Highest-scoring NHL playoff games: Where Avalanche-Wild 15-goal barnburner ranks in postseason history

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

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.