25 Years Ago: Gretzky Scores 802, Breaking Gordie Howe's Goal Scoring Record

blogofmike

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Goal #800 was always one of my favourites, with the sneaky steal from Ozolinsh.
 

The Panther

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Mar 25, 2014
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Gretzky's 802 goal is such a weird one in his history. If you look back at many of his 'numbers' milestones, such as:
- first NHL goal
- breaks Orr's assists record, break Espo's point record
- 50-in-39
- breaks Espos's 76 goal record
- first player to 200 points
- 50-in-42 (in 1984)
- 1000 points
- 500 goals (autumn '86)
- breaks Howe's all-time assist record (1987-88)
- breaks Howe's all-time points record (Oct. 1989)
- 700 goals (Jan. 1991)

...they all have one thing in common, which is that the team he was playing for won the game and were in a generally 'good' situation when the record occurred (his 2000th point in Oct. 1990 is an exception in that L.A. lost 6-2 to Winnipeg that night, but the Kings were in the middle of 7-wins-in-8-games stretch at that moment).

The 801 goal was at least a big one in that it tied the game in the final minute, but the Kings' season was basically toast already by then. They then lost badly to Vancouver three nights later, in which game Gretzky scored the 802 goal.

The Kings missed the playoffs by 17 points, ten months after being in the Finals. Quite how they managed to do that is still a mystery, but perhaps Barry Melrose has the answer.
 

Ziggy Stardust

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Barry Melrose might be the answer. The Kings depth took a hit at both ends.

They traded McSorley for Shawn McEachern, yet used McEachern as a third line center because they had gotten rid of Corey Millen for nothing.

In the off-season their only other additions were John Druce and Doug Houda. Dave Taylor was winding down and eventually retired that season, so Druce filled his spot. The Kings also thought Brent Thompson might be able to replace McSorley’s vacant spot, but that didn’t happen.

Marty wasn’t working out in Pittsburgh, and Wayne and Barry Melrose wanted him back, so the Kings gave up two forwards in Tomas Sandstrom and Shawn McEachern (from an already depleted forward group), to bring back McSorley (and Jim Paek).

They later acquired Kevin Todd and also called up Brian McReynolds to fill in McEachern’s spot at center, and bumped up Mike Donnelly to play LW alongside Gretzky and Kurri, with Robert Lang centering Luc Robitaille and John Druce.

As you can see by the names listed, the Kings had some awful team depth in 93-94.
 

The Panther

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As you can see by the names listed, the Kings had some awful team depth in 93-94.
Yes, they did. And don't forget the previous season they'd traded Paul Coffey to get Jimmy Carson back. Just horrendous asset management.

The Kings had too many soft forwards and old, slow defencemen. Consequently, the Kings gave up a ridiculous number of shots on net every night -- to be specific, they allowed 500 more shots against their goaltenders than an average NHL team. That's nuts. Just by averages, it means L.A. was going to allow at least 50 more goals than an average team.

Why wasn't Robert Lang playing the full season that year?

Adding to Wayne's misery that season, the news of McNall's crimes were going public around the time of the breaking of Howe's goal record. After breaking that record on March 23rd, 1994, I really believe Wayne just mailed in the rest of the season. He dressed for only eight more games, scoring 1 more goal and going -8. He didn't even bother playing the final three games of the season, presumably secure that Fedorov couldn't catch him in the scoring race!

This kind of tells the story of Gretzky's 1993-94 season:

First 44 games (L.A.'s record was 18-22-4):
22G + 58A = 80PTS (-3)

Last 37 games (L.A's record was 8-22-7):
16G + 34A = 50PTS (-22)
 

thegoldenyear

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...After breaking that record on March 23rd, 1994, I really believe Wayne just mailed in the rest of the season. He dressed for only eight more games, scoring 1 more goal and going -8. He didn't even bother playing the final three games of the season, presumably secure that Fedorov couldn't catch him in the scoring race!

