The 30+ point month

[The Panther]

About five years ago, I made a thread about players' 30-point months in the NHL (regular season). We came up with lists of players/seasons where a player scored 30 points or more in a calendar month (that is, any month from October through March). Now that Hockey Ref. has this information more easily available back to October 1979, it seems I can list most of them here (along with goals/assists splits, and plus/minus) from then to now. Naturally, this feat was rare if not non-existent before expansion, and then much more frequent in the high-scoring era. And of course 30 points in 1982 isn't the same as in 2001 or whatever, but I think we can all keep things in context. Three guesses which player has the most 30+ point seasons...?? Now is a good time to update this, too, because a player achieved it last season for the first time in 16 seasons (17 years)!

I'll probably miss some, but I'll list as many as I can from my own search and from various posters' suggestions from the previous thread. (The parenthetical is games played, goals, assists, and plus/minus):

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - FROM OCTOBER 1967 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

1967-68 = No one (?)

31 Phil Esposito -- January 1969 (14GP: 9G, 22A +20)

1969-70 = No one (?)

31 Phil Esposito -- December 1970 (14GP: 19G, 12A +10)
31 Bobby Orr -- March 1971 (15GP: 8G, 23A +26)

1971-72 = No one (?)

32 Phil Esposito -- March 1973 (15GP: 15G, 17A +6)

1973-74 = No one (?)

30 Phil Esposito -- December 1974 (13GP: 15G, 16A +3)
35 Bobby Clarke -- March 1975 (15GP: 7G, 28A +24)
30 Rick MacLeish -- March 1975 (15GP: 13G, 17A +16)

1975-76 = No one (?)
1976-77 = No one (?)

31 Bryan Trottier -- November 1977 (15GP: 14G, 17A +18)
30 Guy Lafleur -- February 1978 (13GP: 9G, 21A +15)

36 Bryan Trottier -- December 1978 (14GP: 16G, 20A +26)

30 Wayne Gretzky -- March 1980 (13GP: 14G, 16A +8)

35 Wayne Gretzky -- January 1981 (14GP: 10G, 25A +11)
31 Kent Nilsson -- January 1981 (16GP: 10G, 21A +6)
30 Marcel Dionne -- January 1981 (15GP: 15G, 15A +5)
30 Wayne Gretzky -- February 1981 (14GP: 15G, 15A +14)
34 Wayne Gretzky -- March 1981 (14GP: 11G, 23A +14)

37 Wayne Gretzky -- November 1981 (13GP: 18G, 19A +19)
44 Wayne Gretzky -- December 1981 (14GP: 19G, 25A +12)
38 Wayne Gretzky -- January 1982 (15GP: 17G, 21A +14)
35 Wayne Gretzky -- February 1982 (11GP: 15G, 20A +20)
34 Mike Bossy -- February 1982 (14GP: 11G, 23A +21)
32 Bryan Trottier -- February 1982 (14GP: 17G, 15A +23)
30 Wayne Gretzky -- March 1982 (13GP: 10G, 20A +10)

35 Wayne Gretzky -- November 1982 (13GP: 12G, 23A +12)
32 Wayne Gretzky -- December 1982 (13GP: 10G, 22A +2)
36 Wayne Gretzky -- January 1983 (15GP: 14G, 22A +11)
36 Wayne Gretzky -- March 1983 (13GP: 15G, 21A +17)
31 Stan Smyl -- March 1983 (16GP: 10G, 21A +7)
30 Darcy Rota -- March 1983 (16GP: 15G, 15A +8)

49 Wayne Gretzky -- November 1983 (14GP: 17G, 32A +32)
36 Jari Kurri -- November 1983 (14GP: 16G, 20A +19)
37 Wayne Gretzky -- December 1983 (13GP: 12G, 25A +8)
30 Bryan Trottier -- December 1983 (14GP: 14G, 16A +22)
40 Wayne Gretzky -- January 1984 (13GP: 19G, 21A +22)

30 Wayne Gretzky -- October 1984 (10GP: 11G, 19A +26)
38 Wayne Gretzky -- November 1984 (14GP: 13G, 25A +17)
40 Wayne Gretzky -- December 1984 (12GP: 16G, 24A +21)
30 Jari Kurri -- December 1984 (12GP: 13G, 17A +22)
37 Wayne Gretzky -- January 1985 (15GP: 13G, 24A +18)

