Wayne Gretzky's 4 on 4 scoring before the Gretzky rule

[overpass]

For the 1985-86 season, the NHL changed the rulebook to keep the same number of players on the ice when teams took coincidental minor penalties. Prior to this season, both teams went down a man in this situation. The change was made because Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers were too dominant in 4-on-4 and 4-on-3 situations, to the point they would seek them out by trying to draw coincidental minors.

How much did Gretzky actually score in these situations? Previously I posted in the threads below that 16 of Gretzky's 62 playoff goals from 80-81 through 84-85 were with 8 or fewer skaters on the ice. 9 were at 4-on-4, and 7 were in various situations where at least 1 team had 3 skaters on the ice.

The 1984-85 Oilers and 4-on-4

The Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s were well-known for being very successful while playing 4-on-4. Some opponents accused them of intentionally creating 4-on-4 situations by drawing offsetting penalties so they could play 4-on-4 instead of 5-on-5. After the 1985 season, the league changed the...

forums.hfboards.com

Mike Bossy was a better goal scorer than Wayne Gretzky

I've posted on this in a couple of threads before, and I thought I'd put it out there for discussion. When it comes to discussing the greatest goalscorers, I've often seen Bossy dismissed in this forum because Gretzky was a better goal scorer in their era. I don't think that's true at all -- I...

forums.hfboards.com

Now I've gone through Gretzky's scoring logs and box scores from 1981-82 through 1984-85 to identify how many of his points were scored at 4-on-4 and in other unusual situations (i.e. not 5-on-5, 5-on-4, 4-on-5). Here are the numbers.

[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Wayne Gretzky 1981-82[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

64​

[/TD]

[TD]

71​

[/TD]

[TD]

135​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

14​

[/TD]

[TD]

28​

[/TD]

[TD]

42​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

5​

[/TD]

[TD]

6​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

6​

[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

8​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

5​

[/TD]

[TD]

7​

[/TD]

[TD]

12​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

6​

[/TD]

[TD]

8​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]

92​

[/TD]

[TD]

120​

[/TD]

[TD]

212​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Wayne Gretzky 1982-83[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

40​

[/TD]

[TD]

75​

[/TD]

[TD]

115​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

17​

[/TD]

[TD]

30​

[/TD]

[TD]

47​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

7​

[/TD]

[TD]

4​

[/TD]

[TD]

11​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

5​

[/TD]

[TD]

8​

[/TD]

[TD]

13​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]

[TD]

4​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]

71​

[/TD]

[TD]

125​

[/TD]

[TD]

196​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Wayne Gretzky 1983-84[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

49​

[/TD]

[TD]

69​

[/TD]

[TD]

118​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

14​

[/TD]

[TD]

23​

[/TD]

[TD]

37​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

9​

[/TD]

[TD]

12​

[/TD]

[TD]

21​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

5​

[/TD]

[TD]

11​

[/TD]

[TD]

16​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

5​

[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

7​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]

87​

[/TD]

[TD]

118​

[/TD]

[TD]

205​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Wayne Gretzky 1984-85[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

47​

[/TD]

[TD]

85​

[/TD]

[TD]

132​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

8​

[/TD]

[TD]

29​

[/TD]

[TD]

37​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

10​

[/TD]

[TD]

6​

[/TD]

[TD]

16​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

6​

[/TD]

[TD]

8​

[/TD]

[TD]

14​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

6​

[/TD]

[TD]

6​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]

73​

[/TD]

[TD]

135​

[/TD]

[TD]

208​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Wayne Gretzky 81-82 to 84-85[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

200​

[/TD]

[TD]

300​

[/TD]

[TD]

500​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

53​

[/TD]

[TD]

110​

[/TD]

[TD]

163​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

10​

[/TD]

[TD]

12​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

32​

[/TD]

[TD]

24​

[/TD]

[TD]

56​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

21​

[/TD]

[TD]

34​

[/TD]

[TD]

55​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

8​

[/TD]

[TD]

17​

[/TD]

[TD]

25​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

5​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

4​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

5​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]

323​

[/TD]

[TD]

498​

[/TD]

[TD]

821​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Over these 4 seasons, Gretzky scored 21 goals and 55 points at 4-on-4. He also scored 17 goals and 47 points in 5-on-3, 4-on-3, 3-on-3, and 3-on-4 situations, mostly in 4-on-3.

How does this compare to other top scorers? I compiled the same stats for the #2 and #3 scorers of this time period, Mike Bossy and Peter Stastny.

