NHL Historical Replay

[George_Bell]

A rematch of last years finals, these teams finished with identical records atop the NHL standings this year. Both squads had record breaking performances during the season. Montreal remains very deep on forward, while Detroit has the game's top goal scorer, and a better back end. One story to watch is Ted Lindsay taking on his former team after being traded during the season!

[George_Bell]

The Red Wings, fully rested, score 5 straight goals after giving up one seconds into the game. When I say the Red Wings, I mean Gordie Howe. Howe scores 4 times in game one, leading Detroit to the 5-1 win. Down 3-0 in the third period of game two, Montreal’s Dickie Moore starts a furious comeback. He assists on goals by Claude Provost, George Armstrong and Hugh Bolton, the last two, with 83 and 52 seconds remaining. Montreal scores 4 times in the period to steal a 4-3 win!!


An amazing 4 goals in game one!

Gump Worsley obviously takes some of the responsibility of that meltdown, and comes back in game three ready to prove a point. He stops 28 of the 29 shots he faced. Enough to help Detroit edge it out 2-1. Worlsey again puts on a show in game 4. He stops each and every one of the 29 shots he faces, while Gordie Howe gets a goal and a assist. 3-0 Detroit!


Take away the third period of game two, Worsley has allowed 2 goals so far!

Detroit grabs the early lead on a Gerry Foley goal, as they try to end this series today. Red Kelly gets the tying goal early in the 2nd. Both teams are then held scoreless until the final seconds of the game. At the 19:29 mark of the third period, Former Hab Ted Lindsay finds Earl Ingarfield, on the power play, for the game winning, and series winning goal! 2-1 Detroit wins! They take the series in 5!

[George_Bell]

[George_Bell]

1960 NHL Offseason News and Notes

Here is a new way of showing the stats for the previous season. It's the skaters leaderboard. I've also linked these as thumbnails, so click it to see the full size

Skating Leaders


Goalie Leaders


Playoff scoring


Jean Beliveau is named the winner of the Hart Trophy. That’s just plain bad. 3 players, from the two top teams in the league set league records this year. Jean Beliveau finished 5th in league scoring, on the last place team in the league. There have been some questionable awards winners in the past, but this is really bad! Can’t defend the game at all here!





This years draft is the weakest in years. The top pick though is a potential star. Phil Esposito goes to Chicago, and has a chance to really help Jean Beliveau if he gets to the big club quickly.





Milt Schmidt and Frank Brimsek are the latest players to be inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame. Here are their plaques.



Now, it's onto the sixties!

[George_Bell]

1960-61 NHL Season Preview





Top Player



Pierre Pilote is still the top rated player in hockey, but Gordie Howe scored 52 goals last year. I’m gonna give him the nod for this season!! 52 goals is impressive!

Top Goalie

[George_Bell]

1960-61 NHL Regular Season

The season begins celebrating the longevity of three players. Detroit’s Ted Lindsay, and Chicago’s Gus Mortson and Allan Stanley all played their 1000th game in October. They are the third, fourth and fifth players to hit that milestone, behind Milt Schmidt, and Doug Harvey, who is still playing. In terms of quality, I’d say Lindsay will be a HOFer, Stanely is borderline, and Mortson will be remembered as a very good player.


Lindsay, Stanley, and Mortson

Doug Harvey has fallen to a 2.5 star player this season. It’s a dramatic drop. Harvey claims something is wrong though!



The Toronto Maple Leafs are officially done with the rebuild. Their youth have matured enough for me to say they are now a dangerous team. The best line in hockey also wears Blue and White. Henri Richard, a do everything kind of player, now centers Frank Mahovlich, and Andy Bathgate. Both wingers will challenge for the scoring title this year, and for many in the future. Expect Jean Ratelle and JP Parise to join Bobby Hull on the 2nd line next year, when this team should really take off!!


Mahovlich, Richard and Bathgate

There is no news story, but whatever was bothering Doug Harvey, it seems to be in the past. He’s back to a 4 star player now. I thought it was worth mentioning.


Harvey back to normal

At the trade deadline, Detroit deals one of the top scorers in hockey.



Detroit trades 23 year old Murray Oliver, who was centering Gordie Howe to Montreal. Oliver found some very nice chemistry with Howe, getting 48 points in 49 games when the trade took place. The Wings gets 25 year old Bill Hay back. He’s a 3rd line grinder type player who is having a career year. His 27 points is a career high already. Hay is a solid player, but he isn’t worth Detroit’s first line center! Montreal just got deeper!


Oliver to Montreal!

