Let's Watch... (1960/4/7) Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs

[Theokritos]

Thirteen months ago I initiated a feature aimed at getting the HOH community to watch historic games on video together and debate them. However, the two games I used as starters didn't generate much discussion, probably because I picked games from the more recent past (late 1990s and early 2000s) – too familiar to many people and too similiar to the game today to induce a lot of observations and comments. Here's hoping a new installment can attract more interest if we're starting off with the oldest full-length game footage publicly available: games from the 1950s and 1960s.

What hasn't changed is the objective:

The point is that many pairs of eyes see more than one pair. We got people of various backgrounds, some really knowledgable about this subject, others have extensively researched that topic, and others are really good at evaluating players and tactics. The purpose (...) is to channel and focus the attention and the knowledge of the community on one specific game and learn from the debate about it.

Looking forward to your comments and observations!

Click to read more...

 

[Theokritos]

This thread is dedicated to Game 2 of the 1960 Stanley Cup Finals between Montreal Canadiens (defending champions) and Toronto Maple Leafs. The game was played on April 9th, 1960, at the Forum in Montréal (attendance: 14,520).



The game starts at 8:00 of the video. (Click here to jump straight to the opening face-off and watch on YouTube).

Part 2 of the game:


Part 3:


Part 4:


Part 5:


Events:
(click on the "spoiler" button below to view)

Spoiler

First Period:
1:26 — 1-0 Dickie Moore (ass. Henri Richard, Maurice Richard)
5:56 — 2-0 Jean Béliveau (ass. Marcel Bonin, Jean-Guy Talbot)
9:55 — Pen Montreal (Marcel Bonin, 2 min)
11:53 — Pen Montreal (Doug Harvey, 2 min)
15:13 — Pen Toronto (Bobby Baun, 2 min)
19:32 — 2-1 Larry Regan (ass. George Armstrong, Dick Duff)
Shots on goal: Montreal 10, Toronto 11

Second Period:
11:18 — Pen Toronto (Carl Brewer, 2 min)
19:54 — Pen both (Bob Pulford & Doug Harvey, 2 min each)
Shots on goal: Montreal 18, Toronto 9

Third Period:
ca. 14:00 — Alleged goal for Toronto, but ref doesn't see puck behind the line
19:45 — Toronto goaltender pulled
19:59 or 20:00 — Empty net goal for Montreal, but ref rules time has expired
Shots on goal: Montreal 8, Toronto 7

 

[Theokritos]

For reference: 1959-1960 Award & All-Star Voting

Montreal Canadiens

Head coach: Toe Blake

Jacques Plante (1)

Bob Turner (11)
Tom Johnson (10) – Jean-Guy Talbot (17)
Doug Harvey (2) – Al Langlois (19)

Don Marshall (22) – Ralph Backstrom (6) – Bill Hicke (8)
Claude Provost (14) – Phil Goyette (20) – Andre Pronovost (23)
Maurice Richard (9, C) – Henri Richard (16) – Dickie Moore (12)
Bernie Geoffrion (5) – Jean Béliveau (4) – Marcel Bonin (18)

vs

Bert Olmstead (16) – Bob Pulford (20) – Ron Stewart (12)
Frank Mahovlich (27) – Red Kelly (4) – Gary Edmundson (25)
Dick Duff (9) – Larry Regan (8) – George Armstrong (10, C)
Gerry James (11), Johnny Wilson (19)

Allan Stanley (26) – Tim Horton (7)
Carl Brewer (18) – Bob Baun (21)

Johnny Bower (1)

Head Coach: Punch Imlach

Toronto Maple Leafs​

Note on Toronto: Bill Harris (15) and Gerry Ehman (17) also listed, but I have yet to see them on the ice.

 

[Theokritos]

Pre-game comments by Toronto coach Punch Imlach:

"You can beat the Canadiens if you can check them in their own end of the rink and not let them get started. If you let their plays develop, you're in trouble. (...) Hustle isn't everything, but it will make up for a lot of deficiencies. Hockey is a game of mistakes. If you hustle and hurry the other fellow, you may force him into making mistakes. (...) Another thing, we can't afford to draw penalties. They're tough enough when you're playing them even; they murder you when they have an advantage in manpower."
Source: The Montreal Gazette

"I put my big line [Bob Pulford with Olmstead and Stewart] against [Jean] Beliveau and I have to go on with that. What choice is there? You try to match their centre strength with your centre strength. Besides we're on Montreal ice and he [scil. Toe Blake] is calling the shots."
Source: The Windsor Star

