This Day in Hockey History – February 7, 1976 – Sittler’s Perfect 10

Feb 7, 2020

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What’s better than scoring six goals in a game? Darryl Sittler, captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, became one of only two to match Syd Howe’s iconic six goals scored in a single game. However, on February 7, 1976, Sittler rose above that by also earning four assists to bring his total to ten points. That beat the record set by Maurice Richard (of eight points in one game). No one yet has managed to top Sittler’s single-game offensive record.

Sittler played for Toronto from 1970 until he was traded in 1982. He had just been named captain in 1975, at the age of 24. That meant he was blamed by owner Harold Ballard when the Leafs struggled to a record of 21-20-11. Like his team, the center was in a slump, and it was caused by a shoulder injury and Coach Red Kelly constantly changing his linemates.

Coach Kelly decided to match Sittler with Lanny McDonald and Errol Thompson for the early February games. He told the press, “Sittler creates many scoring chances for his wingers through his strong forechecking and he needs some scorers with him for maximum effectiveness.” Although the Leafs only managed a 4-4 tie against the Washington Capitals, the line would exceed all expectations at the following game against the Boston Bruins. Sittler said afterwards, “The 10-point game kept our line together and if we didn’t have a great outing against Boston, the coach may have decided to change the lines around.” He also praised, “When you play with guys like Thompson and McDonald, they create openings for their centre because they skate and move the puck so well. If you give either of them a good pass, you have the chance for an assist.”

Meanwhile, going into the matchup, the Bruins had a seven-game winning streak going and led the Leafs by 20 points. Their rookie goalie, Dave Reece, was on a roll as Gilles Gilbert was out with a knee injury. They were celebrating the return (from the WHA) of Gerry Cheevers, who served as Reece’s backup in Toronto.

The game took place at Maple Leaf Gardens before a sellout crowd of 16,485 and was televised on Hockey Night in Canada. Later asked what might have been different for him in the lead-up to the game, Sittler had two different ideas. In one interview, he said, “well my son fell in the mud when I was baby sitting him, other than that, nothing different.” In another, he remembered, “Going home from the rink in the morning, Wendy [his wife] would have a pregame meal ready for me, but she had been out doing a bunch of things and running errands and was behind schedule. I was also running late so I just went and grabbed some Swiss Chalet chicken and basically ate it out of my car on the way to my house so I could get a good nap in in the afternoon. So, changed my routine a little bit, but I’ll always remember that change up.”

Forty years afterwards, Sittler reminisced, “The game started out and we were doing pretty well, which didn’t always happen against Boston.” Toronto ended up winning 11-4, thanks mostly to Sittler. He assisted on the first two goals of the game. At 16:54 of the first, Jean Ratelle scored Boston’s first tally as his 350th goal.

Sittler then picked up the pace and scored a hat trick in each of the later periods. On the 40th anniversary, he summarized, “During the second period it sort of all broke loose when I got the 5 points.” That gave him a franchise record for most points in a single period. At 2:56, Borje Salming “shoveled a weak shot at the goalie. The puck dribbled out in front and Sittler knocked it in.” Soon thereafter, at 3:33, he set up Salming for a power-play goal. Sittler’s next two goals came sandwiched between Boston tallies. The first was a “50-foot slap shot that broke Reece’s stick,” while the second came when Toronto had a two-man advantage as the referee had his arm raised to call a penalty. At 13:57, Sittler again set up Salming.

With three goals and four assists, the record was already in sight. Linemate McDonald remembered, “There was such a buzz in the dressing room in the second intermission, especially after [Maple Leafs publicity director] Stan Obodiac came in and told Darryl that he was one point shy of tying Rocket Richard’s record.” Richard had scored five goals and three assists on December 28, 1944. Bert Olmstead had matched the eight-point record on January 9, 1954. Sittler would finish with one more goal and one more assist than his predecessor.

The only scoring in the third period was the hat trick scored by Sittler. He tied the record just 44 seconds into the period with a “quick shot from 10 feet on right.” He broke the record at 9:27 with a “sweeping shot from inside of left circle by goalie’s left side.” The tenth point came at 16:35, and it was a doozy. Shooting from behind the net, “First, the puck banked-off Brad Park’s skate and went towards Reece. Then, it banked-off the goalies skate and crossed the goal line.” Sittler himself described the period, “I went out in the third period and got a goal to tie the record. The record breaking point was an exciting goal as I got it coming down the wing. The 10th point resulted from a fluke goal. I was behind the net and tried to pass the puck out and it ended up in the net. I put my hands in the air and shook my head. I couldn’t believe it was happening.”

Trying to grasp his accomplishment, Sittler commented, “It was one of those nights when everything happened. Some nights you have the puck and nothing happens.” He also acknowledged, “It’ll be hard to forget something like this.” Looking back, he realized, “Here is the thing, I didn’t realize it at the time. It was great and we won, but I never realized the magnitude of it all until 2 years later.”

The significance is that the record has yet to be matched. Thirteen players have had eight-point games since Richard’s, but that’s as high as anyone has reached. Sittler said in 2013, “To see the number of players who’ve gone through the League, guys like Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, even today’s players like Sidney Crosby, — I still hold the record. Who knows, at some point something might happen for some player where it may all come together. … I’m proud to hold the record. I hope it lasts a lot longer.” A few years later, he still felt that way, saying, “I’d be happy for the guy that broke the 10-point game record, but at the same time I want to hold the record.”

The month after his ten-point game, on March 17, Sittler also set Toronto’s franchise record for most assists (51) and points (85) in one season. Then he tied Richard’s post-season record with five goals and six points on April 22. He even played in the Canada Cup tournament, scoring the winning overtime goal in the championship game.

On the 42nd anniversary of the ten-point game, in 2018, Sittler learned the whereabouts of the jersey he wore that night. Expert collector, Barry Meisel bought it from the latest in a line of four or five collectors who had passed along the jersey. He verified it was the same sweater by comparing photos at the Hockey Hall of Fame and estimated that it was worth between $350,000 and half a million. So, as Sittler put it, his ten-point jersey was sitting in “a warehouse in New Jersey.”