On April 13, 1985, Tim Kerr of the Philadelphia Flyers etched his name into the NHL record books and, so far, the ink hasn’t faded. It was Game 3 of the best-of-five opening round against the New York Rangers. The Flyers held a 2-0 series lead, with this one taking place at Madison Square Garden.
Up until 10:05 of the second period, Kerr had been quiet and the Rangers were up 3-2. But at 10:06, he changed the script. Tim scored the first of what would be four straight goals in just 8 minutes and 16 seconds. Three of those were set up by Peter Zezel, three came on the powerplay, and all four were fired past New York goalie Glen Hanlon. After the fourth, Hanlon was yanked in favour of John Vanbiesbrouck.
That fourth goal gave Philly a 6-3 lead. The Rangers pushed back in the third with goals from Don Maloney and Anders Hedberg, but the Flyers held on to win the game and the series. They’d go on to knock off the Islanders and Nordiques before eventually falling to the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final.
A few years later, Mario Lemieux would match Kerr’s feat, scoring four goals in a single period, this time the first, on April 25, 1989, in a wild 10-7 Penguins win over, fittingly, the Flyers. Lemieux finished the night with five goals and three assists for an eight-point explosion. Tim Kerr was on the ice that night for Philly too, chipping in with two goals and two assists of his own.