Taylor Hall Breaks Wayne Gretzky's Record Scoring Twice in 8 Seconds

The good news is that Taylor Hall scored twice in eight seconds. The bad news remains the recurring theme of futility for the Edmonton Oilers this season. 

Deadspin's Barry Petchesky spotted this wonderful video featuring two quick deft strikes from Hall and the report that this broke the longstanding Oilers record held by Wayne Gretzky who once scored two goals in nine seconds for the franchise. 

With 15:52 to go in the first period, the puck makes its way between Justin Schultz and Mark Arcobello before finding Hall who is at the right place at the right time, scoring and putting the Oilers even with the New York Islanders, 1-1. 

The Islanders would have no time to consider playing without the lead, because they would soon have to answer a sudden deficit. Moments later, Mark Arcobello is unsuccessful on a deep shot, but Hall is there to pick up the refuse and send in a historic goal. 

The feat was enough to make Oilers faithful smile, no matter how short-lived. It was also an opportunity for reporters to get a quick word from the man who previously held the Oilers record for goals in an absurdly short amount of time. 

ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun was able to get some words from Gretzky. The former Oilers star who scored twice in nine seconds back on Feb. 18, 1981 sent the following to LeBrun via text: 

"

That is so cool, good for him, he's a great kid. Records are so made to be broken, it's good for the game. If Kevin Lowe would have got me the puck quicker it would have been 7 seconds!

"

Sadly, this wonderful tale of remarkable and timely feats of athleticism has an unfortunate ending, because the Oilers would ultimately lose, 3-2, dropping the team to 1-6-1 on the season. 

Per CBC.ca, Hall stated, "It's an empty feeling because a loss is a loss. It's great to know I have the record but tonight wasn't our best effort. The wheels have really fallen off for us as these losses have piled up."

Chin up, Hall. You managed to best The Great One, which is no small feat no matter the decade. 

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