The Red Wings surprisingly shrugged aside the Canadiens in five games, while the Maple Leafs needed every one of the seven scheduled games to bring to an end the Ranger’s late-season heroics, so the season now comes down to the Stanley Cup Finals between Detroit and Toronto. Who will win out in the end - the high-powered Leaf offense led by 49-goal scorer Frank Mahovlich, or the gritty Red Wing defense anchored by two-way stars Gordie Howe and Alex Delvecchio? There’s only one way to find out for sure . . .
Johnny Bower stopped all twenty-five Detroit shots and Toronto scored three times in the opening period to turn Game One of the Finals into a one-sided affair, to the delight of the capacity crowd at Maple Leaf Gardens. The Leafs were intent on showing the Wings their firepower from the outset, firing eighteen pucks at Terry Sawchuk in the opening twenty minutes, but the veteran Detroit goalie held them at bay until the final five minutes of the period. Frank Mahovlich scored to open the Finals scoring at 15:04, and then Toronto grabbed complete control of the game with a pair of goals in quick succession late in the period - Dave Keon finished off a nice feed from Tim Horton off a turnover at 17:32, and Eddie Shack (whose playing style was once described by a sportswriter as akin to "a big puppy let loose in a wide field") bullied through a crowd in front of Sawchuk's net to sweep in a loose puck just over a minute later. And, unfortunately for any neutrals watching the CBC broadcast, that was pretty much the contest - the Maple Leafs stifled the Red Wing attack the entire way, and Mahovlich tacked on his eighth goal of the playoffs (in eight games) early in the second period. Toronto took their feet off the attacking pedal in the third period, but Bower finished off the whitewash with nine final-period saves. Mahovlich finished his evening with seven shots on goal, Shack had five goal attempts, and the Leafs' defence was anchored by the five hits landed by Carl Brewer and Allan Stanley. Toronto 4, Detroit 0. [box] [stats] ["live broadcast"]
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| Johnny Bower denies Val Fonteyne on his way to a Game One shutout |
The fans in attendance were perhaps feeling a bit complacent after witnessing Toronto's dominant Game One performance two nights ago, and hearing the pre-game news that a knock picked up late in Game One injury would sideline Terry Sawchuk for this evening's game, so they found themselves a bit taken aback when they had barely had time to settle into their seats before Marcel Pronovost had given the Red Wings the lead with a goal thirty-eight seconds after the opening face-off. Six minutes of penalties called against Detroit defenseman Howie Young in the first ten minutes of the game ought to have given the home team a path back to equality, at least, but it was the Wings who took advantage of the man disadvantage as Gordie Howe scored shorthanded a minute into Young's third infraction to give the visitors a 2-0 lead after less than twelve minutes. But, just after that penalty expired, Red Kelly found Tim Horton cheating in from the right point and the blueliner made no mistake over replacement goalie Hank Bassen's right shoulder to get Toronto back to within a single goal. The second period opened with Detroit setting the pace, but Toronto's skill proved to be more than enough to make up for limited opportunities. Frank Mahovlich scored - again! - at 6:04 to tie the game and, with the clock running out on the period, Dave Keon scored a crushing goal at 19:46 to give the home team the lead despite being held to just five shots by the Wings' defence. Detroit were not the same team when they came out for the third, even though the game was still up for grabs, and the Leafs took brutal advantage. In a span of less than seven minutes they scored three goals to blow the game apart - Dick Duff, Allan Stanley and Billy Harris all beating Bassen, who finished with just 19 saves on 25 Toronto shots in a rough NHL playoff debut. The home team's balance was in clear evidence, as they had five players with two-point nights, and Carl Brewer again laid down the law at the back with three more hits. Toronto 6, Detroit 2. [box] [stats] ["live broadcast"]
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| Carl Brewer (#2) has been a huge physical presence on the Toronto defence |
