Darryl Sittler’s 10-Point Night Still Stands Alone - And NHL Stars Say It Might Stay That Way
Wayne Gretzky’s once-untouchable 894 career goals? Alex Ovechkin changed that narrative in 2025. But while the Great Eight’s historic run has made fans rethink what’s truly unbreakable in hockey, there’s one record that still feels like it’s wrapped in steel: Darryl Sittler’s 10-point night.
Ask two of today’s brightest stars - Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid - and they’ll tell you straight up: this one’s not going anywhere.
Let’s rewind to February 6, 1976. The Toronto Maple Leafs were taking on the Boston Bruins when Sittler put together a performance that still echoes through NHL history.
Six goals. Four assists.
Ten points in a single game. It’s been 50 years, and no one has matched it - not even close.
Plenty of legends have flirted with the mark. Tom Bladon, Bryan Trottier, Peter and Anton Stastny, Paul Coffey, Bernie Nicholls, and Sam Gagner all reached the eight-point plateau.
Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky did it twice each. But that’s where the chase has always stopped - two points shy.
So when McDavid and Matthews were asked if anyone could ever top Sittler’s record, their answers were as decisive as a top-shelf wrister.
“I think at a certain point, when the game turns into a blowout, there’s an inevitable let-up,” McDavid said. “From players, from coaching staff - everything.
And with the quality of play today, it’s tough to even get one or two points a night, let alone 10. So, I would say, almost impossible.”
That’s not just modesty from the Oilers captain - it’s a reflection of how the game has evolved. Defensive systems are tighter, goaltending is better, and the pace is relentless. Even the league’s most dynamic players rarely have the breathing room to pile up the kind of numbers Sittler did in that wild night in ’76.
In fact, the last time anyone even sniffed it was back in 2012, when Sam Gagner - then also with the Oilers - exploded for four goals and four assists in a single game. Eight points, the magic number that’s become the ceiling for modern NHLers.
Since then? No one else has touched it.
Matthews, who’s carved out his own place in Maple Leafs lore, didn’t hesitate to call it like he sees it.
“I think that might be one that lasts for a pretty, pretty long time,” he said. “It’s kind of hard to wrap your head around that, to be honest.
I mean, 10 points, right? And six goals?
That’s like two hat tricks. It’s really hard to wrap your head around just how incredible that is.
I don’t think that’s getting touched anytime soon.”
And he’s not wrong. Matthews has topped out at five points in a game - and he’s done that twice.
McDavid? His best is six.
These are two of the most electrifying offensive players of their generation, and even they’re still miles from Sittler’s summit.
Could someone eventually make a run at it? Sure.
Never say never in sports. But if we’re being real, it’s going to take a perfect storm - a hot stick, a lopsided matchup, and maybe a little bit of magic.
Until then, Sittler’s 10-point night remains one of hockey’s most iconic feats - not just for the numbers, but for how unreachable it still feels, even half a century later.