DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
Three Step Drop
HTML https://threestepdrop.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Hodgepodge
*****************************************************
#Post#: 12--------------------------------------------------
NHL Blog: The Rivalry of all Rivalries
DIR By: hockeypat
Date: April 29, 2014, 12:31 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Beginning later this week, the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston
Bruins will face each other for the 34th time in the playoffs.
Before their anticipated clash, I will give you some of the best
series and moments of that rivalry that has become one of the
greatest rivalries in hockey.
Part 1 : The Original Six (Part 1)
1945-46 : The Start of a Dominant Stretch
The Bruins and Canadiens met after World War II for the 5th time
since the 1928-29 season and it was for the Stanley Cup Final.
But it would be the start of a dominant stretch in the rivalry…
Montreal finished first in the NHL with 61 points in 50 games, 5
points in front of the Bruins. Both teams were also first and
second in goals allowed (134 and 156), led by the excellent work
of their goalies (Bill Durnan for the Habs and Frank Brimsek for
the Bruins).
This series would be tight, as predicted. Unfortunately for the
Bruins, they allowed the Habs to win the first two games in OT.
The first time, it was the dangerous Maurice Richard who ended
the game. In Game 2, it was journeyman Jim Peters.
After both teams split Games 3 and 4, the Canadiens finished the
series with a 6-3 win, but one thing was Boston undoing: The
third period! Montreal won that period 8-2 and it was pretty
evident in Game 5, as they would score three unanswered goals to
change a tied game into a Stanley Cup.
It would also be the first of eighteen straight playoff series
wins for the Canadiens. A lot of heartbreak would be coming up
for Boston fans…
1951-52 : A Bloody and Brilliant Ending
This time, they would face in the semi-finals, with Montreal
having 12 more points in the regular season. The first four
games would be won by the home team but Jim Henry would shut
down the Habs in Game 5 to give the Bruins a chance to clinch a
spot in the Stanley Cup Finals.
But in Game 6, the Habs would remind their rivals that when the
pressure mounts, it’s where they’re at their best. Paul Masnick,
another journeyman player, scored the biggest goal of his life
in OT to force a Game 7 in the Forum.
But early in that game, Montreal’s best player, Maurice Richard,
receives an inadvertent knee on the head and would go to the
dressing room, looking dazed. With the game tied at one late in
the third and with the feeling that this series would end in yet
another OT, Richard suddenly came back from the dressing room
and would return on the ice to produce a goal that became a part
of his legendary career, giving the Habs a 3-1 Game 7 victory
that would propel them to the Finals.
But there’s one image that stood above time:
[img]
HTML http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.608049738676961611&pid=15.1[/img]
From pinterest.com
#Post#: 17--------------------------------------------------
Re: NHL Blog: The Rivalry of all Rivalries
DIR By: hockeypat
Date: April 29, 2014, 11:10 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Part 2 : The Original Six (Part 2)
1952-53 : Another Battle… Same Outcome!
They would face in the Stanley Cup Finals that year, but
normally, it shouldn’t have happened. Montreal finished second
but were one game away from being eliminated by Chicago before
winning the last two to punch their ticket. The turning point
would be coach Dick Irvin’s call to switch his number one
goalie, McNeil, for the young Jacques Plante, who allowed one
goal in the last two games.
For the Bruins, they were supposed to be easy pickings for the
Red Wings, who had won the regular season crown with 90 points,
21 more than the Bruins. Yet, even though they got shellacked
7-0 in Game 1, it’s Boston who would win in six games and be on
the opposite side from the Canadiens.
After losing Game 1 4-2, the Bruins responded with a convincing
4-1 win in Montreal led by Ed Sandford’s two-goal game.
Canadians’ coach Dick Irvin made an intriguing call before Game
3, deciding to take out his starting goalie of the last four
games in favor of the man who had won the Cup the year before
and played the majority of this season as the starter, Gerry
McNeil.
The move paid off immediately, as the Canadians would regain the
home-ice advantage with a 3-0 shutout win, led of course by
McNeil’s heroics and Paul Masnick’s two-goal night. In Game 4,
Montreal went off, dominating the Bruins 7-3, thanks to a
hat-trick from who else than Maurice Richard.
Game 5 would be a battle between Henry and McNeil and it would
actually go into overtime, where Montreal’s top line would
deliver the dagger. Elmer Lach received a pass from Richard and
scored the Stanley Cup winning goal.
HTML http://bilan.usherbrooke.ca/voutes/voute3/coupe_1953.jpg
From the University of Sherbrooke website.
You know the funny thing about that picture? Maurice Richard
jumped so hard on his teammate, who had scored the
series-clinching goal, that it caused the Rocket broke his
partner’s nose! Happily, the series was over at this point.
1957-58 : A Dynasty gets a Scare
The Canadians were now the NHL powerhouse. They had 91 points in
the regular season, 22 more than the Bruins, who finished
fourth. Yet, at that time, the playoff rules were for the 1st to
face the 3rd and not the 4th. The Bruins would upset the Rangers
in six to face the Habs, who had swept the Red Wings.
Dickie Moore would score the game-winning goal in Game 1 to
allow the Habs to unsurprisingly win Game 1 2-1. But the script
would switch in Game 2, as the Bruins would surprise their
rivals 5-2, led by Larry Regan three-point night and Bronco
Horvath’s two goals.
But Game 3 would see the response of two of Montreal’s all-time
Greats. Jacques Plante would not allow a goal and Maurice
Richard (Who else?) would score all three Montreal’s goals to
allow the team to regain the Series lead. Two Don would fight
back in Game 4 as Don Simmons allowed only one goal and Don
McKenney would score two goals as the series was tied with a 3-1
win.