"We got him [scil. Red Kelly] to play centre. He couldn't help us on defense. We needed another big centre to give us a chance against the Canadiens. We had Pulford to check Beliveau and we got Kelly to check the Little Rocket [scil. Henri Richard]. The Little Rocket is strong and it takes a big guy to check him."
Source: The Montreal Gazette

Post-game comments:

"[Toe] Blake said he felt his club had turned in a better performance than in the series opener on Thursday night, when they upended the Leafs 4-2. 'We skated a lot better. But so did they. They played pretty good defensive hockey.'" – The Montreal Gazette

"The Leafs skated better than in the opening game the previous Thursday and their forechecking kept the Canadiens bottled up in their own end much of the time. (...) They could have won if they'd had a few breaks and if Jacques Plante hadn't been as good as he was." – Dink Carroll of The Montreal Gazette

"They were lucky. Imagine, to outplay a team like that and lose."– King Clancy, Toronto assistant-coach

"The truth is the Canadiens are playing such errorless hockey that the Leafs have been totally unable to build a fire. (...) At times Canadiens were so much in possession of the pucks, the Leafs had to be positively spectacular just to move into Montreal territory." – Jack Dulmage of The Windsor Star

On Jacques Plante and Johnny Bower:

"As advertised, this turned out to be a goalkeepers' game. Jacques Plante was brilliant in the Canadiens' net, especially in the opening period when he came through with three big saves. He made another big one from Ron Stewart in the second period and still another from Frank Mahovlich in the third."– Dink Carroll

"Plante continued with his airtight, flawless work in the nets. Bower too, has been next to faultless." – Jack Dulmage

"You couldn't find any fault with Johnny [Bower] tonight. If we can't score more than one goal for him, you can't expect him to shut them out to win."– Punch Imlach

On Frank Mahovlich:

"It had been generally remarked that playing [Red] Kelly on a line with Frank Mahovlich seems to have helped Mahovlich, who has been something of an enigma ever since he broke in with the Leafs. Picked for stardom even before he reached the NHL, Mahovlich has never played up to his early promise." – Dink Carroll

On Bert Olmstead:

"Bert Olmstead was a standout for the Leafs in the two games here." – The Montreal Gazette

"It was one of his greatest games for us." – Punch Imlach

On Jean Beliveau:

"The brilliance of Beliveau was exhibited when he took a relay from Marcel Bonin and Jean Guy Talbot, and feinted two Toronto defenders out of their pants. Looking up to locate the net, Jean found himself 20 feet out on right wing and moving the wrong way. Instantly he swivelled, lifting his shot in the same motion and driving the puck into the net off Bower's chest. It was a vivid demonstration of Montreal's special skills and stood out in contrast to the eager but misshapen Toronto forays." – Jack Dulmage

On the Canadiens' fourth line:

"The Canadiens used four lines and this time the Backstrom-Hicke-Marshall line saw more action as there were fewer penalties [against both teams] than in the Thursday game. In the third period, Coach Toe Blake sent Don Marshall out in Andre Pronovost's place on the line with Phil Goyette and Claude Provost."– The Montreal Gazette

On the Canadiens' penalty killing:

"The Leafs' power play has yet to produce a goal, a tribute to the ability of Don Marshall, Claude Provost and Bob Turner to kill penalties." – The Montreal Gazette

On the Leafs' power play:

"The Leafs used Allan Stanley and Red Kelly at the points on the power play with Ron Stewart, Frank Mahovlich and Bert Olmstead up front." –“ The Montreal Gazette

On the Leafs' penalty killing:

"Bob Pulford and Ron Stewart have been the penalty-killing forwards for the Leafs." – The Montreal Gazette

 

[Batis]

I remember watching this game after Jean Beliveau passed away. A truly great game. If I remember correctly Doug Harvey was the player that impressed me the most while watching the game. I also posted a link to a breakout pass by Harvey from this game in the thread about the best breakout passers of all time.

I agree that Harvey should be near the top when it comes to breakout passing. I have only been able to watch one full game with prime Harvey (Game 2 of the 1960 Stanley Cup Final) but I was very impressed with Harveys passing and patience with the puck. Truly outstanding. Here is a breakout pass from Harvey which would have given Geoffrion a breakaway if there would have been more time left on the clock. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-vA5gQR8MY&t=15m19s

I will try to find the time to rewatch the game so I can join the discussion.

