One season in the NHL in which a hockey player scores 40 or more goals is routine for a player like Alexander Ovechkin. This mark has been surpassed 623 times in the history of the overseas elite league. This was not uncommon, especially during the 1970s and 1980s.
The 2019-20 season saw five players crack the 40-goal mark in the NHL regular season, even though the season was interrupted by a coronavirus outbreak. Last season, when teams played only 56 games, Auston Matthews was even able to reach that milestone.
Once in a while, however, somebody shows up to score more than forty goals in a single season, and then you never hear about them again in that context. Some manage to do it early in their careers, and others find the right chemistry with their teammates and manage to double their usual number of goals. In the chapters below, you will find the 20 most surprising 40-goal scorers in NHL history.
There are a few special seasons with 40 goals in the history of the New York Islanders. For example, remember Zigmund Pálffy – before he went to Los Angeles, he scored over 40 goals three times. Anders Lee’s 40 goals in the 2017-18 season are also impressive. However, Jason Blake’s 2006-07 season was the most surprising.
The American forward averaged 15 to 20 goals in the regular season, but this season something clicked, and a small miracle happened. Blake began to pace himself more, spending less time in the penalty area and apparently changing his goal-scoring philosophy. While he scored almost as many goals as he had the season before, he passed the 40-goal mark. However, in the following seasons, he was back to being “only” a goal scorer with a maximum of 20 goals.
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