Goaltender Game-by-Game Logs (1965-66 to present) and research questions

[Doctor No]

I'm finally getting caught up on my game logs (with a now-15 week old, I've simultaneously got lots of time and no time). 1969-70 game logs are on the site now; a few minor discrepancies with what the NHL had but nothing super significant.
1968-69 was always much worse - I had put together about ten pages detailing my case originally, where twenty different goaltenders had GP/W-L-T combinations different than what I had researched. I'm happy to report that the new published totals by the league have resolved 13 of these 20 situations (their new totals match my research).

That leaves seven goaltenders across three teams (NY Rangers, Oakland, Toronto).

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New York Rangers - I have Simmons at 1-1-1, the NHL has Simmons at 1-2-1 (I also have Giacomin at 38-24-7, the NHL has him at 38-23-7). Looking at the league's game logs, the difference is the March 1st game against Boston.
NY Times: "Don Simmons…had replaced Giacomin after Esposito's score." Esposito's goal at 33:41 was sixth Boston goal in 8-5 win; therefore, loss goes to Giacomin. Boston Globe (Tom Fitzgerald): "Espo accomplished this objective at 13:41 in the second period, making a strong move for a close-up smash by Ed Giacomin after a pass out from Ken Hodge." "After Esposito's goal, coach Francis removed Giacomin from the N.Y. net and replaced him with Don Simmons."
The NHL's revised box summary here:
https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-bos/1969/03/01/1968020372#game=1968020372,game_state=final
Matches the times I've found for Giacomin (33:41) and Simmons - and the Giacomin time exactly matches the time of Esposito's goal (the sixth goal), but they give the loss to Simmons in his totals. I believe that the league is in error still.

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Oakland - I have Smith at 22-20-7 and Worthy at 4-8-2. NHL has Smith at 21-21-7 and Worthy at 4-7-2. Adding in Hodge's 3-8-2, the NHL totals don't even add up to 76.
So let's deal with that first. NHL gives no decision to *any* Seals goaltender for Feb 21, although Smith played entire game per their boxscore: https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-oak/1969/02/21/1968020352#game=1968020352,game_state=final
So that's an error - give an extra win to Gary Smith for February 21, 1969.
Investigating the NHL game logs against mine, we focus on December 15, 1968, where the NHL has Smith with the loss (not Worthy). Chicago Tribune has Worthy replacing Smith at the Doug Mohns goal at 27:18, which matches the times in the new NHL box score:
https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/oak-vs-chi/1968/12/15/1968020167#game=1968020167,game_state=final
The new box doesn't show time of goal scorers, but HSP matches Mohns:
http://www.flyershistory.com/cgi-bin/ppoboxscore.cgi?H19680167
Mohns' goal was Chicago's fourth, making the score 4-3 for the Black Hawks. Chicago won 7-4, so Worthy's first GA (the fifth Chicago goal) would give him the loss, not Smith.

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Toronto - Last but certainly not least, since we have a three-way problem to deal with.
Bruce Gamble: me 28-19-12, NHL 28-20-11 (NHL has extra L, missing T)
Johnny Bower: me 5-5-2, NHL 6-4-3 (NHL has extra W, missing L, extra T)
Al Smith: me 2-2-1, NHL 1-2-1 (NHL has missing W).
(Too Long Didn't Read: the NHL is wrong once, and me/HSP is wrong twice.)

So let's first find the tie that the NHL has for Bower but I have for Gamble. Having the NHL's version of game logs makes this easier that it's ever been for me, by the way.
The NHL has Bower playing the entire game for Toronto (and getting the tie) on November 30th. I had Gamble, and it looks like my source was HSP. Sebastien Tremblay also has Bower, so I dug in a bit - the Minneapolis Star Tribune mentions Bower multiple times in Dwayne Netland's summary, and the box summaries for the Los Angeles Times and Hartford Courant both have Bower as well.
So the NHL's right, and HSP has it off.