[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Mike Bossy 1981-82[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

43​

[/TD]

[TD]

50​

[/TD]

[TD]

93​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

14​

[/TD]

[TD]

26​

[/TD]

[TD]

40​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

4​

[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]

[TD]

7​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

4​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]

64​

[/TD]

[TD]

83​

[/TD]

[TD]

147​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Mike Bossy 1982-83[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

41​

[/TD]

[TD]

34​

[/TD]

[TD]

75​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

15​

[/TD]

[TD]

18​

[/TD]

[TD]

33​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]

[TD]

4​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]

[TD]

4​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]

60​

[/TD]

[TD]

58​

[/TD]

[TD]

118​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Mike Bossy 1983-84[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

42​

[/TD]

[TD]

43​

[/TD]

[TD]

85​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

5​

[/TD]

[TD]

20​

[/TD]

[TD]

25​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

5​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]

51​

[/TD]

[TD]

67​

[/TD]

[TD]

118​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Mike Bossy 1984-85[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

38​

[/TD]

[TD]

40​

[/TD]

[TD]

78​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

14​

[/TD]

[TD]

13​

[/TD]

[TD]

27​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

4​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

4​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

5​

[/TD]

[TD]

7​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]

58​

[/TD]

[TD]

59​

[/TD]

[TD]

117​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Mike Bossy 81-82 to 84-85[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

164​

[/TD]

[TD]

167​

[/TD]

[TD]

331​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

48​

[/TD]

[TD]

77​

[/TD]

[TD]

125​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

4​

[/TD]

[TD]

6​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

4​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

4​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

10​

[/TD]

[TD]

13​

[/TD]

[TD]

23​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

5​

[/TD]

[TD]

6​

[/TD]

[TD]

11​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]

233​

[/TD]

[TD]

267​

[/TD]

[TD]

500​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Peter Stastny 1981-82[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

24​

[/TD]

[TD]

57​

[/TD]

[TD]

81​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

16​

[/TD]

[TD]

28​

[/TD]

[TD]

44​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

4​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]

46​

[/TD]

[TD]

93​

[/TD]

[TD]

139​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Peter Stastny 1982-83[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

38​

[/TD]

[TD]

45​

[/TD]

[TD]

83​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

5​

[/TD]

[TD]

25​

[/TD]

[TD]

30​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

4​

[/TD]

[TD]

6​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]

47​

[/TD]

[TD]

77​

[/TD]

[TD]

124​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Peter Stastny 1983-84[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

33​

[/TD]

[TD]

52​

[/TD]

[TD]

85​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

10​

[/TD]

[TD]

17​

[/TD]

[TD]

27​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]

46​

[/TD]

[TD]

73​

[/TD]

[TD]

119​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Peter Stastny 1984-85[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

23​

[/TD]

[TD]

43​

[/TD]

[TD]

66​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

6​

[/TD]

[TD]

22​

[/TD]

[TD]

28​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

3​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]

32​

[/TD]

[TD]

68​

[/TD]

[TD]

100​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Peter Stastny 81-82 to 84-85[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

118​

[/TD]

[TD]

197​

[/TD]

[TD]

315​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

37​

[/TD]

[TD]

92​

[/TD]

[TD]

129​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

4​

[/TD]

[TD]

5​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

5​

[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]

[TD]

7​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

7​

[/TD]

[TD]

8​

[/TD]

[TD]

15​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

7​

[/TD]

[TD]

8​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-3[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-4[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

1​

[/TD]

[TD]

2​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3-on-5[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]

[TD]

0​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]

[TD]

171​

[/TD]

[TD]

311​

[/TD]

[TD]

482​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

And here are the overall scoring stats by situation for this 4 season stretch. Gretzky was most dominant in 4-on-5 scoring, partly because he was the best shorthanded scorer of all time, and partly because Bossy and Stastny rarely played in this situation. Leaving that aside, when looking at 4-on-4 and other situations with 8 or fewer skaters on the ice, Gretzky scored 1.5 times as many points as Bossy and Stastny combined.

It's not hard to see why other teams wanted to change the rules. And yet, he still set the league record for points the very next season and won two more Stanley Cups with the Oilers.

[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Gretzky[/TD]
[TD]200[/TD]
[TD]300[/TD]
[TD]500[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bossy[/TD]
[TD]164[/TD]
[TD]167[/TD]
[TD]331[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Stastny[/TD]
[TD]118[/TD]
[TD]197[/TD]
[TD]315[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Gretzky[/TD]
[TD]53[/TD]
[TD]110[/TD]
[TD]163[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bossy[/TD]
[TD]48[/TD]
[TD]77[/TD]
[TD]125[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Stastny[/TD]
[TD]37[/TD]
[TD]92[/TD]
[TD]129[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Gretzky[/TD]
[TD]32[/TD]
[TD]24[/TD]
[TD]56[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bossy[/TD]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Stastny[/TD]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD]7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Gretzky[/TD]
[TD]21[/TD]
[TD]34[/TD]
[TD]55[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bossy[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]13[/TD]
[TD]23[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Stastny[/TD]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD]15[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Other[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Gretzky[/TD]
[TD]17[/TD]
[TD]30[/TD]
[TD]47[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bossy[/TD]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]17[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Stastny[/TD]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]12[/TD]
[TD]16[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Gretzky[/TD]
[TD]323[/TD]
[TD]498[/TD]
[TD]821[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bossy[/TD]
[TD]233[/TD]
[TD]267[/TD]
[TD]500[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Stastny[/TD]
[TD]171[/TD]
[TD]311[/TD]
[TD]482[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[overpass]

Here's the full list of regular season points by Gretzky from 1981-82 through 1984-85 that weren't 5-on-5, 5-on-4, or 4-on-5.

