What follows is the transcript of Episode 2 in our Hockey Tales & Trivia Podcast series at Spotify. The format includes three trivia questions with detailed answers, two short stories highlighting classic NHL performances and the three stars of the night, picked from a random date in NHL history. The audio version is also embedded below for your listening pleasure.
In this show, we take a look at a Montreal Canadiens franchise record, a great performance by Gilles Villemure, a seven year run at first overall in the NHL, the first NHL shutout by Gerry Cheevers, some tricky trivia involving the 50 goal club and the three stars of the night.
Our first trivia question of the show takes a look at a Montreal Canadiens franchise record.
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Which player from the Montreal Canadiens holds the franchise record for most overtime goals in the Stanley Cup playoffs?
Maurice Richard scored six overtime goals in the playoffs over his career, playing in 29 games that needed extra time. The next closest in Habs history is a three-way tie between Russ Courtnall, Kirk Muller and Jacques Lemaire, each with three.
Two of his six came in the same series against the Detroit Red Wings in 1950-51. On March 27, 1951, it was the opening night of the playoffs and the Montreal Canadiens were visiting the Red Wings at Detroit Olympia. With the score tied at 2-2 at the end of the third, the length of an additional full game and some would be needed before Richard scored the winner.
On that night, it was at 1:09 of the fourth overtime when the Rocket finally put one past Red Wings goalie Terry Sawchuk to give the Canadiens a 3-2 win and 1-0 edge in the series. Two nights later, again at Olympia, a similar scenario would play out.
Gerry McNeil of the Canadiens and Terry Sawchuk of the Wings were on point with neither allowing a single goal during regulation time. This game didn’t quite go as long as Game 1 but it was certainly lengthy. This time, Richard scored the game winner at 2:20 of the third overtime, assisted by Billy Reay and Bud MacPherson.
There were no more overtimes in the series and Montreal eventually eliminated Detroit in six games. In the finals, ALL five games between the Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs needed extra time. Richard got the overtime game winner in a game 2 3-2 win.
Next up, we look back on a top performance by New York Rangers goalie Gilles Villemure.
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Gilles Villemure Stops All 15 Phil Esposito Shots In December 14, 1972 Game At Boston Garden
1972-73 was the third of four straight seasons that Phil Esposito led the NHL in shots. It was obvious that Phil liked to shoot when the New York Rangers visited the Bruins on December 14, 1972. Boston fired 55 shots on Gilles Villemure, 15 came off Esposito’s stick. The Bruins won 4-2 despite the efforts of Villemure but none of the goals were scored by Phil.
This is not the record for most shots in a game by a player, that belongs to Ray Bourque and his 19 on the Quebec Nordiques in 1991. However, it is the record for the most shots without scoring a goal. Alex Ovechkin tied Espo in 2015.
Esposito was not left off the scoresheet. He assisted on two second period goals, both scored by Wayne Cashman and also assisted by Bobby Orr. Cashman and Orr had seven shots each. The trio’s combined 29 shots was more than half of Boston’s total of 55.
Ed Johnston had a much quieter time in the Boston net, saving 22 of 24. Ted Irvine led the way in shots with just four but it was Gene Carr and Jean Ratelle scoring for the Rangers. Boston’s game winning goal was scored by Fred O’Donnell with help from Gregg Sheppard and Don Marcotte.
Our second trivia question of the night looks at a team that dominated the first overall position in the NHL for the better part of a decade.
What NHL team finished first overall in seven consecutive seasons?
Starting in 1948-49, the Detroit Red Wings won the Prince of Wales Trophy as NHL regular season champions for seven straight seasons. After the Montreal Canadiens won the trophy in 1955-56, Detroit won again in the following season, making in eight wins in nine years. The Wings would finish first overall just one more time inthe Original 6 era, 1964-65.
During their seven year run, the Red Wings were Stanley Cup champions four times. Over that time, Gordie Howe was the Art Ross Trophy winner four times and took home the Hart Trophy twice. Helped by superior netminding, Terry Sawchuk won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1950-51 and took home the Vezina Trophy in three of the seven years.
Since the President’s Trophy was introduced for the 1985-86 NHL season to honour the first overall finisher, no team has won the award more than twice in a row. Included in the teams that did win it back-to-back: Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings (twice), Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals. The Capitals most recently accomplished the feat in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
Next up, we journey back in time to the first NHL shutout recorded by Gerry Cheevers – against the team he played his first NHL game with.
