In Season Two The St. Louis Blues Finally Get Their First NHL Hat Trick

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.

Jim Pappin’s Lightning Strike: 2 Goals In 6 Seconds Vs. The Philadelphia Flyers

On February 16, 1972, at Chicago Stadium, the Philadelphia Flyers looked to be in control. Second-period goals by Simon Nolet, Bill Flett, and Bobby Clarke had given them a solid 3-0 lead over the hometown Chicago Blackhawks heading into the third. Then came Jim Pappin.

At 2:57 of the third period, Pappin got Chicago on the board with his 18th goal of the 1971-72 season, assisted by Bryan Campbell. Just six seconds later, before the Flyers could even regroup, Pappin struck again. This time, former Flyer Andre Lacroix fed him the puck, and just like that, it was a one-goal game.

Stunned and suddenly vulnerable, Philadelphia gave up the tying goal at 5:08. Stan Mikita, assisted by Bill White, completed the comeback. The Flyers would manage to hold off further damage and escape with a 3-3 tie, but the momentum had clearly shifted.

Pappin’s two-goal outburst wasn’t an NHL record, but it tied him with Howie Meeker for the third-fastest pair of goals in league history at the time. The fastest? Four seconds, first set by Nels Stewart in 1931 and later matched by Deron Quint in 1995. Only PeteMahovlich and Nathan Gerbe have scored a pair five seconds apart, while others joining the six-second club include Ralph Backstrom, Lanny McDonald, and Sylvain Turgeon.

About Jim Pappin

Jim Pappin played 767 regular season an 92 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1963-64 and 1976-77 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, California Seals and Cleveland Barons. He was a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Maple Leafs and also won three Calder Cup titles in the AHL with the Rochester Americans.

3 Goals by 1 Player on the Same Power Play? How Jean Béliveau Helped Change NHL History

Before the 1956-57 NHL season, minor penalties were served in full, two full minutes in the box, regardless of whether a goal was scored. That all changed thanks to a remarkable night at the Montreal Forum, courtesy of Jean Béliveau.

On November 5, 1955, the Boston Bruins were up 2-0 on first-period goals by Leo Boivin and Doug Mohns. But the tide quickly turned.

With Cal Gardner in the box for charging (penalty assessed with just 10 seconds left in the first), and Hal Laycoe penalized for hooking just 17 seconds into the second period, the Canadiens had a 5-on-3 advantage to start the frame.

Jean Béliveau, already one of the league’s top stars, wasted no time. He scored at 0:42, again at 1:08, and completed the power play hat trick at 1:26, just 44 seconds apart, all on legendary goalie Terry Sawchuk. Bert Olmstead assisted on all three, with Doug Harvey picking up two helpers and Maurice “Rocket” Richard assisting on the middle marker.

Béliveau added a fourth goal in the third period, again with Olmstead helping out, alongside BernieGeoffrion. The Canadiens skated away with a 4-2 win, and Béliveau had all four goals.

That explosive performance helped fuel a monster season for “Le Gros Bill.” After scoring just three times in his first 12 games, he ended up with 47 goals, winning both the Art Ross Trophy (scoring title) and the Hart Trophy (MVP), while leading the Habs to a Stanley Cup championship.

More importantly, his rare three-goal feat on a single minor penalty power play sparked a rethink of the NHL’s rulebook. Starting in 1956-57, players serving minor penalties would exit the box after the opposing team scored, a rule that remains in effect to this day.

Ironically, despite having nine power plays in that game, the Bruins only capitalized once.

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