No fewer than 10 goals were scored in the first twenty of Thursday’s clash between the Montreal Canadiens and the Florida Panthers at the FLA Live Arena.
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Don’t be fooled: after just 20 minutes of play, the Panthers took a 7-3 lead.
Mike Matheson, however, opened the scoring after just 16 seconds of play against the team that drafted him. Anthony Richard and Michael Pezzetta also threaded the needle on Sergei Bobrovsky, who allowed three goals from just seven shots.
The engagement was hell, especially for the Canadian’s bouncers. After a second consecutive start, Samuel Montembeault gave up his cage after just 6 minutes and 3 seconds. Colin White, Carter Verhaeghe and Gustav Forsling had time to fool his vigilance.
Jake Allen obviously wasn’t ready to take over as he allowed four extra goals. Aaron Ekblad, Ryan Lomberg, Sam Reinhart and Verhaeghe flashed the red light a second time.
The National Hockey League record for most goals in a two-team period is 12. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabers (1980–81) and the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks (1985–1986) were the teams that scored at were in action during these extraordinary encounters.