Obscure hockey facts/stats

[The Panther]

Some Gretzky stats of interest, regarding his post-prime years:

Plus/Minus in his prime years (1979-80 to 1990-91)
+606 (1st NHL)
Plus/Minus after his prime years (1991-92 to 1998-99)
-86 (1534th NHL)

1991-92 season:
Gretzky's first 15 games
17 points (-8)
Gretzky's next 47 games
89 points (+3) -- This was 1st NHL in scoring

1992-93 season (actually only 1993, as Wayne was rushed back into action in January, from injury):
Game 3 through Game 18 (i.e. sixteen consecutive games)
Gretzky takes 42 shots on net, and fails to score on any of them. (He later scored 12 goals in the final 21 games, and then 15 in the playoffs.)

1993-94 season:
Gretzky's first 47 games
87 points (-6) -- This was 1st NHL in scoring
Gretzky's last 34 games
43 points (-19) -- This was 10th NHL in scoring

1996-97 season:
Gretzky's first 36 games
51 points -- This was 1st NHL in scoring, 1 point ahead of Jagr & Lemieux
Gretzky's last 46 games
46 points -- This was 25th NHL, behind Roenick and Yashin

1997-98 season:
Gretzky's first 38 games
31 points -- This was 32nd NHL in scoring, tied with Mark Messier (Canucks) and Jamie Langenbrunner
Gretzky's last 44 games
59 points -- This was 2nd NHL in scoring, 4 points behind Jaromir Jagr

 

[Chili]

Val Fonteyne

26 penalty minutes in 820 regular season games or the current equivalent of 1.3 minors per season.

Never had more then 4 penalty minutes in a regular season during his career.

Pittsburgh Penguins Legends: Val Fonteyne

 

[c9777666]

The only time the Red Wings did not win 40+ games in a non-strike season from 1992-2012 was the year they won the Stanley Cup.

 

[The Panther]

From 1956 to 1979 (24 seasons), Montreal won the Stanley Cup 63% of the time.

From 1967-68 through 1982-83, Montreal had sixteen .600+ winning seasons in a row.

 

[Iapyi]

In John Ferguson's first NHL game he got into a fight with Ted Green 12 seconds into the game and also scored 2 goals in the game.

 

[Rebels57]

John LeClair is the only American born NHL player to record 3 consecutive 50 goal seasons.

 

[BadgerBruce]

In John Ferguson's first NHL game he got into a fight with Ted Green 12 seconds into the game and also scored 2 goals in the game.

Oh, those two had some serious battles over the years. Derek Sanderson, who was very close with Greenie off the ice, claimed that his teammate was nearly inconsolable and would be down in the dumps for days on end if he believed Fergie had won one of their tilts. Of course, prior to ‘67 teams met 14 times per season, so nobody in the league who wanted a second kick at the can had to wait too long.

 

[alko]

David Koči had also interesting debut: First game, 3 fights, 32 PIM.

Overall, he played almost 600 professional games, scored 8 goals.

 

[The Panther]

downfall

[ doun-fawl ]
(noun) descent to a lower position or standing; overthrow; ruin.

From Jan. 4th 1988 to Jan. 8th 1989, Jimmy Carson scored 72 NHL goals in 87 NHL games. For the majority of that period, he was 19 years old. In the exact same time period, Wayne Gretzky scored 52 NHL goals in 82 games and Steve Yzerman had 58 NHL goals in 69 games.


Five years later, Carson was traded for Dixon Ward.

 

[The Panther]

From Jan. 27th 1986 through Feb. 14th 1986, Wayne Gretzky went 9 games without a goal for the first time in his career. He had 37 shots on goal on this period -- all stopped.

However, the Oilers were 5-2-2 in this stretch, and Gretzky had 24 assists.

(Following these 9 goal-less games, Gretzky then took 20 shots on goal in the next three games, scoring 4 times.)

 

[alko]

downfall

[ doun-fawl ]
(noun) descent to a lower position or standing; overthrow; ruin.

From Jan. 4th 1988 to Jan. 8th 1989, Jimmy Carson scored 72 NHL goals in 87 NHL games. For the majority of that period, he was 19 years old. In the exact same time period, Wayne Gretzky scored 52 NHL goals in 82 games and Steven Yzerman had 58 NHL goals in 69 games.


Five years later, Carson was traded for Dixon Ward.

Wow, that is something. Did have any teenager better numbers?

 

[The Panther]

Wow, that is something. Did have any teenager better numbers?

