NHL Historical Replay

[George_Bell]

1967 NHL Playoffs


Montreal vs New York

After another very successful regular season, the “dark horse” Habs have to be the favourite to win the cup. They start off really really badly though. The Rangers, who finished 22 points behind Montreal, outshoot them 51-13. Stan Mikita gets 3 assists in NY’s dominant 5-1 game one victory! Game two is almost a carbon copy of the first game. It’s 3-0 New York by the end of the first period. Montreal is outshot 40-14, and put up almost no resistance. 5-2 NY shocking the Montreal crowd.


Mikita and the Rangers look amazing in the opening games!

Welcome to the series Montreal! Trailing 1-0 early, the Habs score twice in 12 seconds, and add a 3rd 3 minutes later. The Rangers get one back before the end of the 1st, and Dick Duff scores twice early in the third to take the lead, but Montreal gets 3 straight in a matter of 4 minutes this time to take it 6-4. Montreal has the momentum back, and go up 2-0 after a period of game four. Bobby Orr gets his first playoff goal 10 seconds into a rough 2nd period, which saw 8 minor penalties called. Alex Delvecchio tied it minutes into the third, and late in the game, its Doug Mohns who converts a Orr pass into the back of the Montreal net! 3-2 Rangers win.


Orr with his first playoff goal!

Facing elimination, emerging defenseman Don Awrey gets 2 goals and an assist, giving Montreal the boost they need. Awrey gets first star in the Habs 4-2 win. Back to New York to face elimination again, Montreal played their best game of the series. The Rangers though, look like they stayed in Montreal for game 7. Vic Hadfield gets 5 points. Claude Provost and Dave Keon each get 3. Montreal crushes NY 9-0 to force a game 7.


Hadfield has 5 points for Montreal in game 6!

Game 7

Stan Mikita is out for the game with a bruised ankle. The dominance Montreal showed in game six continued in the first period. The Habs get the first 9 shots on net, and NY finished the period with just two of their own, but it’s scoreless after one.

Déjà vu in the second period. Montreal gets the first 9 shots, and have an 18-2 lead in shots on net at one point. The Rangers open up the scoring though. Ab McDonald finds some space behind George Gardner giving the Rangers an undeserved lead. Montreal’s Don Awrey receives a breakaway pass from Bob Pulford, and scores his 3rd. Tie game heading to the third.

Vic Hadfield gives Montreal the lead halfway through the third, and it looks like the better team will win tonight. Jacques Laperriere seals the deal with an empty net goal. Montreal wins 3-1, and after being embarrassed in the opening two games, come back to take the series!



Chicago vs Toronto

A back and forth game one sees Phil Esposito play the hero, scoring the winning goal with 2 minutes remaining. Chicago wins their first playoff game in almost a decade, 4-3. Glenn Hall makes 26 saves, and Pat Stapleton gets 2 assists. Rod Gilbert scored early in the 2nd, to give Chicago a lead they would hold the rest of the way. Chicago wins game two, 3-1.


A nice start to his playoff career!

Jean Beliveau and Norm Ferguson exchange late first period goals in game three. J.C. Tremblay would score on the PP in the 2nd, to give Chicago a lead. The goalies closed the doors from there, and Tremblay’s goal held up. 2-1 Chicago wins game three. Down 2-1 late in the third, and facing a sweep, Pit Martin scores for Toronto to tie the game, and for the moment, the Leafs are alive. That hope ends when Pat Stapleton scores on a goal mouth scramble with 35 seconds left!! Chicago wins 3-2 and sweeps the Leafs!

[George_Bell]

The Blackhawks are probably the least successful team of the original 6. Montreal is probably the most successful. Chicago is making their first postseason in many years, and have almost no postseason experience. Montreal is coming off another dominant regular season, and is in familiar territory. Chicago is the clear underdog here, but they swept the Leafs while Montreal had to fight hard to slip by the Rangers. Chicago does have some star power. Esposito, Beliveau and Hall’s play probably will determine if this is a series or not!

