January 25th, 1990
When you put the puck in the back of the net as often as the Oilers of the 80’s and early 90’s did, you’re bound to hit a few milestones pretty quickly. In the second half of their most recent Cup season, in a 7-6 win over the Los Angeles Kings, Glenn Anderson’s 19th goal of the season would be the franchise’s 4000th in the NHL.
From the 1979-80 season to 1989-90, the Oilers in the era of 80 games scored at a rate of 400 goals per season and five goals per game. From 1982-83 to 1985-86 the Oilers didn’t finish as a team below the 400 goal mark with the pinnacle being their yet to be matched 446 goal season in 1983-84. No other team has since crossed the 400 goal mark in a single season.
Sunscreen sales had to have been at an all time high in the 80’s due to all the sunburn goalies got from the red light going off so often.
January 26th, 1986
Whenever Paul Coffey was on the ice for the Oilers, let’s be real, that team iced four forwards on a line.
In the 1985-86 season, the year in which he came up just two goals short of 50 in the regular season, he set a record for most consecutive games in a row with a point for a defenceman. On this date, Coffey pushed the mark to 28 games with an assist in a 5-3 win over the LA Kings.
The record would end in their next game vs. the Chicago Blackhawks, but the mark has stood the test of time and has yet to be surpassed by another blue liner.
January 26th, 1986 (Part 2)
So this night wasn’t just massive for Mr. Coffey!
With a two point night in the Oilers win, Wayne Gretzky extended a point streak of his own with 39 games in a row! The streak would stop at 39 and remains 3rd all time with Mario Lemieux’s 46 game point streak in 1989-90 and the Great One’s original record breaking point streak of 51 games in 83-84 ahead of it.
51 games. If anyone reaches 40 again my jaw will hit the floor so hard it may never come back up again.
Next Week: We’ll get into the game that saw the first rookie in the Oilers’ NHL history record a five point game and the return of #97 from injury!
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