It is no secret that Florida Panthers’ Sam Reinhart is having a career season. His 46 goals are second in the league behind only Auston Matthews (54). It is not simply how many goals he is scoring but how he is scoring that makes his season impressive. During the Panthers’ game against the Detroit Red Wings on March 2, ESPN announcer Sean McDonough shared that Reinhart currently leads the NHL in power-play (26) and short-handed (5) goals, and, should he finish the season in that position, he would be the fourth player in NHL history to accomplish that feat. I waited for McDonough to share the other three names, but, alas, he never did.
I scoured the statistics books (I mean web pages) all the way back to the 1920s, the earliest I could find for the NHL. Lo and behold, McDonough was not lying, not that I doubted him. Only four times has a player ended the season leading the league in power-play and short-handed goals. “But, Nick,” you interject, “You said only three players had ever done it, and Reinhart would be the fourth.” That is right. Someone did it twice, and that goes to show just how impressive Reinhart’s goal-scoring would be if he does it this year.
Mario Lemieux – 1995-96 & 1988-89
“Most recent” takes us back almost 30 years ago to the 1995-96 season. Mario Lemieux was dominating the league, scoring 69 goals in 70 games and finishing the season with 161 points. It was the second time he scored 69 goals and the third-highest total in his career. His five goals on March 26, 1996, against the St. Louis Blues would be the fourth and final time he scored five in one game. He and Wayne Gretzky are the only players with that many five-goal games.
Lemieux would go on to win the Hart Memorial Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy, and the Ted Lindsay Award. That is an incredibly successful season, and with many, many awards earned over his career, it is easy to overlook a not-quite-as-flashy accomplishment. Lemieux finished that season with 31 power-play goals and eight short-handed goals — both the highest in the NHL. He notched 11 more power-play goals than second-place Paul Kariya and two more short-handed goals than Mats Sundin.
Six years earlier, Lemieux also finished the season leading in power-play (31) and short-handed goals (13). He had six more power-play goals and three more short-handed tallies than the next players. He would finish that season with 85 goals and 114 assists — 31 more goals than Wayne Gretzky in two fewer games. I could go on and on about Lemieux’s statistics that season, but I will leave you with these: 2.62 points per game, 27.2% shooting percentage, and 199 points in 76 games. With numbers like these, I am not surprised that his simultaneous dominance on the power play and penalty kill has been forgotten.
Wayne Gretzky – 1983-84
There are not many achievements Lemieux boasts that Gretzky does not. Five years before Lemieux, Gretzky netted 20 power-play goals and 12 short-handed goals in 74 games, ending the season atop both categories. On the man advantage, Gretzky beat out Tony Tanti, John Ogrodnick, Pierre Larouche (each had 19). Gretzky’s 12 short-handed goals were three more than Kent Nilsson’s.
As a side note, Gretzky would finish that season with 205 points, 2.77 points per game, and a 26.7 shooting percentage. He, like Lemieux, took home the Hart Memorial Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy, and the Ted Lindsay Award. A pattern seems to be emerging.
Max Bentley – 1945-46
Long before Gretzky and Lemieux, Max Bentley finished the 1945-46 season leading in points (61) but, interestingly enough, did not score the most goals or tally the most assists. He did, however, notch 10 power-play goals, which was four more than second-place Clint Smith. Bentley’s one short-handed goal was tied for first with six different players, but technically, he did lead the league, making him the first player to finish the season with the most power-play and short-handed goals.
The NHL looked quite different back then. Only 50 games were played between the Original Six teams. Minor penalties like carrying the stick above the shoulders were still in effect, and players were allowed to skate in from the blue line for penalty shots. Nonetheless, Bentley’s performance in 1945-46 was the first of consecutive seasons leading the league in scoring. Bentley may not have put up the astronomical numbers of Gretzky and Lemieux, but he did win one Hart Trophy (1945-46), three Stanley Cups (1948, 1949, and 1951), and one Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (1942-43). Like Gretzky and Lemieux, Bentley made the official “100 Greatest NHL Players” list and cemented himself as a legend in both the Chicago Blackhawks (then Black Hawks) and Toronto Maple Leafs organizations.
Reinhart Is on Pace to Join the Greats
There are a few similarities between Reinhart’s potentially historic season and those of Lemieux, Gretzky, and Bentley (though I am not putting him in the same category as those three). Reinhart’s 46 goals this season are spaced quite evenly across five-on-five (15), power-play (25), and short-handed (5) situations. The three legends all had similar spreads when they etched their name in the history books. Reinhart also boasts a 25.8 shooting percentage, which is not too far behind Lemieux’s 27.2 and Gretzky’s 26.7 (shooting percentage was not tracked in Bentley’s era). Gretzky, Lemieux, and Reinhart all finished or will finish the season with very strong plus/minus numbers, further proving their offensive upsides (though neither Lemieux nor Reinhart comes close to Gretzky’s plus-100 rating in 1983-84).
Reinhart is currently on pace to finish with 57 goals — 32 on the power play and six on the penalty kill. That means he is due to score six more power-play goals and one more short-handed goal. Should he do that, he will most certainly finish with the most goals in both categories. Although, he outpaces second-place Auston Matthews by 11 power-play goals right now, so that is not a concern. It is the additional short-handed goal that would put him above Travis Konecny (5) and Simon Holmstrom (5). Ending the season in the outright lead would take away that small asterisk that would appear next to his season, like Bentley’s.
Related: Wayne Gretzky – The Great One’s 10 Most Unbreakable Records
Whether or not Reinhart joins this exclusive company will not take away from his best season yet. It would be a unique and impressive accomplishment to add to his resume, though. The Panthers sit at the top of the NHL standings, and Reinhart is a crucial component of the team’s success. It remains to be seen how his contract situation will resolve, as he will enter the offseason as an unrestricted free agent. Mentioning his name alongside Lemieux, Gretzky, and Bentley certainly strengthens his negotiating position.