In the same game, a 6-1 Detroit win over NY, Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay each scored their 900th career point!! That’s something! Howe did it in his 855th game, while Lindsay took a bit longer, accomplishing the feat in his 1030th game!


900 points!

Final Standings



The playoff race never really existed this year. New York and Chicago were never in it. That 6 point gap between 4th and 5th place is deceiving. Ny was never really in it. The Rangers, after finally making the playoffs last year, show it was somewhat of a fluke, falling back to golf season in March.

Toronto’s goal difference show’s what they are lacking. A true top pairing defenseman. If only they hadn’t traded Tim Horton. Lets look back. Toronto traded Horton for Marcel Pronovost, a very good dman in his own right. They then traded Pronovost for Sid Abel and Pete Goegan. Goegan is a 27 year old who is Toronto’s #7 defenseman. Abel played 56 games in Toronto, scoring 10 goals before retiring. So, Tim Horton got Toronto Pete Goegan……damn…



No records set this year, but young players are starting to emerge as stars!

[George_Bell]

1961 NHL Playoffs



Montreal vs Boston

Tied at two entering the third period of the first game, Boston explodes with goals from Red Sullivan, Boom Boom Geoffrion and Johnny Bucyk to take it 5-2. Game two was tight like the first game, but didn’t feature either team skating away with it late. Infact, this one needed overtime, but they played only 11 extra seconds. Bob Wilson took a faceoff win from Dickie Moore to the net, and found himself a winning goal! 3-2 Montreal evens the series.


Wilson has an NHL overtime goal!

Montreal thinks they have a strangle hold on game three after Dave Keon and Claude Provost score early in the third period to take a 4-1 lead. Boston responds though with 2 goals 1 minute apart to make it a 4-3 game. Despite the scare, the Habs hold on to take it 4-3. Johnny Bucyk scores on the power play to give Boston a 1-0 lead in the first period of game four. That’s it. That’s all the scoring in this one. Jacques Plante stopped 28 shots for the 1-0 win.


Jacques Plante's shutout ties the series at 2!

The pivotal game five in a tied series goes to overtime. We get the extra period thanks to Montreal goalie, 27 year old, first year starter, Don Head, who faced 50 shots in regulation, stopping 47 of them. Montreal also needed a last second goal from Red Kelly to tie the game. In overtime, Montreal could no longer withstand the immense Boston pressure. Kenny Wharram gets the winner 3 minutes in. 4-3 Boston. Dave Keon scored 2 goals, including the winning goal at the 16 minute mark of the third period, to win the game six, 3-2, and send the series to seven!


Keon gets us to a game 7!

Game 7

Boston has to be confident in a do or die game. Yes, Montreal is still the deepest team in hockey, but I'm taking Jacques Plante over Don Head every single day of the week. I’m pretty sure I just jinxed the Bruins!

Montreal scores first, because, of course. Gerry Melnyk makes it 1-0, seven minutes in on Montreal's 12th shot of the game. Norm Ullman is able to respond less then a minute later to tie it at 1. Plante makes 20 saves in the first period. He’s really good!

Plante can’t stop everything though, and Bill Harris gives Montreal the lead half way through the 2nd. Tim Horton is forced to leave the game with a abdominal injury. It looks like his season is over, win or lose. Dickie Moore makes it 3-1 Montreal. Boston is being outshot 31-7 after two periods.

Melnyk scores his 2nd of the game. It’s pure dominance from Montreal. Boston can’t get the puck. The final shot totals are 44-12 for Montreal. Nothing Plante could really do about that. 4-2 Habs win game seven!



Detroit vs Toronto

The Red Wings stars came out to play in game one. After falling behind 2-1, Gordie Howe scored 3 goals, Ted Lindsay collected 4 assists, and Pierre Pilote got 3 helpers of his own from the backend. 6-2 Detroit takes game one convincingly. Game two is even more of a thrashing. Howe gets a goal and a assist. Billy Dea gets 4 points, and Gump Worlsey stopped the 13 shots he faced. 6-0 Red Wings win the 2nd game.


Howe dominating!

Bobby Hull scores early in game three, but the Red Wings respond immediately, and sore 4 straight goals. Hull got the Leafs back in it with a pair of third period assists, but the Wings would add one more in a 5-3 win. Toronto again scores first in game four, but Detroit again responds immediately, with another 4 goal output. Ted Lindsay finished the series with 8 assists, while Howe scored 6 goals. 5-2 Detroit wins to complete the sweep!

[George_Bell]

This is starting to be quite the rivalry. Detroit and Montreal have played in the Stanley Cup Final 4 times in the last 8 years. Detroit has won each time. It has been 11 years since the finals didn’t feature either of these two teams. Montreal has made the finals 7 of the last 8 years, only winning once! Detroit is trying to win the cup for the third time in a row, for the third time!