44 Wayne Gretzky -- December 1985 (14GP: 8G, 36A +16)
43 Wayne Gretzky -- January 1986 (15GP: 12G, 31A +10)
30 Mike Bossy -- January 1986 (13GP: 12G, 18A +9)
33 Wayne Gretzky -- February 1986 (11GP: 7G, 26A +13)
31 Mario Lemieux -- February 1986 (12GP: 13G, 18A -1)
37 Wayne Gretzky -- March 1986 (14GP: 6G, 31A +23)

33 Wayne Gretzky -- October 1986 (12GP: 11G, 22A +14)
36 Wayne Gretzky -- December 1986 (13GP: 18G, 18A +18)
35 Wayne Gretzky -- January 1987 (14GP: 10G, 25A +23)
32 Wayne Gretzky -- March 1987 (15GP: 7G, 25A +7)

34 Wayne Gretzky -- November 1987 (13GP: 11G, 23A +13)
32 Steve Yzerman -- December 1987 (15GP: 12G, 20A +12)
35 Mario Lemieux -- January 1988 (16GP: 17G, 18A +6)
38 Wayne Gretzky -- March 1988 (14GP: 5G, 33A +9)
36 Mario Lemieux -- March 1988 (14GP: 11G, 25A +9)
32 Hakan Loob -- March 1988 (14GP: 15G, 17A +16)

38 Mario Lemieux -- October 1988 (11GP: 16G, 22A +14)
31 Wayne Gretzky -- November 1988 (14GP: 10G, 21A +5)
30 Steve Yzerman -- November 1988 (13GP: 17G, 13A +15)
30 Bernie Nicholls -- November 1988 (14GP: 17G, 13A +17)
43 Mario Lemieux -- December 1988 (14GP: 19G, 24A +12)
33 Steve Yzerman -- December 1988 (14GP: 12G, 21A 0)
31 Wayne Gretzky -- December 1988 (13GP: 9G, 22A +10)
30 Bernie Nicholls -- December 1988 (14GP: 9G, 21A +7)
33 Mario Lemieux -- January 1989 (12GP: 11G, 22A +6)
30 Mario Lemieux -- March 1989 (13GP: 18G, 12A -1)

1989-90 = No one

30 Wayne Gretzky -- January 1991 (13GP: 10G, 20A +5)
30 Adam Oates -- January 1991 (13GP: 6G, 24A +7)
30 Brett Hull -- February 1991 (13GP: 17G, 13A, +4)
30 Wayne Gretzky -- February 1991 (14GP: 5G, 25A +9)
30 Adam Oates -- February 1991 (14GP: 7G, 23A -2)
33 Wayne Gretzky -- March 1991 (14GP: 4G, 29A +8)

37 Mario Lemieux -- December 1991 (14GP: 11G, 26A +6)
36 Pat Lafontaine -- January 1992 (14GP: 19G, 17A +6)
31 Luc Robitaille -- February 1992 (15GP: 16G, 15A +3
30 Wayne Gretzky -- February 1992 (14GP: 8G, 22A +6)
36 Mario Lemieux -- March 1992 (13GP: 12G, 24A +9)

36 Mario Lemieux -- October 1992 (11GP: 16G, 20A +8)
30 Pat Lafontaine -- October 1992 (11GP: 10G, 20A, +4)
36 Mario Lemieux -- December 1992 (12GP: 8G, 28A +11)
37 Mario Lemieux -- March 1993 (13GP: 18G, 19A +12)

30 Pavel Bure -- March 1994 (16GP: 19G, 11A +5)

1995 work-stoppage season = No one

32 Mario Lemieux -- November 1995 (11GP: 13G, 19A +7)
30 Jaromir Jagr -- November 1995 (14GP: 13G, 17A, +14)
34 Mario Lemieux -- December 1995 (14GP: 12G, 22A +5)
32 Jaromir Jagr -- December 1995 (14GP: 13G, 19A, +6)

1996-97 = No one

- - - - - - - - - - - - - DEAD PUCK ERA, from OCTOBER 1997 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