[George_Bell]

Lou Angotti gets a shorthanded goal for Chicago to open the scoring, but Vic Hadfield would tie it on the PP a few minutes later. The Blackhawks grab the lead back with Pat Stapleton’s 3rd playoff goal. It’s a lead Glenn Hall would hold the rest of the way. Chicago hold Montreal to just 15 shots in their 2-1 win. Montreal gets the chance to flex a little muscle in game 2. After defending a 5 minute major in the 1st period, the Canadiens break through in the 2nd, scoring 3 goals in 5 minutes. Pulford, Hull and Pappin have given Montreal what looks like a big lead. Chicago responds in the third. Danny Grant and Rod Gilbert cut the lead to one. Chicago controls the game in the final moments, but cant find the tying goal. Montreal holds on to win it 3-2.


Angotti's short handed goal led Chicago to a game one win!

Every goal scored in game three happens in the third. After falling behind 1-0, Chicago gets 2 goals from Bobby Rousseau and a empty netter from Jean Guy Gendron. 3-1 Chicago. Montreal has to play catch up in game four. Dennis Hull, scoring for the 3rd consecutive game, and Bert Marshall both get third period goals for Montreal tying it at two and forcing overtime. 15 minutes into overtime, Jean Beliveau finds Bobby Rousseau who buries it! 3-2 Chicago, one game away from their first Stanley cup in 121 years….or something like that.


Rousseau's goal has the Hawks a game away from a title!

Defense dominates game 5. The teams combined for 33 shots, and only one goal. That goal came off the stick of Jim Pappin, just 3 minutes into the game. 1-0 Montreal stays alive. After exchanging first period goals, Chicago grabbed the lead early in the third. With just 52 seconds left, Dave Keon scores to save the season, temporarily, and force overtime. 54 seconds into overtime, Montreal’s Pat Quinn is the hero. He sends the series to 7 with the winning goal. Montreal amazingly wins it 3-2! Montreal is now 5-0 facing elimination this year.


Quinn(#23) forces a game seven!

Game 7



The Habs waste no time grabbing the lead. Walt Tkaczuk gets the opener at the 2:55 mark. 1-0 Montreal. Before the period ends, Murray Oliver makes it 2-0. Dave Keon scores very early in the 2nd, and this is looking like no contest. 3-0 Montreal after two.

Chicago gets just 2 shots on net through the opening 10 minutes of the third. Montreal then kills a full two minute, 5 on 3. Chicago can’t get anything going. Montreal wins it 3-0. They go 6-0 facing elimination, and win the Stanley Cup!

[George_Bell]

[enf91]

And now... the Flyers. I get the feeling the Canadiens are going to be nerfed HARD. And everyone's going to loot the Blackhawks for goalies.

[skyballer455]

And with that we come to the end of the Original Six Era or, as I like to call it, the Extremely Boring Era. I mean, seriously, how can expect to have a competitive season when you play the same five teams all season long? At this time the NBA, MLB, and NFL all had more teams than the NHL did. How the league managed to survive with just six teams for 25 years I'll never know.

Still, keep up the great work. I'm really enjoying this so far.

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by enf91

And now... the Flyers. I get the feeling the Canadiens are going to be nerfed HARD. And everyone's going to loot the Blackhawks for goalies.

Here's a preview...Somehow, Tony Esposito is still on Chicago!

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by skyballer455

And with that we come to the end of the Original Six Era or, as I like to call it, the Extremely Boring Era. I mean, seriously, how can expect to have a competitive season when you play the same five teams all season long? At this time the NBA, MLB, and NFL all had more teams than the NHL did. How the league managed to survive with just six teams for 25 years I'll never know.

Still, keep up the great work. I'm really enjoying this so far.

I have been looking forward to the expansion for a decade now. Not that i didn't enjoy the original 6, but new teams, new possibilities are about to open up!!

[George_Bell]

1967 NHL Offseason News and Notes

Here are offensive leaders for the season.



Here are the goalie leaders for the season.



Here are the playoff leading scorers.



