1981-82 NHL Co-Op Replay: MTL at BUF (10-18-81)

18 October 1981: The Sabres potted three straight goals in the second period to climb back from an early deficit and take the lead, and three more in a row on either side of the second intermission to take control of the game and outlast the Canadiens in an 87-SOG shootout at The Aud. Montreal jumped out with the first two goals early in the opening period, but tallies by McKegney (PPG) and Seiling leveled things by the midway point of the period. Larouche and Tremblay struck back for Les Habs in the final six minutes though, Tremblay's goal coming with only eight seconds to go until the horn, to grab control again.

The Sabres were ready for the start of the second, with Gare scoring barely a minute in and Haworth then tying the game just three minutes later. The 21-year-old scored a second five minutes after the first, and Buffalo had the lead and appeared to be in the ascendancy. Acton tied the score at five with about five minutes left in the frame, but Haworth netted the single-period hat trick when he jammed home a rebound at 16:29 to give BUF a one-goal edge heading into the final twenty minutes.

Acton took a minor penalty right off the opening face-off of the 3rd, and Buffalo made it hurt when McKegney got his second PPG of the game to stretch the lead to two. Barely a minute later Van Boxmeer piled on with an eighth BUF goal, and Napier's notch a few minutes later wasn't enough as the Sabres called off the forecheckers and held MTL to only seven shots in the final third. Gare had four points, Langway had four hits, and the Sabres defense was active all game as Schoenfeld and Van Boxmeer combined for 12 shots on goal. Final: Buffalo 8, Montreal 6.

1981-82 NHL Co-Op Replay: EDM at CHI (10-18-81)

18 October 1981: Doug Wilson scored two goals and assisted on two others as the Black Hawks buried Andy Moog beneath an avalanche of rubber (and kept Wayne Gretzky off of the scoresheet) to defeat the Oilers at Chicago Stadium. Wilson started the scoring seven minutes into the game, but Edmonton equalized behind Matti Hagman just three minutes later and it looked as if the game would go into the first intermission as a tight, low-scoring affair. But Chicago struck twice in the final two minutes of the period, and this was the start of a collapse by Mogg that would seem him allow five goals in a span of less than fourteen minutes; by the time he was yanked midway into the second, CHI led 6-3. Tony Esposito (33 saves) saw off a number of good scoring chances in the first two periods, including a number from Gretzky (6 SOG), as EDM pressed for a comeback but gradually the balance of play swung in line with the score. The home team controlled the game in the final twenty minutes, and two minor penalties on Edmonton in the last six minutes (leading to Wilson's second score, on the PP) stifled any chance of a tense finish. Tom Lysiak and Terry Ruskowski had three points each for the Hawks. Final" Chicago 8, Edmonton 4.

1981-82 NHL Co-Op Replay: MIN at QUE (10-12-81)

12 October 1981: Quebec scores five times in the second period to take a 6-2 lead over the visiting North Stars, and then have to hold on for dear life as Minnesota scores twice late in the 2nd to make it a contest and then twice more in the final eight minutes to make it a thriller. With the extra attacker on the ice and time running out, Bobby Smith gets a chance on the doorstep but Dan Bouchard flashes the pad and drops the glove on the puck as the final horn sounds. Minnesota's top line generates 20 shots on goal, but it is the Stastny line that dazzles with three goals and nine points. Final: Nordiques 7, North Stars 6.