When the Boston Bruins visited the Los Angeles Kings at the Forum on November 2, 1972, Ralph Backstrom delivered one of the fastest scoring bursts in Kings history.
Backstrom was already riding a hot streak, with 8 goals and 9 assists over a seven-game stretch. Against Boston, the game was tied 1-1 entering the third period, with Serge Bernier scoring for L.A. late in the first and Mike Walton tallying for the Bruins.
At 8:30 of the third, Backstrom put the Kings ahead 2-1 with his sixth goal of the season, beating Boston goalie Eddie Johnston unassisted. Just six seconds later, he struck again, this time with help from Butch Goring, to extend the lead to 3-1. The Kings went on to win 5-2, with Backstrom firing seven of the team’s 33 shots on net. Goalie Gary Edwards held Boston to just two goals on 31 shots.
Backstrom finished the 1972-73 season with 20 goals in 63 games for the Kings, including six game-winners. Traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in February 1973, he wrapped up his NHL career before moving to the WHA.
His two goals in six seconds remain a Kings franchise record. The closest anyone has come since was Jari Kurri’s pair in 1991, just ten seconds apart.
About Ralph Backstrom
Ralph Backstrom played 1,032 regular season and 116 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1956-57 and 1972-73 with the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks. In 1958-59, Ralph was awarded the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. With the Habs, Backstrom was a six-time Stanley Cup champion.
In the WHA, Backstrom played another 304 regular season and 38 playoff games between 1973-74 and 1976-77 with the Chicago Cougars, Ottawa Civics and New England Whalers. In his first year with Chicago he scored 33 goals, the most over his major league career.
NHL Hockey Trivia: Ralph Backstrom
1. Ralph Backstrom played the majority of his career with which NHL team?
2. How many Stanley Cups did Ralph Backstrom win as a member of the Montreal Canadiens?
3. In 1972, Backstrom set a Kings franchise record by scoring two goals how many seconds apart?
4. Which player assisted on Backstrom’s second goal in that record-setting 1972 game?
5. After his NHL career, Ralph Backstrom played in which league before retiring?