Stan Mikita wins his third Hart Trophy. His amazing start to the season got the Rangers on the right track. He’s probably more valuable to his team then Dave Keon, but Keon is the leagues best player, and he had a dominant season. The NHL missed the mark again here.



Keon though, wins what matters. He wins his 2nd Conn Smythe award, and ofcourse, the Stanley Cup.



Just got an offseason retirement news story for Gump Worsley’s retirement. It’s about 6 months after he played his last game, but the Red Wings will honor the goalie by raising his number 30 into the rafters of The Olympia.



The NHL has decided to expand. The league will double in size when the puck drops in October. 14 cities applied for franchises, and 6 new teams will join the league. If you want to take a detailed look, this article is a fun read.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_NHL_expansion



The 6 new expansion teams signify the end of an era in the NHL. We played 25 years with just 6 teams. This will always be known as the original 6 era. It’s a time when teams built their legacies, and legends played the game. Here is a look at the success each team had during this era…



With expansion, the NHL will now be made up of 2 divsions. The East and West divisions. All the original 6 teams are in the east, while all expansion teams are in the west. 4 teams from each division will make the playoffs. 1st will play 3rd, 2nd will play 4th. The winners of those series will play in a division final, with the two winners competing for the Stanley Cup. This format guarantees that one of these new teams will indeed be in the Stanley cup finals.



An expansion draft is held on July 2nd. The existing clubs were allowed to exclude a goaltender and eleven other players from eligibility in the draft by naming them to "protected" lists. Also excluded from the draft were junior players, players who were young enough to play Junior (born on or after June 1, 1946) but who were already playing professionally, and players sold to the minor league WHL and CPHL before June 1, 1966.

The teams will draft goalies for the first 2 rounds, then select skaters for 18 rounds.

Here is the 1st round of goalies taken.



Here is the first 2 rounds of skaters taken



Some older, bigger names are chosen in the draft. Claude Provost, Kenny Wharram, Henri Richard, Bob Pulford, and George Armstrong all have new homes. I’ll show each new teams roster in the season preview…


Henri Richard leaves Toronto for St. Louis

The addition of 6 new teams means players who never got a chance are now NHLers.



Wayne Cashman goes to Pittsburgh, and is now probably a top 6 player. He deserved a chance after spending the last 4 years in the minors. The 22 year old collected 154 points in 218 games. He also spent 648 minutes in the penalty box. I expect Cashman to be one of the Penguins best players this year. Boston gets back Brent Hughes, a 24 year old who played 27, not great games in Detroit last year, but he should have a job next season.



Cashman is a Penguin!

The draft age has changed again. The minimum age to be drafted is now 20. That means a small group is eligible this year, and with more teams, less for everyone!!! Oakland gets the first pick, don’t know why, lets say coin flip. They take 20 year old Jim McKenny, who probably wouldn’t be too sought after most years, but he should play right away with the Seals.





Pittsburgh trades for a presence on the blue line.



Tim Horton, after more then a decade on the Boston blue line, moves to expansion Pittsburgh. Horton, at 37, still is playing good hockey. He’s a 3 star player, with elite defensive skills. Horton immediately becomes the #1 guy in Pittsburgh. Pat Quinn just scored the overtime goal in game 6 of the finals, and was taken in the expansion draft. He’s 24(and my favourite real life coach of all time), with only 34 NHL games of experience, but should find a place on the Bruins back end.


Rangers have changed their logo…

In real life, Bill Masterson was killed in a game in January of 68. He suffered a terrible head injury after a hard hit. The NHL created the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in his memory. It will be presented annually to the "National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey." Masterson is still playing in this game, but I will not rename the trophy…

[enf91]

I didn't see anything about Bernie Parent. Is he in the game at all?

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by enf91

I didn't see anything about Bernie Parent. Is he in the game at all?

Yep, he was selected first overall by the Rangers in 63, and has played in their farm system since then. He's a 2/4 star guy at the moment, and at 23, needs to get some NHL time soon.

