50 goals in 50 games
The phrase "50 goals in 50 games" refers to the act of scoring 50 goals within the first 50 games of a National Hockey League (NHL) season. Scoring 50 goals in 50 (or fewer) games in the NHL is a rare achievement. The NHL defines "50 goals in 50 games" to mean that a player scores 50 goals in the team's first 50 games of the season, not the player's first 50 (which could differ for health, contract or disciplinary reasons). This feat has been achieved eight times by five different players most  recently by Brett Hull in the 1990-91 season. Two additional feats relating to 50 goals in 50 games have garnered significant media attention but are not officially recognized in the same manner; an "Unofficial" 50 goals in 50 games, which is 50 goals from the start of the season in the first 50 games but not the first 50 games. This feat has been achieved five times by four players most recently by Mario Lemieux in the 1995–96 season. Lastly, 50 goals in any 50 game stretch within a season, aside from the first 50 games, which has been  achieved in eight additional seasons by eight players, most recently by Auston Mathews in 2021–22. Though not considered an official or unofficial 50-in-50, the NHL has acknowledged such occurrences as being a significant feat nonetheless. All combined only 13 players in NHL history have scored 50 or more goals in any 50 game stretch within a single season. Official 50-in-50 scorers. Maurice Richard. Maurice Richard of the Montreal Canadiens was the first player in NHL history to score 50 goals in one season. He achieved the target on March 18, 1945, in the 50th (and final) game of  the 1944–45 season, the league's 28th, on goalie Harvey Bennett of the Boston Bruins. Prior to Richard becoming the first fifty-goal scorer in a season, the previous NHL single-season goal-scoring record was held by Joe Malone of the Montreal Canadiens who scored 44 goals in a then complete 20-game season in . Besides Richard's 50-in-50 feat, he also led the NHL in goals on four other occasions and was the league's first career 500-goal scorer. Richard was unable to equal his personal best of 50 goals before retiring in 1960, even though  the NHL extended its schedule to 60 games in and 70 in . In recognition of his achievements, the NHL created an annual award in 1999, the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, which was donated by the Montreal Canadiens, to be presented to the top goal-scorer in the league. It took another sixteen years before another player, Bernie Geoffrion, managed to score 50 goals in a single season, also while playing for Montreal. When Bobby Hull finally broke the season record with 54 goals in 1965–66, fans of the then-retired Richard, noting that Hull was playing in a 70-game  schedule, demanded that the NHL continue to recognize Richard's record. Hull's fans countered that Richard had achieved his record during World War II, during which many NHLers enlisted in the military. (Richard, who was notoriously prone to injury throughout his career, was deemed unfit for service.) Additionally, the counterargument noted Richard's failure to match the record in peacetime, with the caliber of the NHL not similarly hindered, even though he played in eleven 70-game seasons. The NHL awarded Hull the record, while at the same time recognizing Richard as the first, and to that point only , player to score 50 goals in 50 games, firmly establishing the achievement into NHL lore. The next player to achieve 50-in-50 did so nearly 36 years later. Mike Bossy. In the 1980–81 season, Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders became only the second player to score 50 goals in 50 games. The hockey press promoted this heavily, as Bossy was in an unofficial competition with Charlie Simmer of the Los Angeles Kings (see below) to be the first to accomplish the 50-in-50 milestone since Richard. Both players played their 50th game on January 24, 1981: Simmer started  the day with 46 goals and Bossy 48. Simmer scored a hat trick against Boston, giving him 49 goals in 50 games, just missing the mark. Making his game against the Quebec Nordiques particularly dramatic, Bossy was scoreless for much of the game but beat goaltender Ron Grahame twice within the last five minutes. Richard was on hand to congratulate Bossy for this achievement. Bossy finished the season with 68 goals in 79 games played while Simmer would finish with 56 goals in 64 games. Wayne Gretzky. Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers broke the 50-in-50 mark, less than  a full year after Bossy tied Richard. In Gretzky's 38th game of the 1981-82 season, he scored four goals, giving him 45 on the season. In his very next game, on December 30, 1981, he scored a rare five goals in one game against the Philadelphia Flyers, the fifth being an empty-net goal with three seconds left in the game, to give him the record of 50 goals in 39 games. He had 50 goals before any other player had scored even 30, and would finish the season with an NHL-record 92 goals, having participated in  all 80 of the Oilers games. Gretzky went on to score 50 goals within 50 games twice more in his career. In 1983–84, he scored his 50th goal in the team's 42nd game, on January 7, 1984, and finished the season with the second highest single season total with 87 goals in 74 games. Gretzky's 50th goal was an empty-net goal that put the Oilers up 5–3 in a win over the Hartford Whalers at home. It was also Gretzky's third goal of the game, completing a hat trick. Also in 1983–84, Gretzky accumulated the fastest  50 goals recorded over consecutive games at any point of a season when he scored 50 goals over 34 consecutive games from December 14, 1983 through March 11, 1984. In 1984–85, he scored his 50th in the team's 49th game, ending the season with 73 goals in 80 games. Gretzky's 50th goal came on January 26, 1985 (his 24th birthday), on the first of three goals he scored in a 6–3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, beating goaltender Denis Herron. It was the third time Gretzky scored 50 goals within 50 games, and the third time his 50 -in-50 goal was achieved with a hat trick. Mario Lemieux. Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins was the next player to score 50 goals in 50 or fewer games, achieving the feat on January 20, 1989. Lemieux's 50th goal came in game 46 of the team's schedule against the Winnipeg Jets and goaltender Pokey Reddick, which was Lemieux's 44th game of the season. Lemieux finished the season with the fourth highest single season total with 85 goals in 76 games. Brett Hull. Brett Hull scored 50 goals in 50 games or fewer twice in his career for  the St. Louis Blues. Hull first did it in the 1990–91 season when he scored his 50th goal, and second of the game, against rookie goalie Dave Gagnon of the Detroit Red Wings on January 25, 1991, in the Blues' 49th game. Hull finished the season with the third highest single season total with 86 goals in 78 games played. His second time, the most recent season the feat was achieved, was during the subsequent 1991–92 season. On January 28, 1992, Hull scored his 50th goal against goalie Kelly Hrudey in game number 50, a 3–3 tie in Los Angeles . He ended the season with 70 goals in 73 games. Unofficial 50 in 50 scorers. The following players scored fifty goals in or before their 50th game in a single season, but do not officially qualify for 50-in-50 status because the NHL requires a player to have scored his 50th goal in or prior to his "team's" 50th game. Mid-season 50 in 50 scorers. The following players scored fifty goals in a 50 game stretch aside from the first 50 games of a season. This feat is not recognized by the NHL but has garnered substantial media  attention due to the rarity of the achievement. Auston Matthews was the first player in 26 years to score 50 goals in any 50 game period of a season. Full List. 'Official 50 in 50' (8 times) - from the start of the season in the team's first 50 games; Unofficial 50 in 50 (5 times) - from the start of the season in the player's first 50 games; Mid-season 50 in 50 (8 times) - 50 or more goals in any 50 game stretch within one season, other than those from the start of a season; World Hockey Association . Bobby Hull in 1974–75, while playing for the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association became the first player since Maurice Richard to score 50 goals in 50 games. Hull had 47 goals through 49 games and had a hat trick to reach the milestone. He finished with 77 goals in 78 games, which was the new NHL/WHA single-season record for most goals scored at the time (Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins had scored 76 in 78 games in , though he only scored his 50th goal in his 58th game). Anders Hedberg, while also playing for the  Jets, broke the record in 1976–77. He scored 51 goals in 49 games, becoming the first NHL or WHA player to score 50 goals in fewer than 50 games. He finished with 70 goals in 68 games.