Date	Tm		Opp	P	Time		Description	State
10/28/1981​	EDM	@	NYR	2	6:57	PP	Goal by Paul Coffey, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Matti Hagman	4-on-3
10/28/1981​	EDM	@	NYR	2	19:04	PP	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Risto Siltanen and Paul Coffey	5-on-3
11/12/1981​	EDM	@	BOS	3	6:38	PP	Goal by Matti Hagman, assisted by Paul Coffey and Wayne Gretzky	4-on-3
11/17/1981​	EDM	@	STL	3	15:49	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Mark Messier and Glenn Anderson	4-on-4
11/21/1981​	EDM		VAN	3	1:29	PP	Goal by Dave Lumley, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Mike Forbes	4-on-3
11/21/1981​	EDM		VAN	3	15:27	PP	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Dave Lumley and Dave Semenko	4-on-3
11/27/1981​	EDM		CBH	1	15:11	EV	Goal by Doug Hicks, assisted by Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
12/1/1981​	EDM	@	MTL	2	19:07	EV	Goal by Glenn Anderson, assisted by Dave Hunter and Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
12/2/1981​	EDM	@	QUE	2	14:48	PP	Goal by Risto Siltanen, assisted by Wayne Gretzky	4-on-3
12/9/1981​	EDM	@	LAK	2	8:06	PP	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Kevin Lowe and Paul Coffey	4-on-3
12/30/1981​	EDM		PHI	1	13:49	PP	Goal by Paul Coffey, assisted by Risto Siltanen and Wayne Gretzky	4-on-3
1/6/1982​	EDM		CLR	2	14:10	PP	Goal by Mark Messier, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Grant Fuhr	4-on-3
1/9/1982​	EDM		CGY	1	18:09	EV	Goal by Dave Lumley, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Kevin Lowe	4-on-4
1/17/1982​	EDM	@	DET	3	0:30	PP	Goal by Pat Hughes, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Glenn Anderson	4-on-4
1/20/1982​	EDM		STL	1	9:04	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Glenn Anderson and Garry Lariviere	4-on-4
2/7/1982​	EDM		NYR	1	17:38	EV	Goal by Lee Fogolin, assisted by Dave Hunter and Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
2/17/1982​	EDM		MNS	2	12:50	EV	Goal by Kevin Lowe, assisted by Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
2/19/1982​	EDM		HAR	3	9:56	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Mark Messier	4-on-4
2/27/1982​	EDM	@	PIT	1	10:52	PP	Goal by Glenn Anderson, assisted by Paul Coffey and Wayne Gretzky	5-on-3
2/28/1982​	EDM	@	WSH	3	9:47	SH	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Wayne Gretzky	3-on-4
3/3/1982​	EDM	@	QUE	3	5:00	EV	Goal by Risto Siltanen, assisted by Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
3/13/1982​	EDM		VAN	2	5:37	PP	Goal by Risto Siltanen, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri	5-on-3
3/13/1982​	EDM		VAN	3	8:28	PP	Goal by Kevin Lowe, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri	5-on-3
3/17/1982​	EDM		PIT	3	11:33	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Paul Coffey	4-on-4
3/25/1982​	EDM	@	CGY	1	11:21	PP	Goal by Dave Semenko, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Risto Siltanen	5-on-3
3/28/1982​	EDM	@	LAK	3	1:50	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Glenn Anderson	4-on-4
4/4/1982​	EDM		WIN	1	10:00	PP	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Glenn Anderson	5-on-3
10/8/1982​	EDM		NYI	1	18:59	EV	Goal by Glenn Anderson, assisted by Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
10/9/1982​	EDM	@	VAN	1	11:53	EV	Goal by Dave Hunter, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Pat Hughes	4-on-4
10/12/1982​	EDM	@	CGY	2	9:13	PP	Goal by Mark Messier, assisted by Glenn Anderson and Wayne Gretzky	5-on-3
10/21/1982​	EDM		BOS	3	18:52	PP	Goal by Pat Hughes, assisted by Tom Roulston and Wayne Gretzky	5-on-3
10/24/1982​	EDM	@	WIN	1	6:19	EV	Goal by Paul Coffey, assisted by Wayne Gretzky	3-on-3
11/8/1982​	EDM	@	QUE	2	0:35	PP	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Dave Lumley	4-on-3
11/14/1982​	EDM	@	NYR	2	13:01	PP	Goal by Paul Coffey, assisted by Wayne Gretzky	5-on-3
11/21/1982​	EDM		QUE	2	11:02	EV	Goal by Charlie Huddy, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Kevin Lowe	4-on-4
11/24/1982​	EDM		WSH	1	12:34	PP	Goal by Ken Linseman, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Randy Gregg	4-on-3
11/26/1982​	EDM	@	WIN	1	17:10	EV	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Lee Fogolin	4-on-4
11/26/1982​	EDM	@	WIN	1	17:42	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Jari Kurri and Randy Gregg	4-on-4
11/26/1982​	EDM	@	WIN	3	7:01	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Jari Kurri and Jaroslav Pouzar	4-on-4
12/17/1982​	EDM		NJD	1	5:46	PP	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey	4-on-3
1/23/1983​	EDM		LAK	3	10:12	EV	Goal by Randy Gregg, assisted by Jari Kurri and Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
2/4/1983​	EDM		MTL	1	11:52	EV	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
2/11/1983​	EDM		QUE	3	17:23	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Paul Coffey	4-on-4
2/19/1983​	EDM	@	PIT	2	10:48	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Kevin Lowe	4-on-4
2/19/1983​	EDM	@	PIT	2	15:47	EV	Goal by Kevin Lowe, assisted by Wayne Gretzky	3-on-3
2/22/1983​	EDM	@	CGY	3	16:05	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Jari Kurri and Charlie Huddy	3-on-3
3/5/1983​	EDM	@	TOR	1	10:53	EV	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey	4-on-4
3/6/1983​	EDM	@	BOS	1	14:15	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Kevin Lowe and Jari Kurri	4-on-4
3/21/1983​	EDM	@	TOR	2	3:14	PP	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Paul Coffey and Charlie Huddy	4-on-3
3/23/1983​	EDM	@	WIN	3	11:50	EV	Goal by Paul Coffey, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Glenn Anderson	4-on-4
10/7/1983​	EDM	@	WIN	2	9:56	SH	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Lee Fogolin and Jari Kurri	3-on-4
