Welcome to episode 5 of the Hockey Tales and Trivia show. Each show brings you short stories from the epic history of the NHL along with fun hockey trivia questions with indepth answers and our three stars of the night.
In this episode, we look at trivia questions involving the earliest days of the Washington Capitals, the first leading scorer of the Oakland Seals and Phil Esposito’s first time reaching the 50 goal plateau. Our short stories look at Ray Bourque’s only NHL hat trick and Wendel Clark’s first 4-goal game. Last but not least, our three stars (plus an honourable mention) are from April 7, 1974.
Podcast is also available on our newsletter at Substack: Hockey Tales & Trivia Episode 5
Our first trivia question looks back on the earliest days of the Washington Capitals franchise.
Much more NHL hockey trivia can be found at our hockey trivia website.
Who was the first player ever selected by the Washington Capitals in the NHL Amateur Draft?
Greg Joly was taken by the Washington Capitals first overall at the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft prior to Washington’s inaugural 1974-75 season in the National Hockey League. Mike Marson was selected by the Caps in the second round, 19th overall. Wilf Paiement was the second overall pick, going to the Kansas City Scouts, Washington’s expansion cousins.
After a great junior career with the Regina Pats, Joly was touted as “The Next Bobby Orr”. It didn’t pan out that way. In his rookie 1974-75 season, Greg scored just a single goal while playing only 44 games for the Capitals. It didn’t get much better.
Between 1974-75 and 1982-83, Greg Joly played 365 regular season and five playoff games in the NHL with the Capitals and Detroit Red Wings. Over that time, he scored 21 goals. His lone goal in his rookie campaign was scored on November 3, 1974 in a 5-4 home loss to the Kansas City Scouts. He opened the scoring at 4:47 of the first period, assisted by Yvon Labre and Jim Hrycuik. He also got in a third period fight with Rich Lemieux.
Kansas City did much better with their first pick. Wilf Paiement played for the franchise in their only two years in Missouri before moving with the team to Denver, playing 3 1/2 years with the Colorado Rockies. He scored at least 21 goals in each of his first five full seasons, topping out with 41 in 1976-77. Over his career, he played 946 regular season and 69 playoff games with the Scouts, Rockies, Toronto Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques, Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Next up, we take a closer look at the only hat trick ever recorded by Ray Bourque during his lengthy NHL career.
Content similar to this is published daily at our Facebook Page.
Ray Bourque Scores His Only NHL Hat Trick In A Blowout Over The Quebec Nordiques
Over his lengthy NHL career, Ray Bourque scored 410 goals and led the league in shots on three occasions. However, he scored just three goals in a game once. On March 8, 1983, the Quebec Nordiques hosted the Boston Bruins at Le Colisée. The guests ripped Quebec goalie Dan Bouchard for eleven goals in an 11-5 win.
Bourque scored his 18th, 19th and 20th goals of the 1982-83 NHL season over a ten minute span in the second period. His second goal was Boston’s sixth and the game winning goal. Ray also assisted on a first period marker by Peter McNab for a four point night. He had seven shots on Bouchard in the game. It was against the same Nordiques in 1991 when Ray set the current record for most shots in a game with 19.
In the game, Peter McNab had five points on two goals and three assists while Keith Crowder and Rick Middleton had four point games for the Bruins. Bouchard remained in the Quebec nets for the duration, allowing the eleven goals on 38 shots.
Ray Bourque played 1,612 regular season and 214 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1979-80 and 2000-01 with the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche. The five time Norris Trophy winner finally got a Stanley Cup ring in his 22nd and last season in the league. Ray was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004.
Our second trivia question of the show looks at the first offensive leader of the Oakland Seals.
Which player led the Oakland Seals in scoring for the 1967-68 NHL season with just 44 points?
Gerry Ehman led the Oakland Seals in scoring for the team’s inaugural NHL season with just 44 points on 19 goals and 25 assists. Bill Hicke was the team’s only 20 goal scorer, finishing with 21. The Seals scored the fewest goals of any team in the league with 153. The team also finished dead last in the 12 team NHL with just 15 wins and 47 points, 19 behind the Detroit Red Wings and 22 points out of playoff spot.
For Ehman, it was a career year up until that point. In the following campaign, he would score 21 and total 45 for what stood as his NHL career best numbers. A minor leaguer for much of his pro career, Gerry did appear in 429 regular season and 41 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1957-58 and 1970-71 with the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Oakland Seals.
Despite playing just four regular season games for the Maple Leafs in 1963-64, Ehman appeared in nine during the playoffs and was rewarded with his only Stanley Cup championship. In the American Hockey League, he was a Calder Cup winner in consecutive seasons, 1964-65 and 1965-66, with the Rochester Americans.
