The St. Louis Blues made their NHL debut in the 1967-68 season, but offensive fireworks were in short supply. Red Berenson led the expansion team in scoring that year, notching 22 goals and 51 points. No other Blues player managed more than 15 goals.
Things began to shift in the team’s second season. Berenson upped his production, and the addition of veteran sniper Camille “The Eel” Henry added a new scoring threat. On November 3, 1968, at Detroit Olympia, Henry made franchise history by scoring the first hat trick in Blues history in a game against the Red Wings.
Detroit jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Frank Mahovlich and Gary Bergman. Henry got the Blues on the board late in the first period with a powerplay goal at 16:39. By the end of the second, it was 4-2 Red Wings but Henry wasn’t finished.
In the third period, Henry lit the lamp twice in a 15-second span to tie the game. Two of his three goals came on the powerplay, and Red Berenson assisted on two of them. All four St. Louis goals were scored against Red Wings goalie Roger Crozier, and the game ended in a 4-4 tie.
Just four nights later, on November 7, Berenson delivered one of the most iconic single-game performances in NHL history, scoring six goals in an 8-0 road win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Henry added to the onslaught with a goal and two assists, while Berenson recorded seven points in total. Doug Favell was in net for the shell-shocked Flyers.
About Camille Henry
Camille Henry played 727 regular season and 47 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1953-54 and 1969-70 with the New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues. He was the Calder Trophy winner in 1953-54 as NHL rookie of the year and won the Lady Byng Trophy in 1957-58.
Never a Stanley Cup champion, Henry did win a Calder Cup title in the AHL with the Providence Reds in 1955-56. That year, he led the league with exactly 50 goals and added ten more in the post season. His career best in the NHL was 37 goals in 1962-63 with the Rangers. That total placed him second, just a single goal behind leader Gordie Howe.