He's behind Ed Giacomin, Andre Gill, Jack McCartan and Charlie Hodge on the Rangers depth chart. Parent has the potential to be the best of that bunch, by a wide margin, but he REALLY needs to play in the NHL for that too happen.

[George_Bell]

1967-68 NHL Season Preview





Expansion Team Rosters













So, which group looks most likely to play in the Stanley Cup??

[croatian]

Originally Posted by George_Bell

1967-68 NHL Season Preview



So, which group looks most likely to play in the Stanley Cup??

I say Minnesota or LA.

[enf91]

And Oakland looks like it's going to suck. Then again, Oakland was supposed to do OK IRL, and it sucked, so maybe it's the reverse in this universe.
Looks like LA went the the Chicago School of General Management. I refer, of course, to overdrafting goalies. To the extent that it looks weak on wings.
The Flyers will likely do well: 8 forwards rated 2.5 stars, and balanced across LW-C-RW.
All defenses look about the same except those teams that managed to get one of the rare 2.5-star D-men (or Pittsburgh, with a 3).
The Blues also look reasonably deep on offense, but they'll have to convert someone to RW; only 1 good wing on that side.
Minnesota is STACKED with LWs. If they can make the switch to other forward positions, they're going to be a terror. Good defense, too; I agree that they should do well.
Pittsburgh has a lot of good RWs. Maybe it should trade with MIN. Pretty thin on defense; it's basically the Tim Horton Show.
LA really needs more wings. Very deep defense, though; probably the best among the expansion teams. That could be the difference.

[kit444]

I stumbled across this thread as I was searching for something else. I quickly became engrossed with it. It's fun seeing an alternative history of a sport play out. Now I feel like I've binge watched the first 50 seasons of a show and have to wait each week for the next episode. I can't wait to see where Gretzky and Lemieux wind up.

Are you going to do the WHA seasons when you hit the '70's?

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by enf91

And Oakland looks like it's going to suck. Then again, Oakland was supposed to do OK IRL, and it sucked, so maybe it's the reverse in this universe.
Looks like LA went the the Chicago School of General Management. I refer, of course, to overdrafting goalies. To the extent that it looks weak on wings.
The Flyers will likely do well: 8 forwards rated 2.5 stars, and balanced across LW-C-RW.
All defenses look about the same except those teams that managed to get one of the rare 2.5-star D-men (or Pittsburgh, with a 3).
The Blues also look reasonably deep on offense, but they'll have to convert someone to RW; only 1 good wing on that side.
Minnesota is STACKED with LWs. If they can make the switch to other forward positions, they're going to be a terror. Good defense, too; I agree that they should do well.
Pittsburgh has a lot of good RWs. Maybe it should trade with MIN. Pretty thin on defense; it's basically the Tim Horton Show.
LA really needs more wings. Very deep defense, though; probably the best among the expansion teams. That could be the difference.

Great rundown!

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by kit444

I stumbled across this thread as I was searching for something else. I quickly became engrossed with it. It's fun seeing an alternative history of a sport play out. Now I feel like I've binge watched the first 50 seasons of a show and have to wait each week for the next episode. I can't wait to see where Gretzky and Lemieux wind up.

Are you going to do the WHA seasons when you hit the '70's?

The WHA will be included, but in not sure how indepth i go. It probably depends on who plays there.

[George_Bell]

1967-68 NHL Regular Season

6 different teams are playing their first NHL game. Here are the results from the historic contests.




Two months into this historic season, it’s evident that the West cannot compete with the east. The skill level in the original 6, rightly so, is far superior. There are lots of blowouts when these games take place. Scoring is a huge problem for the new teams. The Kings have 46 goals in 21 games, and they are the highest scoring of the bunch. Doug Robinson, of the Kings, is the highest scorer of the new teams, with 17 points in 21 games.


Robinson finding his scoring touch!

In the east, every team has significantly more goals then every west division team. The breakout player so far is Toronto’s Jean Ratelle. Always a good player, Ratelle had a career high of 64 points. In 22 games this year, Ratelle has 37 points, halfway to that 64 mark already.
Each east team will play 54 games against themselves and 20 games against the west. Thats enough games to see some records fall!