 

[Pominville Knows]

I propose you dont tell the final score beforehand so at least the i suspect quite considerable percentage of us that cant tell instantly can watch without knowing. But perhaps you have reasons why to state it.

 

[Theokritos]

I propose you dont tell the final score beforehand so at least the i suspect quite considerable percentage of us that cant tell instantly can watch without knowing. But perhaps you have reasons why to state it.

Thanks for the suggestion. I have edited out the game result in the thread title and the video post, plus I have hidden the game events with the "spoiler" function. Will do the same right from the start when the next game is up.

 

[Batis]

Just finished watching the first part of the game. Really entertaining game which is played at a significantly higher pace than I assume many would expect from a game from 1960.

One sequence that caught my interest is this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYMT1Qj8Etk&t=20m3s when Mahovlich runs over Plante at high speed close to the boards. Listen to the comments after too. Very different from the game today to say the least.

Also coming back to Harvey. What a magnificent player. Look at this sequence for example. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYMT1Qj8Etk&t=14m1s Such patience with the puck. And also look at his speed while backchecking after making the great play.

Looking forward to watching the rest of the game.

 

[Michael Farkas]

You're missing parts 4 and 5, theokritos...

 

[Theokritos]

You're missing parts 4 and 5, theokritos...

Thanks for pointing it out, it's fixed now.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Some random, scatterbrained thoughts after having watched the entire game...

Boy, structurally, there's just so many similarities between this game and the game we have today. Some things today are better, some are worse, but the structure of the game is not at all alien then compared to now...

The lack of D-to-D passes really anywhere on the rink is interesting to me. In fact, in many cases, d-men did not even make themselves available for passes on the breakout or in the offensive zone. In the d-zone, when transitioning back to offense, they would stand in front of the goalie as a safety valve and on offense they were either covered or staggered back slightly to prevent a full break the other way...

I was actually a touch surprised by the amount of d-man rushes in this game, maybe my sights are slightly off, but I thought this was still a time when the center was the primary puck carrier, I guess we're starting to emerge from that a little...? Though, to be fair, rarely did a d-man actually carry across the center line...they often dished to the wing to cross that line...but it wasn't just Harvey (though, he seemed most willing to actually join the attack below the top of the circles), Stanley, Horton, these guys could carry it ok, at least across one line...

D-men wasted no time firing pucks on net from distance at the point...I think only one occasion did I see a d-man even look over to his partner in the attack zone...

In fact, many players were content to shoot from distance...mid and long range shots were frequent...though, there was a lot of good d-men out there too...

For some reason, it never dawned on me that hitting goalies outside the crease was fair game...but they mentioned that during the telecast when Plante was taken in...

What's up with everyone on the Habs bench wearing a towel around their shoulders...? Keep players warm when they're sitting I guess? And what is that thing that Toe Blake was standing behind that seemed to separate him from the players, it didn't seem structural, it seemed temporary...

It looks like the fans could just walk down and sit on the bench or go hug a player in the penalty box...unlike today, where fans would be too unruly to be trusted with such access...ah, more polite times...

Goalies keeping play going died with the butterfly it seemed...I'll take Plante over just about any goalie in the NHL today...he's wearing an oven mitt and giving up one and a third goals per game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs...seemed like he was just dialed in, and though it's not the first time I've seen him certainly, he's just awesome to watch...kept plays alive to make breakouts easier for his d-men/centers too...

Those sticks they used were really made for defense it seemed, I wonder how long it took (or how many players already did) to shorten the sticks a little bit...everyone is like Tobias Enstrom or Olli Maatta out there...the sticks for a lot of forwards seemed about 3 or 4 inches too long and they carried it just a smidge too far out in front of them when they were carrying it at certain points...defense at that time would yield the line if you came with good speed and some east-west movement, so the gaps changed when you crossed each line, I felt like not enough players were able to take advantage of that because the distance from their body in which they carried the puck didn't always reflect the changes in gaps...

Boom Boom could really powder those things...not the best skater I've seen, but he did have the wherewithal to cover for out of position d-men a couple of times...

Al Langlois is a player well below par, in my opinion...that, or he just had a really bad game...but that's not a player I would expect to see feature prominently on a winning team...

Garry Edmundson seemed so close to being good, but just not quite...

