Wayne Gretzky was off and flying in the 1981/82 season. He'd gotten 164 points the previous season, and was just 20 years old. What a season he would have!
After 39 games he had 50 goals, the last five coming in an 8-5 victory over the Flyers in game 39!
After 64 games, he had 79 goals; the last three coming in a 6-3 win over the Sabers.
Gretzky kept right on going. With three goals in the next two games, it was now 82 goals in 66 games. That’s 1.24… goals per game. Continue that pace for the next 14 games and you’re at 99.39…goals in one season. So close to 100, eh?
But here is what happened next, and for the rest of the season:
Game 67 (Enters with 82 goals and 99 assists!) at Montreal. The Habs, seeking revenge for last year's playoffs, hold Gretzky to 2 assists in the first two periods and nothing at all in the third. 3-3 tie that sees the Habs honour Gretzky as The Rocket himself presents Gretzky with a trophy (A fishermen and paddle, remember?). The Oilers swarm all over Rick Wamsley at one point and, FAIL TO SCORE!
Game 68 (82 goals, 101 assists coming in) @ Quebec. Carbon copy of previous game, 2 assists, NO goals. 6-4 for the Nords. Quebec once had an NHL team??? You know, they CAN get another. Let’s all keep are hockey sticks crossed.
Game 69 (82 goals, 103 assists coming in) at Colorado. That's Colorado Rockies, not Avalanche. Wayne's old buddy Chico Resch does him and the rest of the Oilers in by holding the Oil to just two goals (5 for Col, btw) and NO points for Wayne. 5-2 final for Colorado.
Game 70 (82 goals, 103 assists coming in) at LA. Wayne must not have liked LA, THEN! And in a preview of what will soon transpire in the playoffs, it’s 3-0 Kings after two before finally the Oilers make a game of it. The Oilers get two goals (two assists from Wayne), but it's the Oilers THIRD straight loss! 3-2 final.
Game 71 (82 goals, 105 assists coming in) vs. Buffalo. Don Edwards (The victim of goals 77, 78, 79) gets a chance at redemption and takes it! 44 shots against him, but just two goals for the Oilers. No points for Gretzky and another loss for Edmonton! A low scoring affair by those days’ standards. In addition to just two tallies for the Oilers, The Sabers get just 3. For those who enjoy extra curricular activities in hockey, this one was a fight filled game! Another 3-2 loss.
Game 72 (82 goals, 105 assists coming in) vs. Vancouver. At last, a win. No goals though for Gretzky. Another fight-filled game that not only has blood, but something else red. But also Ketchup himself! Yep, that’s Steven Heinz in net for 'Nucks. Grand total of 23 shots for the Oilers, but Steven can’t CATCH UP to 5 of them! Gretzky does get 3 assists. Vancouver makes a game of it, however, by popping in 3 themselves. Vancouver gets 39 shots as Grant Fuhr continues to impress in the Oiler net.
Game 73 (82 goals, 108 assists coming in) vs. Los Angeles comes to Edmonton to invite Wayne to play for their team someday. Marcel Dionne’s career can be summed up by this game. He gets a goal early in the first, early in the second, and then the rest of the game overshadows his efforts. By the way, Dionne has 45 goals himself at this point. Gretzky gets an even strength marker at 15:55 to pull the Oilers to within a goal, but then Pat Hughes takes a penalty and the Oilers try to make it out of the period down just one.
Gretzky though, makes sure they head for the dressing room tied by potting a short handed tally at 17:54.
Rick Fox and Mark Messier (Up to 44 goals himself) trade tallies in the third, and the game ends 3-3. Good game for Mario Lassard, as he stops 34 of 37 Oiler shots.
Game 74 (84 goals, 108 assists coming in) vs. Pittsburgh. Legend has it that someone came to this game with a crystal ball and said, “Not tonight, but someday, I see someone called Mario, someone called Jaromir, someone called Ron, and later still, someone called Sid, someone called Evgeni, someone called Jordan, ALL playing for the Pens someday.”
Alas, SOMEDAY was NOT this day! The best the Pens could do with was Dionne. No, not Marcel, but rather Dion (as in Michel Dion) in net. 42 shots for each team. The difference was that 10 of them were goals for the Oilers and just 3 went in for Pitt. Chalk up 3 goals and two assists for Wayne.
Game 75 (87 goals, 110 assists coming in) vs. Calgary. Things looked bleak for the Oilers, as it was 3-1 with less than 7 ½ minutes remaining. But then an assist for Wayne on Messier’s PP goal and Gretzky’s 88th twenty-three seconds later made it a 3-3 final. No overtime or shootouts back then, SORRY!
Game 76 (88 goals 111 assists coming in) at Calgary. 7,234 who came ALL felt warm at the end of the game. Not from Calgary, but rather Edmonton. By the time Calgary netted their second (and final) goal of the night, the Oilers had FOUR courtesy of 2 goals and 2 assists by Gretzky. Mercifully, he would be held off the score sheet the rest of the way! 7-2 Edmonton.