10/12/1983​	EDM		DET	1	19:29	PP	Goal by Kevin Lowe, assisted by Wayne Gretzky	5-on-3
11/6/1983​	EDM	@	WIN	2	11:40	SH	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Jari Kurri	3-on-4
11/6/1983​	EDM	@	WIN	2	17:45	EV	Goal by Kevin Lowe, assisted by Glenn Anderson and Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
11/8/1983​	EDM	@	QUE	2	13:50	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Jari Kurri and Charlie Huddy	4-on-4
11/18/1983​	EDM		BUF	3	19:28	EV	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
11/21/1983​	EDM		WIN	2	13:32	PP	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Paul Coffey and Jari Kurri	5-on-3
11/26/1983​	EDM	@	STL	3	6:26	EV	Goal by Don Jackson, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Randy Gregg	4-on-4
11/26/1983​	EDM	@	STL	3	7:12	EV	Goal by Mark Messier, assisted by Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
12/18/1983​	EDM	@	WIN	1	7:43	PP	Goal by Mark Messier, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Glenn Anderson	4-on-3
12/21/1983​	EDM		WIN	3	19:41	SH	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Mark Messier and Paul Coffey	3-on-4
12/23/1983​	EDM		CGY	3	1:22	EV	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Paul Coffey and Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
12/26/1983​	EDM	@	CGY	2	0:21	EV	Goal by Charlie Huddy, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri	4-on-4
1/3/1984​	EDM	@	CGY	1	18:54	EV	Goal by Mark Messier, assisted by Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
1/3/1984​	EDM	@	CGY	1	19:38	EV	Goal by Paul Coffey, assisted by Jari Kurri and Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
1/4/1984​	EDM		MNS	1	18:20	EV	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
1/4/1984​	EDM		MNS	1	18:58	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Charlie Huddy and Paul Coffey	4-on-4
1/4/1984​	EDM		MNS	2	12:46	PP	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Glenn Anderson and Mark Messier	4-on-3
1/15/1984​	EDM	@	NJD	2	1:45	PP	Goal by Charlie Huddy, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey	4-on-3
1/18/1984​	EDM		VAN	1	6:30	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Don Jackson and Grant Fuhr	3-on-3
1/18/1984​	EDM		VAN	1	17:56	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Paul Coffey	4-on-4
2/19/1984​	EDM		PIT	2	17:45	EV	Goal by Paul Coffey, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Charlie Huddy	4-on-4
2/21/1984​	EDM	@	STL	1	18:57	PP	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Paul Coffey and Mark Messier	4-on-3
2/22/1984​	EDM	@	PIT	3	5:34	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Paul Coffey and Jari Kurri	4-on-4
3/7/1984​	EDM		CBH	3	14:25	EV	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Kevin Lowe	4-on-4
3/10/1984​	EDM		NYR	2	18:36	PP	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Glenn Anderson and Grant Fuhr	4-on-3
3/17/1984​	EDM		LAK	3	6:20	PP	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Paul Coffey and Jari Kurri	4-on-3
3/24/1984​	EDM		STL	2	4:28	PP	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Paul Coffey and Ken Linseman	4-on-3
3/25/1984​	EDM		WIN	1	16:56	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Paul Coffey and Glenn Anderson	4-on-4
10/16/1984​	EDM		BOS	3	12:51	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Jari Kurri	4-on-4
10/19/1984​	EDM	@	WIN	3	18:39	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Jari Kurri and Charlie Huddy	4-on-4
11/11/1984​	EDM	@	PHI	2	0:57	PP	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey	4-on-3
11/27/1984​	EDM	@	TOR	2	5:57	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Mike Krushelnyski and Jari Kurri	4-on-4
11/29/1984​	EDM	@	BOS	2	11:12	EV	Goal by Glenn Anderson, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Randy Gregg	4-on-4
11/30/1984​	EDM	@	HAR	3	6:57	EV	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Don Jackson and Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
12/13/1984​	EDM	@	LAK	1	18:47	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Jari Kurri and Paul Coffey	4-on-4
12/15/1984​	EDM	@	STL	1	8:23	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
12/15/1984​	EDM	@	STL	2	15:32	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Jari Kurri	4-on-4
12/29/1984​	EDM		DET	1	14:56	PP	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey	4-on-3
1/21/1985​	EDM		LAK	3	17:12	EV	Goal by Paul Coffey, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Lee Fogolin	4-on-4
1/28/1985​	EDM		CGY	2	0:58	PP	Goal by Paul Coffey, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri	5-on-3
2/15/1985​	EDM	@	NYR	3	16:54	EV	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Charlie Huddy	4-on-4
2/16/1985​	EDM	@	PHI	2	3:58	EV	Goal by Mark Messier, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Kevin Lowe	4-on-4
2/16/1985​	EDM	@	PHI	2	13:55	EV	Goal by Paul Coffey, assisted by Charlie Huddy and Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
3/5/1985​	EDM	@	CGY	1	13:26	PP	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey	4-on-3
3/13/1985​	EDM		DET	1	6:53	PP	Goal by Mark Messier, assisted by Glenn Anderson and Wayne Gretzky	4-on-3
3/17/1985​	EDM	@	LAK	2	9:43	PP	Goal by Mike Krushelnyski, assisted by Jari Kurri and Wayne Gretzky	4-on-3
3/20/1985​	EDM		CBH	3	5:25	EV	Goal by Jari Kurri, assisted by Wayne Gretzky and Kevin Lowe	4-on-4
3/22/1985​	EDM		TOR	3	6:32	SH	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Mark Messier and Kevin Lowe	3-on-4
3/29/1985​	EDM	@	HAR	3	1:30	EV	Goal by Paul Coffey, assisted by Wayne Gretzky	4-on-4
3/31/1985​	EDM	@	CBH	3	6:46	PP	Goal by Charlie Huddy, assisted by Paul Coffey and Wayne Gretzky	4-on-3
4/5/1985​	EDM		CGY	1	2:40	EV	Goal by Wayne Gretzky, assisted by Paul Coffey	3-on-3