The Red Wings found themselves in more or less a "must-win" situation as they returned to the Olympia for Game Three. Bassen would remain in the net in place of the still-injured Terry Sawchuk but, more importantly, the Detroit defence had to find a way to contain Frank Mahovlich and the Leafs' top line because they couldn't expect to rack up the goals against the League's leading goaltender Johnny Bower. And they got off to a good start, much like in Game Two, when Vic Stasiuk scored inside of the first minute and Alex Delvecchio made it 2-0 at 7:49 when his power-play goal punished a high-sticking call against Bob Baun. But this same lead had quickly evaporated two nights ago in Toronto, so the crowd was still somewhat tense; this tension was reinforced when the Leafs took the game right at Detroit in the middle twenty minutes, outshooting them 17-10 and cutting the lead in half when Bert Olmstead scored on the power play at 16:07 (as Howie Young earned three minors in one period for the second time in two games!). But, crucially, Bassen held back the remainder of the onslaught, unlike in Game Two, and the visitors were still in front as the third period began. Now it was the Red Wings who had the wind in their sails, and they buffeted the Maple Leafs with twenty-one shots; it was only Bower's heroics (37 saves) that kept Toronto in touch, while at the other end Bassen and an omnipresent Gordie Howe continually frustrated the Toronto offence. Two late penalties to Allan Stanley took a lot of steam out of Toronto's comeback chances and, on the second of these, Delvecchio found Gerry Odrowoski unchecked just over the red line and the defenseman flicked the puck into the empty Leafs net with one second to go. The Wings got the performance they need out of their stars - their top line took seventeen shots and scored twice, while holding the Maple Leafs' top unit to nine shots and no points. Detroit 3, Toronto 1. [box] [stats] ["live broadcast"]
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| Hank Bassen and Gordie Howe formed the spine of the Wings' defence |
Back at the Olympia after salvaging a split in Toronto, the good vibes continued for the Red Wings as they controlled the opening period of play in Game Four. But among the Maple Leafs’ few chances in the first twenty minutes was a Ron Stewart shot that eluded Terry Sawchuk at 10:23 to give Toronto the lead, and Detroit was forced to retire to the changing room at the intermission with nothing but a moral victory to their credit. Early in the second, Bob Nevin made it 2-0 Leafs and it looked as if the game was headed the wrong way for the Wings before Norm Ullman’s tally at 7:14 cut the Toronto lead to a single goal and resuscitated the crowd. As the period wound down, and the Red Wings began to look ahead to a final period in which to chase that one goal required, disaster struck and his name was (again) Frank Mahovlich - the left winger was the first man to the front of the net ofter Larry Hillman’s shot ricocheted off of the left pad of Sawchuk and he stuffed in his fourth goal of the series to make it a 3-1 game with three minutes remaining in the period. Detroit fought gamely in the third, outshooting Toronto 12-7, but unsure goaltending - which has been an issue for most of the Finals - reared its head again, and the Leafs turned those seven shots into three late goals. Mahovlich, who appears now to be scoring just for the sheer fun of it, got his second of the game at 13:45, Stewart his second less than two minutes later, and Red Kelly piled on with his first of the series as just sixteen seconds remained on the game clock. Kelly had a goal, three assists and six shots as Toronto’s top line dominated that of Detroit (combined +12 to -8), while Allan Stanley had three helpers and a blocked shot. The Leafs looked every bit the presumptive champions as they moved one game away from their first Stanley Cup title in a decade. Toronto 6, Detroit 1. [box] [stats] ["live broadcast"]
| Frank Mahovlich continues to rack up the goals |
Now down to their last life, and having to defend that at the Maple Leaf Gardens where they were handled roughly in the first two games of the series, the Red Wings came out of the dressing room for Game Five intent on out-working Toronto. The checking was tight for ten minutes as Detroit held the Toronto attack at bay and, while they weren’t threatening much themselves, they were at least preventing Toronto form shifting into high gear. The hard work paid off at the midway point of the period when Gordie Howe was hooked at the Toronto blue line by Larry Hiillman and the ensuing power play saw Vic Stasiuk fire home from the top of the left circle. Just 73 seconds later, the Wings struck again - a three-on-two rush saw Val Fonteyne penetrate and drop the puck to Pete Goegan, whose shot hit Johnny Bower high on the chest before falling onto the stick of Parker MacDonald who tucked it into the net for a 2-0 Detroit lead. The sharp DET start carried some echoes of Game Two, so the Toronto crowd was not yet overly concerned but, this time the Wings managed to see out the remainder of the period without conceding. It wasn’t until about five minutes from the