1997-98 = No one
1998-99 = No one
1999-00 = No one

31 Jaromir Jagr -- March 2001 (15GP: 15G, 16A +7)

2001-02 through 2017-18 (16 seasons) = No one

30 Nikita Kucherov -- December 2018 (14GP: 9G, 21A +7)



NOTES:
-- Wayne Gretzky scored 30+ points in one month an unfathomable 36 times. (He is the only player I can find who did this in 1979-80, but that seems unlikely. He is certainly the only player to do it in 1986-87, and he did it four times!)
-- Gretzky and Mario Lemieux are (not surprisingly) the only players since 1979 to scored 40+ points in one month -- Gretzky six times, Lemieux once.
-- Besides Gretzky and Lemieux, Jari Kurri & Pat Lafontaine (each with 36, once each) are the only players to score 35+ points in one month since October 1979.
-- Gretzky scored a staggering, all-time record 49 points in November 1983... while going +32 that same month.
-- Speaking of plus/minus, Mario (twice) and Adam Oates are the only players to achieve the rather unique feat of scoring 30+ points in one month while being a 'minus' at even-strength.
-- Stan Smyl & Darci Rota in 1982-83 must be the most stunning and surprising names on this list.
-- Marcel Dionne missed doing this (again) by one point in 1983-84 and again by one point in 1984-85.
-- Jari Kurri missed by just one point, in December 1985, doing this for a third time.
-- Likewise, Paul Coffey missed by one point in December 1985.
-- Kevin Stevens missed by one point in October 1992.
-- Sergei Fedorov missed by one point in December 1993.
-- By the way, when Teemu Selanne scored his record 20 goals in a calendar month (in 14 games in March 1993), he picked up "only" 7 assists, for 27 points (prior to that, in January 1993, he'd also had 27 points in one month).
-- It's interesting that nobody, as far as I know, scored 30+ points in a month during 1989-90, the only season from 1979 (or earlier) through 1993-94 when this never occurred.
-- Players who have never done this: Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, Peter Stastny, Denis Savard, Dale Hawerchuk, Doug Gilmour, Joe Sakic, Alex Mogilny, Sergei Fedorov, Joe Thornton, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Connor McDavid


Unless someone can correct me, the 30-point month has occurred only twice in the past 23 (almost 24) years, once by Jagr at the height of the DPE, and last season by Kucherov... Which makes me think that since it's obviously too difficult for modern-era players to score 30+ points in one month, maybe somebody should do a separate list of 25+ point months from 1997 forward. What do you think? For example, while Crosby has never had a 30-point month, he has had three 25+ point months.

Again, I've likely still missed a few during this era, and I'm not even bothering to try with the 1978-79 or earlier period. But if you know any for certain, tell me, and I'll keep updating this list. For example, Bobby Orr is a possibility in a couple seasons, and I'm sure Phil Esposito did it at least a few times. Possibly Guy Lafleur, etc.

Click to read more...

 

[GlitchMarner]

Smyl and Rota really stick out here.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

if you count by 30/31 day stretches instead of non-calendar months, two really close calls between jagr and kuch—

spring 2002, bertuzzi scored 31 points in 32 days, between 3/10 to 4/11 or 3/12 to 4/13. 14 goals, 17 assists in 16 games.

winter 2009-10, henrik sedin scored 30 points in 33 days, between 12/22 to 1/23. 8 goals, 22 assists in 15 games. if he didn’t go three days between games for xmas break, he might have done it.

edit: thornton put up 30 in 31 days to snake the art ross from jagr. managed to squeeze 18 games in though.

 

[82Ninety42011]

Shocked to read Steamer and Rota on that list. 99 owning it doesn't surprise me though guy was a machine for points. He doesn't hurt back can't imagine how much more he would of accomplished !!

 

[VanIslander]

-- Stan Smyl & Darci Rota in 1982-83 must be the most stunning and surprising names on this list.

Not really.

But I'm a Canucks fan, a B.C. boy, and I was in secondary school at the time.

 

[bobbyking]

49 points in a month ..........

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

i’m just trying to remember the most iconic recent stretches of unconscious hot scoring tears.

in the two obvious stretches (2007 season and 2011 pre-steckel) crosby came close but never had a 30/31 day run where he hit 30.

mcdavid came close at the end of the 2017 season and at the end of this last season. he did have a legit 31 in 31 in the stretch run of 2018 to catch kuch and malkin to take the title. that boy loves a scoring race.