Ratelle has dominate in Toronto this year!

Phil Esposito has 31 goals in 37 games!! With a 74 game season, he’s easily on pace to smash the goal scoring record. He’s also 12 goals ahead of Bobby Hull whose in 2nd place at the moment. Jean Ratelle is also now on pace to break the single season assists record. He has 36 at the moment. Terry Sawchuk has a 1.41 GAA, which hasn’t been achieved in 37 years. Could this be a record breaking season for everyone?


Esposito leading the record charge!

Detroit standout defenseman Pierre Pilote just recorded his 500th career assist. Pilote is the 12th player in NHL history, and the 2nd defenseman. To be honest, I started noting this because I though Pilote would be the first dman to accomplish this, but Doug Harvey had 578 assists!! At 36, it’s possible for Pilote to catch Harvey, but probably unlikely.


500 assists!

The where did this guy come from breakout star of 1967/68 is Rangers youngster Nick Libett. Some would say 6 new teams have watered down the talent and competition level in the NHL. Well, this has to be true to a point, but players like Libett are now able to get a chance to play in the league. The 22 year old 1.5/2.5 forward spent the last 3 years in the AHL. The Rangers gave him a chance at the start of the season, and he’s exploded. On Feb 1st, he’s got 26 goals and 33 assists, in just 47 games!! Libett, I guarantee would be in the AHL without expansion. He’s been given the chance and his having one of the greatest rookie years ever. The young duo of Libbet and Bobby Orr have the Rangers on pace for their greatest season ever!


Libett has become a star seemingly overnight!

Phil Esposito has played 12 games since my news story about him being on pace to shatter goal scoring records. He’s scored ONE SINGLE GOAL in that time! ONE! Ya, he aint breaking nothing this year. Nothing to see here…..


Esposito's view of goalies the last month!

Jean Beliveau has hit the 500 goal mark. He’s the 2nd player in history to get there, trailing only Gordie Howe. The 36 year old may not set any goal scoring records, despite being the 2nd greatest goal scorer so far, but every assist he gets is a new record, and his 1262 career points is pretty good!


500 goals!

Toronto makes a strong and weird deal at the trade deadline.



Ok, first the strong. Ken Hodge is a 23 year old who is having a breakout season in his 4th season. He’s got 43 points in 65 games, and will be a strong player for a long time. Great pick up. Now the weird. Toronto gets Jacques Plante, the 39 year old all time leader in games played, wins and shutouts. Toronto has Terry Sawchuk. Terry is having one of the greatest season in NHL history. That’s no exaggeration.



I guess it’s safe to have 2 starting goalies, guarding against injuries, but the Leafs had a decent backup. Boston doesn’t get a whole lot from the looks of it. Daley is a 25 year old career AHLer, though he’s been put on the Bruins roster. Marsh has 39 points in 44 games in his first pro year in the AHL, but isn’t close to as good as Ken Hodge. Even though the Leafs didn’t need Plante, this is a steal of a trade for them. Boston, being in the playoff race, gives Plante and Hodge for very very little. Toronto has to take it.


Plante joins Toronto!

With two weeks left in the season, Jean Ratelle has made history. He has 69 assists, 3 more then Red Kelly’s record 66 from 1960. Ratelle also has 102 points, two more then Dickie Moore’s 100 from the 60 season. Ratelle’s Leafs also have 105 points, in 67 games, which is two more points, in three less games then the 65 Habs, who had the most ever. A record setting season in Toronto!!


A season for the ages!

Final Standings



Both the Leafs and the Rangers break the Habs point mark, but Toronto did do it in less games, and they do finish first.

Boston edges into the playoffs despite trading their starting goalie away. 32 year old Marv Edwards, who hasn’t played since a 5 game AHL stint 11 years ago, became the number 1 guy!

I can’t imagine a western division team coming close to scaring an eastern team in the finals. They just don’t have the talent. Every west team finished with a minus goal differential.



