Staal Hits 40 Goals, Closes in on Wild Franchise Record

minnesotawild (44)in #sports • 7 years ago

Staal Hits 40 Goals, Closes in on Wild Franchise Record

Slotting his 40th goal past an opposition goaltender in Nashville for the equaliser, it means that Eric Staal becomes only the 2nd player in Minnesota Wild franchise history to reach 40 goals in a season and puts himself just 2 goals shy of Marion Gaborik's franchise record.

An absolutely amazing achievement in its own right, let alone by an aging, 2nd line centre who was brought to this particular franchise to fill a gap and to let Mikko Koivu do his thing.

After hitting 40, Staal finds himself amongst some pretty impressive company. Alex Ovechkin (45), Patrik Laine (43), Evgeni Malkin (42), Connor McDavid (40) and William Karlsson (40) are the only other 40 goal scorers in the NHL this season.

As I said before. Just an absolutely amazing achievement.

My favourite stat that I've seen though, is that by hitting 40 again, it makes Staal only the 2nd player in NHL history to score 40 goals in a season, at least 9 seasons apart, with none inbetween.

Who was the other player to do this you may ask? None other than the great Gordie Howe.

What a stat!

"Anytime you're mentioned with one of the greatest to ever play the game, that's pretty special. I wish I had a few more in the middle of those 9 years. That's life. I'm glad to be back in that situation now."