 

[brachyrynchos]

Coffey came close a few times, not just in 12/86 29 pts, but he had 28 points in a month two other times, 3/84 and 2/90.
I checked a few other players who all ended up falling short.
Lindros :3/95 15-11-16-27
Rob Brown: 11/88 27 points (13-13-14-27)
Brian Leetch: 12/91 25 points
Ovechkin has had 26 in a month twice, 3/08 and 1/10.
Kevin Stevens came real close over the course of a year, 11/92 28pts, 12/92 27 points, 3/93 27 points, his October '93 27 points.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Smyl and Rota really stick out here.

before my time but on march 1, 1983, gradin, smyl, and rota were 51st, 55th, and 76th in scoring.

the canucks were last in the smythe division, one point behind LA.

gradin was -28, smyl was -17. rota was +4, spending most of the year on a line with ivan boldirev. gradin and smyl’s longtime linemate curt fraser was traded mid-year and it took a while for them to find a regular LW but they caught fire when rota joined that line for the last month. the team went 9-3-4 and outscored its opposition by 25 goals.

by the end of the year, the canucks had climbed to the third seed in the division, smyl was 20th in points, gradin was 21st, rota was 28th.

their +/- had jumped to -17, -9, and +13, respectively.

 

[VanIslander]

Vadim, ...

It was all because the Canucks - struggling with expectations after the Cup run - acquired young offensive dynamo Toni Tanti mid-season, shipping out rugged Curt Fraser, juggling the lines and setting up Tanti to go on to break Canuck goal scoring records as a multiple 40+ goal scorer.

 

[The Panther]

49 points in a month ..........

What knocks me out there is that Wayne went +32 during that one month.

Someone should tell Bill Mikkelson.

 

[reckoning]

I could only find one for the 78-79 season, but it looks like one of the better ones:

Dec. '78
36 - Bryan Trottier: 14GP, 16G, 20A, +26

 

[VanIslander]

HHOFer Harry "Moose" Watson scored 36 goals in the 1924 Olympics.

Just sayin'.

 

[Staniowski]

I think Esposito did it 4 times.
Jan. '69
Dec '70
Mar. '73
Dec. '74

I think Orr did it 1 time.
Mar. '71

 

[The Panther]

I could only find one for the 78-79 season, but it looks like one of the better ones:

Dec. '78
36 - Bryan Trottier: 14GP, 16G, 20A, +26

Nice one! I added it. (I figured Trottier must have one from 1978-79.)

 

[Vujtek]

It's missing few entries:

Håkan Loob, 32 points (14 GP 15+17) in March 1988.
Mario Lemieux, 31 points (12 GP 13+18) in February 1986.

The ones missing prior to 1979-80 season are:

Bobby Clarke, 35 points (15 GP 7+28) in March 1975.
Phil Esposito, 32 points (15 GP 15+17) in March 1973.
Phil Esposito, 31 points (14 GP 9+22) in January 1969.
Phil Esposito, 31 points (14 GP 19+12) in December 1970.
Bryan Trottier, 31 points (15 GP 14+17) in November 1977.
Phil Esposito, 30 points (13 GP 14+16) December 1974.
Guy Lafleur, 30 points (13 GP 9+21) February 1978.

 

[The Panther]

I think Esposito did it 4 times.
Jan. '69
Dec '70
Mar. '73
Dec. '74

I think Orr did it 1 time.
Mar. '71

Correct on all! (I checked.) They're added to the list!

 

[The Panther]

It's missing few entries:

Håkan Loob, 32 points (14 GP 15+17) in March 1988.
Mario Lemieux, 31 points (12 GP 13+18) in February 1986.

The ones missing prior to 1979-80 season are:

Bobby Clarke, 35 points (15 GP 7+28) in March 1975.
Phil Esposito, 32 points (15 GP 15+17) in March 1973.
Phil Esposito, 31 points (14 GP 9+22) in January 1969.
Phil Esposito, 31 points (14 GP 19+12) in December 1970.
Bryan Trottier, 31 points (15 GP 14+17) in November 1977.
Phil Esposito, 30 points (13 GP 14+16) December 1974.
Guy Lafleur, 30 points (13 GP 9+21) February 1978.