Frank Mahovlich, boy, he could play for my team any time...one of the few guys that could really get inside of d-men...masterful stickhandler, he had about as good of one-on-one moves as anyone in the contest...you could see he was ready to breakout and become a superstar there...him and Henri Richard were both pretty exquisite throughout for me...

 

[Killion]

Some random, scatterbrained thoughts after having watched the entire game...

Ya, all astute observations Mr. Farkas.... Defencemen did indeed rush with the puck and none better at that time than Doug Harvey (Red Kelly earlier though not with quite the same frequency & control) who is of course shining through in this series. Horton as your likely aware was in fact a rushing D-man coming out of Junior (and who replaced another rushing D-Man in Bill Barilko on the Leafs blue-line after he went missing on a fishing trip) however he got nailed by a perfectly clean check delivered by Bill Gadsby, breaking his jaw & leg, lateral mobility thereafter much more limited. So yes, before Orr came along, the game was moving in the direction of seeing much more in the way of mobile Defenceman, and Doug Harvey in particular in the wake of Eddie Shore leading the parade. Harvey himself "changing the game", Orr kicking it up several notches thereafter.

And yes, more & more Goalies "traveled" so to speak, and yes, you were "fair game" for a check however being a good skater was mandatory, being agile & light on your feet, totally aware of who was rushing in at you on the fore-check, guesstimating speed & mindful of distance if going after a loose puck, make a decision, calculated risk or no risk. You'd also "play the puck" even in heavy scrums or when multiple opponents in your immediate vicinity rather than just smothering it & waiting for a whistle. Smothering the puck was your last option and only done so in an absolute emergency, create an Eye in the Tornado of out of control crashing bodies, total mayhem. Unfortunately over the past couple or three decades, its option one even on a long drifter but I digress, risk going off topic on a rant... You wanted puck movement, get it out & pass it up to a forward, catch the opposition flat footed in deep beside or behind you. In playing the puck outside of your crease & engaged in the transition game, you yourself as I said "fair game" provided the "bump" or check was clean, but if a guy deliberately ran over you then the Code came into effect, miscreant in serious trouble. Depending on who the Goalie was, and most pretty aggressive including Plante, whoever ran you in for it for the rest of the season, his career, feel the pain of your stick everytime he came near you. Ref lookin? Blocker to the jaw. Oops.

Sticks were indeed longer and for good reason. Reach. You were expected to be able to play 2 way hockey Sniper or not. Laneway hockey a game of angles. A short stick a disadvantage on the Backcheck. Being all wood, a longer stick giving you greater flex when shooting, be it a wrist or semi or full slapshot. Centers however back then, they did often keep a shorter stick on the bench, using it for draws, face-offs. Switching back on the fly.... And yes, it is I'd imagine remarkable to be grabbed by the play of players who rarely get discussed here as most were & are considered Journeymen. That they'd be so outstanding in generating plays and or showing so much finish & finesse. Guys youve never heard of. And the league, every team, even the lowly Rangers & Bruins of the era had them just not as plentiful, well balanced & cohesive as did Montreal & Toronto, Detroit & Chicago. Even though you pretty much knew the Bruins or Rangers werent going to do much damage to your team, you were guaranteed none the less an exciting & entertaining, educational if a player yourself night of hockey watching Bucyk, Mohns, Labine, Stasiuk et al or the Rangers with Prentice, Price, Ingarfield, Kurtenbach, Balon and the better known of course in Gadsby, Bathgate, Harry Howell & the always exciting Rod Gilbert and plenty of others.

 

[Theokritos]

Really entertaining game which is played at a significantly higher pace than I assume many would expect from a game from 1960.

Let modern players take 90 second shifts (sometimes with no whistle in between) and I don't think they're any faster than these guys were.

 

[ResilientBeast]

The only major difference I've noticed is how small the players look and how much ice there seems to be. But like was said above the game is pretty much the same to today.

 

[Killion]

The only major difference I've noticed is how small the players look and how much ice there seems to be. But like was said above the game is pretty much the same to today.

Yeah, and there was a place for smaller players in the game back in the day. The other factor is that optically it does appear that there is a lot more room out there because of the style of play (Laneway hockey as opposed to Full Cycle) and the absence of any rink board & on - ice advertising.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Not as much short shift game minimized ballistic back pressure and heat seeking missile players that we see today...

We were still at 10+5 in 1960, or no?

 

[Canadiens1958]

Additional Details

Some random, scatterbrained thoughts after having watched the entire game...