[George_Bell]

Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay hook up to score the first goal of the finals, but this penalty filled game would end up needing overtime. After combining for 78 PIM’s, Montreal's Bob Nevin gets the winner halfway through the fourth period. 2-1 Habs. Game two is another tight affair, where scoring was very limited. Knotted at 1, George Armstrong gave Montreal the lead at the 10:44 mark of the third. That goal held up, 2-1 Montreal wins!


Nevin wins game one for Montreal!

The Red Wings, playing in must win mode, jump out to a 3-0 lead, and cruise to an easy 6-2 win. Detroit gets only 15 shots on net, but Don Head is pretty horrible, getting a 14 game rating. Montreal absolutely dominates game four. They outshoot Detroit 39-18, but Gump Worsley is a great goalie, and he stopped 37 shots. Unfortunately for Detroit, they only scored one, and Murray Balfour’s 3rd period goal wins it for Montreal, 2-1.


Balfour's game four winner gives Montreal a 3-1 series lead!

Facing elimination, Detroit scores first, Billy Dea’s 4th. Montreal ties it before the end of the first, and lead after two thanks to Bob Nevin. Detroit can’t get anything going in the final frame, and despite Worsley keeping the dream alive, Montreal doesn’t need to add another goal. Habs win 2-1 and finally beat Detroit for the Stanley Cup!

[George_Bell]

[George_Bell]

1961 NHL Offseason News and Notes

Each game Montreal won in the finals was by a 2-1 score. It was a 5 game win, but man, that’s a close series! Montreal ended up scoring two goals in each game. If you asked me before the series who wins in that case, no chance i predict Montreal!

Here are last season's skating leaders.



Here are last season's goalie leaders.



Here are last season's playoff leading scorers.



Pierre Pilote wins another Hart Trophy, his 2nd, and takes his 3rd straight Norris Trophy. Pilote posted a career high 53 points this season. Lou Angotti is the rookie of the year. He had 8 goals and 16 assists. A down year for rookies.





Chicago drafts Tony Esposito first overall one year after drafting his brother, Phil first overall. Now Chicago doesn’t need a goalie right now, they actually need everything but, but you can’t pass up on talent like that. Glenn Hall mentoring Tony Esposito is a good thing for Blackhawks fans.

Toronto gets a steal in Yvan Cournoyer. Not saying Paul Henderson isn’t a good pick, but Cournoyer looks like a stud. I’m not sure if he will play in the NHL at 17, but skillwise, he can. Toronto’s potential forward depth is starting to resemble what the Habs have had for a decade. They need some defense though.





The Habs make the kind of deal with NY that keeps them in first and NY in last.



Jacques Laperriere is a 19 year old defenseman, who already has 100 games of NHL experience. Defensively, Laperriere has a 20 positioning ratings and a 18 hitting rating. He’s fantastic already in his own zone, and again, he isn’t even 20 years old yet.


Lapierre joins Montreal!

Montreal gets this kid for 34 year old Bill Gadsby. Gadsby was once an elite defenseman in the league. He twice scored more then 20 goals, and put up over 50 points. Benchmark numbers for defensemen. He’s 34 years old though, he hasn’t played a full season in 5 years, and he is clearly deteriorating skill wise. NY isn’t one defenseman away. Gadsby won’t put them into cup contention. Dealing Laperriere for Gadsby is stupid for NY!

No logo or uniform changes, no HOF inductions or number retirements. Lets start the season!

[enf91]

Looking at this, I sometimes think, "This has to be a bug. No way the AI could be this stupid." Then, I remember the Cleveland Browns.

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by enf91

Looking at this, I sometimes think, "This has to be a bug. No way the AI could be this stupid." Then, I remember the Cleveland Browns.

There have definitely been some Cleveland Brown type moves over the years, though that's not a trait only distinguishable to the Browns!

[George_Bell]

NHL 1961-62 Season Preview





Team Previews

[George_Bell]

1961-62 NHL Regular Season

32 year old Jacques Plante begins the season 20 wins shy of Alec Connell's 318 victories, and 11 shutouts shy of Charlie Gardiner's mark of 98! The record watch is on!


Plante is about to set some record!

Bill Gadsby won’t help the Rangers at all, they aren’t close enough to use a 34 year old defenseman.. Well, ofcourse, it looks like I'm an idiot. NY is in first place two months into the season. Stan Mikita has broken out, with a league leading 22 points, and teammate Eric Nesterenko leads the league with 13 goals. Gadsby hasn’t missed a game, and the team is winning. Will it last, I have no idea, but they clearly are a lot closer then I thought!