Thanks, that's awesome work. I added all of these, and in fact Rick MacLeish (Flyers) also did it the same month Bobby Clarke did (the Flyers were on a hot streak at the time).

Hakan Loob surprises me. I mean, he had a great season, but with 106 points you don't expect 32 of them to be concentrated in one month!

 

[mrhockey193195]

Darcy Rota being on this list is one of the few new pieces of hockey information I have learned that made my jaw drop. Great find!

 

[wetcoast]

Smyl and Rota really stick out here.

That was my first thought as well.

Like they really really stand out and I love Steamer.

They stand out in the same way that Grant Mulvey had a 5 goal game.

Or Sam Gagner having an 8 point game.

 

[Vujtek]

Unless someone can correct me, the 30-point month has occurred only twice in the past 23 (almost 24) years, once by Jagr at the height of the DPE, and last season by Kucherov... Which makes me think that since it's obviously too difficult for modern-era players to score 30+ points in one month, maybe somebody should do a separate list of 25+ point months from 1997 forward. What do you think? For example, while Crosby has never had a 30-point month, he has had three 25+ point months.

Here's all the 25+ point months since 1997-98 season:

31 points (15 GP 15+16) Jaromir Jagr, March 2001

30 points (14 GP 9+21) Nikita Kucherov, December 2018

28 points (14 GP 12+16) Mario Lemieux, March 2001
28 points (16 GP 13+15) Connor McDavid, March 2018

27 points (15 GP 9+18) Jaromir Jagr, March 1999
27 points (14 GP 7+20) Connor McDavid, March 2019

26 points (13 GP 8+18) Jaromir Jagr, January 1999
26 points (13 GP 15+11) Joe Sakic, March 2000
26 points (14 GP 13+13) Ilya Kovalchuk, November 2005
26 points (16 GP 12+14) Jaromir Jagr, March 2006
26 points (16 GP 8+18) Daniel Briere, March 2006
26 points (14 GP 10+16) Jarome Iginla, December 2006
26 points (14 GP 7+19) Sidney Crosby, December 2006
26 points (14 GP 9+17) Evgeni Malkin, February 2008
26 points (14 GP 14+12) Alexander Ovechkin, March 2008
26 points (15 GP 9+17) Alexander Ovechkin, January 2009
26 points (14 GP 12+14) Sidney Crosby, November 2010
26 points (15 GP 10+16) Brad Marchand, March 2018
26 points (14 GP 11+15) Johnny Gaudreau, December 2018

25 points (13 GP 12+13) Teemu Selänne, February 1999
25 points (14 GP 11+14) Jaromir Jagr, December 1999
25 points (14 GP 14+11) Mario Lemieux, January 2001
25 points (14 GP 6+19) Jaromir Jagr, January 2001
25 points (15 GP 10+15) Patrik Elias, March 2001
25 points (15 GP 9+16) Petr Sykora, March 2001
25 points (15 GP 8+17) Marc Savard, December 2003
25 points (16 GP 13+12) Martin St.Louis, January 2004
25 points (12 GP 13+12) Daniel Alfredsson, November 2005
25 points (11 GP 13+12) Henrik Zetterberg, February 2007
25 points (14 GP 9+16) Vincent Lecavalier, November, 2007
25 points (14 GP 11+14) Alexander Ovechkin, November 2008
25 points (14 GP 10+15) Jason Spezza, December 2007
25 points (15 GP 5+20) Henrik Sedin, December 2009
25 points (13 GP 6+19) Henrik Sedin, January 2010
25 points (15 GP 6+19) Sidney Crosby, March 2013
25 points (15 GP 4+21) Evgeni Malkin, November 2013
25 points (16 GP 8+17) Artemi Panarin, March 2018
25 points (15 GP 8+17) Nikita Kucherov, February 2019

As you said it's pretty tough task for modern players to hit 30 points during a calendar month. Even 25 points in a calendar month is hard to achieve these days. The time between 2010-17 was especially quiet time for such occurerrences as it happened only four times during that (twice by Crosby, once by H.Sedin and Malkin). Last two years have seen more and more of them so maybe they'll become more common again, we shall see.

