When the Minnesota North Stars reached game 59 of the 1969-70 season, Bill Collins had just 13 goals to his name. That all changed on March 1, 1970, when the Toronto Maple Leafs came to town.
At the Met, Collins exploded for a hat trick, his 14th, 15th, and 16th of the season, all against Leafs netminder Bruce Gamble. Minnesota dominated the night with an 8-0 blowout, outshooting Toronto 40-41. Cesare Maniago was rock-solid, turning away all 41 shots for the shutout. Bill Goldsworthy and J.P. Parise chipped in with two goals and two assists each, but Collins set the tone with his relentless play and seven shots on goal.
Less than a week later, the two teams met again at Maple Leaf Gardens. And once more, Collins found his magic. This time he struck for another three goals, numbers 18, 19, and 20 on the year, with the first two coming shorthanded. Remarkably, he scored on all three of his shots, again at the expense of Bruce Gamble, who was pulled in favor of Marv Edwards after the second period. Minnesota rolled to an 8-3 win as Gump Worsley turned aside 44 of 47 shots.
Though Collins didn’t pick up a single assist in either game, that reflected his style during the 1969-70 campaign: pure goal-scoring. He finished the season with a career-best 29 goals, paired with just nine assists. It was the first of three seasons where he crossed the 20-goal mark, later tallying 21 with the Detroit Red Wings in 1972-73 and 22 with the St. Louis Blues in 1974-75.
About Bill Collins
After several years in the minors, Bill Collins got his NHL start after the Minnesota North Stars drafted him from the New York Rangers organization in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft. Originally a prospect of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he was traded to the Rangers on February 22, 1964, along with Arnie Brown, Dick Duff, Bob Nevin and Rod Seiling for Andy Bathgate and Don McKenney.
Collins played 768 regular season and 18 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1967-68 and 1977-78 with the North Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals.
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