Best performance ever by a player

[LePoche69]

There is a lot of good stuff related here. I enjoyed reading every single post as my brain lead me in spiral trough my memories...

...I pretty much like the Owen Nolan "called top-corner" against Domenik Hasek in the all star game...

But to me, as a Montreal man, the Rocket Richard 5 goals against the Leafs is legend stuff that is still making people dream in our Province. I'm not so sure it is the most amazing performance ever, but it is, in my Habs tri-color blood... Even if I wasn't born when it happened.

Sorry to be so much a homer...

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

Someday I`ll print some game summaries from Lemieux`s career, you`ll find them interesting. Hockey Outsider has already printed evidence on here that ignoring all the goals in blowouts and only looking at goals scored when the score was close, Gretzky still had more points than anyone else of that time. If you have evidence proving otherwise, please provide it.

Regarding `79; Lafleur didn`t win the game himself. How many Lafleur chances were stopped by Gilles Gilbert in OT? If Lambert doesn`t score and Boston wins, how memorable would Lafleur`s game-tying goal be today?

It was offside, hit the slow-mo button.

If you feed the racoons that come around your campsite, they will be back rooting in your garbage while you're asleep. Ignore them and sure enough they will eventually go away

 

[mcphee]

I've seen the 79 Hab/Bruin, game 7 often enough and if you enjoy those games, you take away something different every time. I don't think it was offside, though I think Antropv was at least 22 times. The thing I always notice about the 79 game was that Mtl., or moreso Bowman had patchwork lines, and was trying to throw off Boston by double and triple shifting his best guys. I don't know that a shift was played without the Big 3 on the ice, Lafleur and Gainey seemd to be on every 2nd shift. Savard and Gainey were both plugging up the crease on the pp, trying to keep Boston down low. Yeah,Lafleur was great,but I don't see him as having carried the team in the way that Chooch does. I thought Savard had one of his greatest games, I saw a team that just wouldn't lose, a team that had some great performances,but a team nonetheless. In my mind, the Richard game already mentionned stands out, or his cup winning goal with a gazillion stitches and a concussion. Of course, I didn't see them, but they stick out for me. How about Henri Richard, his team down 2-1 in game 7 [1971] ? He had created a controversy earlier in the series in a dispute with his coach after being benched and he tied and won the game in the 3rd period ? For trivia fans, Rejean Houle assisted on Henri's goal [winner] in 71, along with Lambert's in 79. For me, I 'd go with either Richard, Lafleur's was great, but I just saw the whole team storming the net. Maybe I don't rate that many individual performance by Lafleur that high because he was such a consistenly dominant offensive force for those 6 years, and for 99% of the time, his team was expected to win, which often lessened the drama.

 

[JimEIV]

Still the NHL record for points in a playoff game.

Patrik Sundstrom New Jersey Devils 8 points (3g 5a) vs the Washington Capitals 4/22/88 Round 2 Game 3
10 - 4 Win

 

[Claypool_*]

Recently:

J.S. Giguere in Game 1 against Detroit.

Dominik Hasek in the 98 Olympics

 

[jiggs 10]

Rocket Richard scoring in OT after being knocked unconsious and bleeding from the forehead is STILL one of my greatest memories (that I have read about) for clutch perfomances. I watched Sittler's 10-point night on HNiC, and it was against an inferior goalie (Dave Reece, I believe?) on a less-than-steller Bruins team. I have a tape showing 5 of the 6 goals, and let's just say if Cheevers or Gilbert had been in net, 4 of them would have been stopped. But still a great game by a very classy player.

Reggie Leach's 5 goals in a playoff game was pretty hot, too.

Mario getting 5 goals is ok, but nothing really special (beyond the usual accaim for scoring 5 goals). It wasn't in an important game, or dramatic.

 

[SChan*]

Still the NHL record for points in a playoff game.

Patrik Sundstrom New Jersey Devils 8 points (3g 5a) vs the Washington Capitals 4/22/88 Round 2 Game 3
10 - 4 Win

I didn't know that I guess he is the only swede being in the history book then

 

[Fish on The Sand]

Every single game that Christian Laflamme played was an absolutly stunning performance. I mean for the coach to not only not bench him, but refrain from taking out a hit on him proves that Laflamme must be something special in the bed.

 

[name]

There's a difference between 5-0 and 50-0.

Ah-men to that! The point made that goal differential could have been a factor was a good one and likely the reason for no let up.

Man, I know how I feel when I'm on the losing side of an 8-0 blowout, it's not good, so I can only imagine being on the losing end of a 72-1 blowout (or whatever it was). That's a little more than a goal per minute on average. Yikes.

Edited to account for my poor math.

