Let's Watch... (1963/4/18) Toronto Maple Leafs vs Detroit Red Wings

[Theokritos]

In the first installment of this feature we have looked at Game 2 of the 1960 Stanley Cup Finals between (1960/4/7) Montreal and Toronto. (The thread remains open, if anybody wants to catch up and chime in.) Now we turn to the 1963 Stanley Cup Finals.

A little reminder of the objective of this project:

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 5 of the 1963 Stanley Cup Finals between Toronto Maple Leafs (defending champions) and Detroit Red Wings. The game was played on April 18th, 1963, at Maple Leaf Garden in Toronto (attendance: 14,403).



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

Spoiler

First Period:
10:49 – Pen both (Bob Pulford & Alex Faulkner, 2 min each)
11:01 – Pen Detroit (Gerry Odrowski, 2 min)
14:02 – Pen Detroit (Parker MacDonald, 2 min)
17:13 – Pen Toronto (Allan Stanley, 2 min)
17:44 – 1-0 Dave Keon (ass. George Armstrong), SH
Shots on goal: Toronto 10, Detroit 5

Second Period:
0:49 – 1-1 Alex Delvecchio (ass. Gordie Howe, Marcel Pronovost)
8:35 – Pen Detroit (Floyd Smith, 2 min)
11:35 – Pen Toronto (Eddie Shack, 2 min)
13:55 – Pen Detroit (Larry Jeffrey, 2 min)
Shots on goal: Toronto 4, Detroit 8

Third Period:
9:18 – Pen both (Ron Stewart & Gordie Howe, 2 min each)
13:28 – 2-1 Eddie Shack (ass. Kent Douglas, Bob Pulford)
15:32 – Pen Detroit (Floyd Smith, 2 min)
18:07 – Pen Toronto (Bob Pulford, 2 min)
19:55 – 3-1 Dave Keon (ass. George Armstrong, Allan Stanley)
Shots on goal: Toronto 14, Detroit 14

 

[Theokritos]

For reference: 1962-1963 Award & All-Star Voting

Toronto Maple Leafs

Head coach: Punch Imlach

Johnny Bower (1)

Kent Douglas (19)
Bob Baun (21) – Carl Brewer (2)
Tim Horton (7) – Allan Stanley (26)

Bob Nevin (11) – Bob Pulford (20) – Eddie Shack (23)
George Armstrong (10, C) – Dave Keon (14) – Dick Duff (9)
Ron Stewart (12) – Red Kelly (4) – Frank Mahovlich (27)

vs

Parker MacDonald (20) – Alex Delvecchio (10, C) – Gordie Howe (9)
Vic Stasiuk (11) – Norm Ullman (7) – Floyd Smith (17)
Andre Pronovost (15) – Eddie Joyal (21) – Bruce McGregor (16)
Alex Faulkner (12), Larry Jeffrey (14)

Marcel Pronovost (3) – Doug Barkley (5)
Pete Goegan (18) – Bill Gadsby (4)
Gerry Odrowski (22)

Terry Sawchuk (1)

Head coach: Sid Abel

Detroit Red Wings​

 

[Batis]

Just finished watching period 2. Very entertaining game and while I probably should not be surprised considering the success they had the 60's Leafs have really impressed me while watching these two games.

After two periods the Leaf players that have impressed me the most during this game is Tim Horton and Dave Keon. Really great performances from both of them in my opinion and Keons shorthanded goal was a real beauty. I thought that Mahovlich started the game really, really well with a couple of great rushes but then got pretty quiet after that. Maybe he picks it up in the third again though. Over the course of the two games he is one of the players on the Leafs who has impressed me the most though. His ability to make rushes with the puck really is impressive.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Incredibly tight-checking game. I'm not sure there were 15 real shots on goal from either side. Half of them were from outside the blueline, on slapshot dump-ins directed at the goalies. Everybody's just skating in each other's back pocket, no room to handle the puck or make clean passes.

Probably the single thing that intrigued me most about this game is the defensemen taking draws in their own zone. Fortunately the topic was actually addressed by the hosts at around 1:18:30. They say this was a Punch Imlach concept, and Bob Nevin says that if the faceoff was in the right-hand corner of the defensive zone then either Horton or Baun would step up and take it. This is very strange to me, especially as those two visibly struggled with the responsibility throughout the game. In the interview, Nevin says they never even practiced it or taught the defensemen how to take them... just threw 'em in the deep end against experienced centermen.

But, having said all that, it's also quite obvious that the Red Wings defensemen took draws as well. Gadsby seemed to be the specialist of choice, and by the end of the game he probably led all Wings in faceoffs. Eddie Shack's go-ahead goal for the Leafs was scored directly off a faceoff lost by Doug Barkley, who had only taken maybe one or two draws all night. Detroit even had Howe take a d-zone faceoff on the PP because he was the guy playing the point (this makes no tactical sense). And both teams did it on both sides of the ice. So it wasn't just an Imlach thing, or a right corner thing, was it?

24:30 -- What a beautiful rush by Frank Mahvolich. You really get the sense that he was a freight train bearing down on the defense.

25:55 -- Nice display of Gordie Howe's puck handling skills.

33:35 -- Great shot of MLG's penalty clock.

Detroit ran a 5-forward PP most of the time. They basically just moved Howe and Delvecchio to the points and then rolled their regular lines. Delvecchio got exposed badly on the first goal of the game.

1:08:45 -- A wonderful little moment... faceoff on the left side of the Leafs zone, Gordie Howe set to face off with Tim Horton. Just before he gets set, Howe switches his stick from a left-handed grip to right-handed. Proceeds to control the faceoff cleanly, and the Wings score as a result.

