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The NHL is trending towards being a league based on goal scoring. So what are the 10 highest-scoring NHL games of the league's modern era?
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0:00
Offense is making a comeback in the NHL
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Games are finishing with higher scores, as the Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks
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displayed in a 17-goal affair on February 19, 2024. The average of goals per game
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has gone up over the last few seasons, and the number of 100-point scorers each season
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has increased, too. With teams becoming savvier and finding better ways to create shots and scoring chances
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it doesn't seem like goal scoring is going away anytime soon. So we figured it'd be a good time to go back
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and look at the 10 highest scoring games of the modern NHL, 1967 present
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with the cutoff being 18 goals. For a game that ended up with 18 goals
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it took some time for things to get going. Stan Mikita scored the first goal of the game
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eight minutes into the first period, and the two teams would finish with a combined five goals
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in the first 20 minutes. It would be much of the same in the second period
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before the goals came in bunches in the final frame. Half of the 18 goals scored came in the third period
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with five coming from the Maple Leafs and four from the Blackhawks
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Errol Thompson finished with a hat trick for the Leafs, while defenseman Ian Turnbull
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finished the game with five points. This game would hold the title
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of the highest scoring NHL game in the modern era until 1981, in a season where not much went right
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for either team, this was one of the highlights for each. This contest featured some big performances
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from Peter and Anton Stasny, with each player finishing with eight points
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Anton recorded a hat trick and five assists, while Peter finished with four goals and four assists
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While an eight point game has happened 16 times in the NHL
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the Stasny brothers remain the only two to do it in the same game
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Of the 18 goals scored, 15 of them came during the second and third periods
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and as you may have guessed, tempers flared during the scoring outburst
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This game came with a total of 182 penalty minutes, with 158 of those coming in the second period
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and a final total of 11 10-minute misconducts. Based on the first period, you wouldn't have guessed
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the Sabres were en route for a 14 goal performance. As John Van Boxmier scored the lone goal
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of the opening frame. But things opened up in the second, with the Sabres scoring nine goals
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Gilbert Perrault had a hat trick, while Andre Savard scored two, and eventually finished with a hat trick of his own
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along with six points. Michel La Roque was the goaltender of record for the Maple Leafs
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He was pulled to start the third period, but gave up 10 goals on 27 shots through 40 minutes
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Jiri Kerha relieved La Roque during the third period and faced 22 shots, giving up goals on four of them
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which put the icing on what was an abysmal performance by the Leafs. The second time these two teams met up in a contest
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totaling 18 goals, with the Leafs coming out on top once again
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The scoring got off to a fast start in this one. The Leafs scored four goals in the first period
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including one by Jim Benning, who you may know as the Vancouver Canucks
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former general manager. Things would open up in the second period as the teams combined for eight goals
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Blackhawks legend Dennis Savard potted two goals to complete a hat trick
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while Doug Wilson, who you may know as the former San Jose Sharks' GM
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added a goal and assist. The Blackhawks managed to cut a seven to three Leafs lead
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to seven six, but a late second period goal by the Maple Leafs, followed by one early in the third
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would prove to be enough to seal the Blackhawks' fate. This was a showdown that featured plenty of familiar names
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The two teams combined for eight goals in the first two frames
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But the floodgates opened in the third period, with the Red Wings scoring six straight goals at one point
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to take a nine to six lead over the Jets. Five players finished with three points for the Red Wings
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including Adam Oates. Gerard Gallant, the former head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, tallied a goal
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and assist for the Red Wings as well. Although Paul McClain, who you may remember
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from his stint as the Ottawa Senator's head coach, had a hat trick and five points
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that wasn't enough to overcome the Red Wings' scoring depth. NHL great Dale Howarchuk finished the night
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with four assists for the Jets, while both teams combined for 50 penalty minutes
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Following the 1994 to 95 lockout, offense in the NHL died a horrible death
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with the average goals per game falling to 5.19 by 1998-99, down from 7.16 in the late 1980s
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But that doesn't mean it didn't go without a bang as the Sharks and Penguins put on a show
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for everyone to see. This contest between the two teams remains the highest scoring NHL game
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since the 1994-95 lockout and featured plenty of star power. Pater Nedved, Mario Lemieux, and Thomas Sandstrom
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each had two goals for the Penguins, while Ron Francis finished with three assists
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For the Sharks, Ray Whitney and Owen Nolan finished with three points
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while Ray Shepard had a hat trick. The Sharks also potted half of their goals
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in the third period, outscoring the Penguins 5-2 in the final 20 minutes to seal the victory
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over one of the best teams in the league. This was a pretty back and forth affair
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between the two teams. The North Stars scored the first two goals
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from Brian Bellows and Craig Hartsburg. But the Canucks answered back, nodding the game at three
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before Dino Ciccarelli scored the go-ahead goal for the North Stars heading into the first intermission
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The North Stars would open up their lead to 6-3 in the second period
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However, the Canucks scored the next three to bring the game to a 6-6 deadlock
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The two sides would trade goals and were tied at 9-9 with five minutes left
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in the regulation when Patrick Sundstrom put in the game-winning goal. That capped a thrilling game that saw the Canucks go on
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to score seven of the game's final 10 goals. Wayne Gretzky had plenty of great performances
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but this one goes down as one of his best. He led the way for the Oilers with eight points
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four goals, four assists. Gretzky was the first Oiler to accomplish this feat
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with Sam Gagner being the third Oiler, Gretzky, Paul Coffey, and most recent NHL player
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to pull it off back in 2012. Mark Messier had himself a night too
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as he finished with six assists, while Jari Currie had a hat trick
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That was too much to overcome for the North Stars, who couldn't match the firepower the Oilers had
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behind Gretzky, Messier, and Coffey. The Oilers hadn't experienced many losses to this point in the season
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as they had a 29-7-4 record. The Leafs, on the other hand, were well below 500
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and had only won 10 games, so an 11-goal outburst came as a bit of a surprise
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They got the scoring started, with Russ Cortnall scoring the first two goals
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followed by one from Miroslav Fricer to give them a 3-0 lead
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Gretzky would answer back, but the Leafs ended up taking a 5-1 lead
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into the first intermission. Related, the five greatest goaltenders in NHL history
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However, the Oilers did not go down without a fight. They scored five second-period goals
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including two from Gretzky, who had a hat-trick. But the Leafs seemed to have a response for everything
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Fricer had a hat-trick in the third period to cap off a four-goal performance
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and that ended up being enough to overcome a six-point effort by Gretzky
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The highest-scoring game of the modern NHL era, and it wasn't particularly close
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The Oilers scored the first six goals of the game before Dennis Saverd got the Blackhawks on the board
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in the second period. They'd fight back and get within two goals
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but the Oilers' offensive depth was well too much to handle. Jari Khouri finished with a hat-trick
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as did Glenn Anderson, as they combined for six of the Oilers' 12 goals
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There was no eight-point night for Gretzky, but he still finished with seven points, seven assists
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Saverd, Steve Larmer, and Al Secord had a rough outing as they each finished the night with a minus-seven rating
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Even with offense making a roaring comeback in the NHL, this is a game that may forever hold its place
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in the NHL record books
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