As the Series switched to Montreal, the Habs took a 2-1 lead
into the third period thanks to two goals from Bernie “Boum
Boum” Geoffrion but saw the Bruins answer with a mid-period goal
from Bronco Horvath. The game would need some overtime… And like
Jerry West deserved the nickname “Mr. Clutch” in the NBA, the
NHL had his own clutch playoff performer…
Who else than Maurice Richard to put yet another dagger into
Bruins fans’s hearts! His OT goal would sway the momentum in
favor of the Habs, who would clinch what would be their 3rd
straight Stanley Cup with a 5-3 win in Game 6 (They would end up
winning an NHL record 5 cups in a row).
It would take ten years for both teams to meet again… But this
time, some new actors would show up…
#Post#: 21--------------------------------------------------
Re: NHL Blog: The Rivalry of all Rivalries
DIR By: hockeypat
Date: April 30, 2014, 9:35 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Part 3 : The Expansion Era (Part 1)
1968-69 : New Faces Enter the Fray
They had face the year before and it was their first encounter
since the 1958 playoffs. But both teams had drastically changed.
The Bruins were led by a bullish center, Phil Esposito, who has
had a 49-goal and 126-point season (An NHL record at the time)
and one of the greatest d-man, if not the greatest, of all-time,
a young Bobby Orr. Guys like goalie Garry Cheevers and wingers
Ken Hodge and Johnny Bucyk would be mainstays for the Bruins in
the 70s.
On the opposite side, Montreal had changed, too. No more
Richard… No more Geoffrion… No more Jacques Plante. They still
had captain Jean Beliveau, Richard’s younger brother, Henri and
several other good players. But this was a team in between
dynasties. They would end up first in the division with 103
points… But the Bruins had finished three points lower…
It promised to be a great series when it started in Montreal…
Boston would lead 2-0 after two periods, thanks to two goals
from Derek Sanderson. But the Habs would strike back in the
third thanks to a goal and assist from Jean Beliveau. With no
Richard on the team (Second in NHL history for overtime playoff
goals), who would step up for the Canadiens?
Raplh Backstrom, more known for his D, would score on OT’s first
shot to give the Habs game 1. The story would be similar in game
2, as Mickey Redmond’s goal in OT would allow the Habs to go to
Boston with a 2-0 series lead. The Bruins would fight back,
though. Cheevers would stop all 34 Canadiens’ shots and Esposito
would participate in all 5 Bruins’ goals in a 5-0 rout. Game 4
would be closer but Ed Westfall (a goal and two assists) would
lead the Bruins past the Habs 3-2.
As the series switched back to the Forum, the Bruins would
continue their dominance, shooting 42 times on Montreal’s net,
including twenty-six in the second period… The problem was that
Rogatien Vachon, who coach Ruel had brought in net in Game 4,
was outstanding and the Habs returned to Boston with a 4-2 win
and one win away from another Stanley Cup final.
In Game 6, the Habs would dominate the first period 18-6 in
shots on goal… Yet, they were down 1-0. In the second… The
script was switched. Boston dominated 22-8 but Vachon kept it to
a one-goal game. A penalty to Don Awrey would allow the
Canadians to tie the game as Serge Savard would tie the game
early in the third period. And then, Garry Cheevers and Vachon
would engage in a duel that would go to a second overtime
period.
At 11:28 in the second OT, Jean Beliveau would score the
series-clinching goal but the hero was indeed Rogatien Vachon,
who had saved 50 of the 51 shots he received in Game 6. The
Canadiens had won again but soon enough, those young Bruins were
going to finally win one. That’s what their fans were thinking…
1970-71 : How a Rookie can Shock the World
The Boston Bruins had one of the most dominant seasons in NHL
history. 57 wins… 121 points… 399 goals scored (An NHL record at
the time)… 10 skaters with twenty goals or more (Another NHL
record). Everybody were picking them to beat the Canadiens in
Round 1, as they had ended the season with 24 less points and
they would start the series with a rookie goalie, Ken Dryden.
After winning game 1 3-1 and leading 5-2 after two periods in
game 2, the logic was about to be true… That was until the
Canadians would score five consecutive goals in the third period
to mount of the greatest playoff comebacks in NHL’s history.
The series would swtich to the Forum, where game 3 was all about
the young Dryden, who would stop all thirty-seven shots he
received after allowing a goal on his first shot. Frank
Mahovlich would score two to have Montreal take a 2-1 win and
series lead. But the Bruins would answer with a 5-2 win in game
4, thanks to Bobby Orr, who would become the first NHL
defenceman to get a hat-trick in the NHL playoffs.
They would dismantle the Habs 7-3 in game 5 and logic was about
to prevail… Until the Habs would respond at home with a 8-3
beatdown and suddenly, the heavily-favoured Bruins were one loss
away from an upset of all upsets.
Ken Hodge would strike first in the must-win Game 7 but Frank
Mahovlich and Rejean Houle would answer for the Canadiens as
they went out of the ice with a 2-1 lead after the first period.
The Bruins would dominate the second period 16-9… But would be
down 3-1 thanks to some Dryden heroics. Frank Mahovlich would
nail the Bruins’ coffin with a quick goal in the third and
Dryden would not allow that lead to be blown, as the Canadiens
would upset the Bruins with a 4-2 win!
Dryden, who stopped 46 of the Bruins’ 48 shots, would lead the
Canadiens to another Stanley Cup trophy while the Bruins would
win it the following year. Their next battles would be in the
midst of the Canadians’ next dynasty.
*****************************************************
Page 1 of 1