Today in sports history, Wayne Gretzky became the quickest hockey player to score 50 goals in a single season. Thanks to five goals and an assist against the Philadelphia Flyers, Gretzky scored 50 goals in just 39 games. In the same game, his assist set an NHL record, at the time, for the longest assist streak, at 15 games.
Wayne Gretzky Scores 50 in 39 Games
One of the craziest things about being the fastest to 50 goals was that Gretzky gave the rest of the league a head start, so to speak. Although the record book says it took him the first 39 games, it really only took him 37. Gretzky was held without a goal in the first two games of the season and still broke the record.
In the 37 games in which he scored 50 goals, Wayne Gretzky was held without a goal in just nine games. Oddly enough, Gretzky reached the 50th goal threshold that fast even with a streak of four games in a row in which he didn’t score a goal.
Consistency is key and nobody exemplified that more than Gretzky during his streak. To get to 50 that quick, you have to score in bunches. That makes it even more impressive that Gretzky got there as fast as he did with just five performances with three or more goals. That just speaks to how common it was for “The Great One” to score at least one every night he stepped on the ice.
Best Season Ever?
When you think of hockey, you think of Wayne Gretzky. “The Great One” is widely viewed as one of the best hockey players of all time and for good reason. Among the slew of reasons is also his ability to set up his teammates as well. In the 1981-82 NHL season, not only did Gretzky score 92 goals, but he also assisted on 120.
The 1981-82 season for Gretzky is one of the greatest individual seasons of all time. While there are always two sides to each argument, there are few that can make a dent on that season being the best. His 92 goals still stands as the most goals in an NHL season. The 120 assists is sixth all-time. The five seasons above that are also held by Wayne Gretzky.
Gretzky’s efforts that season earned him plenty of silverware. It was the first time in history that a player had scored over 200 points. With him taking home his third Hart Trophy and his second Art Ross Trophy, few seasons will ever be anywhere near Gretzky’s 1981-82 campaign.
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