 

[BraveCanadian]

Really interesting to finally see just how much more Gretzky was scoring in coincidental minor situations
than other top scorers.

Nice work as usual @overpass

 

[reckoning]

The fact that Gretzky scored more points 4-on-5 than 4-on-4 is stunning.

 

[MadLuke]

163 pts on PP vs 158 on odd situation is quite crazy.

 

[The Panther]

163 pts on PP vs 158 on odd situation is quite crazy.

Well, the 1983-84 Oilers' Short-handed scoring rate was higher than the Anaheim Ducks' Power-play rate a couple of years ago, I think...

 

[MadLuke]

Well, the 1983-84 Oilers' Short-handed scoring rate was higher than the Anaheim Ducks' Power-play rate a couple of years ago, I think...

It is hard to fully assess what to make of it. The oilers was a top team at killing penalty during that time so it was not at the big cost of anything.

Only the dynasty Islanders had a better penalty killing in that era when you consider the net goal total, they seem to have scored on the PK at around 6.4% rate, in 83-84 it was 9.5%, better than the 21 Ducks or 98 Lightning.

What does it mean in terms of ranking peak Gretzky in the list of the best forward on the PK in the history of the league.

 

[Sadekuuro]

The fact that Gretzky scored more points 4-on-5 than 4-on-4 is stunning.

It's probably due to ice time; presumably there would be a lot more of it 4 on 5.

 

[Michael Farkas]

A really talented Python coder (i.e. not me) could probably rig up the NHL API payload to spit out how much time the team spent in these situations...

 

[The Panther]

Watching the Edmonton - Winnipeg game the other day, it struck me how rare it is to see coincidental minor penalties called nowadays. Maybe it happens now and again, but it seems pretty rare. Like, if they bother to call a penalty nowadays, it's always to give one team or the other an advantage.

When I was kid (80s/90s), coincidental minors seemed to be called all the time.

 

[Dingo]

For the 1985-86 season, the NHL changed the rulebook to keep the same number of players on the ice when teams took coincidental minor penalties. Prior to this season, both teams went down a man in this situation. The change was made because Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers were too dominant in 4-on-4 and 4-on-3 situations, to the point they would seek them out by trying to draw coincidental minors.

How much did Gretzky actually score in these situations? Previously I posted in the threads below that 16 of Gretzky's 62 playoff goals from 80-81 through 84-85 were with 8 or fewer skaters on the ice. 9 were at 4-on-4, and 7 were in various situations where at least 1 team had 3 skaters on the ice.

The 1984-85 Oilers and 4-on-4

The Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s were well-known for being very successful while playing 4-on-4. Some opponents accused them of intentionally creating 4-on-4 situations by drawing offsetting penalties so they could play 4-on-4 instead of 5-on-5. After the 1985 season, the league changed the...

forums.hfboards.com

Mike Bossy was a better goal scorer than Wayne Gretzky

I've posted on this in a couple of threads before, and I thought I'd put it out there for discussion. When it comes to discussing the greatest goalscorers, I've often seen Bossy dismissed in this forum because Gretzky was a better goal scorer in their era. I don't think that's true at all -- I...

forums.hfboards.com

Now I've gone through Gretzky's scoring logs and box scores from 1981-82 through 1984-85 to identify how many of his points were scored at 4-on-4 and in other unusual situations (i.e. not 5-on-5, 5-on-4, 4-on-5). Here are the numbers.



