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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Bill Collins Torches Leafs with Back-to-Back Hat Tricks in 1970

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.

NHL Hockey Trivia: Bill Collins

Much more NHL hockey trivia can be found at our website: World's Best Hockey Trivia

1. Which team did Bill Collins score consecutive hat tricks against in March 1970?

Detroit Red Wings
Toronto Maple Leafs
St. Louis Blues
Boston Bruins

2. Which Toronto goalie did Collins score his goals on during those games?

Johnny Bower
Marv Edwards
Bruce Gamble
Gerry Cheevers

3. How many goals did Bill Collins finish the 1969–70 season with?

21
25
29
33

4. How many of Collins' goals in the second hat trick were scored shorthanded?

0
1
2
3

5. Who recorded the shutout for Minnesota in the 8–0 game (stopping 41 shots)?

Gump Worsley
Cesare Maniago
Tony Esposito
Ken Dryden