 

[Lionel Hutz]

So you can remember what it's like to see him score? Karma is one funny animal.

He probably scored more that day than his entire NHL career.

Think of the irony, this thread was supposed to be a discussion of the best performances ever, and its sunk to a discussion of Antropov.

 

[KariyaIsGod*]

So you can remember what it's like to see him score? Karma is one funny animal.

lol, c'mon man... He doesn't suck that badly...

I've never heard of a 72 goal drubbing before and now that i have, I really want to see it. It's one of a kind. Plus there are probaby some beauty goals in there too.

 

[reptilian humanoids]

Still the NHL record for points in a playoff game.

Patrik Sundstrom New Jersey Devils 8 points (3g 5a) vs the Washington Capitals 4/22/88 Round 2 Game 3
10 - 4 Win

Lemieux tied that in 1989 or 1990 I think

 

[boredmale]

i would go with Sitler's 10 point game.

 

[Verbal Kint*]

From the Leafs' 99/00 yearbook...

WOW! Nik Antropov recorded 54 points (22 goals) while playing for Kazakhstan in the 1998 European Championships (Pool D), including 26 points (11 goals) in the 63-0 win over Iceland.

His quote was from '97, yours from '98.

 

[Vincent_TheGreat]

Erhhhh, Mario's 5 goals from 5 different ways?
Or his game coming off his cancer?
Or ven his comeback game against TO (1G, 3A I think).

Yeah how did the first 2 not come up, wow!

 

[loadie]

Sittler's 10 points. The man was simply unconcious against the Bruins.

 

[CRUNK JUICE]

How does that compare to Gretzky's 153 points in 51 games in '83?

Let's see here.... If Lemieux had kept that pace over 51 games (not saying he would have) he'd have had 230 points. I'd say it compares pretty favorably.


That said, I think it goes to Sittler hands down.

 

[CRUNK JUICE]

Is it just me or does anyone else think it's poor sportsmanship to run up a 63-0 or 72-1 score?

I mean once you get to 15 points what's the point of scoring more?

As for single performances, I'd venture to say a few of Giguere's games in the playoffs in '03 were outstanding.

First game vs. Detroit, 5 OT game vs. Dallas, games against Minnesota (skate save and diving stick save)... maybe not best performance by a goaltender ever, but definitely up there.

You're dead on. It shows a complete lack of respect for your opponent. There's just no excuse for that kind of thing.

 

[chooch*]

You're dead on. It shows a complete lack of respect for your opponent. There's just no excuse for that kind of thing.

maybe the over under was 65.

 

[Ogopogo*]

Let's see here.... If Lemieux had kept that pace over 51 games (not saying he would have) he'd have had 230 points. I'd say it compares pretty favorably.


That said, I think it goes to Sittler hands down.

That was my point. He could not have kept that pace for 51 games.

They were both great accomplishments.

 

[mcphee]

maybe the over under was 65.

Good line. Wish I'd thought of that one.

 

[albertGQ]

Let's see here.... If Lemieux had kept that pace over 51 games (not saying he would have) he'd have had 230 points. I'd say it compares pretty favorably.


That said, I think it goes to Sittler hands down.

Sergei Makarov once scored 7 points in one game for the Flames. If he kept that up for a whole season, he would've smashed Gretzky's single season points record with 574 points.

The point I was making is that Gretzky's 153 points in 51 games is more impressive because it was done over a stretch of 51 games versus 10. Thats over 5 times as many games.


Also, someone mentioned Tugnut's 73 save performance against the Bruins. It was in fact a 70 save performance. The Bruins had 73 shots and scored 3 in a 3-3 tie.

 

[stocker]

Sittler for sure.I was 15 years old sleeping over a friends house and we watched the game.Reese was the goalie that night.It was just one of those games that evrey player dreams about.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Sergei Makarov once scored 7 points in one game for the Flames. If he kept that up for a whole season, he would've smashed Gretzky's single season points record with 574 points.

The point I was making is that Gretzky's 153 points in 51 games is more impressive because it was done over a stretch of 51 games versus 10. Thats over 5 times as many games.


Also, someone mentioned Tugnut's 73 save performance against the Bruins. It was in fact a 70 save performance. The Bruins had 73 shots and scored 3 in a 3-3 tie.

mario scored 100 pts in 38 games in '95. how does that compare considering the lower scoring era?

 

[pei fan]

I'd have to say biggest performance while also being he most significant would be:

Messiers hatrick in the game he guaranteed in game 7 and ....

brace yourself Leafs fans

Gretzky's performance in game 7 taking them to the finals against Montreal !!!!

Gretzky has stated himself that it was the best game he ever played.
Basically,it was a hockey clinic.