Boy, structurally, there's just so many similarities between this game and the game we have today. Some things today are better, some are worse, but the structure of the game is not at all alien then compared to now...

The lack of D-to-D passes really anywhere on the rink is interesting to me. In fact, in many cases, d-men did not even make themselves available for passes on the breakout or in the offensive zone. In the d-zone, when transitioning back to offense, they would stand in front of the goalie as a safety valve and on offense they were either covered or staggered back slightly to prevent a full break the other way...

I was actually a touch surprised by the amount of d-man rushes in this game, maybe my sights are slightly off, but I thought this was still a time when the center was the primary puck carrier, I guess we're starting to emerge from that a little...? Though, to be fair, rarely did a d-man actually carry across the center line...they often dished to the wing to cross that line...but it wasn't just Harvey (though, he seemed most willing to actually join the attack below the top of the circles), Stanley, Horton, these guys could carry it ok, at least across one line...

D-men wasted no time firing pucks on net from distance at the point...I think only one occasion did I see a d-man even look over to his partner in the attack zone...

In fact, many players were content to shoot from distance...mid and long range shots were frequent...though, there was a lot of good d-men out there too...

For some reason, it never dawned on me that hitting goalies outside the crease was fair game...but they mentioned that during the telecast when Plante was taken in...

What's up with everyone on the Habs bench wearing a towel around their shoulders...? Keep players warm when they're sitting I guess? And what is that thing that Toe Blake was standing behind that seemed to separate him from the players, it didn't seem structural, it seemed temporary...

It looks like the fans could just walk down and sit on the bench or go hug a player in the penalty box...unlike today, where fans would be too unruly to be trusted with such access...ah, more polite times...

Goalies keeping play going died with the butterfly it seemed...I'll take Plante over just about any goalie in the NHL today...he's wearing an oven mitt and giving up one and a third goals per game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs...seemed like he was just dialed in, and though it's not the first time I've seen him certainly, he's just awesome to watch...kept plays alive to make breakouts easier for his d-men/centers too...

Those sticks they used were really made for defense it seemed, I wonder how long it took (or how many players already did) to shorten the sticks a little bit...everyone is like Tobias Enstrom or Olli Maatta out there...the sticks for a lot of forwards seemed about 3 or 4 inches too long and they carried it just a smidge too far out in front of them when they were carrying it at certain points...defense at that time would yield the line if you came with good speed and some east-west movement, so the gaps changed when you crossed each line, I felt like not enough players were able to take advantage of that because the distance from their body in which they carried the puck didn't always reflect the changes in gaps...

Boom Boom could really powder those things...not the best skater I've seen, but he did have the wherewithal to cover for out of position d-men a couple of times...

Al Langlois is a player well below par, in my opinion...that, or he just had a really bad game...but that's not a player I would expect to see feature prominently on a winning team...

Garry Edmundson seemed so close to being good, but just not quite...

Frank Mahovlich, boy, he could play for my team any time...one of the few guys that could really get inside of d-men...masterful stickhandler, he had about as good of one-on-one moves as anyone in the contest...you could see he was ready to breakout and become a superstar there...him and Henri Richard were both pretty exquisite throughout for me...

Headman the puck was the operative strategy.Sideways to the defensive partner went against this approach since it allowed the other team to get back and use the Red Line to advantage while slowing down the attack. Effective forecheck, where the first possession d-man had to pass to his partner was the strength of players like Henri Richard and Dave Keon. Forced speedsters like Bobby Hull to slow down before the Red Line and drift inwards.

You are correct about the safety valve. Protect the middle, the slot in case of a turnover.

D-men would diret the puck on net for deflections. Practiced extensively. Forwards were expected to screen and deflect.

Hitting goalies was par for the course outside the crease.

Toe Blake. The old Forum featured an aisle behind the benches thant circled the rink seperating the rinkside seats from the seats rising to the first level. So the coaches had more room. Towels were used to keep the body heat from escaping.

Nice to see appreciations about Doug Harvey, Henri Richard and Jacques Plante. Also nice to see the in another post, the recognition that the Canadiens rolled four lines. The Leafs did likewise.

Sticks - longer and as you note for defensive purposes - sweep check, hook check, poke check. Also handy for backhand passing and shooting. Counting the number of backhand passes and shots would be revealing.

Typical Langlois game, physical 4th or 5th d-man. Bob Turner - interesting how he was used on the PK as a forward.

