WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP)—Steven Stamkos gave the Winnipeg Jets’ fans a reason to applaud on Saturday.
Stamkos scored his 60th goal of the season and Teddy Purcell had a hat trick, including the overtime winner, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Jets 4-3.
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Just 19 players have scored 60 goals or more in a single season. The group includes players such as Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Brett Hull.
Alex Ovechkin is the only player to score 60 since 1996. The Washington Capitals star had 65 goals in the 2007-08 season.
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After the game, 15,004 fans gave the Jets a standing ovation as players hoisted their sticks in the air to acknowledge the support that gave Winnipeg a reputation of being one of the loudest NHL buildings.
Gretzky still holds the record of 92 goals in a season. Brett Hull (my favorite player) ranks 3rd (The Great One holds #1 and #2 spots) with 86, followed by Mario with 85. I remember Teemu Selanne's record 76 goals as a rookie for the old Winnipeg Jets (which ties him for the #5 spot with Alexander Mogilny and Phil Esposito). During the down years in the NHL with the clutch and grab game playing in the 1990's and 2000's that made the NJ Devils a household name as perennial Stanley Cup winners, it has been hard to break the 50 mark, let alone 60. Only Ovechkin hit that mark, as noted above, in the 2007-2008 season.
No one will ever reach Gretzky's total goals scored, 894, or Howe's 801. I was at the Kings' game when Wayne scored 802, and broke Howe's record. Third in all time goal scoring is my favorite hockey player, Brett Hull, with 741.
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