Between 1950 and 1956, the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs met in the Stanley Cup semi-finals five times. Detroit won every series. Only the 1950 best-of-seven series was close with the Red Wings needing a Game 7 overtime goal by Leo Reise Jr. to eliminate the Leafs. In Game 1 of that ...
One of the nice things about hockey history is it gives everybody several years to ponder some of the most difficult and often-asked questions of all-time. The general consensus today is Gordie Howe was the greatest right-winger ever to play the game. You’ll get way fewer arguments now than you would have 50 years ago. ...
When Bobby Orr was at his peak, he was the best hockey player in the world. No other human was close. It was unbelievable how much better he was than anyone else in the pack behind. The NHL wasn’t good enough for Bobby Orr. Too bad there was no higher league. Around the beginning of ...
The Rocket did it first. I don’t believe in astrology, so pardon me when I borrow the expression, “all the stars were aligned” in 1944-45 when Maurice Richard became the NHL’s first 50-goal scorer. The achievement was monumental at the time and the circumstances under which it was accomplished will never be replicated. The legend ...
The Detroit Red Wings have been the best team in hockey since the dawn of hockey’s newest era. It’s hard to argue with that when you glance at the chart below. It’s self-explanatory. The numbers include games played from the beginning of the 2005-06 season right up to this year’s Christmas break. There are only three teams ...
The City of Montreal was home to two NHL teams during a good chunk of the league’s formative years in the 1920’s and ‘30’s. At the time, Montreal was the financial center of Canada and its biggest city. It was the undisputed center of the hockey universe. The glorious greatness the Habs enjoyed throughout the ...
The 2010-11 Toronto Maple Leafs are on pace to set an NHL record which would undoubtedly rank them among the worst teams in NHL history. After 25 games, the Leafs have been blanked a whopping six times so far. At this rate and over the course of a full 82-game schedule, the projection is 20 shutouts. That would ...
On April 5, 1970, the Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens engaged in one of the weirdest games ever in NHL history. There has never been another game like it, nor is there likely ever going to be a repeat. It actually forced the NHL to change the rulebook. It was the last game of the ...
When Vancouver Canucks defenseman Dan Hamhuis scored into an empty net to seal a 5-3 victory over the hapless Toronto Maple Leafs last night, Leaf winger Kris Versteeg chased the sliding puck in vain and smashed his stick over the crossbar as it entered his own net. Who says the Leafs can’t hit the net? ...
When things are going well, positive momentum helps create the right mood for more good things to happen. Everything seems to fall into place at once. All of the stars are aligned. One might be advised to grasp and make the most of these fleeting moments in life, if you like the thought of making ...
