Hockey, especially at its highest level, is about speed and precision. It's about moving the puck and putting shots on the net. The more quality shots a team has, the more goals it usually scores.
While many games in hockey are tightly contested defensive affairs, there have been plenty of occasions when the goal horn sounded again and again.
The results? Staggering statistics and scores you're more likely to see during a football game. They're some of the most thrilling moments in NHL history.
That history dates back to 1917 when the NHL was founded and it includes countless classic matchups. However, there have been just 16 times when the two teams on the ice combined for 18+ goals.
These are the games we're taking a look at today.
Two games share the distinction of being the highest-scoring in NHL history. The first occurred when the league was still in its infancy.
A week before the Treaty of Versailles (which ended World War I) would officially take effect and a week after the Boston Red Sox famously sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, the Toronto St. Patrick's traveled to Montreal to take on the Canadiens.
The date was January 10, 1920. Montreal jumped out to a 7–0 lead before Toronto snuck in a goal to make the score 7–1 at the end of the first period. Eight goals is impressive, but that proved to just be a warm up for the two squads. The second period saw a combined seven goals scored and the third period featured six.
In the end, Montreal defeated Toronto 14–7. See? We weren't kidding about football scores.
The second 21-goal game came 65 years later on December 11, 1985. The Chicago Blackhawks were hosting the Edmonton Oilers in a game that saw the two teams combine for 90 shots on goal. Edmonton led 4–0 after the first period before the two teams set an NHL record with 12 combined goals in the second. The Oilers took a 10–6 lead into the third period and won the game 12–9.
Interestingly enough, in a game that featured 21 goals, Wayne Gretzky didn't score a single one of them. He did, however, tie the NHL record for assists in a game with seven.
Year
Team 1 (Goals)
Team 2 (Goals)
Total Goals
1920
Montreal (14)
Toronto (7)
21
1985
Edmonton (12)
Chicago (9)
21
1984
Edmonton (12)
Minnesota (8)
20
1986
Toronto (11)
Edmonton (9)
20
1918
Montreal (10)
Toronto (9)
19
1920
Montreal (16)
Quebec (3)
19
1921
Montreal (13)
Hamilton (6)
19
1944
Boston (10)
New York (9)
19
1944
Detroit (10)
Boston (9)
19
1983
Vancouver (10)
Minnesota (9)
19
1977
Toronto (10)
Chicago (8)
18
1981
Quebec (11)
Washington (7)
18
1981
Buffalo (14)
Toronto (4)
18
1983
Toronto (10)
Chicago (8)
18
1987
Detroit (10)
Winnipeg (8)
18
1996
San Jose (10)
Pittsburgh (8)
18
Scoring five goals in a single game is an incredibly rare accomplishment, occurring just 64 times (by 48 players) in NHL history. It most recently happened in 2022, where two players scored five goals.
In January Timo Meier of the San Jose Sharks started the year with a five goal game. To bookend the year, Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres did it in December.
The last time a player scored six goals in a game was on February 7, 1976 when Darryl Sittler did so for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Only one player has scored seven goals in a single game, Joe Malone of the Quebec Bulldogs. He did so in 1920.
Malone is the most prolific NHL player in history in terms of 5+ goal games. In his career, he scored five goals in a game three times, six goals once and seven goals once.
Just behind Malone is Mario Lemieux, who had five games in his career where he scored five goals. Gretzky had four such games.
Player
Team
Year
Goals Scored
Joe Malone
Quebec Bulldogs
1920
7
Red Berenson
St. Louis Blues
1968
6
Corbett Denneny
Toronto St. Patrick’s
1921
6
Cy Denneny
Ottawa Senators
1921
6
Syd Howe
Detroit Red Wings
1944
6
Newsy Lalonde
Montreal Canadiens
1920
6
Joe Malone
Quebec Bulldogs
1920
6
Darryl Sittler
Toronto Maple Leafs
1976
6
Nathan Cunningham is a writer for Sports Illustrated and Minute Media. Throughout his career, he has written about collegiate sports, NFL Draft, Super Bowl champions, and more. Nathan has also been featured in FanSided and 90Min. Nathan loves colorful uniforms, mascots and fast-break pull-up 3-pointers. He graduated from BYU in 2016 with a degree in journalism.
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