On This Date in Sports January 24, 1981
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders becomes the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in his team’s first 50 games. Bossy equals Maurice Richard’s 1945 achievement by scoring twice in the final 4:10 as the Islanders beat Le Quebec Nordiques 7-4 at the Nassau Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum. Bossy, would go on to finish the season with 68 goals, leading the NHL as the Islanders won second straight Stanley Cup.
It was the golden ice age on Long Island, as the New York Islanders coached by Al Arbour became a dynasty as the first U.S. based team to win the Stanley Cup four straight years. The Islanders were a team of hardworking blue color stars all acquired through the draft, as the franchise needed just eight years to go from expansion to champions. Players like Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Clark Gillies, Bobby Nystrom and Denis Potvin along with goalie Billy Smith were the team’s backbone.
Born January 22, 1957, in Montreal, Mike Bossy was the New York Islanders big goal scorer. His arrival in 1977 was the signal the Islanders were about to join the NHL’s elite as he scored a then 53 goals as a rookie and won the Calder Trophy for the 1977/78 season. Bossy would score at least 50 goals in his first nine seasons, becoming the first player to accomplish that feat. His best season was the 1980/81 season when he netted 68 goals after equaling Maurice Richards 50/50 record. Richard scored 50 goals in a 50-game season with the Montreal Canadiens in 1945. Injuries would take their toll on Bossy, as he scored 38 goals in 63 games in the 1986/87 season. That would be Mike Bossy’s final season as he retired at the age of 30 having scored 573 career goals in 752 games during a ten-year career.
After Mike Bossy became the second player with 50 goals in 50 games in 1981, Wayne Gretzky on the Edmonton Oilers took the record to a new level a year later, scoring 50 goals in 39 games. The Great One, would have three 50 in 50 seasons, during a four-year stretch. After Gretzky, 50 goals in 50 games was accomplished by Mario Lemieux with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1988/89 season, while Brett Hull of the in back-to-back seasons in 1991 and 1992.
Several players unofficially scored 50 goals in 50 games, scoring 50 goals in 50 games played, having missed games due to injury but the record states it must be done in the team’s 50th game. This includes
Mario Lemieux who did it twice, Jari Kurri of the Oilers in 1985, Alexander Mogilny of the Buffalo Sabres in 1993 and Cam Neely on the Boston Bruins in 1994.