The Ultimate guide on most goals in a single NHL hockey game?

Scoring hockey goals more than 3 is not a simple task as it seems. A very few players in the hockey game are successful to achieve a score higher than 3 goals. Marian Gaborik scored 4 goals in a single hockey game for the first time. In the same year, Ryan Callahan while playing against the flyers scored 4 goals. 

Only two players scored five goals in history. Now the question is: Who scored the most goals in a single NHL? In short, Joe Malone is the player who scored the highest number of goals in the past. He scored 7 goals in 1920 when he was playing for Quebec Bulldogs.

Below in this article, we are going to discuss further the player who scored the highest goals in the history NHL. If you love to know about hockey this article will be an amazing piece of information for you. So, let’s dig straight into the details.

Who scored the most goals in a single hockey game?

Joe Malone was the first player who set the record of 7 goals in a single NHL game. He scored these goals on January 31, 1920. On that night he was about to score another 8th goal but he couldn’t because he was called for being offside. Later on, he said, “the thing that I recall vividly is that it was bitterly cold.“

Malone set this goal 90 years ago still no one can break his (7 goals in a single hockey game record) record in these years. Joe Malone was playing for Quebec Bulldogs against Toronto when he scored 7 goals in a 10-6 victory. He earns scoring titles, and 3 Stanley Cups, and was also selected for the Hall of Fame.

Moreover, he earned the title of “ Phantom” due to his sneaking ability. Joe Malon played 126 games from 1917 to 1924 and scored 143 stunning goals throughout this period. Then he was enlisted by the NHL Hall of fame due to his wonderful performance during his career.

During the first 14 games of Malon’s career, he tried to score at least one goal in every single game. In this way, he set his first record for the longest goal-scoring streak. This record was a good start to his career which is still ranking as the second-longest goal-scoring streak in hockey.

Some records that Joe Malon set during his career:

• He scored the highest goals in every game throughout the season. For instance: During the 1917-18 season he scored 44 goals in 20 games.
• A few hockey players cross 3 goals in a season. Joe Melon scored more than 5 goals in almost every game.
• He set a goal of scoring 100 goals in a short time.
• Malon scored the most goals in a single NHL hockey game.

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How did Joe Malone Score 7 goals in one game?

When the hockey game started in 1920 it was a completely different game from today’s hockey game. The media coverage was also not the same as today’s media. The hockey game in 1920  was more focused on end-to-end rushes and stickhandling. The goalies at that time were not much qualified as now.

In the early seasons of the NHL, the teams had a maximum of 10 players. All the players were allowed to play more than 50 minutes in a single hockey game. If you notice NHL hockey was a bit easier in the early seasons. These factors helped Joe Malon to score 7 goals in a single hockey game and set a record.

Even then it was not too easy for all the players to score more than 3 goals in a single game. NHL hockey players rarely scored 4 to 6 goals since 1920. Only 4 times did one player score 6 goals in early hockey seasons, and two other players since 1968.

We don’t claim that it was a lesson-squeezy task for Joe Malon to score 7 goals in a single game but yeah the rules were easier than now. These easy rules were the reason behind the record that Malon set for the other players.

Here is the list of a few players who scored 6 goals in the NHL:

Player	Years	Goals
Joe Malon	January 31, 1920	7
Newsy Lalonde	January 10, 1920	6
Joe Malon	March 10, 1920	6
Corb Denney	January 21, 1921	6
Syd Howe	Feb 3, 1944	6
Red Berenson	Nov 7, 1968	6
Darryl	Feb 7, 1976	6

Most goals in modern NHL single game?

Red Berenson – 6 goals

In 1968, 7 November Red Bereson scored 6 goals while playing for the St. Louis Blue against the Philadelphia Flyers. Bereson has never scored any goal or even a hat trick in the previous 6 NHL seasons of his career. These 6 goals were shocking just like slogging “ We want Red, We want Red ” by Philadelphia fans. Because they never had to cheer for any team including their own.

Darryl Sittler – 6 goals, 4 assists for 10 points

The second and most discussed 6 goals record in history was set by Darryl Sittler. He amazingly scored 6 goals with 6 assists. Not only this, but Sittler also set another record of 10 points in a single NHL game. Players were able to reach just 8 points before the 10 points of Darryl Sittler. Still, no one can score more than 8 points and break his record.

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How likely is it that a player will ever break Joe Malone’s record?

We can’t claim that it is impossible to break Joe Malone’s record. There are a countable number of players who were able to score 5 goals in the NHL.

Here are the players

• Gretzky 
• Lemieux
• Sundin
• Kurri
• Trottier

This is because the hockey rules are different now and players can rarely cross 3 or 4 goals in a single game. We can say it is nearly impossible to reach or break Joe Malone’s record.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion: The Ultimate guide on most goals in a single NHL hockey game?

Only one player scored 7 goals in the history of NHL seasons. The player who set the goal in a single game is Joe Malone. He surprisingly set this goal while playing for Quebec Bulldogs against Tronto. Joe Malone also earned the title of “ Phantom” due to his sneaking ability. When he set the record of 7 goals the NHL rules were different. Now it seems nearly impossible for other players to break his record.