So hitting 25 points is a tall task these days and there aren't many who've comfortably (27 or more points) exceeded that limit since 1997-98 season. The last two March's have thus been extraordinary by McDavid (as was obviously Kucherov's December last season too).

Here's the rundown of who've done 25+ point months since 1997-98 season and for how many times:

6 Jaromir Jagr
3 Sidney Crosby
3 Alexander Ovechkin
2 Nikita Kucherov
2 Mario Lemieux
2 Evgeni Malkin
2 Connor McDavid
2 Henrik Sedin
1 Joe Sakic, Ilya Kovalchuk, Daniel Briere, Jarome Iginla, Brad Marchand, Johnny Gaudreau, Teemu Selänne, Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora, Marc Savard, Martin St.Louis, Daniel Alfredsson, Henrik Zetterberg, Vincent Lecavalier, Jason Spezza and Artemi Panarin.

By the way here's all the 25+ point months during O6-era (between 1942-43 and 1966-67 seasons):

29 points (15 GP 14+15) Bobby Hull, December 1964
26 points (14 GP 14+12) Bernie Geoffrion, December 1960
26 points (14 GP 13+13) Bobby Hull, December 1965
25 points (12 GP 8+17) Dickie Moore, February 1959
25 points (13 GP 14+11) Bobby Hull, February 1962

Weren't a regular occurrence back then.

 

[tony d]

Thanks for posting this. Lemieux's 1992-1993 season was super. Amazing to see 3 30 pt. months in 1 season from Super Mario.

 

[The Panther]

Here's all the 25+ point months since 1997-98 season:

31 points (15 GP 15+16) Jaromir Jagr, March 2001

30 points (14 GP 9+21) Nikita Kucherov, December 2018

28 points (14 GP 12+16) Mario Lemieux, March 2001
28 points (16 GP 13+15) Connor McDavid, March 2018

27 points (15 GP 9+18) Jaromir Jagr, March 1999
27 points (14 GP 7+20) Connor McDavid, March 2019

26 points (13 GP 8+18) Jaromir Jagr, January 1999
26 points (13 GP 15+11) Joe Sakic, March 2000
26 points (14 GP 13+13) Ilya Kovalchuk, November 2005
26 points (16 GP 12+14) Jaromir Jagr, March 2006
26 points (16 GP 8+18) Daniel Briere, March 2006
26 points (14 GP 10+16) Jarome Iginla, December 2006
26 points (14 GP 7+19) Sidney Crosby, December 2006
26 points (14 GP 9+17) Evgeni Malkin, February 2008
26 points (14 GP 14+12) Alexander Ovechkin, March 2008
26 points (15 GP 9+17) Alexander Ovechkin, January 2009
26 points (14 GP 12+14) Sidney Crosby, November 2010
26 points (15 GP 10+16) Brad Marchand, March 2018
26 points (14 GP 11+15) Johnny Gaudreau, December 2018

25 points (13 GP 12+13) Teemu Selänne, February 1999
25 points (14 GP 11+14) Jaromir Jagr, December 1999
25 points (14 GP 14+11) Mario Lemieux, January 2001
25 points (14 GP 6+19) Jaromir Jagr, January 2001
25 points (15 GP 10+15) Patrik Elias, March 2001
25 points (15 GP 9+16) Petr Sykora, March 2001
25 points (15 GP 8+17) Marc Savard, December 2003
25 points (16 GP 13+12) Martin St.Louis, January 2004
25 points (12 GP 13+12) Daniel Alfredsson, November 2005
25 points (11 GP 13+12) Henrik Zetterberg, February 2007
25 points (14 GP 9+16) Vincent Lecavalier, November, 2007
25 points (14 GP 11+14) Alexander Ovechkin, November 2008
25 points (14 GP 10+15) Jason Spezza, December 2007
25 points (15 GP 5+20) Henrik Sedin, December 2009
25 points (13 GP 6+19) Henrik Sedin, January 2010
25 points (15 GP 6+19) Sidney Crosby, March 2013
25 points (15 GP 4+21) Evgeni Malkin, November 2013
25 points (16 GP 8+17) Artemi Panarin, March 2018
25 points (15 GP 8+17) Nikita Kucherov, February 2019

As you said it's pretty tough task for modern players to hit 30 points during a calendar month. Even 25 points in a calendar month is hard to achieve these days. The time between 2010-17 was especially quiet time for such occurerrences as it happened only four times during that (twice by Crosby, once by H.Sedin and Malkin). Last two years have seen more and more of them so maybe they'll become more common again, we shall see.