Now, let's find the win that the NHL has for Bower but I have for Smith.
October 23 is the date:
https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-tor/1968/10/23/1968020028#game=1968020028,game_state=final
NHL gives the win to Bower (not Smith), although Smith's 51:38 TOI and Bower's 8:22 TOI match my other sources. In a 6-4 Toronto victory over St. Louis, the score was 6-3, Toronto, at 51:38. It's mentioned in a few places, but I'll quote the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Leaf general manager Punch Imlach pulled a surprise by putting veteran goaltender Johnny Bower into the game with eight minutes to play. Ab McDonald beat Bower for the final goal with Roberts and Ron Schock aiding..."I put Bower in because he had to get his feet wet sometime, and with a three-goal lead I figured this was the spot," Imlach said.
This seems clear that the win belongs to Smith and not Bower, and therefore the NHL has it wrong.

Last, let's find the loss that the NHL has for Gamble but I have for Bower.
That date is January 9 - I have Bower playing (as does HSP), and the NHL (and Tremblay) both have Gamble playing:
https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tor-vs-bos/1969/01/09/1968020231#game=1968020231,game_state=final
Gamble is mentioned in the Detroit Free Press summary, and is in every box score that I can find. I cannot find any evidence that Bower played in this game.
So here, the NHL's right and HSP has it off.
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I'll be updating my season totals to reflect the above, and will get the game logs up over the next few days.

 

[SealsFan]

This is a great resource for board game replayers like myself, thanks!

 

[Doctor No]

Thanks - and I'm glad to help! I've been in the same Strat-o-Matic draft league since 1996, so I can empathize a bit

 

[Doctor No]

I've finished the last of the documented checking, and I have pushed the 1968-69 game-by-game logs to my site here:
1968-1969 National Hockey League Goaltender Game-by-Game Performance

Current known issues are all here:
http://hockeygoalies.org/stats/Discrepancies.pdf

(I haven't dug much into the NHL's updates for later seasons, which I believe will resolve quite a few of these.)

 

[Doctor No]

Immediate thoughts upon first view (I haven't run the schedule/variability/goal support queries yet):

• The schedule support will be interesting (even more so than 1969-70) since the expansion teams are more expansion-y.
• That Boston-Toronto playoff series was a bloodbath.
• Eddie Johnston struggled mightily towards the conclusion of the year.
• Denis DeJordy's demotion to Dallas (alliteration FTW) seemed to have done the trick. Of course, both he and Dryden hit a wall in February.
• As a huge Sawchuk fan growing up, it's weird/neat to finally be at a point where there are Sawchuk Detroit numbers to look at.
• I need to trace out the injury that caused Roy Edwards to miss the start of the season.
• More red for Gerry Desjardins, who's probably thrilled that he eventually got out of Los Angeles.
• Once Rogie took over for Gump in the playoffs, the Canadiens were pretty amazing the rest of the way.
• We also now have Tony Esposito's full NHL career here.
• The Rangers were determined to use Ed Giacomin all day all the time.
• Inconsistency in Oakland (a hallmark of the Seals in general).
• 1969 All-Star Game for the Western Conference: Glenn Hall, Bernie Parent, Jacques Plante. Not bad, not bad.
• Bernie Parent looks pretty good, even pre-Toronto with Plante.
• Les Binkley peppered generally consistent above-average play with the occasional solid stinker.
• Hard to get much more consistently good than Plante and Hall in St. Louis.
• Johnny Bower finally hit the wall around New Year's. He was old, though.

 

[Doctor No]

I have completed and uploaded the 1967-68 NHL game-by-game goaltender logs to my site:
1967-1968 National Hockey League Goaltender Game-by-Game Performance

And we now have 50+ years of NHL history located from this root page:
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE GOALTENDER GAME LOGS

Some crib notes as you peruse the new results:

• The NHL game summaries were super useful in completing my search, *and* I'm glad that I did my work first and used the NHL for a secondary source (which is what I intend to continue to do going forward). The NHL data does have errors - and errors other than transcription.
• For instance, the NHL gives Johnny Bower the Toronto loss on February 7, 1968 (instead of Bruce Gamble).
  In the NHL game summary (Toronto Maple Leafs - Chicago Blackhawks - February 7th, 1968), the ice times suggest (although does not say) that Bower was lifted at Dennis Hull's goal at 25:18 (which tied the game at two). The game-winning goal for Chicago was scored by Paul Terbenche at 47:54, so we need evidence that Gamble allowed that goal. From the Chicago Tribune: "A Hawk counter drive during the eighth minute gave Terbenche his winning shot...Terbenche's shot was low, hard and headed for Gamble's pads. But [Marcel] Pronovost, just a few feet ahead of Gamble, reached for the shot and the puck ticked his stick. It was just enough to turn the shot inside the near goal post and out of the frantic, reaching glove of Gamble." This is exceptionally strong evidence that Gamble deserves the loss; however, the league's totals give it to Bower: Johnny Bower Stats and News
• I'm very excited that we now have complete data from the beginning of the NHL's expansion period - and complete data now for the Los Angeles Kings, the Minnesota North Stars / Cleveland Barons / Dallas Stars, the Oakland Seals / California Golden Seals, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the St. Louis Blues.
• Cheevers and Johnston were both pretty inconsistent during the year for the Bruins (who were admittedly just starting to become respectable). I saw one news source refer to the former as "Larry Cheevers".
• Witness the miracle of Andre Gill's five NHL games - including an NHL debut 41-save shutout over the Rangers.
• For a league average goaltender, Denis DeJordy had some pretty bad starts. Looking forward to running his consistency numbers.
• Did the Red Wings ride Roy Edwards too hard early in the season?
• Sawchuk starts to show his age in Los Angeles. And that Game Seven performance against the North Stars was not what you'd call stellar.
• Cesare Maniago, on the other hand, was very solid against the Blues in their seven-game semifinals loss.
• Looking forward to digging in more on how Worsley and Vachon were used this year for the Canadiens.
• Canadiens steamrolled to the 1968 Cup, losing just one game - the one where Worsley sprained his neck on April 25. (Long time readers know that injuries are a key focus for me).
• Oakland got better goaltending than you'd think from their record.
• Bernie Parent's 1968 playoffs might be the best by a goaltender who didn't win a round (and if Favell didn't play two of the seven games, the Flyers just may have won the round against the Blues).
• Les Binkley looks like he wore down a bit, even as the Penguins relied less on Hank Bassen.
• Glenn Hall looked great against the Canadiens in the Finals - on the other hand, he had a terrible series against the North Stars - other than Game Seven.
• Toronto fans will want to check out the performance of Bower and Gamble - for not making the playoffs (as defending Cup champions), their goaltending was stellar.
• The one goaltender who doesn't appear here for Toronto is Al Smith, since he didn't play in the regular season or postseason. Smith *did*, however, get the victory in the 1968 NHL All-Star Game.

Anyhow, I'll start getting my own stats updated for 1967-68 and 1968-69 both - these will be infant dependent (my daughter likes to be held, and who can blame her for that?).

Please let me know if you see something interesting in the numbers!

 

[Doctor No]

1968-69 strengths of schedule and power ratings:

Chicago is interesting in that they didn't qualify for the playoffs. Los Angeles is the converse.

 

[Doctor No]

And 1967-68 strengths of schedule and power ratings:

These look like about what you'd expect - pretty clear difference between the new six and the old six.

 

[Doctor No]

Stupid things that one notices, which are probably coincidence but you never know...

In 1967-68, Don Simmons played five games for the Rangers. Four of the five games were against Chicago.

 

[Doctor No]

This photo was posted to a Facebook page as Paul Harrison. Of note is that this goaltender is wearing #1. The Maple Leafs' media guide, my site, and Hockey Reference only list #30 for Harrison, so I'm interested in figuring out who this is.

Can anyone give evidence one way or the other (or even a source/date for the photo)?

This is the style of mask that Harrison wore in Toronto.

On the other hand, he's wearing #1, and Harrison seemed partial to Victoriaville sticks while in Toronto.

 

[Doctor No]

A list of other possible candidates would include Bunny Larocque, Gord McRae, Curt Ridley, Rick St. Croix, or Vincent Tremblay (although I don't think it's any of them based on what I've been able to find so far).