Didn't WG miss 1993-94's last three-and-change because one of Darryl or Darrin Shannon clipped him (leg injury) during G#81? Not sure which Shannon - per boxscores, both played that game - but it irritated me because another 40-goal season was reachable, even considering the post-802 slump*.

Yeah, spring '94 was a bittersweet time to be a Gretzky fan. Splitting my living arrangements between Vancouver and Toronto that season, I saw a handful of their games, and the spunk and spark of early LA Gretzky teams was gone. As he approached 800 my best friend and I took to watching at a local sports bar, but everything otherwise coolly historic was tempered by a fading recent Cup finalist in a <checks stats> 3-11-5 death spiral that left them six points behind San Jose for eighth after the March 23rd loss. We'd been sure the untested Sharks would fade...but they never did.

*EDIT: found something in the Winnipeg Free Press archives: "...Kings lost Wayne Gretzky with a strained left knee about halfway through the game, but Gretzky could play again before the season is over. After getting one assist yesterday, he holds a 12-point lead in the scoring race..."
 
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The Panther

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Didn't WG miss 1993-94's last three-and-change because one of Darryl or Darrin Shannon clipped him (leg injury) during G#81? Not sure which Shannon - per boxscores, both played that game - but it irritated me because another 40-goal season was reachable, even considering the post-802 slump*.

Yeah, spring '94 was a bittersweet time to be a Gretzky fan. Splitting my living arrangements between Vancouver and Toronto that season, I saw a handful of their games, and the spunk and spark of early LA Gretzky teams was gone. As he approached 800 my best friend and I took to watching at a local sports bar, but everything otherwise coolly historic was tempered by a fading recent Cup finalist in a <checks stats> 3-11-5 death spiral that left them six points behind San Jose for eighth after the March 23rd loss. We'd been sure the untested Sharks would fade...but they never did.

*EDIT: found something in the Winnipeg Free Press archives: "...Kings lost Wayne Gretzky with a strained left knee about halfway through the game, but Gretzky could play again before the season is over. After getting one assist yesterday, he holds a 12-point lead in the scoring race..."
Nice find. I didn't know that!
 

tony d

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I remember that, hard to believe it's been 25 yrs. already. Such a great milestone for The Great One. I think his 1993-1994 season was his last true great season.
 

VanIslander

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Gretzky was 33 years old when he broke that record.

Ovechkin is 33 years old now.

Three more 50-goal seasons to reach that number of goals, ...

FIVE more 50-goal seasons to pass Gretz's career total.
 

Ziggy Stardust

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More info on Gretzky's injury against the Jets in game #81.
Gretzky Down, Out and so Are the Kings : Pro hockey: Star center will miss at least one game after twisting left knee in awkward fall in 4-3 loss to Jets.
Gretzky injured his knee while killing off a penalty with the Jets holding a 3-2 lead. Moving laterally, he jumped to avoid a check and came down awkwardly and limped off the ice. Later, Gretzky said he stepped on the stick of Winnipeg's Darrin Shannon when he landed.

Immediately after the game, Gretzky said the knee was not swollen, but he was limping. But he did not rule out playing in the Kings' final two home games this week. Gretzky has points in 10 consecutive games.
 

Eisen

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Sep 30, 2009
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Gretzky's 802 goal is such a weird one in his history. If you look back at many of his 'numbers' milestones, such as:
- first NHL goal
- breaks Orr's assists record, break Espo's point record
- 50-in-39
- breaks Espos's 76 goal record
- first player to 200 points
- 50-in-42 (in 1984)
- 1000 points
- 500 goals (autumn '86)
- breaks Howe's all-time assist record (1987-88)
- breaks Howe's all-time points record (Oct. 1989)
- 700 goals (Jan. 1991)

...they all have one thing in common, which is that the team he was playing for won the game and were in a generally 'good' situation when the record occurred (his 2000th point in Oct. 1990 is an exception in that L.A. lost 6-2 to Winnipeg that night, but the Kings were in the middle of 7-wins-in-8-games stretch at that moment).