No! Carson scored more goals as a teen than any other NHLer in history.

Then, he was in the IHL by age 26-27. He was more into business investments and Fortune 500 than hockey.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Only one player has increased his scoring totals seven years in a row - Vic Stasiuk. (This is purely a "raw numbers" stat, not taking into account length of the schedule, number of games the player missed, scoring environment etc).

 

[Passchendaele]

Despite all the hate he gets, Phil Housley holds the WPG/AZ franchise record for assists (79) in a season.

 

[Vujtek]

*Some of the following may include delayed penalty situation points which would cancel them being 4-on-4 or 3-on-3 points*

4-on-4 points in the playoffs by some of the great players in the game:

10+13=23 Wayne Gretzky (includes a first period hat trick in 1985 Stanley Cup Final game)
6+9=15 Paul Coffey (includes three assists in the first period of a 1985 Stanley Cup Final game)
5+7=12 Jacques Lemaire
4+7=11 Mark Messier
4+7=11 Jari Kurri
6+4=10 Bobby Hull
4+5=9 Joe Sakic
3+6=9 Denis Savard
6+2=8 Glenn Anderson
3+5=8 Bryan Trottier
5+2=7 Mike Bossy
5+2=7 Larry Robinson
3+4=7 Bobby Clarke
2+5=7 Gordie Howe
2+5=7 Guy Lafleur
1+6=7 Ken Linseman
3+3=6 Peter Stastny
2+4=6 Henri Richard
1+5=6 Frank Mahovlich
4+1=5 Steve Yzerman
2+3=5 Peter Forsberg
1+4=5 Bobby Orr
1+4=5 Jaromir Jagr
0+5=5 Brett Hull
3+1=4 Adam Oates
3+1=4 Evgeni Malkin
1+3=4 Mario Lemieux
3+0=3 Maurice Richard
3+0=3 Jean Beliveau
2+1=3 Ray Bourque
1+2=3 Sidney Crosby
2+0=2 Stan Mikita
1+1=2 Phil Esposito
1+1=2 Steve Shutt
1+0=1 Yvan Cournoyer
1+0=1 Alexander Ovechkin
0+1=1 Doug Gilmour
0+1=1 Sergei Fedorov
0+1=1 Luc Robitaille

3-on-3 points in the playoffs by some of the great players in the game:

2+1=3 Wayne Gretzky
0+3=3 Bobby Orr
1+0=1 Mark Messier
0+1=1 Paul Coffey
(no other of the above mentioned had any 3-on-3 points)

-------

Gretzky sure dominated 4-on-4 on four hockey and to no surprise they did try to minimize those situations with the coincidental minor penalties rule change in 1985. It was pretty surprising to find out that Jacques Lemaire was also that productive in those situations, especially compared to his other legendary teammates from the 1970's Habs dynasty. Though Lafleur and Robinson put up great numbers too but Lemaire was a well above them in 4-on-4 points still.

Of the more current ones there (prime in 1990's or later), Sakic stands out well above rest in 4-on-4 production.

Orr had two of his 3-on-3 assists during same situation, with 9 seconds apart. Andre Savard got 1+1 in those goals as well.

 

[steve141]

Over the 7 first NHL seasons there were in total 31 shutouts in the league. Clint Benedict produced 19 of those (61%).

 

[Iapyi]

With 9 days left in the 58-59 season Toronto Maple Leafs were 7 points out of a playoff spot. Coach Punch Imlach boasted that not only would the Leafs make the playoffs but that they would get to the Stanley Cup Final.

The Rangers stumbled and the Leafs would win 4 straight games to move within one point on the final day of the season. The Rangers lost 4-2 to Montreal while Toronto beat Detroit 6-4.

The Leafs then beat Boston in the semis and made it to the finals.

 

[brachyrynchos]

Goaltender Glenn Healy had a strange summer back in 1993. Drafted one day, drafted again and traded the next. 4 teams in 3 days.
Isles GM traded fellow netminder Mark Fitzpatrick to Quebec for Ron Hextall, and with the expansion draft, teams could only protect one goalie, Maloney went with Hextall instead of Healy (really good in their playoff run). Anyway, The first day of Expansion (June 24th) the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim select Healy. On the 25th, Tampa Bay selects him in Phase 2 and trades him the same day to the NY Rangers for a 3rd.
Worked out well for Healy, he was a great backup to Richter and got his ring and name on the Cup a year later. (Rangers went thru the Isles in the 1st rd with Hextall in net).

