"10 Memorable Games in Canadiens History" and other hockey DVDs

[VMBM]

I'm thinking of buying the "10 Memorable Games in Canadiens History" DVD set (http://www.sportsposterwarehouse.com/detail_WHV-TM1376__918__canadiensbox08dvd.html)... anyone got it? Is it worth the prize (about 65 USD)?

I'm especially interested in the games PRE-1980s. The only real bummer I can think of is the fact that there is a 15 year gap (1960-75) between the oldest game (1960 Stanley Cup final) and the next oldest (New Year Eve's game vs. CSKA). Why no games 1961-1974??? Surely the reason can't be lack of footage, can it? Too bad.

Oh well, the 1st 4 games would be great to own anyway. I do already have the Habs vs. CSKA game, but it's missing something like 5-7 minutes from the 1st period cry: ). I hope the DVD set has the full version.

Are there any [other] hockey DVDs that are worth to buy (I'm especially thinking of ones that concern the history of the NHL)?

Click to read more...

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

Overall, I thought it was a very good set. Getting a chance to see the Forum closing ceremony and the Good Friday brawl was a real treat. My only complaint was the inclusion of Game 5 instead of Game 2 of the 1993 finals.

http://www.amazon.com/NHL-Greatest-Montreal-Canadiens-History/dp/B001FACHDM/ref=sr_1_23?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1268730594&sr=1-23

I think shipping is $9 to Canada and free if you are down here. Actually, all the sets are relatively cheap on Amazon.

I also own the Penguins, Flyers, Islanders and Rangers sets. The Rangers set is one you have to own, however. As a Penguins and Canes fan, I have to say that the 94 Cup run was epic and a must have no matter what team you root for.

 

[VMBM]

Overall, I thought it was a very good set. Getting a chance to see the Forum closing ceremony and the Good Friday brawl was a real treat. My only complaint was the inclusion of Game 5 instead of Game 2 of the 1993 finals.

http://www.amazon.com/NHL-Greatest-Montreal-Canadiens-History/dp/B001FACHDM/ref=sr_1_23?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1268730594&sr=1-23

I think shipping is $9 to Canada and free if you are down here. Actually, all the sets are relatively cheap on Amazon.

I also own the Penguins, Flyers, Islanders and Rangers sets. The Rangers set is one you have to own, however. As a Penguins and Canes fan, I have to say that the 94 Cup run was epic and a must have no matter what team you root for.

Wow, well luckily I didn't purchase it yet, since obviously one can get it much cheaper than from 'that other place'. Living in Europe, I have only bought stuff from Amazon UK/DE/FR, but I guess there should be no problems...

 

[Mr Pipe]

I have it, and it's great. Love Maurice Richard's speech when he accepts the Stanley Cup in Toronto. Something like "There's no other place we'd rather win the cup than right here in Toronto." Hahahah.

I have every other DVD released as well, except for the Capitals one which I believe is somewhat new. I love these DVDs... great way to watch old players that were around before I was born.

 

[optimus2861]

I own the 72 Summit Series and the 2002 gold medal games. However what I found is, watching old hockey games on DVD really lacks, especially if you already watched them before. You're not in the moment with all of the emotion, so you end up hitting the fast-forward button to get to the next highlight moment.

So I've passed on buying any further sets. The exception I'll make is the 87 Canada Cup if it ever gets a good DVD release (just why is that only available from some obscure web site anyway?).

 

[Buck Aki Berg]

Overall, I thought it was a very good set. Getting a chance to see the Forum closing ceremony and the Good Friday brawl was a real treat. My only complaint was the inclusion of Game 5 instead of Game 2 of the 1993 finals.

Couldn't agree more .. I understand the sentimentality of including the Cup clinching game (especially since it's the most recent, yet 17 years ago), but everybody remembers that McSorely illegal-stick. And didn't Eric Desjardins have a hat-trick? I know he tied the game and scored the OT winner, but I forget who had Montreal's first goal.

I also think that game 5 of the '86 final could be taken out in favour of game 3 of the Wales Conference Finals that year (I almost typed "Eastern Conference Finals" - shame on me!!), when Patrick Roy stole the show in a 4-3 OT win.

 

[JaymzB]

Couldn't agree more .. I understand the sentimentality of including the Cup clinching game (especially since it's the most recent, yet 17 years ago), but everybody remembers that McSorely illegal-stick. And didn't Eric Desjardins have a hat-trick? I know he tied the game and scored the OT winner, but I forget who had Montreal's first goal.