Gadsby might be a good acquisition for New York!

At new years, the Rangers have fallen off a bit, but parody has risen in the NHL. First place Toronto has 38 points. Last place Chicago has 30. It’s the closest season we have had in a long time. No team is safe, no team is out. The Leafs have the best goal differential, but wins matter way more!!

Pierre Pilote is making a run at the points record by a defenseman in a season. Through 45 games, Pilote has 37 points, highlighted by a league leading 31 assists. It isn’t easy to find the current record, but going through the leagues history, here is the list of the single season top scoring defenseman.



The top 4 teams in the league have distanced themselves from the bottom two. It’s looking like Boston and Chicago will be missing the playoffs, while the other four are all within 4 points of each other. The Rangers, who I claimed aren’t ready, are right there. If I was running a team in the league, they would never win a game!

Montreal suffers a huge blow, losing Claude Provost for the season in early March. Provost has become a leader and top scorer for Montreal. He had 57 points in 62 games when he, SEVERED HIS NECK!!!. You can’t replace that production, though Montreal is one team that can probably deal with it the best!


Provost out for the season!

On the final day of the season, Gordie Howe had a 2 point night in Detroit’s 2-2 tie with Toronto. Those two point gave Gordie Howe 979 points, enough to become the NHL’s all time leading scorer!! He passes former teammate Milt Schmidt, who retired with 977 points! Gordie is 33 years old, and has lots of hockey left in him. He’s still a 5 star player, still putting up great numbers!! This record is gonna go up quite a bit in the next few seasons



Final Standings



First and fourth place are separated by 5 points! This years playoffs will be wide open!



Pierre Pilote hit a offensive slump, and had just 9 points over his final 25 games of the season. He doesn’t even hit the 50 point barrier, and comes no where near Babe Pratt's 58 point record.

Jacques Plante wins 27 games, giving him a career total of 325, which is an NHL record!! He finished the season with 10 shutouts, which leaves him just 1 behind the all-time lead!

Jacques Laperriere finished with a career high 10 goals, and 25 points, at age 20, while putting up a 68 game rating. He played 24 minutes a game. Bill Gadsby had 9 goals and 27 points, playing every game for the Rangers. He had a 56 game rating. I definitely still think Montreal wins this deal despite the Rangers making the playoffs. Gadsby isn't quite done yet, though Laperriere is the better player today, and tomorrow.

[George_Bell]

1961-62 NHL Playoffs


Detroit vs Toronto

Detroit takes an early 2-0 lead in game one, but Henri Richard cuts the lead in half in the 2nd, and Frank Mahovlich scores two goals, 3 minutes apart in the third to give the Leafs a 3-2 win! Game two plays out in a similar fashion. It’s 2-0 Detroit after a penalty filled first period. Toronto fights back to tie it in the third on a goal by Henri Richard. They needed an extra period to decide this one, and in overtime, Henri Richard gets his 2nd of the game, winning it, 3-2, for Toronto!


Richard has 3 goals in the first 2 games.

Entering the final minutes of the third game, the two teams were deadlocked at 1. Pierre Pilote’s point shot rebounded to Gordie Howe who buried the rebound. Earl Ingarfield added an empty netter 20 seconds later, and Detroit wins a hugely important game three, 3-1. Game 4 would see overtime being needed for the 2nd time. Just 58 seconds in though, it was Alex Faulkner scoring his first career playoff goal at a huge time. Toronto wins it 2-1, and lead the series 3 games to 1!


Faulkner picks a great time to score his first playoff goal!

Both goalies have had pretty great series so far, and that continued into game 5. It’s scoreless through two periods. The first goal comes off the stick of Andy Bathgate 9 minutes into the third. Bob Baun gets a point shot through a minute later, to take a 2-0 Toronto lead. Detroit cuts it to 1 at the 15 minute mark, but they can’t get any further. For the first time in 4 years Detroit won’t play in the finals! 2-1 Toronto wins! They take the series in 5.



Montreal vs New York

The defending champs get off to a hot start, leading 3-1 after a period. The Rangers could never get back into it, eventually falling 5-2 in the opener. Montreal again jumps out ahead 3-1 in game two. Again, it’s to much for the Rangers to come back from. NY was held to just 9 shots in this one, a 4-1 win for Montreal.


Montreal's Don Head starting after playing just 31 regular season games!