Jean Ratelle ends up with 111 points, crushing the old mark! His teammate Terry Sawchuk had a amazing 48 win, 1.49 GAA, .935 save percentage season. 5.10 goals were scored per game this year, which is right in the middle of the output of the last 15 years. So we gotta give these two credit for putting together ALL TIME seasons! The talent and competition was easier at times, but they still outperformed everyone else!

Bobby Orr had 75 points in his first full season as a Ranger. That’s easily a single season record for defenseman. Orr’s teammate, rookie sensation Nick Libbet finished the year with 85 points! He’s gotta be the rookie of the year!

The top scorer coming out of the eastern division was Bruce MacGregor, of the Oakland Seals. After scoring 14 points in 40 games with Boston last year, MacGregor had 26 goals, and 62 points!

[George_Bell]

1968 NHL Playoffs

1st Round

East

Toronto, inexplicably, starts Jacques Plante in their series vs Montreal. Plante has 4 heat, and Sawchuk has 1. That’s not good enough though. Sawchuk has a historically great season, while Plante played in 4 games after the trade, and won once. VERY VERY DISAPPOINTING for the game to do this. I like FHM, but this is the most disappointed I’ve been. Can’t say ill purchase next year, as that AI just won’t work for me.

Anyway, Montreal wins the first two games on Leafs soil, but the Buds get a overtime win in game three, and then limit Montreal to 38 shots combined in game 4 and 5 wins. Terry Sawchuk returns to the net for game 6, and makes 27 saves as the first star as the Leafs win the series in 6.



Bobby Orr is out for the Rangers with a knee injury. New York manages to scores just once in the opening two games, and lose game three when after blowing a 4-0 lead. The Bruins close out the series sweep with a 2-1 win in game four.



West

The Blues and Kings treated their fans to playoff hockey for the first time. Trailing three games to two, LA was able to force a game 7 when Mike McMahon scored a pp goal halfway through overtime of game six. Game seven would need overtime as well. Joe Szura’s 4th of the series would send the Blues to the next round!



The road team won each of the first 4 games before Oakland broke through with the upset in game five! Bruce MacGregor had a goal and an assist, and helped the Seals limit Philly to just 13 shots, eliminating the Flyers in game 6. 20 win Oakland is through to the 2nd round!



Round 2

Eastern Final
Toronto vs Boston

The Bruins come out on fire, winning their 5th straight playoff game, and giving the Leafs their worst home ice loss of the year. Boston led 4-1 after a period, Johnny Bucyk had 5 points. Bruins win the opener 6-1. Jacques Plante starts game 2 against his old team, and the Leafs hold a 2-1 lead after a period. The lead is extended to 4-1 just minutes into the 2nd, but Boston would come back to tie the game midway through the third. In overtime, the Bruins complete the comeback on Jim Neilson’s 3rd playoff goal. 5-4 Bruins!


Bucyk has 5 points in game one!

Jacques Plante starts game three. Terry Sawchuk was 48-10, with a 1.49 GAA and a .935 sp. Just gonna leave that here… A wild first period has Toronto up 3-2. Bobby Hull gets his 6th of the playoffs. He’s just a playoff performer. Johnny Bucyk ties it in the 2nd, and with 30 seconds remaining in the third, Norm Ullman crushes Leaf fans everywhere with his 4th, the winning goal. 4-3 Boston, they lead the series 3-0! Plante is again in net for game four. Terry Sawchuk was 48-10, with a 1.49 GAA and a .935 sp. Just gonna leave that here…Toronto again scores first, and second, but the game is tied after a period. Ken Hodge gets his first goal of the playoffs against his former team late in the 2nd, breaking a 3-3 tie. Andy Bathgate gives Toronto some insurance early in the third, but they wouldn’t need it. 5-3 Toronto stays alive.


Ken Hodge extends the series with the game 4 winner for Toronto!