So hitting 25 points is a tall task these days and there aren't many who've comfortably (27 or more points) exceeded that limit since 1997-98 season. The last two March's have thus been extraordinary by McDavid (as was obviously Kucherov's December last season too).

Here's the rundown of who've done 25+ point months since 1997-98 season and for how many times:

6 Jaromir Jagr
3 Sidney Crosby
3 Alexander Ovechkin
2 Nikita Kucherov
2 Mario Lemieux
2 Evgeni Malkin
2 Connor McDavid
2 Henrik Sedin
1 Joe Sakic, Ilya Kovalchuk, Daniel Briere, Jarome Iginla, Brad Marchand, Johnny Gaudreau, Teemu Selänne, Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora, Marc Savard, Martin St.Louis, Daniel Alfredsson, Henrik Zetterberg, Vincent Lecavalier, Jason Spezza and Artemi Panarin.

By the way here's all the 25+ point months during O6-era (between 1942-43 and 1966-67 seasons):

29 points (15 GP 14+15) Bobby Hull, December 1964
26 points (14 GP 14+12) Bernie Geoffrion, December 1960
26 points (14 GP 13+13) Bobby Hull, December 1965
25 points (12 GP 8+17) Dickie Moore, February 1959
25 points (13 GP 14+11) Bobby Hull, February 1962

Weren't a regular occurrence back then.

What a great post! Nicely done.

 

[reckoning]

If you wanted to include both regular season and playoff games in April, there'd be four more entries:

30 - Wayne Gretzky ('81): 12GP, 9G, 21A, +18
35 - Wayne Gretzky ('83): 12GP, 13G, 22A, +27
32 - Rick Middleton ('83): 16GP, 10G, 22A, +17
30- Barry Pederson ('83): 16GP, 13G, 17A, +13

 

[The Panther]

If you wanted to include both regular season and playoff games in April, there'd be four more entries:

30 - Wayne Gretzky ('81): 12GP, 9G, 21A, +18
35 - Wayne Gretzky ('83): 12GP, 13G, 22A, +27
32 - Rick Middleton ('83): 16GP, 10G, 22A, +17
30- Barry Pederson ('83): 16GP, 13G, 17A, +13

If you're correct, it's odd that those four are all within a three-season period (and three in '83 alone).

I wasn't interested in doing playoffs, since it starts getting weird with numbers of games played. As in, the top players/teams are actually disadvantaged because they play fewer games.

Just quickly, though, here are the number of points Wayne Gretzky put up in April's and May's (and one June!) throughout his career (I won't bother unless he went two rounds of playoffs at least):

1981
April
30 -- 12GP: 9G, 21A +18
1983
April
35 -- 12GP: 13G, 22A +27
May
9 -- 6GP: 1G, 8A -2
1984
April
27 -- 13GP: 9G, 18A +14
May
8 -- 6GP: 4G, 4A +4
1985
April
26 -- 10GP: 10G, 16A +16
May
29 -- 11GP: 11G, 18A +15
1986
April
25 -- 13GP: 9G, 16A +1
1987
April
22 -- 10GP: 4G, 18A +5
May
13 -- 12GP: 2G, 11A +3
1988
April
21 -- 11GP: 5G, 16A +8
May
26 -- 10GP: 7G, 19A +5
1989
April
25 -- 12GP: 5G, 20A -3
1990
April
10 -- 7GP: 3G, 7A -4
1991
April
15 -- 12GP: 4G, 11A (even)
1993
April
18 -- 13GP: 4G, 14A +3
May
23 -- 13GP: 11G, 12A +2
June
7 -- 5GP: 2G, 5A +1
1996
April
11 -- 9GP: 1G, 10A +3
May
7 -- 7GP: 2G, 5A -4
1997
April
12 -- 11GP: 6G, 6A -4
May
14 -- 10GP: 6G, 8A +2