In 1963-64 with the Rochester Americans, Ehman scored 36 goals and added 49 assists for 85 points in 66 games. That gave him a one point edge over Bronco Horvath for the league lead, earning him the John B. Sollenberger Trophy.
Next is the story of Wendel Clark’s first 4-goal game in the NHL.
Wendel Clark Scores Early And Often On Buffalo’s Darren Puppa For 1st 4 Goal Game
For Wendel Clark, his sophomore 1986-87 NHL season with the Toronto Maple Leafs started boom and bust. After scoring one against Montreal in Toronto’s first game of the season, he scored four against the Sabres in game number two. It was the first of two four games for Wendel over his NHL career. Unfortunately, the bust was coming with Clark getting just one goal (and point) over the next seven.
After Mike Foligno started the scoring for Buffalo on Ken Wregget at 6:23 of the first, Clark came back with a pair. Foligno scored his second of the game to tie the match at two before Wendel had the hat trick goal. Before the period was up, Gilbert Perreault tied things up at 3-3.
Despite the individual performance, Wendel’s Leafs were down 5-4 after two with Wilf Paiement scoring a pair for the Sabres and Steve Thomas getting one back for Toronto. Clark tied things up at 9:44 of the third with his fourth of the game. Overtime didn’t decide a winner and, in the days before the shootout, the match ended in a 5-5 tie.
Paiement, the former Leaf, and Perreault both had three point games for the Sabres. Gary Leeman assisted on all four Clark goals for a four point night. Goaltending was questionable for both teams with Puppa allowing five on 25 shots while Wregget let in five on just 23 shots.
Now it’s time for the third and final hockey trivia question of the show:
In the 1st of 5 times Phil Esposito reached the 50 goal plateau, which team did he score number 50 against?
On February 20, 1971 at the Forum in Los Angeles against the Kings, Phil Esposito reached the 50 goal plateau for the first time in his NHL career. Of course, in that 1970-71 season, Esposito would go on to score 76, a record that stood for just over a decade. He scored at 2:18 of the first period, putting one past Denis DeJordy with help from Ken Hodge.
It was a unique night for Esposito. He not only scored the magic goal but also assisted on a Ken Hodge goal shortly after for a two point night. But wait, that’s not all! Phil also dropped the gloves with Larry Cahan in the second period to achieve the “Gordie Howe Hat Trick”.
The game went a little like the 1970-71 season for the Bruins. They started early with three goals in the first 5:36 of the first period and held that 3-0 lead through to nearly the halfway point of the game. The Kings scored two in the second and Boston countered with a single to make the score 4-2 after two.
The much weaker home team came up with three unanswered in the third to stun the mighty Bruins 5-4. Boston had all the firepower they would ever need in that 1970-71 NHL season but when it came to defending their Stanley Cup title from the previous season, the Bruins were bounced in the opening round by the Montreal Canadiens.
Three Stars
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 April 7, 1974, the final day before the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Third Star – Rod Gilbert of the New York Rangers
A battle of two fairly evenly matched teams resulted in a close match, ultimately won by the New York Rangers 6-4 at Madison Square Garden. Against the Montreal Canadiens, Rod Gilbert had two goals and two assists. His second of the game and 36th of the season, assisted by Jean Ratelle and Rod Seiling, served as the game winner. Ratelle also had four points on two goals and two assists.
Second Star – Wayne Cashman of the Boston Bruins
In a 6-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Garden, Cashman recorded a hat trick and assisted on goals by Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr for a five point game. His first goal was scored shorthanded with just a second left in the opening frame. Orr finished the game with six points on two goals and four assists. The game featured an unusual fight between two gentlemen, Dave Keon and Gregg Sheppard.
First Star – Rick Martin of the Buffalo Sabres
Going into this game against the St. Louis Blues at the Aud in Buffalo, Rick Martin needed a single goal to reach the 50 goal plateau for the first of two times over his NHL career. Rico scored that milestone marker at 8:39 of the first, becoming the first player in Buffalo Sabres history to reach 50 in a season.
Martin didn’t stop there. He scored his 51st and 52nd of the campaign in the third period. His second goal of the game remained as the game winner in the 5-2 victory for the Sabres.
Honourable Mention – Bill Barber of the Philadelphia Flyers
Bill Barber finishing up the season with a hat trick and four point game deserves a look. Bill scored his 32nd, 33rd and 34th goals of the season, all on Minnesota North Stars goalie Fern Rivard. Barber’s first of the game, scored at 5:05 of the second and assisted by Bobby Clarke and Jimmy Watson, was the game winner. His hat trick goal was scored on the power play with just 12 seconds left on the clock.