The Rangers grab the lead in game three, finally avoiding the early deficit which crushed them in the first two games. Montreal is able to fight back though, and tie it on Murray Oliver’s first goal of the series. They played overtime to decide a winner, and at the 15:19 mark, Montreal’s Bob Wilson ended it! 3-2 Habs! Dave Keon got on the board early with his first, which helped Montreal lead 3-0 halfway through the game. NY battled back this time. Jerry Toppazzini and Eric Nesterenko score 35 seconds apart to make it 3-2 after two. Facing elimination, NY can only muster 5 shots in the third, and 12 for the whole game. Montreal smothers them into submission! 3-2, Montreal sweeps!

[George_Bell]

This is only the 2nd time these real life rivals will meet in a Cup final. Toronto beat Montreal 20 years ago the only other time. The Leafs are the NHL's young up and comers. They have youth, and depth, but are led by 32 year old Terry Sawchuk, who had a fantastic season. Montreal is the defending champs, who have been here many many times. They didn't miss a beat, crushing the Rangers without star Claude Provost. The Leafs should be able to mount a much better attack then New York did though. If it comes down to goaltending, Don Head is no Terry Sawchuk!

[George_Bell]

The finals open in Maple Leaf Gardens for some reason. Montreal is the 2 seed, while the Leafs are the 3 seed. Oh well. It didn’t matter cuz the Leafs didn’t show up. 10 minutes in, it’s 4-0 Montreal. It’s a route early and there isn't anything Toronto can do about it. Dave Keon finishes with 4 points. Montreal wins the opener 7-3! Game two isn’t as drastic as game one, but Dickie Moore scores a minute into the first, and gets another 10 minutes later. Don Head stops all 23 shots he sees. Montreal wins 3-0, and will look to make this a quick series back at home!


Dave Keon with 6 points in the first two games for Montreal!

Montreal gets off to the quick start again, but the Leafs are able to battle back this time, and grab a 3-2 lead after the first period. Dickie Moore ties it in the 2nd. The third period sees the teams exchange goals 22 seconds apart, before Murray Oliver scores the winner with 4 minutes left. Montreal takes Toronto’s best shot, and still comes out on top, 5-4! Montreal smells blood, and starts off fast again. 4 different Canadiens score in the first to again go up 4-0. The Leafs seem defeated, and are outshot 49-12. This game is over before it began. 6-0 Habs dominate. They sweep the Leafs easily!

[George_Bell]

[George_Bell]

1962 NHL Offseason News and Notes

In a year with so much parody, where the teams seemed so evenly matched through 70 games, Montreal wins all 8 playoff games they play, and do it in dominant fashion!

Here are the skating leaders for the season



Here are the goalie leaders



Here are the playoff scoring leaders



I completely disagree with Jean Beliveau’s fourth Hart Trophy. I would have given it to Stan Mikita, who despite playing only 58 games, had 48 points, an 80 game rating, and got his Rangers into the playoffs! I just can't give that award to a player on the last place team!



Rookie of the year, Larry Jeffrey had 12 goals and 13 assists in 58 games for Detroit.



36 year old Ted Lindsay has retired. Lindsay spent the final 3 years of his career playing in Detroit, where he helped them win a cup. Lindsay finished his time in the NHL with 1109 games played, 335 goals, and 596 assists.



The Montreal Canadiens have announced they will retire his number 7. Lindsay actually wore 12 his whole career with Montreal until I changed it in his final season as a Hab after noticing his number wasn’t 7! I will retire 12.



Harry Howell is traded for the fifth time in 5 years!



Howell is a very good defenseman. He’s been named to the 2nd team all-stars in two of the last three years, but he can’t seem to find a home. Howell has been dealt 5 times. 3 of those times have been between Detroit and New York. Those teams just completed a Howell trade again. Detroit sends the top pairing defenseman back to New York for 24 year old C, Ralph Backstrom. Ralph has played a checking role is whole career in NY, and needs a chance to show what he can do offensively. This might be his chance. He’s always chipped in, but has the ability to turn a few heads. Fair deal!


Don't unpack your things Harry!

This years draft is fairly stacked in the first round, but had a lot of similarity. Noone really stood out. I hate Chicago picking goalie Gary Smith though. They have Glenn Hall and Tony Esposito at that position. Any one of the next 6 picks would have made more sense and probably have more of a impact then another goalie, who isn’t as talented as what you already have! That’s one aspect this game needs to improve on.



18th pick Lars-Erik Sjoberg is the first Swedish born player drafted into the NHL…I think. I never looked for anything like that before, but it’s the first time I’ve noticed it. So, I’m stating it as fact!


Sjoberg probably became the first Swede ever drafted!

Here is a look at top pick, Gary Smith