Game 77 (90 goals 113 assists coming in) at Colorado. Mile high, but mild shot totals for both teams, and scoring galore! That’s the way to describe it. Gretzky is in on half of Edmonton’s goals (1G, 2A), but Colorado scores six themselves and we have another tie.
Game 78 (91 goals, 115 assists coming in) at LA. The Oiler’s don’t get ahead 5-0. They get ahead only 4-0 before the Kings get one by future NHL exec Mike Murphy. Messier makes it 5-1 by the end of 2. It is then that #92 is scored. A buck fifty in, Gretzky scores from Anderson for his LAST regular season goal of 81/82. The game ends, 6-2 Edmonton, with Gretzky getting an earlier assist.
Game 79 (92 goals, 116 assists coming in) vs. LA. The Oilers run up the score again. And this time, the Kings have had enough. Penalties! 165 minutes. 20 seconds left in the 1st, and almost nobody made it to the dressing room. The second period is tamer, but Fogolin is so incensed that he doesn’t make it to 0:01 of the third as he get ejected for fighting!
As for the scoring. It was 3-1 Kings. Then, all Edmonton the rest of the way! 1:31 seconds before all that first period mayhem, Gretzky picks up an assist. He had plenty more of those!
The third period saw some Oiler penalties and a whole lot of Oiler goals. Five to be exact! Gretzky got the assist on Hunter’s 16th, and with time winding down (23 seconds to go), Gretzky and Anderson again are involved in a 50th goal. That of Mark Messier. As before, their celebration costs the Oilers. Bruce Hood calls the Oilers bench for a minor, just like when the Oilers bench got 2 for Gretzky’s 50th that season! Finally, the game ends!
Game 80 (92 goals, 119 assists) vs. Winnipeg. Exactly halfway through the first period, Gretzky and Anderson set up Kurri’s 32 goal (Only 32?) and final goal of the year. No more scoring from the Oilers, who had just scored their second goal of the game. A tally by Winny makes it closer in the third, but the Oilers hang on for a 2-1 win.
The information used herein was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by The Hockey Summary Project. For more information about the Hockey Summary Project please visit:
http://hsp.flyershistory.com
or
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/hockey_summary_project/
Hockey Fights, Stats, Reviews and Trading. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. <http://www.http://dropyourgloves.com/>
Hockey Summary Project. 10 Jan. 2001. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. <http://hsp.flyershistory.com>
After 39 games he had 50 goals, the last five coming in an 8-5 victory over the Flyers in game 39!
After 64 games, he had 79 goals; the last three coming in a 6-3 win over the Sabers.
Gretzky kept right on going. With three goals in the next two games, it was now 82 goals in 66 games. That’s 1.24… goals per game. Continue that pace for the next 14 games and you’re at 99.39…goals in one season. So close to 100, eh?
But here is what happened next, and for the rest of the season:
Game 67 (Enters with 82 goals and 99 assists!) at Montreal. The Habs, seeking revenge for last year's playoffs, hold Gretzky to 2 assists in the first two periods and nothing at all in the third. 3-3 tie that sees the Habs honour Gretzky as The Rocket himself presents Gretzky with a trophy (A fishermen and paddle, remember?). The Oilers swarm all over Rick Wamsley at one point and, FAIL TO SCORE!
Game 68 (82 goals, 101 assists coming in) @ Quebec. Carbon copy of previous game, 2 assists, NO goals. 6-4 for the Nords. Quebec once had an NHL team??? You know, they CAN get another. Let’s all keep are hockey sticks crossed.
Game 69 (82 goals, 103 assists coming in) at Colorado. That's Colorado Rockies, not Avalanche. Wayne's old buddy Chico Resch does him and the rest of the Oilers in by holding the Oil to just two goals (5 for Col, btw) and NO points for Wayne. 5-2 final for Colorado.
Game 70 (82 goals, 103 assists coming in) at LA. Wayne must not have liked LA, THEN! And in a preview of what will soon transpire in the playoffs, it’s 3-0 Kings after two before finally the Oilers make a game of it. The Oilers get two goals (two assists from Wayne), but it's the Oilers THIRD straight loss! 3-2 final.
Game 71 (82 goals, 105 assists coming in) vs. Buffalo. Don Edwards (The victim of goals 77, 78, 79) gets a chance at redemption and takes it! 44 shots against him, but just two goals for the Oilers. No points for Gretzky and another loss for Edmonton! A low scoring affair by those days’ standards. In addition to just two tallies for the Oilers, The Sabers get just 3. For those who enjoy extra curricular activities in hockey, this one was a fight filled game! Another 3-2 loss.