I also think that game 5 of the '86 final could be taken out in favour of game 3 of the Wales Conference Finals that year (I almost typed "Eastern Conference Finals" - shame on me!!), when Patrick Roy stole the show in a 4-3 OT win.

Yeah, Desjardins had the first (and still the only I believe) Hat Trick scored by a defensemen in a Final Series game.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

I have every other DVD released as well, except for the Capitals one which I believe is somewhat new. I love these DVDs... great way to watch old players that were around before I was born.

I saw the Capitals set and wasn't too impressed. Only 3 games predate Ovechkin. I also saw that they are coming out with Blackhawks set. I might have to open wallet for that one.

 

[tony d]

I have the Montreal set, thought it was pretty good. I have the Toronto set which was good as well except it only included playoff games. Plan to get the new ones as well.

 

[VMBM]

I own the 72 Summit Series and the 2002 gold medal games. However what I found is, watching old hockey games on DVD really lacks, especially if you already watched them before. You're not in the moment with all of the emotion, so you end up hitting the fast-forward button to get to the next highlight moment.

So I've passed on buying any further sets. The exception I'll make is the 87 Canada Cup if it ever gets a good DVD release (just why is that only available from some obscure web site anyway?).

I can somewhat relate to that.

For me, it took some time to get used to watching old games; it felt like I was looking at slowmo at first, and I also became overly critical sometimes when seeing my childhood heroes make the occasional bad play, and it sort of 'spoiled the magic', and I sometimes wished that I had let memories just be memories. Anyway, now I find many of them enjoyable to watch from time to time...

 

[GNick42]

I found it a good set but not great. Like the original poster said the missing years from late '60s to mid-70s where Habs played some great games took it down a notch. Good to see the '70s Habs dynasty though.

When they do these I wish they would include the original game and intermissions etc. Some of the best parts were per game and post game comments

 

[Canadiens Fan]

This is a list of games chosen for the DVD ...

1. 2/19/08 vs. Rangers (Habs come back from 5-0 down)
2. 11/23/03 vs. Oilers (Heritage Classic)
3. 3/11/96 vs. Stars (Last game at the Forum)
4. 1993 gm. 5 vs. Kings (Habs win 23rd and last Stanley Cup)
5. 1986 gm. 5 vs. Flames (Habs win 22nd Cup)
6. 1984 gm. 6 vs. Nordiques (Adams Division Final, Game 6)
7. 1979 gm. 7 vs. Bruins (Too many men on the ice. Semi-final Game 7)
8. 1977 gm. 4 vs. Bruins (Habs win 2nd of Four Cups in a row)
9. 12/31/75 vs. Red Army (Tretiek puts on a show vs Habs on New Year's Eve)
10. 1960 gm. 4 vs. Maple Leafs (Habs win 5th consecutive Stanley Cup)

Personally, I would have chosen the following ten ...

1. 1993 gm. 5 vs. Kings (Habs win 23rd and last Stanley Cup)
2. 1986 gm. 5 vs. Flames (Habs win 22nd Cup)
3. 1984 gm. 6 vs. Nordiques (Adams Division Final, Game 6)
4. 1979 gm. 7 vs. Bruins (Too many men on the ice)
5. 1977 gm. 4 vs. Bruins (Habs win 2nd of Four Cups in a row, top off 60 win season)
6. 1976 gm. 4 vs. Flyers (Habs win Stanley Cup)
7. 12/31/75 vs. Red Army (Tretiek puts on a show vs Habs on New Year's Eve)
8. 1965 gm. 7 vs. Blackhawks (Habs win Stanley Cup)
9. 1960 gm. 4 vs. Maple Leafs (Habs win 5th consecutive Stanley Cup)
10. 1959 gm. 5 vs. Maple Leafs (Habs win 4th consecutive Stanley Cup)

I would have ditched the 1996 game against Dallas from the set and included the closing ceremony as a bonus feature. The game wasn't special or worth remembering, the ceremony was.

My list is not necessarily a greatest ever list, or else game two of the 1993 finals would be on here as opposed to game five, but is instead I think one that has the most historic games. I also compiled my list from known games available.

As a previous poster mentioned there is a big gap in the released set between 1960 and 1975. Sadly the fact that the complete Cup winning games from 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, or 1973 seem to be non-existent is a handicap that one can't ignore as is the fact that there appear to be no complete games preserved from either the 1971 or 1973 playoffs.