end of the second when the Leafs, somewhat against the run of play, finally got one past Hank Bassen thanks to Bob Pulford but the visitors still held a one-goal lead as the third period commenced. And just three minutes in, it was Frank Mahovlich yet again, scoring his sixth goal in five games to tie the game and revive those Game Two ghosts. This time, however, Detroit did not flinch and their stars made the difference - Alex Delvecchio redirected a Gordie Howe pass onto the top shelf at 13:19 to put the Wings back on top, and Howe followed that with his own after only twenty-four more seconds had elapsed, shrugging off the physical attentions of Bob Baun to score from close range after Stasiuk had been denied by Bower. Any expectations that this meant a clear flight path the rest of the way for the Wings were quickly grounded by Dick Duff’s score for Toronto barely a half-minute later and the final five minutes were filled with desperate Detroit defense as the officials swallowed their whistles and let the men sacrifice their bodies in the name of sport. Bassen was just good enough to hang on, with significant help from Marcel Pronovost (four hits and a blocked shot); while Mahovlich did score, the Leafs’ top line was held in check (two points, four shots) while Detroit’s trio of Stasiuk-Delvecchio-Howe had seven points on nine shots and Howe dished out two hits of his own. It was hard sledding, but the Wings had earned another game on the schedule and were suddenly riding a two-wins-in-three wave that gave them some impetus heading back home for Game Six. Detroit 4, Toronto 3. [box] [stats] ["live broadcast"]
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| Marcel Pronovost spearheaded a big defensive effort by Detroit |
The mood in the Motor City was hopeful, if not quite optimistic, and the first fifteen minutes looked much like Game Five and much to the Wings’ tastes - no scoring, a lot of physical play by Detroit, and resilient defense in killing off six consecutive minutes of Toronto man advantage. While they couldn’t afford to keep giving the Leafs such chances, the effort was there . . . until the vulnerable minute after Len Lunde left the box having gotten off scot-free for his interference double minor. With the teams back at even strength, Dave Keon found a crease through the middle of the Detroit defence and Eddie Shack hit him on the tape before Keon snapped the puck past a surprised Hank Bassen to give Toronto the lead with four minutes to go in the period. The sense of deflation was palpable in both the crowd and the Wings’ skating and the Maple Leafs were quick to pounce a little over two minutes later, when Dick Duff found Ron Stewart circling out from behind the Detroit goal and Stewart touched the pass out in front to Bert Olmstead for a quick-fire goal that doubled the lead and threw a hush over the Olympia. Detroit had forty minutes to respond, but the same cracks that had marked the series thus far showed themselves again - they again could not contain Frank Mahovlich who scored his seventh of the Finals (and thirteenth in twelve playoff games!) midway through the second, and then the Detroit special teams fell apart completely in the third. Stewart scored a short-handed goal at 4:57 with Carl Brewer in the box and then, with Bert Olmstead serving a sentence for holding five minutes later, Toronto punched the Wings in the mouth with two more shorties on the same penalty; Stewart getting his second SHG of the game, and Keon book-ending his game-opening score with a short-hander of his own to make it 6-0 with nine minutes left and put the champagne on ice. (For the game, Toronto scored on three of its five short-handed shots.) Johnny Bower finished off a Cup-clinching shutout with 27 saves as the Maple Leafs lifted their first Stanley Cup in ten seasons, a triumph that felt even sweeter after Finals defeats in the past two seasons. Toronto 6, Detroit 0. [box] [stats] ["live broadcast"]
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| Toronto enjoys its first taste from Lord Stanley's Cup in ten seasons |
In the end, although it went six games, it really wasn't much of a contest. Toronto not only had the League's best goal-scorer and its best goaltender, but they were deeper - their bottom-six forwards accounted for seven goals in the series as opposed to one for Detroit. The Maple Leafs' had a statistically-dominant postseason on both sides of the ice, leading the playoffs by gigantic margins in both shooting percentage and save percentage; four of their five playoff losses were by a single goal (and the other by two) while in their other eight games they won by fewer than three goals just once while outscoring their opposition by a combined 40-9.
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