Fastest Two Goals in NHL History: Prospal and Letestu Make Their Mark

In Monday night’s game against the Sharks, Columbus forwards Vinny Prospal and Mark Letestu combined for the fastest goals scored in Blue Jackets history.   The two scored just eight seconds apart in the third period in a 6-2 victory over San Jose.

Impressive, yes, but not the fastest in NHL history.   Here’s a few duos who were even quicker on the draw – along with  some that came close.

 

:03 seconds

Jim Dowd & Richard Park, Minnesota Wild

On January 21, 2004, with the final seconds ticking off the clock, Dowd and Park connected to blow open a tie game.   With the teams knotted at two late in the third, Jim Dowd potted the go-ahead goal with a slapper from the left circle.   Hoping for a chance to come back, the Blackhawks pulled their goalie.  Wild center Richard Park won the draw and fired the puck into the vacated net, sealing the deal and locking up two points for the Wild.  None have been able to top this one… yet.

 

:04 seconds

A handful of players have managed this feat, though none have done it in over 15 years:

  • Kris King & James Patrick, New York Rangers – October 9, 1991 – 5-3 win over the Islanders.
  • Doug Gilmour & Paul Ranheim, Calgary Flames – October 17, 1989 – 8-8 tie vs. Quebec. Sixteen goals?  Seriously?
  • Eddie Olczyk & Gary Leeman, Toronto Maple Leafs – December 29, 1988 – 6-5 win over Quebec (Those Nordiques netminders were really prone to lapses, eh?)
  • Lee Fogolin & Don Luce, Buffalo Sabres – October 17, 1974 – 6-1 win over the California Golden Seals

Some guys, though, would rather do it alone:

  • Nels Stewart, Montreal Maroons – January 3, 1931.  “Old Poison” Stewart scored two quick goals at 8:24 and 8:28 of the third period in a 5-3 home victory over the Boston Bruins.
  • Deron Quint, Winnipeg Jets – December 15, 1995.  Quint, a rookie defenseman with the Jets, posted two at 7:51 and 7:55 of the second period in a wild barn-burner 9-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.  He scored only three more goals that year, his last in Winnipeg.  After the season, he – and the team – moved on to Phoenix.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kzZWIOBoVU

:05 Seconds

Things start to get a  little crowded when you give NHL players this much time to score two goals, so we’ll highlight some of our favorites:

Todd Bertuzzi & Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings

Down 2-0 to Vancouver, the Wings took advantage of Roberto Luongo with back-to-back goals to knot the game at two.

The teams would trade goals once more before Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg finally won it in overtime… in the final second of the extra frame.

Nathan Gerbe, Buffalo Sabres

Nathan Gerbe of the Buffalo Sabres is not impressed.  On January 21, 2011, he did it all by himself (well, to be fair, he did get assists from Mike Grier and Mike Weber).   Sadly, his effort was wasted in a 5-2 loss to the lowly New York Islanders.  The best part of this clip is watching the 5’5″ Gerbe get a paternal pat on the head from 6’8″ defenseman Tyler Myers.

“Nice job, sport!”

 

:06 Seconds

David Backes & Andy MacDonald, St. Louis Blues

David Backes buried Perron’s cross-crease pass past Jonas Hiller to open the scoring of this Ducks-Blues tilt from October 10, 2010.  It was his first of the year, and the broadcast crew wanted to make sure we saw it in all its awesomeness, along with slow-zoom bench shots and celebratory crowd pans.  While Fox Sports was baking in their super-slow glory via Fox-X-Mo Replay, they missed the ensuing faceoff, cutting back just in time to see  TJ Oshie dish to Andy MacDonald to give the Blues a 2-0 lead.  They would build on that advantage and take the game by a score of 5-1.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq-jKvUkbUA

 

:07 Seconds

Matthew Lombardi Sheldon Souray and Ales Hemsky, Edmonton Oilers

Talk about a play you want to have back. Watch as secret agent Matthew Lombardi has a moment of confusion and stuffs the puck past a puzzled Ilya Bryzgalov.  The goal was ultimately awarded to Sheldon Souray, the last Oiler to touch the puck.   While Bryzgalov was still contemplating the viability of bears as astronauts, Ales Hemsky and Dustin Penner stormed in on a two-on-one that put the Oilers up by three on their way to an easy 4-0 victory.

 

:08 Seconds

Nikita Filatov & Jakub Voracek, Columbus Blue Jackets

Prospal and Letestu tied the previous Blue Jackets record for the fastest two goals scored, matching an effort from three years ago.  Rookies Nikita Filatov and Jakub Voracek scored at 14:18 and 14:26, respectively, of the first period of their 2008-09 home opener – a 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators.

 

Sidney Crosby & Craig Adams, Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins stepped up the difficulty by scoring a quick two goals in Game 7 of their playoff series against the rival Washington Capitals back in 2009.   It took Pittsburgh a leisurely eight seconds to get two past goaltender Semyon Varlamov.    Those two goals gave the Pens a lead they would not relinquish as they cruised to a 6-2 victory and a 4-3 series victory, on their way to their third franchise Stanley Cup.

 

Henrik Zetterberg & Darren McCarty, Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings were in the midst of an eight-game winning streak when they met up with the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 27, 2003.  Detroit easily handled the Leafs in a 7-2 stomping.   Most impressive was the way they kicked off the scoring late in the first period.  Zetterberg lifted the puck over a flailing Ed Belfour to give Detroit a 1-0 lead.  The fans at Joe Louis Arena barely had time to sit down when Darren McCarty, streaking down the right wing, netted the next goal just eight seconds later.

 

Niclas Wallin & Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks

Trailing the Red Wings by a score of 2-1, the Sharks decided to take charge of the game…  and fast.  A blast from the point by Nic Wallin deflected off the stick of Todd Bertuzzi and tied the game at two. After jockeying for position at the center ice faceoff and following a nice puck-kick by Ryane Clowe, Logan Couture forced his way into the Wings zone and fired a shot through Nicklas Lidstrom to give the Sharks the lead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bhJArSZmQk

 

:09 Seconds

The Rangers and Hurricanes were tied at one when Girardi and Dubinsky posted consecutive goals just nine seconds apart. Midway through the third period, Girardi fired a shot from the right faceoff circle that made it past Canes netminder Cam Ward.  That power play goal gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead.  They’d pick up some insurance shortly after, when Dubinsky cleaned up the rebound of a Callahan shot to improve the Blueshirts’ lead to 3-1.  They’d tack on two more en route to a 5-1 win.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzW7fwq9Ey8

 

Of the teams on our list, only one – the Red Wings – performed this feat on the road.   The rest all did it riding a wave of momentum from their home fans.

So the next time your team is down by a pair, just remember how quickly two goals can be scored.

 


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