Nice try Gagner
Darryl Sittler says he knows his NHL record 10-point night won’t stand forever,
The NHL has never had another night like it.
Thirty-six years ago Tuesday — Feb. 7, 1976 — Toronto’s Darryl Sittler had six goals and four assists in an 11-4 win over the Boston Bruins at Maple Leaf Gardens, a 10-point performance which remains an NHL record.
“In sports, you never say never, because the unknown can always happen,” Sittler said when asked Friday if he thinks his mark will ever be equalled.
The former Leafs captain and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame was reacting to Edmonton’s Sam Gagner, who made the latest assault on Sittler’s record, notching eight points in the Oilers’ 8-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
Gagner had four goals and four assists.
His night tied the Edmonton record of eight points in a game, which is also held by Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey. It’s the first time a player has scored that many since Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux on April 25, 1989.
No player has had nine points in an NHL game.
To put the performance into perspective, Dave Lozo, who writes for Nhl.com, noted via Twitter that Gagner’s eight points in17:28 meant he outscored eight Nbaers who had at least the same playing time Thursday.
“I’m happy for Sam Gagner,” said Sittler, who is now an ambassador with the Leafs. “He’s a talented guy and everything fell in place for him.”
Recalling his own “magical night,” Sittler, now 61 years old, said even after scoring three goals and adding four assists in the first two periods, he wasn’t aware of the scope of what was unfolding. “Obviously you have seven points in the first two periods you know you’re having a good game,” Sittler said. But it wasn’t until the Leafs statistician came into the dressing room during the second intermission and told him that he was one point shy of equalling the mark of eight set by Maurice Richard of the Montreal Canadiens in 1944 that it sunk in.
“That’s when I knew I had a chance to tie an NHL record,” Sittler said.
“When I went out in the third period there wasn’t any added pressure or intention that I had to score, I just played the same as I always tried to play and put everything into it.
“It just so happened I got another three (goals) that period.”
Sittler said it wasn’t until years later, when Gretzky and Lemieux were running roughshod over the NHL record book, that he realized the achievement.
“I always thought they might have a shot at tying it or breaking it,” he said of Lemieux, who had an eightpoint game three times, and Gretzky who did it twice.
“But here we are, 36 years later, and it’s still a record.”
So, how much longer will Sittler hold the record?
“The way I look at these sorts of things, if somebody’s going to tie or beat it, it’s just going to happen,” Sittler said. “Obviously I’d certainly be happy for the person it happens to.
“But am I honoured and happy to hold it? Yes. It was great to do it in a Leafs uniform. Would I like the record to continue on forever? Hey, I’d be lying if I said no.
“But I’d totally understand if somebody else had the magical night I did and they tied me or beat me. That would be okay too.”