Over these 4 seasons, Gretzky scored 21 goals and 55 points at 4-on-4. He also scored 17 goals and 47 points in 5-on-3, 4-on-3, 3-on-3, and 3-on-4 situations, mostly in 4-on-3.

How does this compare to other top scorers? I compiled the same stats for the #2 and #3 scorers of this time period, Mike Bossy and Peter Stastny.




And here are the overall scoring stats by situation for this 4 season stretch. Gretzky was most dominant in 4-on-5 scoring, partly because he was the best shorthanded scorer of all time, and partly because Bossy and Stastny rarely played in this situation. Leaving that aside, when looking at 4-on-4 and other situations with 8 or fewer skaters on the ice, Gretzky scored 1.5 times as many points as Bossy and Stastny combined.

It's not hard to see why other teams wanted to change the rules. And yet, he still set the league record for points the very next season and won two more Stanley Cups with the Oilers.

[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-5[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Gretzky[/TD]
[TD]200[/TD]
[TD]300[/TD]
[TD]500[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bossy[/TD]
[TD]164[/TD]
[TD]167[/TD]
[TD]331[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Stastny[/TD]
[TD]118[/TD]
[TD]197[/TD]
[TD]315[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5-on-4[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Gretzky[/TD]
[TD]53[/TD]
[TD]110[/TD]
[TD]163[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bossy[/TD]
[TD]48[/TD]
[TD]77[/TD]
[TD]125[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Stastny[/TD]
[TD]37[/TD]
[TD]92[/TD]
[TD]129[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-5[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Gretzky[/TD]
[TD]32[/TD]
[TD]24[/TD]
[TD]56[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bossy[/TD]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]0[/TD]
[TD]4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Stastny[/TD]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD]7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4-on-4[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Gretzky[/TD]
[TD]21[/TD]
[TD]34[/TD]
[TD]55[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bossy[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]13[/TD]
[TD]23[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Stastny[/TD]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD]15[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Other[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Gretzky[/TD]
[TD]17[/TD]
[TD]30[/TD]
[TD]47[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bossy[/TD]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]17[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Stastny[/TD]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]12[/TD]
[TD]16[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD]
[TD]G[/TD]
[TD]A[/TD]
[TD]P[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Gretzky[/TD]
[TD]323[/TD]
[TD]498[/TD]
[TD]821[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bossy[/TD]
[TD]233[/TD]
[TD]267[/TD]
[TD]500[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Stastny[/TD]
[TD]171[/TD]
[TD]311[/TD]
[TD]482[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

amazing work, again.

So, as the next season probably indicates, by removing 4 on 4 time, he would have simply gotten more 5 on 5 time and done roughly as well.

15 points per year back then at 4 on 4. Probably would have got 10 of those if it was always at 5 on 5.

I would have thought that Stastny would have been more of a 4 on 4 producer. Bossy never struck me as fast. I wonder about Dionne... he was likely the fastest of the good forwards around in that day?

 

[Dingo]

Watching the Edmonton - Winnipeg game the other day, it struck me how rare it is to see coincidental minor penalties called nowadays. Maybe it happens now and again, but it seems pretty rare. Like, if they bother to call a penalty nowadays, it's always to give one team or the other an advantage.

When I was kid (80s/90s), coincidental minors seemed to be called all the time.

that might be worth an investigation, actually. One thing I notice when looking back at those players is how many 'real' players (not goons) had 200 or even 300+ PIMs. One would think that it was powerplay after powerplay, but i dont think it was... at least i dont remember it that way... so, you may be very correct.

 

[overpass]

Here are the stats for Marcel Dionne in those seasons.

Marcel Dionne 81-82	G	A	P
5-on-5	29​	37​	66​
5-on-4	14​	22​	36​
5-on-3	1​	3​	4​
4-on-5	1​	0​	1​
4-on-4	3​	4​	7​
4-on-3	2​	1​	3​
3-on-3	0​	0​	0​
3-on-4	0​	0​	0​
3-on-5	0​	0​	0​
Total	50​	67​	117​

Marcel Dionne 82-83	G	A	P
5-on-5	38​	27​	65​
5-on-4	14​	20​	34​
5-on-3	0​	1​	1​
4-on-5	0​	1​	1​
4-on-4	1​	2​	3​
4-on-3	2​	0​	2​
3-on-3	0​	0​	0​
3-on-4	0​	0​	0​
3-on-5	1​	0​	1​
Total	56​	51​	107​

Marcel Dionne 83-84	G	A	P
5-on-5	25​	33​	58​
5-on-4	10​	18​	28​
5-on-3	0​	1​	1​
4-on-5	0​	0​	0​
4-on-4	1​	1​	2​
4-on-3	3​	0​	3​
3-on-3	0​	0​	0​
3-on-4	0​	0​	0​
3-on-5	0​	0​	0​
Total	39​	53​	92​

