November 7, 1968: Red Berenson Scores 6 Goals For The St. Louis Blues In Philly

On November 7, 1968, Red Berenson of the St. Louis Blues became the sixth player in NHL history to score 6 goals in one contest in an 8-0 win over the Flyers at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. The St. Louis center hadn't scored in more than a week and had just three goals on the season before the offensive explosion in Philly. The feat had not been achieved since 1944 when Syd Howe lit the lamp 6 times as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. Berenson fell just one goal shy of the all-time mark of 7 that was accomplished by Joe Malone in January of 1920. Since that day only Toronto's Darryl Sittler has joined the 6 goal club. All 6 of Berenson's goals came against Flyers netminder Doug Favell. Berenson broke out of his slump with a goal in the first, then in the second he put on a clinic with four goals in the period, before adding his sixth goal in the third. Before it was all said and done Berenson picked up an assist on a Camille Henry goal that just put a little more icing on the cake. Before Berenson arrived in the Gateway city he had scored just 14 goals in 166 games played in the NHL. After the expansion Blues acquired him via trade in November of '67 he found his groove and scored 22 goals on the way to being named rookie of the year for the new Western division. Things would only get better for Berenson, the 6 goal night was just the beginning of his best offensive season in which he scored  35 goals and recorded a total of 82 points on the season. When Berenson was asked about his offensive outburst after that game in Philly he said "Tonight was just like planting trees. Some years you plant 12 and five or six grow. And some years they all come up." They all came up that night for Berenson who had also tied the record for most goals in one period with his four in the second. It would take 9 years for Sittler to join the 6 goal club and while quite a few men have scored 5 in one contest there are only an elite bunch that can lay claim to 6 goals in one game.

Watch this video about Berenson's 6 goal performance: http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=20190

Check out the list of men who have scored 5 or more goals in one NHL game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_players_with_five_or_more_goals_in_an_NHL_game