in 2003

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Marks opened the scoring just 14 seconds into the contest, beating Philadelphia goaltender Wayne Stephenson unassisted for his fourth goal of the 1975-76 season. Before fans had even settled into their seats, he struck again only 19 seconds later. Assisted by Pit Martin and Cliff Koroll, Marks buried his second of the night at the 0:33 mark, breaking the previous NHL record by a full minute.

The old mark had belonged to Bill Hicke of the Oakland Seals, who scored twice within the opening 1:33 of a game back in 1969. Marks’ incredible start stunned the Flyers and helped Chicago build what looked like an insurmountable lead. By the midway point of the game, the Blackhawks were comfortably ahead 5-1.

Philadelphia, however, refused to go quietly. Led by Gary Dornhoefer’s four-point night consisting of one goal and three assists, the Flyers clawed their way back into the contest. Ross Lonsberry and Dornhoefer scored within the final 23 seconds of the second period, and Bill Barber added another just 27 seconds into the third. The Flyers’ rapid-fire comeback featured three goals in only 50 seconds.

Despite Marks’ historic opening burst, the game ultimately ended in a wild 5-5 tie. Ivan Boldirev and Dennis Hull each chipped in with two-point performances for Chicago, but the Flyers’ relentless push erased the early deficit and salvaged a point on home ice.

Marks’ NHL record eventually fell years later when Mike Knuble of the Boston Bruins scored twice within the first 27 seconds of a 2003 game against the Florida Panthers. Interestingly, only a month after Marks set the record, Buffalo Sabres star Rick Martin nearly matched it by scoring two goals in the opening 38 seconds against the Minnesota North Stars.

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