This Day in Hockey History – November 23, 1982 – Crazy Eights

November 23, 1982 was a night for the goal-scorers, not the goaltenders. The Minnesota North Stars had two hat tricks, scored by Steve Payne and Neal Broten. Their hosts, the New York Islanders, had superstars Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier leading the pack with four points apiece. Islanders goalie Billy Smith was pulled in favor of Rollie Melanson while Stars goalie Gilles Meloche stuck it out as the teams tied 8-8. This matched the Islanders’ record for highest-scoring tie, 8-8, from when they hosted the Edmonton Oilers on March 3, 1981.

This game of crazy eights was played at Nassau Coliseum before 15,105 spectators. Going into the game, the North Stars felt a bit more confident considering their Meloche shutout the Islanders 2-0 just 12 days beforehand. Whereas, the Islanders had just lost 7-3, having to switch out goalies. Minnesota Coach Glen Sonmor naturally kept Meloche in net, but New York Coach Al Arbour surprisingly also kept Smith as the starter. When the game ended, Meloche grumbled, “After the last time we played them, who would have expected something like this?”

In the first period, each team scored three goals. Bossy and Trottier led off, assisting each other. At 4:29, “Bryan Trottier picked it up in the right circle and hit Mike Bossy with a pass in the slot. Bossy backhanded a shot past Meloche from about 20 feet as he skated from right to left.” Little over half a minute later, at 5:03, “Bossy took one stride and then found Trottier approaching the blue line. He made a quick pass, and Trottier skated in to fire a shot past Meloche from the edge of the left circle.”

Then it was time for Payne and Broten to begin their tricks, alternating their scoring. At 7:47, “Payne’s goal came on a deflection of Dan Mandich’s shot from just inside the blue line. Mandich flipped a backhander toward the net, and Payne, standing about 15 feet out in the slot to Smith’s right, tapped the puck in midair and it floated into the net.” Later, “Broten went around Gordie Lane on the right side to beat Smith with a 10-footer at 15:11, and then Payne connected again [with 23 seconds left], this a rebound of Bobby Smith’s wrap-around attempt, to tie it at 3-3.”

Broten began the second period by breaking the tie. According to the recap, at 1:51, “He went around Nystrom as he crossed the blue line and then beat Smith with a 25-footer just inside the left circle.” After his teammate widened the lead, Bossy helped John Tonelli score at 10:06. The Islanders tied up after another two and a half minutes.

At the start of the final period (at :42 and 3:43, respectively), Payne and Broten finished their tricks. In the North Stars’ 16-year history, they had only once before had two hat tricks in one game. On March 21, 1979, Payne and Mike Fidler scored thrice each in a 7-3 victory over Philadelphia. As Broten saw it, “First it looked like they were going to blow us away. And then it looked like we were going to blow them away. I guess the game couldn’t have ended any other way, unless it might have been 10-10 or 12-12.” For Payne, “The less said about a game like this, the better. Eight goals ought to be enough to win and tonight it was barely enough to tie. After we got out of the first period 3-3, I thought it would tighten up. … I just couldn’t believe it. It got crazier and crazier.”

Indeed, at 9:36, Bossy and Trottier assisted Denis Potvin. Nearly a minute and a half later, Trottier scored his own goal. Finally, at 14:32, Minnesota’s Tim Young netted the final goal.

The goalies were relieved when the scoring spree ended. Having let in 5 goals on 21 shots in 25:33 (a .762 save percentage), Smith was yanked from the net. Melanson let in 3 goals but made 18 saves (for a .857 save percentage). 

Meloche played the entire game without any backup, letting in 8 goals in just 27 shots (for a .724 save percentage). This was the same goalie who gave up 12 goals in the Rangers-Golden Seals game back in 1971. “Did you guys come in to ask me real questions or just to laugh at me,” Meloche asked the press. “I guess I should feel fortunate to give up eight goals and we still got out of here with a point.” Coach Sonmor remarked, “Gilles is the guy I feel sorriest for. He’s worked so hard to get his average under 3 and then we get involved in a game like this. We just didn’t give him much support.” Meloche explained, “It was one of those nights in which the puck just kept hitting sticks, skates, posts and just kept going in the net. And it wasn’t just at our end.”

The North Stars and the Islanders kept things pretty even all season. After the game, they were leading the standings with 30 points for the former and 31 points for the latter. At the end of the 1982-83 season, both ranked second in their respective divisions. They both had 96 points, making them tied for sixth and seventh in the NHL standings. While Minnesota lost their division finals, the Islanders went on to win their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup championship.

Additional Sources:

• https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mns-vs-nyi/1982/11/23/1982020224#game=1982020224,game_state=final
• Eric Compton, “Isles held to 8-8 Tie,” New York Daily News, 24 Nov. 1982, p. 54.
• Dan Stoneking, “Meloche Shaking Head After 8-8 Shootout,” New Minneapolis Star Tribune, 24 Nov. 1982, pp. 1D and 5D.