Jacque Plante starts game 5 for Toronto. Terry Sawchuk was 48-10, with a 1.49 GAA and a .935 sp. He sits. Toronto goes up 2-0 with goals from Arnie Brown and Garry Unger. Ron Ellis though, scores twice for Boston to tie it. Toronto though gets the winner halfway through the 3rd, off the stick of Brian Smith. 3-2, Leafs stay alive again. Jacques Plante starts game 6 for Toronto. Terry Sawchuk was 48-10, with a 1.49 GAA and a .935 sp. He sits. The Leafs dominate the first 40 minutes. Garry Unger scores twice. Bobby Hull and Jean Ratelle get 2 points each. It’s 5-0 heading into the third. Plante makes 10 saves in the final period to conserve the shutout. Leafs win it 5-0 and force a game 7!


Ungar scores three times in games 5/6 to help force the series to seven!

Game 7

Jacque Plante starts game 7 for Toronto. Terry Sawchuk was 48-10, with a 1.49 GAA and a .935 sp. He sits. Plante has outplayed his Boston replacement Marv Edwards badly. He’s a much better goalie and he's showing it.

Toronto opens the scoring again. Carol Vadnais gets his point shot through Edwards. 1-0 Toronto. Norm Ferguson makes it 2-0 Leafs early in the 2nd. Garry Unger converts a Ken Hodge rebound before making it 3-0 Leafs. Unger's third straight game with a goal. Hodge himself makes it 4-0 before the period ends. Toronto is on the verge of erasing a 3-0 series deficit. But this same script was written 2 years ago against Montreal and it didn’t finish well. Can they change the ending?


Vadnais got Toronto on the board!

This Bruins team isn’t Montreal though. They don’t have the players, or the depth the Habs had, and they finish the third with just 21 shots on net. Plante gets another shutout against his old team. The Leafs complete the amazing comeback with a 4-0 win. Toronto wins the series!



Western Final
St. Louis vs Oakland

Oakland gets a 3 goal third period to beat the Blues in game one, 3-1. Glen Sather is the first star with 2 points. Game 2 is a defensive battle which sees just one goal. Bob Pulford is the goal scorer, giving the Blues the 1-0 win to tie the series. Cesare Maniago gets the shut out.


Pulford scores the only goal of game two!

Bob Pulford and Henri Richard team up to give St. Louis a 2-1 lead after two periods in game three. Al MacNeil makes it 3-1 with an insurance marker, which was needed as Leon Rochefort scored with a minute left. Oakland does not have another in them. Blues win it 3-2. Game four is the second 1-0 game of the series. The winning goal isn’t scored until the final seconds of the game. Gerry Odrowski is the Seals hero! Gerry Cheevers earns the egg. 1-0 Oakland ties the series.


Odrowski scores the only goal of game 4!

The Blues hold Oakland to just 9 shots, but the teams are tied at one in the third. St. Louis then breaks through, Mike Laughton scores twice, and Ray Cullen assists on 3 goals in the period. St. Louis wins 4-1. With the teams tied at one in the third period of game six, Bob Pulford breaks the tie, and Danny O’Shea puts the game, and series away late. 3-1 St. Louis. Blues win the series in six!!

[George_Bell]

Jacques Plante isn’t a bad goalie. He’s very good, and he’s playing very well. I just feel like benching Terry Sawchuk for the playoffs, after a season where he’s been so amazing, is just stupid. There is no reason to do this. I know the game gives hot goalies preference, and Plante is hot, but Sawchuk had a hot season!! Plante won 1 of 4 games with Toronto after the trade, and was awarded the starting job. It just makes no sense. Leafs win those series with Sawchuk playing. Obviously, this really bugs me. Onto the preview....

St. Louis is overmatched here. Henri Richard, one of St. Louis' top guys, would probably be playing on the Leafs third line if he was still there. Bob Pulford had a great 2nd round, and needs more of that to give the Blues any hope. Toronto has been getting production from the whole lineup. Arnie Brown is a ppg on defense, and the likes of Garry Ungar and Ken Hodge have caught fire, making the 2nd and 3rd lines dangerous. Blues goalie Cesare Maniago had a fanstastic season, and probably needs to steal 3 games.