 

[Doctor No]

Somewhat scary that when I enter "did paul harrison wear #1 for Toronto" into Google, this thread is now the second link returned (I understand that Google uses person specific tracking, but still).

 

[SealsFan]

Stupid things that one notices, which are probably coincidence but you never know...

In 1967-68, Don Simmons played five games for the Rangers. Four of the five games were against Chicago.

Made me think of goalie Bob Sneddon -- played his only 5 NHL games with the 70-71 Seals and I believe only 3 of them were starts. Since he was a Chicago prospect, that may explain why two of his starts were early in the season at Chicago (5-1 and 9-0 losses). Another one was at Toronto where this photo likely came from, and he was removed 5 minutes into the 2nd period after allowing 3 goals...

and a right-catching goalie, to boot!

 

[Doctor No]

Sneddon's an interesting case! I have him with seven games that season (and in total), and I'm happy to report that the NHL (finally) agrees with me on that.

Me: Bob Sneddon

NHL: Bob Sneddon Stats and News

Three starts, though, two against Chicago and one against Toronto (where he was replaced by Smith).

 

[Doctor No]

I love watching right catch goalies, too.

 

[Killion]

A list of other possible candidates would include Bunny Larocque, Gord McRae, Curt Ridley, Rick St. Croix, or Vincent Tremblay (although I don't think it's any of them based on what I've been able to find so far).

Huh.... equipment matches Harrison... that guys the right size.... same mask with what looks like a fresh coat of paint so I'm thinkin 78 Leafs Training Camp (traded to Toronto by Minnesota in June of that year).... given a temporary number, #1.... using a Cooper stick either as a trial in that Exhibition game or perhaps because he didnt have any of his favored Vic's on hand (Cooper bought Hespeler in 72 & simply branded Hespeler goalie sticks with the Cooper logo)... the Cooper rep's wouldve been on hand so "here you go" type dealeo.... I doubt records kept for Exhibition Games uh?... So perhaps no way to confirm for certain....

 

[Doctor No]

Thanks, Killion! Your scenario is the most plausible one I've heard (the mask clearly looks cleaner than any other Toronto photo that I can find of him).

Toronto Star isn't in my premium news subscription, but I subscribe to that on its own from time to time. If this isn't resolved before then, I'll look through September 1978 to see if there's any supporting evidence.

Harrison wore #30 and #35 in Minnesota, and looking at who else might have been in Toronto training camp in 1978, I'm surprised that they didn't just give him #30 straight away.

 

[Killion]

Thanks, Killion! Your scenario is the most plausible one I've heard (the mask clearly looks cleaner than any other Toronto photo that I can find of him).

Toronto Star isn't in my premium news subscription, but I subscribe to that on its own from time to time. If this isn't resolved before then, I'll look through September 1978 to see if there's any supporting evidence.

Harrison wore #30 and #35 in Minnesota, and looking at who else might have been in Toronto training camp in 1978, I'm surprised that they didn't just give him #30 straight away.

You know I love a mystery, detective work...... he did wear #1 with Pittsburgh after leaving Toronto though I dont recall him ever wearing #1 with the Leafs... however I wouldnt trust my memory banks on that one, wasnt around much then or following the Leafs closely.... my memories of that decade "suspect" at best.... a lot of shall we say "missing time".... so no memory, never happened amIright? Wasnt me. Your confused....

But yes, that mask being freshly painted, the odd Cooper stick & that number, all has the appearance of a rushed arrival or someone new to the team, haphazard Exhibition type dealeo. He'd been #30/35 in Minny as you say, he was acquired by the Leafs for a 4th Round pick (traded out of town for "Future Considerations" in 81.... then acquired by Buffalo off Waivers) and not exactly considered a prize catch when he arrived in Tronna huh?

Trainers probably just gave him that jersey because it was immediately at hand, that he was Starting so #1. But for Harrison to then request that # full time once he'd made the Leafs, wearing the same # as Turk Broda, Johnny Bower & Jacques Plante?..... Are you freakin kiddin me? Paul Harrison?.... Even he had to have known that that just wasnt on. Like following the Beatles or Stones on stage.... reminding everyone just how good those others guys were & how bad you are with your 4.44 GAA & 0.0871 Save %.

