Before the NHL season went on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, we were witnessing one of the most exciting Rocket Richard Trophy races.

At the time of the break, Alex Ovechkin and David Pastrnak were tied for the league lead with 48 goals apiece. During the season, both Ovechkin and Pastrnak recorded four three-goal games, but that’s not even halfway to the single-season record.

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Brett Hull is one of the greatest pure goal scorers to ever play in the NHL. Ranked fourth all-time in goals scored in NHL history, Hull recorded eight (8!) hat-tricks during the 1991-92 season with the St. Louis Blues. That season, Hull scored 70 goals and added 39 assists for 109 points in 73 games, but what’s wild is that none of those numbers are his career-highs. The previous season, the Belleville, Ontario native scored 86 goals and added 45 assists for 131 points in 78 games.

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Mario Lemieux was most likely one of your guesses before you opened the article, because how could you not pick Super Mario? During the 1988-89 season, Lemieux scored nine (9!) hat-tricks, with one of those games being a 4-goal performance and another being a 5-goal performance. That season, Lemieux put up career numbers across the board as he finished with a league-high 85 goals, 114 assists (tied with Gretzky for league-high) and 199 points.

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Mike Bossy might be 22nd all-time in career goals (which is still incredible, it’s just a lower ranking compared to the rest of the players on the list), but he’s without a doubt one of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history. During his 10-year career, Bossy scored 60 or more goals in a season five different times. In 1980-81, Bossy finished the season with a league-best 68 goals in 79 games and finished the season with 119 points. That year, Bossy scored nine (9!) hat-tricks, and finished with four goals in three of those nine games.

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Of course Wayne Gretzky is on this list.

Not only does he hold the first and second spot, but he’s also the only player in NHL history to score 10 (!!!!) hat-tricks in a season…which he did TWICE! In 1981-82, The Great One scored 92 (!!!) goals in 80 games and finished the season with 212 points. In the 10 games he scored at least three goals, three of them he finished with four goals and one he finished with five. A couple years later Gretzky was at it again as he finished with three or more goals 10 times during the 1983-84 season, with four of the 10 games ending with a four-goal performance from Gretzky.

 

*All stats courtesy of NHL.com