The 801 goal was at least a big one in that it tied the game in the final minute, but the Kings' season was basically toast already by then. They then lost badly to Vancouver three nights later, in which game Gretzky scored the 802 goal.

The Kings missed the playoffs by 17 points, ten months after being in the Finals. Quite how they managed to do that is still a mystery, but perhaps Barry Melrose has the answer.
Well, most of them are from the dynasty Oilers team. Of course the team was in a better situation then.
 

vadim sharifijanov

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i watched the 802 goal live. it was an afternoon weekend game iirc. i didn't even click on the video i can see it in my head: mcsorley with an unbelievable cross-ice pass (esp for marty mcsorley), kirk mclean wandering around his crease like a drunk person, gretzky skipping on the ice with his hands in the air.

what i don't remember is, was gordie in the building? i feel like once he was within range it took wayne a while to get to 802 and eventually gordie couldn't keep traveling with the kings and headed home. but an old memory...
 

Big Phil

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Nothing wrong with the 802 goal, but a couple things come to mind. The Kings were terrible by then so it is a little anti-climatic. Also, this goal wasn't the reason Gretzky was thought to be better than Howe. No doubt by 1994 people likely established this by then unlike in 1989 when he passed him in points. I feel that in 1989 it came down to basically saying "Okay, now we can start calling him the greatest............" where as 1994 we were doing that by then. I have no idea what McLean - a generally good goalie - was doing way out of position there. Great pass by Marty though, so that might be the reason but he really over committed to the shot.

Side note, a lot of Gretzky's milestone goals were into empty nets. This one sort of was. His 50-in-39 was. His 500th goal was and one of the goals to keep his 51 game point streak going quite deep into it was an empty net goal in Winnipeg with about 10 seconds left. The net Gretzky scored 802 on was on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame last week when I was there.
 

The Panther

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Yeah, the 802 goal was amazingly anti-climactic, or actually it was more like a non-event. Of course, I remember it and some cursory news coverage of it, but it wasn't a big deal. If anything, it was more like, "We knew that was going to happen for ages, so finally it did".

One annoying thing about some NHL arenas in that era -- including the Forum, where the Kings played, near the L.A. airport -- was the poor sight lines of the cameras. The Forum was not good in this area, as the distance from the ice always seemed too far on TV. It also always looked dark on the ice.
 

Ziggy Stardust

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Box score from Gretzky’s record breaking goal.


I recall Pavel Bure also scored his 50th goal into an empty net in the same game, and the Canucks cleared the bench to celebrate, mocking the Gretzky celebration. Classy gesture.
 
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kaiser matias

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Mar 22, 2004
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Gretzky's 802 goal is such a weird one in his history. If you look back at many of his 'numbers' milestones, such as:
- first NHL goal
- breaks Orr's assists record, break Espo's point record
- 50-in-39
- breaks Espos's 76 goal record
- first player to 200 points
- 50-in-42 (in 1984)
- 1000 points
- 500 goals (autumn '86)
- breaks Howe's all-time assist record (1987-88)
- breaks Howe's all-time points record (Oct. 1989)
- 700 goals (Jan. 1991)

...they all have one thing in common, which is that the team he was playing for won the game and were in a generally 'good' situation when the record occurred (his 2000th point in Oct. 1990 is an exception in that L.A. lost 6-2 to Winnipeg that night, but the Kings were in the middle of 7-wins-in-8-games stretch at that moment).

The 801 goal was at least a big one in that it tied the game in the final minute, but the Kings' season was basically toast already by then. They then lost badly to Vancouver three nights later, in which game Gretzky scored the 802 goal.

The Kings missed the playoffs by 17 points, ten months after being in the Finals. Quite how they managed to do that is still a mystery, but perhaps Barry Melrose has the answer.