Gerry Cheevers Records His First NHL Shutout In A 1966 Game Against The Toronto Maple Leafs
Gerry Cheevers recorded 26 shutouts over his NHL career, mostly on some pretty strong Boston Bruins teams. The first came at the start of the 1966-67 season when Boston was a cellar-dweller but had high hopes for the future on the strength of rookies like Cheevers and a kid name Bobby Orr.
On November 10, 1966, the Bruins hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Boston Garden. Gerry had played two games with the Buds in 1961-62, his first NHL action. Going into 1966-67, he had just seven NHL games under his belt. On this night, he stopped all 31 shots put his way for the blank. Murray Oliver scored what would be the game winning goal just 1:17 into the game, taking a bit of the pressure off his young goaltender.
The match ended in a 4-0 score with Johnny Bucyk, Pit Martin and Wayne Connelly also scoring. The Bruins had just 23 shots on net but made the most of them. Three of the four went in on Terry Sawchuk. The starter made just 15 save over two periods before Bruce Gamble came in for the third. Gamble let in a single goal on just five shots.
For Boston, this was one of just 17 wins on the season and the only shutout victory. They were shut out four times and endured blowouts like an 11-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens and a 10-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. However, in just three short years, they would be Stanley Cup champions.
The third and final hockey trivia question of the night:
Who was the first NHL player to score more than 50 goals in a single NHL season?
Prior to the 1965-66 NHL season, just Maurice Richard, Bernie Geoffrion and Bobby Hull had scored 50 goals in a single NHL season, each with exactly 50. In 1965-66, Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks went beyond 50, finishing with 54 in just 65 games.
That remained an NHL record for just three seasons before the Golden Jet broke his own record with 58 in 1968-69. That mark didn’t last long with Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins scoring 76 in 1970-71. The current record for most goals in a season was set by Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers in 1981-82 with 92.
In that 1965-66 season, Hull actually tailed off his goal scoring considerable at the end of the year. In his final 13 games, he had just four goals. Number 50 was scored on March 2, 1966 at Chicago Stadium against the Detroit Red Wings. He put the milestone goal past Detroit goalie Hank Bassen at 5:15 of the third period in a 5-4 Chicago win.
Each episode, we go back to a random date in NHL history and pick our three stars of the night. The date we look at now is January 28, 1981. All three stars recorded hat tricks in their games.
Third Star – Mike Rogers of the Hartford Whalers
In a 6-3 win by the Whalers over the Colorado Rockies at the Hartford Civic Center, Mike Rogers scored his 33rd, 34th and 35th goals of the 1980-81 NHL season. He had two power play markers in the second period and his hat trick goal was scored into the empty net with just one second left in the game. That goal was scored shorthanded with Pat Boutette in the box for interference. The first two goals were scored on Colorado goalie Al Smith.
Second Star – Rick Paterson of the Chicago Blackhawks
In 1980-81, Rick Paterson played 49 games for the Chicago Blackhawks. Prior to that, the third round pick in 1978 had appeared in just eleven regular season and eight games with Chicago. In 1980-81, he scored a total of eight goals in those 49 games.
So, when Paterson scored three goals, including a shortie, at Chicago Stadium in a 7-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks, it was kind of a big deal. His shorthanded goals at 8:43 of the second, scored on Vancouver goalie Glen Hanlon and assisted by John Marks, turned out to be a bit of a trademark to his career. 14 of his 50 career goals were scored on the penalty kill.
First Star – Jari Kurri of the Edmonton Oilers
Definitely a sign of things to come. Rookie Jari Kurri recorded his third NHL hat trick in just his 43rd NHL game. In a 9-1 dusting of the Montreal Canadiens at Northlands Coliseum, it was the new meeting the old. The Habs were still strong but their Stanley Cup dynasty was now behind them. The Oilers were well below .500 but had the young pieces in place for a bright future.
Kurri scored two goals in the second period and a third with 39 seconds left in the game. This went with an assist on a Pat Price goal for a four point game. His buddy Wayne Gretzky had five points on a goal and four assists while Eddie Mio made 30 saves in the win.
Hope you enjoyed this episode! Stay tuned – there’s plenty more to come!