Editing Maurice Richard (section)

===50 goals in 50 games===
The [[1944–45 NHL season]] was a record-setting one for Richard. He first set a new mark for points in one game when he made five goals and three assists in a 9–1 victory over the [[Detroit Red Wings]] on December 28, 1944; his eight points broke the previous record of seven held by three players,<ref>{{citation |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19441229&id=jYlAAAAAIBAJ&pg=5429,82343 |title=Maurice Richard holds new National League scoring mark |work=Nashua Telegraph |date=December 29, 1944 |access-date=March 12, 2014 |page=9}}</ref> and stood for 32 years until surpassed in 1976 by [[Darryl Sittler]].<ref>{{citation |last=Campbell |first=Neil |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uL0yAAAAIBAJ&pg=1150%2C3014040 |title=Sittler's 10 points bring bundle of records |work=Ottawa Citizen |date=February 9, 1976 |access-date=March 12, 2014 |page=15}}</ref> Richard achieved the feat despite arriving for the game exhausted from moving into his new home that afternoon.<ref name="McKinley141">{{harvnb|McKinley|2006|p=141}}</ref> He continued scoring at an unprecedented rate, and by February 1945 was approaching [[Joe Malone]]'s 27-year-old NHL record, set [[1917–18 NHL season|in 1918]], of 44 goals in one season.<ref>{{citation |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19450213&id=q_8uAAAAIBAJ&pg=5321,2006342 |title=Maurice Richard sets torrid pace in NHL scoring |work=Ottawa Citizen |date=February 13, 1945 |access-date=March 12, 2014 |page=9}}</ref> Richard broke the record on February 25, 1945, in a 5–2 victory over Toronto. Malone was on hand to present Richard with the puck used to score the 45th goal.<ref>{{citation |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ioVhAAAAIBAJ&pg=6031%2C4130506 |title=Rocket gets 45th as Habs humble Leafs, 5–2 |work=Ottawa Citizen |date=February 26, 1945 |access-date=March 13, 2014 |page=11}}</ref>
[[File:Hockey. Maurice Richard BAnQ P48S1P12157 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Richard in 1945. His feat of scoring 50 goals in 50 games was unmatched until [[Mike Bossy]] in 1980–81.<ref>{{citation |last=Kreiser |first=John |url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=544419 |title=Stamkos hoping to join the NHL's 50-in-50 club |publisher=National Hockey League |date=November 24, 2010 |access-date=April 1, 2014}}</ref>|alt=Richard poses for a photographer while wearing his full Canadiens uniform]]
As Richard approached [[List of NHL players with 50-goal seasons|50 goals]] for the season, opposition players resorted to increasingly violent efforts to prevent him from scoring. He had to fight past [[slashing (ice hockey)|slashes]], [[hooking (ice hockey)|hooks]], and even players who draped themselves across his back.<ref name="McKinley141" /> Richard went eight games without scoring and began Montreal's final regular season game, March 18, on the road against the [[Boston Bruins]] with 49 goals.<ref name="McKinley141" /> He finally reached the milestone by scoring with 2:15 remaining in the game, a 4–2 Montreal win.<ref>{{citation |url=http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/greatest-moment/50-In-50 |title=50-in-50 |publisher=Montreal Canadiens Hockey Club |access-date=March 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015065358/http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/greatest-moment/50-In-50 |archive-date=October 15, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He became the first player to score 50 goals, a record that would stand until the 1960–61 season, when fellow Canadien, [[Bernie Geoffrion|Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion]] scored [https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/g/geoffbe01.html 50 goals in 64 regular season games] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026154428/https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/g/geoffbe01.html |date=October 26, 2021 }}. Richard's mark was not surpassed until [[Bobby Hull]] scored 54 goals in 65 games while playing for the [[Chicago Blackhawks]] during the 1965–66 season. His mark of [[50 goals in 50 games]] also became a standard that remains one of the most celebrated achievements in NHL history, unmatched until 36 years later when [[Mike Bossy]] did it [[1980–81 NHL season|in 1981]] &ndash; the first of only four players to match Richard's 50-in-50, in the more than 70 years since Richard set the mark.<ref>{{harvnb|Pincus|2006|p=57}}</ref> Richard finished the season with 73 points, seven behind Lach and six ahead of Blake, as the Punch line finished first, second and third in league scoring.<ref name="Diamond 2013 154">{{harvnb|Diamond|2013|p=154}}</ref> Richard finished second in the voting for the Hart Trophy as the league's [[most valuable player]], behind Lach.

Richard's critics argued that his scoring record was the result of talent dilution brought about by the war; when many players returned in [[1945–46 NHL season|1945–46]], he won his second Stanley Cup with Montreal, but his goal output was nearly halved to 27. Richard again reached lofty scoring totals in [[1946–47 NHL season|1946–47]], leading the league with 45 goals in a 60-game season and winning the [[Hart Memorial Trophy|Hart Trophy]] as the league's most valuable player for the only time of his career.<ref name="Pincus74">{{harvnb|Pincus|2006|p=74}}</ref><ref name="Cameron158">{{harvnb|Cameron|2013|p=158}}</ref> He finished second or third in the Hart Trophy voting a further five times in his career. Opponents continued their attempts to drive Richard to anger or frustration, as they had learned he could be goaded into taking himself out of the game by violently retaliating and [[fighting in ice hockey|fighting]].<ref>{{harvnb|Foran|2011|p=50}}</ref> One such incident occurred in the [[1947 Stanley Cup Finals]] when Richard received a [[match penalty]] for striking Toronto's [[Bill Ezinicki]] over the head with his stick in a game two loss.<ref>{{citation |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1913&dat=19470411&id=90QpAAAAIBAJ&pg=3111,1040394 |title=Maurice Richard finds himself in real trouble |work=Lewiston Evening Journal |date=April 11, 1947 |access-date=March 13, 2014 |page=19}}</ref> Richard was suspended for the third game of the series, which the Maple Leafs won.<ref>{{harvnb|Foran|2011|p=62}}</ref>

As the reigning most valuable player, Richard sought a pay raise prior to the [[1947–48 NHL season|1947–48 season]]. General manager [[Frank Selke]] refused, even after Richard and team captain [[Émile Bouchard]] both sat out the Canadiens' preseason before capitulating and returning to the team when the season began.<ref name="Foran63">{{harvnb|Foran|2011|pp=63–64}}</ref> The Punch line was broken up after Blake suffered a career-ending leg injury.<ref name="Pincus74" /> Richard's season also ended early as he missed the final games of the season due to a knee injury.<ref name="Foran63" /> He finished second in team scoring with 53 points in 53 games, but Montreal missed the playoffs.<ref>{{harvnb|Lavigne|2013|p=295}}</ref> After recording only 38 points in [[1948–49 NHL season|1948–49]], Richard posted a 65-point campaign [[1949–50 NHL season|the next season]] and his 43 goals led the NHL for the third time.<ref name="NHLStats" /><ref name="Cameron158" /> In [[1950–51 NHL season|1950–51]], Richard scored 42 goals,<ref name="NHLStats" /> including his 271st career goal, making him Montreal's all-time goal leader.<ref name="melancon-20-22">{{harvnb|Melançon|2009|pp=20–22}}</ref>
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