 

[Doctor No]

On the #1, I agree - it's a bit weird to see Harrison wearing it, although the Leafs don't seem especially fussy about who they let wear it (the list as of summer 2015, which does not include Harrison for whatever reason).

 

[Doctor No]

I checked a few usual suspects for Harrison using the new NHL game directory (which, as I've pointed out, does have some errors in it, so it's not 100%).

He only played one game in 1980-81, and it was a playoff game:
New York Islanders - Toronto Maple Leafs - April 11th, 1981

His last game in 1979-80, he wore #30 (and Vincent Tremblay wore #1):
Los Angeles Kings - Toronto Maple Leafs - February 9th, 1980

And his first game (regular season) in 1978-79:
Toronto Maple Leafs - Boston Bruins - October 15th, 1978

All 30s.

 

[Killion]

^^^ Once you eliminate the impossible, then whatever remains no matter how improbable, must be the truth Doctor...... and all available evidence points to it being a photograph from an early Exhibition Game.

 

[Doctor No]

Interesting article from late 1978.

 

[Doctor No]

Okay, I'm working through 1966-67, and I believe that the NHL still has errors in their underlying data that they're using. This one may be a case where it's wrong on the game sheet directly, since the goaltending switch was admittedly confusing.

February 8, 1967 - the Canadiens rotated Gump Worsley and Charlie Hodge throughout the first period. Per Chicago Tribune: Worsley 0:00 to first shift in fifth minute, Hodge to 10:00, Worsley 10:00 to fifteenth minute, Hodge to 20:00. So the details are sketchy. Anyhow, the Canadiens gave up three goals in the first period en route to a 5-0 loss at the hands of Denis DeJordy.

In a shutout loss, the goaltender allowing the first goal is the goaltender of record, and gets the loss. So *who* was that goaltender?

The official NHL record has the loss assigned to Worsley:

And the summaries don't list which goaltenders are officially in net for each goal. The first goal was scored by Stan Mikita at 5:18 of the period:

Take my word that it's Mikita's only goal of the game (so when it's mentioned in the summaries that Mikita scored, that's the goal). Let's go to some of the first-hand accounts.

Chicago Tribune summary (AP byline):

So Chicago Tribune says Hodge, and was very specific in mentioning details of the switch. This being the AP wire story, quite a few other newspapers.com papers reprint this version of events.

Chicago Tribune also printed a Ted Damata byline story on the game.

So Damata pretty clearly mentions that it's Hodge (given how it's written, he may have ghostwritten the AP story as well).

The Tribune even has a picture of the Mikita goal, with Hodge in net:

Montreal Gazette (Gazette byline):

So Montreal Gazette says Hodge (and the shot does appear to be from an "improbable angle" in the photo above).

This has to be Hodge's loss, yes?

 

[Doctor No]

Alright, I have finished the 1965-66 NHL game logs - it's amazing what not having to keep up with daily AHL and NHL games will do for one's time (on the other hand, my "real job" is predicting future health care costs as an actuary, so it's not like I've had a lot of free time).

Anyhow, I will upload them hopefully tomorrow - I have four places where I think the official NHL game summaries (yes, the updated ones currently on-site) are incorrect. I'll post my evidence one game per post, following here.

If you have any druthers, please attempt to disprove my point of view - it would be much appreciated! I need to reach out to the NHL as well on these.

 

[Doctor No]

March 12, 1966 – BOSTON 0 at Toronto 6
Boston Bruins - Toronto Maple Leafs - March 12th, 1966
NHL gives the loss to Eddie Johnston
GWG is the first Toronto goal; Bob Pulford at 0:54 of the game.
Detroit Free Press:

These times match the NHL link above, so Parent must have started, played the first 10:53 and allowed the first two Toronto goals (also consistent with NHL link).
MY CONCLUSION: Parent deserves the loss, not Johnston.