Also something similar to many Gretzky milestones is that they were against the Canucks. His first goal, 100th, 200th, 802, several others, all against Vancouver. Though considering how he was in the same division for most of his career, and the Canucks were largely awful for that time doesn't make it too surprising.
 

ted2019

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Nothing wrong with the 802 goal, but a couple things come to mind. The Kings were terrible by then so it is a little anti-climatic. Also, this goal wasn't the reason Gretzky was thought to be better than Howe. No doubt by 1994 people likely established this by then unlike in 1989 when he passed him in points. I feel that in 1989 it came down to basically saying "Okay, now we can start calling him the greatest............" where as 1994 we were doing that by then. I have no idea what McLean - a generally good goalie - was doing way out of position there. Great pass by Marty though, so that might be the reason but he really over committed to the shot.

Side note, a lot of Gretzky's milestone goals were into empty nets. This one sort of was. His 50-in-39 was. His 500th goal was and one of the goals to keep his 51 game point streak going quite deep into it was an empty net goal in Winnipeg with about 10 seconds left. The net Gretzky scored 802 on was on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame last week when I was there.

The 50 in 39 games came against the Flyers. If I remember correctly, he had a 5 goal game that night.
 
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ted2019

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Gretzky was 33 years old when he broke that record.

Ovechkin is 33 years old now.

Three more 50-goal seasons to reach that number of goals, ...

FIVE more 50-goal seasons to pass Gretz's career total.

It's remarkable that Ovechkin keeps pilling in the goals like he is. It also helps to have a very underrated center in Nicklas Backstrom feeding him the puck and the incredible depth they have helps teams from just focusing on Ovechkin. I think Ovechkin can get to 800 goals, but he won't reach Gretzky.
 

kaiser matias

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Yep. Also, his 500th goal and his final hat-trick were against the Canucks.

I knew I was missing some more.

The goalie Gretzky scored the most goals against was Richard Brodeur (32), followed by Kirk McLean (28), both known for their time with the Canucks.
 

Big Phil

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Would it be fair to say that Gretzky breaking Howe's goals record was similar to Emmitt Smith breaking Walter Payton's rushing yards record? The reason I say this is that it was something we knew for a long time that would happen. I think the only difference is that with Emmitt even he will admit it didn't make him better than Payton and there was always that thing hanging over about Barry Sanders being a lock to break the record if he didn't retire early. With Gretzky I am pretty sure most people already had him ahead of Howe by 1994.
 

vadim sharifijanov

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Would it be fair to say that Gretzky breaking Howe's goals record was similar to Emmitt Smith breaking Walter Payton's rushing yards record? The reason I say this is that it was something we knew for a long time that would happen. I think the only difference is that with Emmitt even he will admit it didn't make him better than Payton and there was always that thing hanging over about Barry Sanders being a lock to break the record if he didn't retire early. With Gretzky I am pretty sure most people already had him ahead of Howe by 1994.

to me, it's like when steph curry eventually passes ray allen for most career 3 pointers. curry broke allen's single-season record in 2013, broke it again (this time by 17) in 2015, then eviscerated it in 2016 (by 133).

he broke allen's single-season record in 2013, broke it again (this time by 17) in 2015, then eviscerated it in 2016 (by 133). seven years later, he's broken it five times now, and the one year he didn't he finished only eight back. and he almost certainly would have broken it a sixth time if he hadn't missed 31 games last year (when he easily finished first in 3 pts/g).

he has five of the seven highest single-season totals ever, which would be six if not last year's injury. he is more than 4/5 of the way to passing allen in just over half the games played.

he's also seven away from passing him in all-time playoff 3 pointers.

the closest statistical thing i've ever seen to gretzky's destroying of what we thought was possible from season one to breaking the record in season two to destroying it in season three is steph curry's assault on the three point records from 2013 to 2016. it's a similar case of a generational talent clicking perfectly with a new era to completely and totally rewrite the record books. when he passes allen, which should happen in a season and a half, we might all yawn thinking that it had already happened.
 

WingsFan95

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While Howe's 801 were set in 1980, he set the career passing Richard's 544 in 1963. So technically speaking Howe was the goals leader for 31 years. That might stand ahead of Gretzky's depending on how long Ovechkin takes to beat his record.
 
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