The Los Angeles Kings have had some great goal-scorers in their franchise history with Luc Robitaille, Marcel Dionne, and of course Wayne Gretzky. However, none of those players owns the record for most goals scored in a single season.
That record would be set during the 1988-89 season, with Robitaille and Gretzky on the roster, by Bernie Nicholls who had 70 goals in 79 games. He would also add another 80 assists for an incredible 150 points.
During that season, Nicholls would not score more than three goals in a game but accomplished that feat in four games while scoring at least two goals in 19 games. It was an incredible season all around for Nicholls and he was very consistent as there were only 12 games all year where he didn't have a point.
Nicholls would play nine seasons for the Kings and had a stretch of five straight seasons with 30 or more goals before his record-setting season. Even still, the 70 goals in that one season would account for 20% of his goals with Los Angeles.
Berne Nicholls time with the Los Angeles Kings would end shortly after that record-setting season
The next season, Nicholls once again was off to a great start with 48 points in 47 games and 27 goals. However, the Kings would decide to trade him to the New York Rangers shortly before the All-Star game.
Nicholls wasn't nearly as productive after being traded as he had only 148 goals in the final eight and half seasons of his career. He wouldn't have more than 25 goals in any of those seasons and after the midseason trade between the Kings and Rangers, he would be traded during the season in two of the next three years.
There is no denying that the offense the Kings had during that season was special with Luc Robitaille and Wayne Gretzky but for at least that one season, Bernie Nicholls was the team's best goal scorer.