Marcel Dionne 84-85	G	A	P
5-on-5	27​	34​	61​
5-on-4	14​	32​	46​
5-on-3	1​	3​	4​
4-on-5	0​	3​	3​
4-on-4	2​	6​	8​
4-on-3	1​	2​	3​
3-on-3	0​	0​	0​
3-on-4	0​	0​	0​
3-on-5	1​	0​	1​
Total	46​	80​	126​

Marcel Dionne 81-82 to 84-85	G	A	P
5-on-5	119​	131​	250​
5-on-4	52​	92​	144​
5-on-3	2​	8​	10​
4-on-5	1​	4​	5​
4-on-4	7​	13​	20​
4-on-3	8​	3​	11​
3-on-3	0​	0​	0​
3-on-4	0​	0​	0​
3-on-5	2​	0​	2​
Total	191​	251​	442​

Dionne, at least for these seasons, was behind Bossy and Stastny at 5-on-5. He was in the same range as them for 4-on-4 and 4-on-3 scoring, also far behind Gretzky.

At 5-on-4 and 5-on-3 he was ahead of Bossy and Stastny, and approached Gretzky’s numbers.

Like Bossy and Stastny he didn’t do a lot of penalty killing or shorthanded scoring in these four seasons, but he did have two 3-on-5 goals.

 

[overpass]

Because the league went back to 4-on-4 play for coincidental minors in the 1992-93 season, I decided to see how Mario Lemieux’s great 92-93 season broke down.

Mario Lemieux 92-93	G	A	P
5-on-5	44​	47​	91​
5-on-4	16​	34​	50​
5-on-3	0​	3​	3​
4-on-5	5​	3​	8​
4-on-4	3​	3​	6​
4-on-3	0​	1​	1​
3-on-3	0​	0​	0​
3-on-4	1​	0​	1​
3-on-5	0​	0​	0​
Total	69​	91​	160​

Mario’s 4-on-4 and 4-on-3 scoring from this season didn’t stand out like prime Gretzky’s did. He did almost all of his scoring at 5-on-5, 5-on-4, and 4-on-5.

I didn’t track the numbers but after looking at a bunch of box scores, I would agree that coincidental minors were less common in 92-93 than in the early-mid 80s. It was pretty common in the 80s for two players to each get two minutes for roughing or something. In 92-93, coincidental penalties seemed more likely to be majors.

 

[TheStatican]

I actually look at these numbers last year during my deep statistical analysis of Gretzky and Lemieux's peaks. Ultimately I decided not to include them in there because I had already posted a ridiculous amount of data and they seem the least relevant.

It's probably due to ice time; presumably there would be a lot more of it 4 on 5.

Got those numbers.

Not only did I compile Gretzky's numbers but I compiled the Oilers team 4v4 totals as well. Since Overpass already posted Gretzky's individual stats here I won't repeat his numbers only the Oilers totals which I posted in this thread:

1980's Oilers 4v4 stats

Oilers goal totals by game situation(in Gretzky's games): Regular Season Gm Total 5v5 PP 4v4 SH 1979-80 79 300 223 61 5 11 1980-81 80 328 221 77 20 13 1981-82 80 417 301 87 17 12 1982-83 80 424 290 86 26 22 1983-84 74 427 289 76 29 35 1984-85...

forums.hfboards.com

 

[TheStatican]

Some interesting data in here...

Even Strength totals are often used to demonstrate the strength of a players ability to score in "normal" game time situations. However, while 4 on 4 and 3 on 3 play both fulfill the technical definition of "even strength" it is also a game time situation where scoring levels are elevated, much like when a team is on a powerplay. Except in this case both teams are essentially on the powerplay - and they are in fact playing against 4 opponents, not 5.

To be sure, scoring levels are not quite as high as they are during a powerplay, they're somewhere in between which makes sense because the puck possession is much more evenly distributed during 4 on 4 play compared to 5 on 4. However this is also balanced out by the longer duration of 4 on 4 play. Unlike a powerplay, coincidental minors don't expire after a goal is scored by either team meaning their normal duration is 120 seconds. The average powerplay in comparison last at least 20 seconds less - last season the average length was 98.53 seconds (13232 total PP minutes divided by 8058 opportunities). The higher the efficiency the shorter the average powerplay length is, meaning it was even shorter still(by a couple seconds) during the high PP% seasons of the 80's.

Here is the list of all the 90+ point "Even Strength" seasons in NHL history. This list should in fact be discarded because it includes totals accumulated in higher than normal scoring situations.

