Records are made to be broken. That is a saying as old as time and in a lot of ways true. It seems in all sports, we hear constantly about someone setting new records. However, there are some that feel like they will remain forever.
For example, no one will ever beat Wayne Gretzky’s career point total of 2,857 or his season-best 215. Another unbeatable is Glenn Hall’s consecutive game streak, as he started in net for 502 straight games for the Chicago Blackhawks.
While no one in the Calgary Flames organization has any jaw-dropping league records like the ones above, there are some internally within the franchise that will remain for good. Here are the top five.
13-Goal Game
While today’s NHL still treats us to very exciting games, there is no denying scoring is down plenty from what it was back in the day. The Flames proved that fact when they scored 13 goals in a game versus the San Jose Sharks back on Feb. 10, 1993.
You may also like:
Perhaps the craziest part of this game was the fact that the Sharks actually held a 1-0 lead for a brief period of time but ultimately went on to get lit up 13-1. Leading the way was Robert Reichel with a hat trick and three assists, while Theo Fleury had a goal and five helpers along, with a ridiculous plus/minus of plus-9. As it turns out, that wasn’t the only unbeatable Flames record set that night.
Goalie Point Night
During that same game against the Sharks, goaltender Jeff Reese had what still remains an NHL record three assists on the night. He was able to put up a point in all three periods, and as a result has a record that will likely never be broken.
After the three-point night, Reese went on to play three more seasons in a backup role and registered just a single assist in that time. By the time his NHL career concluded, he had played in 174 games and notched eight career assists. Feb. 10, 1993, was just truly one of those nights where everything went right for him and his team.
375 PIM Season
Though it sits nearly 100 back of Dave Schultz’s all-time record of 472 penalties in minutes (PIM) in a season, Tim Hunter sits atop the Flames franchise record books with 375 PIM during the 1988-89 season. That is good enough for ninth all-time in NHL history and will likely never fall down the list.
During his time in Calgary, Hunter had three straight seasons of over 300 PIMs. In 545 games with the Flames, he put up 2,405 PIM, a record that no one will ever touch. By the time his entire playing career was over, he finished with 3,146 PIMS, which ranks eighth all-time. There is no denying he was one tough customer.
8 Shots on Goal
A record that Flames fans should be happy will never be beaten came on Oct. 27, 1995, versus the Detroit Red Wings, in which they registered just eight shots on goal. Not surprisingly, they were unable to score in this game, giving Chris Osgood what was likely the easiest shutout of his entire life. They lost the game by a final score of 3-0 and only had six players record a single shot on goal, with Fleury as well as German Titov leading the way with two apiece.
To put into perspective just how bad of an effort this was by the Flames, the average shots on goal per game by all teams during the 1995-96 season was 30.2. This equals just over 10 shots a period, something they failed to do in an entire 60 minutes. Thankfully it was just an off night, as they would end up making the playoffs that season, finishing sixth in the Western Conference.
2 Goals in 4 Seconds
Another Flames record that is highly unlikely, if not outright impossible to break, came during a game on Oct. 17, 1989, versus the Quebec Nordiques. Trailing 8-6 with under a minute left in the third period, Doug Gilmour was able to score to bring them within one. Then, just four seconds later, Paul Ranheim scored to tie the game up in what ended an 8-8 tie.
The record for the two fastest goals in NHL history has since been broken, but what makes Gilmour and Ranheim’s goals even more impressive was that both came shorthanded and still stand as the two fastest shorthanded goals the league has ever seen. It is extremely unlikely that any Flames players in the future score two goals in that short of a span, and even less likely that anyone throughout the league is able to do it while shorthanded.
Forgotten History
While none of the moments listed above are iconic in league history, they are very interesting to look back on. Going forward, it will be fun to see what other types of records this Flames team can make happen. Hopefully, for fans’ sake, they are good records rather than ones like the infamous eight-shot game.
Colton Pankiw is a former Jr. A hockey player who now provides his knowledge of the game through writing. He’s been a very active and reliable source for nearly two years at The Hockey Writers. He is a credentialed writer for the Calgary Flames but also does features on other teams throughout the league. Other writing contributions include: Oil On Whyte, NHLtradetalk.com, and Markerzone.com. Colton is also a co-host of both Oilers Overtime and Flames Faceoff podcasts. Any interview requests or content info can be made through him on Twitter. Take a look at his work here.