Bobby Hull scored his 49th goal of the season and added four assists as the Chicago Black Hawks decimated the Boston Bruins to the tune of 7-1 last night in Chicago. The game was one of three National Hockey League contests on the docket. Montreal downed Detroit 5-3 and Toronto and New York skated to a 2-2 tie in the other two games.
One More for the Record
Hull is now just one goal shy of the NHL record of 50 goals in a season. With 14 games to play, he will easily eclipse the mark he shares with Maurice (Rocket) Richard and Bernie (Boom Boom) Geoffrion, both of the Montreal Canadiens. If the man they call The Golden Jet were to get on a hot streak, he could even reach 60, a total previously thought to be far out of reach of mere mortals.
Then again, Bobby Hull is no mere mortal.
Last night, Hull scored number 49 with less than half a minute to play in the second period. It gave the Black Hawks a 5-1 lead at the time. Hull took a drop pass from Phil Esposito and whipped a bullet-like drive past Boston goalie Bernie Parent. Parent still hasn’t seen the shot.
Hull also set up the first two goals of the game by linemate Esposito. The first came only 31 seconds into the game, the second just past the seven-minute mark. Hull also set up Chico Maki for a pair of third-period tallies for a five-point night.
Elmer Vasko and Ken Wharram also found the range for Chicago. John Bucyk, with his 19th of the year, was the only Boston marksman.
Chicago outshot Boston 45-19 in one of their most dominating performances of the season. Despite giving up seven scores, Parent could hardly be blamed for the lop-sided loss. Chicago goalie Glenn Hall had a relatively easy night between the pipes for the Hawks.
Larose Nets Winner
Claude Larose scored the winning goal just past the half-way mark of the third period to power the Montreal Canadiens to a 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings last night in Detroit.
Detroit grabbed the early lead in this one. Floyd Smith beat Montreal goalie Charlie Hodge before the game was two minutes old. It was his 18th of the year. Montreal came right back. Gilles Tremblay and Bobby Rousseau found the range to make it 2-1 for Montreal at the end of one.
Henri Richard upped the count to 3-1 early in the second period with his 19th.
Richard’s goal seemed to awaken the slumbering Wings. Dean Prentice replied quickly with a goal just 19 seconds after Richard had scored. Then, about two minutes later, Bruce MacGregor pulled the Wings even with his 17th. That’s how period two ended.
The third period saw Canadiens take over the game. They threw everything they had a Red Wing goalie Roger Crozier who was intent on keeping the Habs off the scoreboard. Larose final found the mark after a great pass by Ralph Backstrom. He steered Backstrom’s perfect feed into the far side of the cage where Crozier had no chance.
Larose’s goal came just seconds after he had missed a wide-open net from about three feet.
Gilles Tremblay added an insurance marker with his second of the game into an unguarded Detroit goal with four seconds to play.
Detroit coach Sid Abel isn’t upset that his team is about to embark on a road trip. In fact, he sounds like it might be the best thing for his slumping squad:
“Getting away from home can’t do us any more harm. The team just isn’t moving. Gordie’s flat. Alex is flat. Normie’s flat.”
Montreal coach Toe Blake didn’t think the game was as close as the score indicated. Montreal outshot the home side by a margin of 41-30.
“It would have been a catastrophe if we had lost this one. They got an easy goal and came to life in the second, but we outplayed them after that.”
Goyette Gives Rangers Tie
Phil Goyette’s goal with less than eight minutes to play gave the New York Rangers a 2-2 tie with the Toronto Maple Leafs last night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Goyette’s counter came on one of only four shots the Rangers could muster at the Toronto goal in the final 20 minutes of play. The slender Ranger pivot took a pass from Billy Hicke who got into position with a burst of speed past the Toronto defense.
Leafs opened the scoring at 1:26 of the first on a George Armstrong goal. Rangers tied it at the 8:00 mark as Don Marshall notched his 21st of the year.
The second period’s only goal was scored by Leafs’ Frank Mahovlich. The Big M took a perfect setup pass from Dave Keon and rammed the puck past New York netminder Cesare Maniago. Keon had set up Armstrong’s goal in a similar manner.
The game was generally devoid of excitement, save for the work of the Rangers Reggie Fleming. Fleming charged around the ice all night. Her delivered one particularly damaging check to Leafs’ Ron Ellis that went undetected by referee Bill Friday. He also engaged Toronto’s Peter Stemkowski in fisticuffs in the second stanza. Both players were assessed fighting majors.
Maniago made his biggest save of the game on Toronto’s Bob Pulford in the second period. He stymied Pulford on a breakaway. The lanky Ranger dropped to his knees, covering the bottom of the net and Pulford was unable to get the puck over him. Maniago explained:
“He didn’t fake me to my knees. I dropped because I figure I cover more of the net that way. And I’ll admit I was a trifle lucky. He made a good move. He faked me one way and pitched a backhander for the far corner. I got up an arm and just got a wrist in front of the puck or it would have gone into the top of the net.”