Bernie Geoffrion, not the best skater but understood the geometry of the game very well.

Leafs had a fair number of solid underrated players.

Edit. Watch both teams and notice how the players keep their feet moving. Also freezing the puck along the boards was tolerated and part of the strategy.Force a face-off in the offensive zone or get a play stoppage when tired or on the PK.

 

[Killion]

Leafs had a fair number of solid underrated players.

Yeah, Imlach with his years of experience in the Quebec League & knowing everyone in the AHL able to combine a well balanced mix of youth with veterans, the younger players like Mahovlich, Brewer etc all growing up groomed for success from about the age of 12 in some cases, from the Marlborough THL (now GTHL) elite amateur teams through the St. Mikes Buzzers & Majors, Markham Waxers & Jr.A Marlies. Winning at every level, they themselves then "expecting to win" when they made the Leafs. Culturally ingrained. Punch acquiring players or guys who many felt passed their best due dates in Olmstead, Stanley & others... lesser known players like Larry Regan & Gerry Ehman who's contributions to the Leafs success of that era even still going largely unrecognized, under-appreciated, playing an important role in integrating, mentoring youth & transitioning the team from "also rans" to Champions.

 

[mbhhofr]

Nice!

I was at the third game in Toronto.

 

[Theokritos]

For some reason, it never dawned on me that hitting goalies outside the crease was fair game...but they mentioned that during the telecast when Plante was taken in...

For my part, I wasn't aware goalies were allowed to hit skaters until Tim Thomas did it vs one of the Sedins. And ever since I have wondered why it is a one-way street: the goalie can hit you, but you can't hit the goalie. Doesn't seem fair, if one is allowed to hit the other than the other should have the right to return the favour. In that sense, the Plante vs Mahovlich scene was a pleasant surprise to me. (Of course Mahovlich got the worse of it in that particular situation.)

 

[Theokritos]

Frank Mahovlich, boy, he could play for my team any time...one of the few guys that could really get inside of d-men...masterful stickhandler, he had about as good of one-on-one moves as anyone in the contest

Indeed! Some nice examples:

• Against Henri Richards, Maurice Richard and then Henri Richard again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-vA5gQR8MY&t=33m12s
• Against Tom Johnson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=347&v=5IL_Za3K4LY&t=18m28s
• Against Jean-Guy Talbot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3eYNISBwOM&t=8m6s
• Against Maurice Richard, then Al Langlois and Doug Harvey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3eYNISBwOM&t=14m28s

We were still at 10+5 in 1960, or no?

10+5?

 

[seventieslord]

10+5?

10 forwards, 5 defensemen.

 

[Theokritos]

If I remember correctly Doug Harvey was the player that impressed me the most while watching the game. I also posted a link to a breakout pass by Harvey from this game in the thread about the best breakout passers of all time.

Also coming back to Harvey. What a magnificent player. Look at this sequence for example. Such patience with the puck. And also look at his speed while backchecking after making the great play.

His puck poise, his ability to get away from opponents and the way he finds the open linemate is what stands out to me throughout the game. Great vision and great timing. Some more examples:

• Pass to Béliveau (I): A pass straight from his own slot leaves three Toronto players behind and directly leads to a shot on the Toronto goal.
• Pass to Béliveau (II): A simple but effective pass to center ice where Béliveau has space and the opportunity to shoot. Bower has to make a save and the Canadiens get a face-off in the Toronto zone.
• Rush and pass to Geoffrion: Harvey skates through the entire Canadiens' half of the rink, getting away from two opponents in the process before passing to Bernie Geoffrion. Then he joins in the attack in the Toronto end.
• Pass to Moore (I): Gets away from Larry Regan and demonstrates his patience again before making a good outlet pass to Dickie Moore.
• Pass to Béliveau (III): Fine outlet pass from center ice to set up another scoring chance for Jean Béliveau and Bernie Geoffrion.
• Pass to Moore (II): Avoids an offside pass, gets away from Red Kelly and gets the puck to Dickie Moore.

 

[Theokritos]

10 forwards, 5 defensemen.

Alright, thanks for the info.

 

[SealsFan]

Only 15 minutes in and I'm very impressed with Harvey and the Pocket Rocket. Never got to see Harvey play and Richard only at the end of his career. Harvey is certainly living up to everything I've read about him in this game.

I also see Edmundson playing the "off wing" for Toronto (left shooter playing right wing), don't know how common or uncommon that might have been.