 

[FerrisRox]

Rangers went thru the Isles in the 1st rd with Hextall in net.

Rangers outscored them 22 to 3 in that series.

 

[brachyrynchos]

Rangers outscored them 22 to 3 in that series.

Yeah, it wasn't close at all. Not sure if the Isles would have done any better with Healy but I'd like to think it wouldn't have been so bad.
Kinda strange how it worked out. Beezer traded to Canucks for Lidster, Florida selects both Beezer and Fitzpatrick who ended up being a pretty good tandem for the Panthers, Healy gets his cup. Supposedly Maloney was interested in getting Healy back from either Anaheim or Tampa and signing him but to no luck. Such poor decision making by the Isles, oh well.

 

[Iapyi]

The first ever father -son combination to be inducted into the HHOF was Oliver and Earl Seibert.

Oliver had some cool things going on :

- started as a goalie before moving to forward in his youth

- at one time played on a team composed entirely of members of his family

- one of the first Canadians to play on artificial ice

- fashioned his own pair of skates made by cutting blades out of a piece of solid steel fastening them to his shoes with screws

- first player from Berlin [renamed Kitchener] to turn pro

- had a race with a trotter which had a one mile record of 2:13. Wearing his old rocker skates he won a one mile match race over a course laid on the ice of the Grand River

- it was claimed he could skate backward as fast as forward

 

[Admiral Awesome]

Not sure if its been mentioned, but Dominik Hasek is the only goalie to have faced a penalty shot in 4 consecutive postseasons (vs. Sundin in ‘99, vs. Recchi in ‘00, vs. Desjardins in ‘00, vs. Straka in ‘01, and vs. Bertuzzi in ‘02.) Sundin is the only one who converted.

 

[plusandminus]

Peter Stastny's best scoring finishes in the Eastern conference:

1981 2 (109, Bossy 119)
1982 2 (139, Bossy 147)
1983 1 (124, 2nd Bossy 118)
1984 2 (119, Goulet 122, 3rd Bossy 118)
1985 4 (100, Bossy 117, Brent Sutter 102, Mike Gartner 102) Stastny just 14th overall
1986 3 (122, Mario 141, Bossy 123)
1987 13 (77 in 64gp, Mario 107, Goulet 96...)
1988 2 (111, Mario 168, 3rd Goulet 106)

I might have placed some team wrong, but think I got it right unless teams switched conference.

Western Conference players dominated the scoring, with strong teams like EDM, CGY...

And of course, Bossy would be interesting too.

 

[alko]

Oilers - Blackhawks played 4 playoffs series. All of them were in Conference finals. Oilers won 3 times, 2 times Stanley Cup. Blackhawks won 1 serie.

 

[The Panther]

Oilers - Blackhawks played 4 playoffs series. All of them were in Conference finals. Oilers won 3 times, 2 times Stanley Cup. Blackhawks won 1 serie.

Yep.

1983 seemed like it would be a good match after the Blackhawks had enjoyed that big breakout season... but the Oilers swept them away in four straight (before being swept themselves in the Finals).

1985 is probably the most memorable one in that it remains the highest-scoring series in the modern era. The Hawks rolled into Edmonton for game one, with goalie Murray Bannerman receiving all kinds of praise for shutting the door in the Norris. He had posted a .934 against the young-Yzerman Red Wings in round one, and while his stats weren't as good against Minnesota, he still was thought to be Chicago's best chance to advance... Until the Oilers completely destroyed him in game one. They scored 7 times in 28 shots (Bannerman with the .750) before being chased. They also got to him in game two, and everyone thought this was going to be another sweep. But back in Chicago the Hawks won both games, and it looked like this was going to be a see-saw... until the Oilers destroyed Bannerman again in games five and six, with Murray posting a .769 while allowing 18 goals in the final two matches. Two years later, his career was over. Jari Kurri scored 12 goals in this series.

In 1990 the teams were more evenly matched, and the Hawks led 2 to 1 before the Messier game in game four at the Stadium. Mess elbowed, skated, scored his way to victory and the Hawks never recovered.

1992 was the new-look, post-Dynasty Oilers who were not expected to get that far. They were really overwhelmed by a hot Chicago club that swept them out. Roenick was very studly in this series, with 8 points.


So, I'm excited to see these clubs meet again in the post-season! Unfortunately, this weekend's game starts at 4:00 a.m. my time....