Highest-scoring NHL playoff games: Where Avalanche-Wild 15-goal barnburner ranks in postseason history originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Stanley Cup Playoffs will give you every type of hockey game each spring, from a 0-0 game in overtime to a complete onslaught of goals and everything in between.
Those low-scoring affairs in which the fans hang on every shot are thrilling, but you could argue that nothing beats the twists and turns of a high-scoring game.
The Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild combined for one of the most entertaining games in recent playoff history when Game 1 of their second-round matchup saw 15 total goals and blown leads by both teams.
Here’s a look at the highest-scoring playoff games in NHL history and where the Avalanche’s win over the Wild ranks.
MORE:Fewest shots in NHL playoff win after Canadiens’ bizarre Game 7
What is the highest-scoring NHL playoff game?
The Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers played the highest-scoring playoff game in NHL history on April 7, 1982, when the Kings scored the game’s final two goals for a 10-8 victory in Game 1 of a five-game, first-round series.
Marcel Dionne and Daryl Evans each scored twice for L.A., while Risto Siltanen had the only multi-goal effort for the Oilers. Wayne Gretzky also got in on the action with a goal against his future team.
The Kings led 8-6 after two periods, and the final period was actually the lowest-scoring period of the game with three even-strength goals before an empty-net goal sealed an L.A. win. The Kings would go on to win the series, which included two more 11-goal games, but nothing that could quite rival 18.
Here’s a recap of the highest-scoring playoff games in NHL history.
MORE:Complete series schedule for Avalanche-Wild
Highest-scoring NHL playoff games of all time
| Date | Round | Total goals | Result |
| April 7, 1982 | First round | 18 | Kings 10, Oilers 8 |
| April 25, 1989 | Second round | 17 | Penguins 10, Flyers 7 |
| April 9, 1987 | First round | 16 | Oilers 13, Kings 3 |
| April 10, 1990 | First round | 16 | Kings 12, Flames 4 |
| May 8, 1973 | Stanley Cup Final | 15 | Blackhawks 8, Canadiens 7 |
| April 9, 1981 | First round | 15 | North Stars 9, Bruins 6 |
| May 14, 1985 | Conference final | 15 | Oilers 10, Blackhawks 5 |
| April 29, 1993 | First round | 15 | Kings 9, Flames 6 |
| May 18, 2022 | Second round | 15 | Flames 9, Oilers 6 |
| May 3, 2026 | Second round | 15 | Avalanche 9, Wild 6 |
Only four playoff games have featured more goals than Colorado’s 9-6 win over Minnesota, and they all happened within a span of nine years from 1982-1990. One more goal between the Avalanche and Wild in Game 1 would have made it the highest-scoring playoff game in 36 years.
Instead, it’s the NHL’s highest-scoring playoff game in four years, matching the 15 goals put up by the Flames and Oilers during their second-round battle in 2022. The 15 goals were still enough for Avalanche-Wild to enter the all-time top 10, which now includes only two games from the 21st century.