 

[LaurentHou*]

I buyed it... its average.

 

[Big Phil]

I have it, and it's great. Love Maurice Richard's speech when he accepts the Stanley Cup in Toronto. Something like "There's no other place we'd rather win the cup than right here in Toronto." Hahahah

He said it in a respectful way though. Along the lines of "we never want to win the Cup outside of Montreal, but if there's not a better place to win than Toronto." In other words, it was a nod to the fans of Toronto, not a gloat

 

[Mr Pipe]

He said it in a respectful way though. Along the lines of "we never want to win the Cup outside of Montreal, but if there's not a better place to win than Toronto." In other words, it was a nod to the fans of Toronto, not a gloat

I guess I didn't hear that beginning part. Still, that's a funny thing to say.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

I have the Montreal set, thought it was pretty good. I have the Toronto set which was good as well except it only included playoff games. Plan to get the new ones as well.

What non-playoff games would you have included? This is just my opinion, but I think if you're going to put in a regular season game, it better have been something pretty epic.

The Oilers one includes the game where Gretzky got 50 in 39, which I agree with as a selection. The Islanders one has some regular season game from the last few years that has some tribute ceremony to Al Arbour or something, which should not be included IMO. I like Canadiens Fan's idea of including the ceremony, but scrapping the otherwise unimportant game.

I have the Islanders set, and I like the fact that most of the games on it aren't regularly shown on NHL Network or ESPN Classic (at least in Canada). I've seen (or had the opportunity at least) all the games on the Habs set aside from the regular season ones. The two against the Bruins and the one against the Nordiques are probably shown every few months. But not everyone orders the specialty channels, so this is just from a personal standpoint.

It does seem as though ~1967 to ~1976 is like a black hole when it comes to archived games. Very few from this period seem to have survived for whatever reason. I have been told by somebody with knowledge (maybe even on this board) that only the OT period from the 1970 Stanley Cup clincher with Orr's famous goal has survived. I've never seen anything besides the same few repeated highlights of Boston's two Cups or the ones that Montreal won in the late 60's/early 70's. I do believe I've seen a couple regular season games involving Orr from about 1970, but that's basically it.

 

[Buck Aki Berg]

I would have ditched the 1996 game against Dallas from the set and included the closing ceremony as a bonus feature. The game wasn't special or worth remembering, the ceremony was.

Couldn't agree more - I still think closing out the Fourm on a Monday night was a huge mistake on the part of the Habs organization, especially when you consider they hosted the Senators the Saturday before and the Rangers the Saturday after. Either of those would have been a better call.

 

[VMBM]

As a previous poster mentioned there is a big gap in the released set between 1960 and 1975. Sadly the fact that the complete Cup winning games from 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, or 1973 seem to be non-existent is a handicap that one can't ignore as is the fact that there appear to be no complete games preserved from either the 1971 or 1973 playoffs.

It does seem as though ~1967 to ~1976 is like a black hole when it comes to archived games. Very few from this period seem to have survived for whatever reason. I have been told by somebody with knowledge (maybe even on this board) that only the OT period from the 1970 Stanley Cup clincher with Orr's famous goal has survived. I've never seen anything besides the same few repeated highlights of Boston's two Cups or the ones that Montreal won in the late 60's/early 70's. I do believe I've seen a couple regular season games involving Orr from about 1970, but that's basically it.

There appears to be the answer to my wondering. I would love to have seen more of players like Beliveau, J.C. Tremblay, Cournoyer, Backstrom, Frank Mahovlich - and possibly Hull, Howe, Orr, Espo, Mikita and Frank Mahovlich (again) on the opposite side - in their primes. But...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbONdgnyh6M.

I guess one good thing about the modern times is that footage of great moments (sporting events or whatever) will survive one way or another.

 

[GNick42]

If footage was available a couple of games from the legendary '71 playoffs would have been cool. I always liked the '89 final game against the Flyers also. I would have taken out the Heritage classic game. Not the same as old time great games.

 

[pappyline]

I saw the Capitals set and wasn't too impressed. Only 3 games predate Ovechkin. I also saw that they are coming out with Blackhawks set. I might have to open wallet for that one.

I googled that Blackhawk set that is coming out. IMO, it would be a waste of money. Other than the last 14 minutes of the 6th game of the 61 final, the oldest game is 1994.

 

[tony d]

To address Kyle, the regular season game I would have included would have been the 10 point game from Darryl Sittler. Also the last game at Maple Leaf Gardens would have been included.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

I have the Flyers set, they didn't include the exact 10 games I would have chosen, but for the most part they got it right.