147 - Gretzky '82
146 - Gretzky '85
143 - Gretzky '86
135 - Gretzky '84
132 - Gretzky '83
124 - Gretzky '87
104 - Lafleur '77
104 - Gretzky '81
103 - Gretzky '91
102 - Lemieux '89
101 - Kurri '85
101 - Yzerman '89
100 - Gretzky '89
100 - Gretzky '80
100 - Bossy '82
99 - Esposito '71
99 - Esposito '74
96 - Lemieux '93
96 - Gretzky '90
95 - Jagr '96
93 - Hodge '71
91 - Gretzky '88
91 - Dionne '80
90 - Bossy '84
90 - Stastny '83
90 - Trottier '79
90 - Coffey '87
90 - Gaudreau '22

Here is that same list with 4v4 and 3v3 points removed(totals for which in brackets). This gives a truer account of players production at normal strength:

80 37-102-139 - Gretzky '86 (4)
80 64-71-135 - Gretzky '82 (12)
80 47-85-132 - Gretzky '85 (15)
79 40-81-121 - Gretzky '87 (3)
74 49-69-118 - Gretzky '84 (17) prorates to 53G 127.5Pts
80 40-75-115 - Gretzky '83 (16)
78 32-69-101 - Gretzky '91 (2)
80 45-56-101 - Yzerman '89 (0)
74 40-60-100 - Lemieux '89 (2)
80 40-58-98 - Lafleur '77 (6)
78 49-48-97 - Esposito '74 (2)
78 50-46-96 - Esposito '71 (3)
79 36-60-96 - Gretzky '80 (4)
73 26-69-95 - Gretzky '90 (1)
78 44-51-95 - Lafleur '78 (1)
78 36-59-95 - Gretzky '89 (5)
80 43-50-93 - Bossy '82 (7)
82 40-53-93 - Jagr '96 (2)
80 34-58-92 - Gretzky '81 (12)
60 44-47-91 - Lemieux '93 (6) prorates to 59G 121Pts
73 50-40-90 - Kurri '85 (11) prorates to 55G
78 36-53-89 - Hodge '71 (4)
64 25-64-89 - Gretzky '88 (2) prorates to 111Pts
80 35-53-88 - Dionne '80 (3)
79 30-57-87 - Coffey '87 (3)
76 29-57-86 - Trottier '79 (4)
68 42-43-85 - Bossy '84 (5) prorates to 100Pts
80 33-52-85 - Stastny '84 (2)
82 32-52-84 - Gaudreau '22 (6)
75 38-45-83 - Stastny '83 (6)

Instead of having 15 100 Point ES seasons we now only have 9. With only three 50 goal seasons instead of 6 from those on the list - There were 4 more 50+ ES goal seasons I didn't look into; Hull(57), Selanne(52), Shutt(51) and Leach's(51). Hull is almost a given to still have the second highest ES total since he didn't have the benefit of large amounts of 4 on 4 play that season, the others are not so safe however.

Gretzky's 17 4 on 4(& 3 on 3) pts in 83-84 is almost certainly the record, while Kurri's 11 in 84-85 is very likely to be the most by anyone else. Gaudreau had 4 3v3 points in 21-22 which might be the record for 3v3 points. It appears that Johnny does indeed have the single season record(tied) for 3 on 3 points but not from that seasons but rather 2015-16, with a total of 7. Remarkably Yzerman appeared to not have a single 4v4 or 3v3 point in 88-89.

 

[MadLuke]

Those Lafleur seasons are they the worst point total/5v5 points ratio ever for an top scorer ?

To note the Top 6 season here are all consecutive for Gretzky, no one did or will do this 1-2-3-4-5.. 6 time in a row (or even get particularly close to do this, all in a 14%+ margin).

 

[BraveCanadian]

Just when you think there are no more bonkers Gretzky stats to find..

 

[TheStatican]

Those Lafleur seasons are they the worst point total/5v5 points ratio ever for an top scorer ?

By worst do you mean highest ratio of 5v5 pts to total points? Suppose that depend if one considers 105 pts to be enough for a top scorer. But for Art Ross winners it is indeed Lafleur.

64.7% 139/215 - Gretzky '86
63.7% 135/212 - Gretzky '82
63.5% 132/208 - Gretzky '85
66.1% 121/183 - Gretzky '87
57.6% 118/205 - Gretzky '84
58.7% 115/196 - Gretzky '83
62.0% 101/163 - Gretzky '91
65.2% 101/155 - Yzerman '89
50.3% 100/199 - Lemieux '89
72.1% 98/136 - Lafleur '77
66.9% 97/145 - Esposito '74
63.2% 96/152 - Esposito '71
70.1% 96/137 - Gretzky '80
66.9% 95/142 - Gretzky '90
72.0% 95/132 - Lafleur '78
56.5% 95/168 - Gretzky '89
63.3% 93/147 - Bossy '82
62.4% 93/149 - Jagr '96
56.1% 92/164 - Gretzky '81
56.9% 91/160 - Lemieux '93
66.7% 90/135 - Kurri '85
84.8% 89/105 - Hodge '71
59.7% 89/149 - Gretzky '88
64.2% 88/137 - Dionne '80
63.0% 87/138 - Coffey '86 (not 87!)
64.2% 86/134 - Trottier '79
72.0% 85/118 - Bossy '84
71.4% 85/119 - Stastny '84
73.0% 84/115 - Gaudreau '22
66.9% 83/124 - Stastny '83

Hopefully people don't read too much into that though. Hodge and Gaudreau have the highest two percentages and they are literally by far the weakest two players on the entire list, no where near the caliber of the others. While Gretzky '84 and Lemieux '93 have two of the lowest ratios (57.6/56.9) but are pretty much universally acknowledged as the highest offensive level ever reached by anyone in NHL history.