Game 72 (82 goals, 105 assists coming in) vs. Vancouver. At last, a win. No goals though for Gretzky. Another fight-filled game that not only has blood, but something else red. But also Ketchup himself! Yep, that’s Steven Heinz in net for 'Nucks. Grand total of 23 shots for the Oilers, but Steven can’t CATCH UP to 5 of them! Gretzky does get 3 assists. Vancouver makes a game of it, however, by popping in 3 themselves. Vancouver gets 39 shots as Grant Fuhr continues to impress in the Oiler net.
Game 73 (82 goals, 108 assists coming in) vs. Los Angeles comes to Edmonton to invite Wayne to play for their team someday. Marcel Dionne’s career can be summed up by this game. He gets a goal early in the first, early in the second, and then the rest of the game overshadows his efforts. By the way, Dionne has 45 goals himself at this point. Gretzky gets an even strength marker at 15:55 to pull the Oilers to within a goal, but then Pat Hughes takes a penalty and the Oilers try to make it out of the period down just one.
Gretzky though, makes sure they head for the dressing room tied by potting a short handed tally at 17:54.
Rick Fox and Mark Messier (Up to 44 goals himself) trade tallies in the third, and the game ends 3-3. Good game for Mario Lassard, as he stops 34 of 37 Oiler shots.
Game 74 (84 goals, 108 assists coming in) vs. Pittsburgh. Legend has it that someone came to this game with a crystal ball and said, “Not tonight, but someday, I see someone called Mario, someone called Jaromir, someone called Ron, and later still, someone called Sid, someone called Evgeni, someone called Jordan, ALL playing for the Pens someday.”
Alas, SOMEDAY was NOT this day! The best the Pens could do with was Dionne. No, not Marcel, but rather Dion (as in Michel Dion) in net. 42 shots for each team. The difference was that 10 of them were goals for the Oilers and just 3 went in for Pitt. Chalk up 3 goals and two assists for Wayne.
Game 75 (87 goals, 110 assists coming in) vs. Calgary. Things looked bleak for the Oilers, as it was 3-1 with less than 7 ½ minutes remaining. But then an assist for Wayne on Messier’s PP goal and Gretzky’s 88th twenty-three seconds later made it a 3-3 final. No overtime or shootouts back then, SORRY!
Game 76 (88 goals 111 assists coming in) at Calgary. 7,234 who came ALL felt warm at the end of the game. Not from Calgary, but rather Edmonton. By the time Calgary netted their second (and final) goal of the night, the Oilers had FOUR courtesy of 2 goals and 2 assists by Gretzky. Mercifully, he would be held off the score sheet the rest of the way! 7-2 Edmonton.
Game 77 (90 goals 113 assists coming in) at Colorado. Mile high, but mild shot totals for both teams, and scoring galore! That’s the way to describe it. Gretzky is in on half of Edmonton’s goals (1G, 2A), but Colorado scores six themselves and we have another tie.
Game 78 (91 goals, 115 assists coming in) at LA. The Oiler’s don’t get ahead 5-0. They get ahead only 4-0 before the Kings get one by future NHL exec Mike Murphy. Messier makes it 5-1 by the end of 2. It is then that #92 is scored. A buck fifty in, Gretzky scores from Anderson for his LAST regular season goal of 81/82. The game ends, 6-2 Edmonton, with Gretzky getting an earlier assist.
Game 79 (92 goals, 116 assists coming in) vs. LA. The Oilers run up the score again. And this time, the Kings have had enough. Penalties! 165 minutes. 20 seconds left in the 1st, and almost nobody made it to the dressing room. The second period is tamer, but Fogolin is so incensed that he doesn’t make it to 0:01 of the third as he get ejected for fighting!
As for the scoring. It was 3-1 Kings. Then, all Edmonton the rest of the way! 1:31 seconds before all that first period mayhem, Gretzky picks up an assist. He had plenty more of those!
The third period saw some Oiler penalties and a whole lot of Oiler goals. Five to be exact! Gretzky got the assist on Hunter’s 16th, and with time winding down (23 seconds to go), Gretzky and Anderson again are involved in a 50th goal. That of Mark Messier. As before, their celebration costs the Oilers. Bruce Hood calls the Oilers bench for a minor, just like when the Oilers bench got 2 for Gretzky’s 50th that season! Finally, the game ends!
Game 80 (92 goals, 119 assists) vs. Winnipeg. Exactly halfway through the first period, Gretzky and Anderson set up Kurri’s 32 goal (Only 32?) and final goal of the year. No more scoring from the Oilers, who had just scored their second goal of the game. A tally by Winny makes it closer in the third, but the Oilers hang on for a 2-1 win.
The information used herein was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by The Hockey Summary Project. For more information about the Hockey Summary Project please visit:
http://hsp.flyershistory.com
or
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/hockey_summary_project/
References
Hockey Fights, Stats, Reviews and Trading. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. <http://www.http://dropyourgloves.com/>
Hockey Summary Project. 10 Jan. 2001. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. <http://hsp.flyershistory.com>
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