Most goals scored in an NHL game: Penguins become first team in salary cap era to score 11

Bryan Murphy

Most goals scored in an NHL game: Penguins become first team in salary cap era to score 11 image

Last season, Evgeni Malkin's three goals alone would have been enough to grab the Penguins the win over the Red Wings in a late March macthup.

But Pittsburgh wasn't satisfied with single digits. No, the Penguins made history by exploding for 11 goals against Detroit. 

The Penguins took home an impressive 11-2 win over their Original Six opponent. In addition to Malkin's hat trick, eight other Penguins scored goals as the team improved to 40-17-10. 

The club became the first team in the salary cap era (since the 2005-06 season) to score 11 goals in a single game and the first team since the Capitals in 2003 accomplished that feat. But believe it or not, it wasn't even the franchise's highest total in a single game. 

The impressive offensive output raises this question: What team does have the most goals in a game in NHL history?

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What is the most goals scored in a single NHL game?

There have been a multitude of double-digit goal efforts, but only one team has hit 16 in a game. 

The Canadiens were the team that did that. On March 3, 1920, Montreal smacked the Quebec Bulldogs 16-3. Harry Cameron and Newsy Lalonde each had four goals in the record-setting performance. 

Two teams have reached 15 goals twice in NHL history, and on five different occasions a team has found the back of the net 14 times in a game. 

Here is a look at the most goals scored in a single game by one team:

TEAM DATE SCORE OPPONENT
Montreal Canadiens March 3, 1920 16-3 Quebec Bulldogs
Minnesota North Stars Nov. 11, 1981 15-2 Winnipeg Jets
Detroit Red Wings Jan. 23, 1944 15-0 New York Rangers
Buffalo Sabres March 19, 1981 14-4 Toronto Maple Leafs
Buffalo Sabres Dec. 21, 1975 14-2 Washington Capitals
Toronto Maple Leafs March 16, 1957 14-1 New York Rangers
Boston Bruins Jan. 21, 1945 14-3 New York Rangers
Montreal Canadiens Jan. 10, 1920 14-7 Toronto St. Patrick's

Bryan Murphy

Bryan Murphy Photo

Bryan Murphy joined The Sporting News in 2022 as the NHL/Canada content producer. Previously he worked for NBC Sports on their national news desk reporting on breaking news for the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL, in addition to covering the 2020 and 2022 Olympic Games. A graduate of Quinnipiac University, he spent time in college as a beat reporter covering the men’s ice hockey team.