The 10 included

1974 Finals - game 2 (Clarke in OT)

1974 Finals - game 6 (Parent with a shutout in the clincher)

1975 Finals - game 6 (Parent with a shutout in the clincher)

1976 vs. The Soviets ... Flyers dominate, and are the best team on the planet

1980 - regular season vs. Bruins ... Game 29 during the 35 game unbeaten streak ... this is the game that broke the Habs record

1985 - Round 1 - game 3 - Tim Kerr scores 4 goals in under 12 minutes to help eliminate the Rangers

1987 Stanley Cup Finals - game 6 - Flyers late rally from a 2 goal deficiet forces a 7th game

2000 Round 1, game 4 - Primeau wins the longest modern game in history (5OT's) vs. the Pens

2004 Round 2, game 6 - Roenick score in OT, to end the Leafs season and send Flyers to ECF

2004 ECF - game 6 .. Primeau ties it late, Gagne beats the Bolts in OT



I would have taken out the Tim Kerr 4 goal game and substituted the Reggie Leach 5 goal explosion in 1976 playoffs to eliminate the Bruins.

I also would have taken out the Roenick OT winner against the Leafs (great game) and inserted one from the Lindros era, probably one of the Rangers playoff games.

Other games I would love to see, if they put out another set:

1985 - Wales Conf. Finals game 6 - Poulin scores 2-men short to help eliminate the Nordiques 3-0, and send the Flyers to the Finals.

1987 - Wales Conf. Finals game 6 - Flyers become the only team to ever win 3 games at the Montreal Forum in one playoff series, eliminating the Habs along the way. This one also included a pregame brawl featuring Ed Hospadar, Chico Resch, Clause Lemieux, and one other Hab (I think Corson).

 

[Kyle McMahon]

I have the Flyers set, they didn't include the exact 10 games I would have chosen, but for the most part they got it right.

The 10 included

1974 Finals - game 2 (Clarke in OT)

1974 Finals - game 6 (Parent with a shutout in the clincher)

1975 Finals - game 6 (Parent with a shutout in the clincher)

I've never seen these three games, which gives me good mind to pick up the Flyers set if I see it kicking around at the store one of these days.

I'm curious, what broadcast feed are these games? I'm genuinely surprised that the 1974 Game 2 is available, given that the game isn't really noteworthy (in an all-time sort of sense). Gives hope that maybe there are more surviving playoff/finals games from the early expansion years that haven't been made available yet or are buried in a storage room somewhere.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

I've never seen these three games, which gives me good mind to pick up the Flyers set if I see it kicking around at the store one of these days.

I'm curious, what broadcast feed are these games? I'm genuinely surprised that the 1974 Game 2 is available, given that the game isn't really noteworthy (in an all-time sort of sense). Gives hope that maybe there are more surviving playoff/finals games from the early expansion years that haven't been made available yet or are buried in a storage room somewhere.

Game 2, is not an all-time important game in league history, but from a Flyers perspective it may actually be the 2nd most important game in team history.

The one building the Flyers could never win at is Boston Garden, and they weren't winning the Cup without a game in Boston. Moose Dupont scored with the goalie pulled to send the game to OT. Bobby Clarke won it in OT, shortly after Parent stopped Bucyl on a breakaway.

Game 2 is the Flyers feed.

I believe game 6 is the NBC feed with Tim Ryan and Ted Lindsay calling the game. I think game 6 in 1975 was also the Flyers feed.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Game 2, is not an all-time important game in league history, but from a Flyers perspective it may actually be the 2nd most important game in team history.

The one building the Flyers could never win at is Boston Garden, and they weren't winning the Cup without a game in Boston. Moose Dupont scored with the goalie pulled to send the game to OT. Bobby Clarke won it in OT, shortly after Parent stopped Bucyl on a breakaway.

Game 2 is the Flyers feed.

I believe game 6 is the NBC feed with Tim Ryan and Ted Lindsay calling the game. I think game 6 in 1975 was also the Flyers feed.

Yep Game 2 was definitely crucial for the Flyers, I just meant nothing famous happened (from a neutral standpoint) nor was the Cup presented.

Looks like the Flyers did their due diligence in archiving games. I wonder if NBC has any other Cup-deciding games in their vault prior to 1974. CBC seems to have dropped the ball for the most part considering they had already been broadcasting the NHL for 20 years by the time in question.