Childhood footage of Mark Howe at 1:50:30! Looks like he played defense in minor.

2:08:38 -- My god, the leg room in those lower level seats! Never seen anything like that in a modern arena.

Pulford's penalty at the end of regulation looked pretty dumb. Defending a one-goal lead to win the Cup, and you grab a guy away from the puck to try and pull him offside? Why?

Kent Douglas' diving save at 2:35:50 is an underrated moment in history. Who knows what happens if he misses that shot and the game goes to OT.

The crowd boos when NHL president Clarence Campbell is announced. The more things change...

Notably, Red Kelly plays point on the PP and center at ES.

Gordie Howe strikes me as an outstanding defender. He really hustles on the backcheck, has a great stick, is strong enough to muscle opponents off the puck. Looks like an easy Selke candidate if there had been such a thing at that time.

Also, an extremely classy scene at 2:49:30.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Intro Points

A few intro points.

The Leafs had two defensive pairings - Horton and Stanley plus Baun and Brewer. Both RHS with a LHS. Plus the wingers tended to be RHS playing RW. LHS playing LW. Note the efficient puck movement this produced from the defensive zone.

Note the puck being frozen on the boards resulting in play stopages.

Play stopages did not necessarily produce a faceoff at a dot.

Defencemen taking faceofffs. Pre faceoff interference penalty. Imlach started this. Idea was not to play the puck but the man, effectively neutralizing/scrambling the draw. Few season later the faceoff interference penalty was introduced.

Eddie Shack. Basically a spare - fourth line forward for the Leafs. Still the skill level, skating was vastly superior to a present day fourth liner. Even if viewed as muscle, Shack was vastly superior to present day muscle. Yes he lacked discipline in all phases of the game.. Even so the raw hockey talent shows through.

 

[67Leafs67]

When Odrowski takes a tripping penalty at 11:01 of the first after Pulford and Faulkner took coincidental penalties, it is 4 on 3 for Toronto. Cool to see that Douglas is used in this situation, he skates the puck very well. He's paired with Kelly, who moves back to defense for the man advantage. Keon and Mahovlich are the forward pairing. Up to this point, Imlach had just rolled the lines, but for the PP he clearly wants the goal. Keon just really buzzes around out there, such a dangerous player out there, moves so fast. Bill Gadsby is such a solid defender. Seems like he blocks everything.

 

[WildGopher]

Toronto Maple Leafs:

Head coach: Punch Imlach

F:
(...)

Thanks for posting this great game! Refreshing to watch it during the All-Star break when no real NHL games are on. Was impressed with the tight D on both teams, but especially with Toronto's. Brewer, Baun, Horton just gave Detroit no room. As was said above, Howe very effective defensively, but the Toronto D didn't let him do much of anything in the offensive zone. Delvecchio was able to move through them a little more. Contrast with a game I saw about 5 years later, Detroit vs. a young North Stars team with a lot more porous defense. Delvecchio, Howe and Mahovlich (by then on the Wings), buzzed all over the offensive zone, even though Delvecchio and Howe were that much older by then. To have that skill level and not be able to move through the Toronto D must have been pretty frustrating. Howe and the others ended it with class, though. I thought the broadcast was pretty good, too! A great classic game.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Defencemen taking faceofffs. Pre faceoff interference penalty. Imlach started this. Idea was not to play the puck but the man, effectively neutralizing/scr4ambling the draw. Few season later the faceoff interference penalty was introduced.

While that makes sense as a philosophy, it didn't seem to be happening in this game. The faceoffs were completely clean, I don't recall a single one that led to a scramble or neutral result. Largely because the hash marks were set so far back from the dot that the players virtually batted at the puck as it dropped.

I checked a couple of other Leafs videos from the period, rather briefly mind you, and I don't see it there either. There's a bit of interference with the center after the draw, usually boxing him away from the middle of the ice, but nothing more than you'd get under usual conditions.

I truly don't understand what result this was supposed to produce, other than losing tons of faceoffs in the defensive zone.

 

[Sonic Disturbance]

Short on time so just watched a few minutes. Things that stuck out to me:

- The teams playing in this game play a more "modern" game then some of the 1980s clips I watched. Tight-checking with some defensive structure. I watched the 1987 Canada Cup DVD and everyone was just running around. Could be the teams playing though.

- Everyone talks about how the "speed of the game" has increased dramatically, but this game is very high-tempo. And that's with significantly worse skate technology.

- The most noticeable thing is the sticks. It honestly doesn't look like skate technology has changed that much, but stick technology definitely has. The wood sticks just don't have that "oompf" on shots and even passes. I also notice that the players in the video tend to use shorter sticks relative to height compared to modern players.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Faceoffs

While that makes sense as a philosophy, it didn't seem to be happening in this game. The faceoffs were completely clean, I don't recall a single one that led to a scramble or neutral result. Largely because the hash marks were set so far back from the dot that the players virtually batted at the puck as it dropped.

I checked a couple of other Leafs videos from the period, rather briefly mind you, and I don't see it there either. There's a bit of interference with the center after the draw, usually boxing him away from the middle of the ice, but nothing more than you'd get under usual conditions.

I truly don't understand what result this was supposed to produce, other than losing tons of faceoffs in the defensive zone.

Just an explanation of the strategy. Really no different than a football alignment where the idea is to misdirect the opposition. How many of the lost faceoffs with the d-man playing center resulted in goals?

 

[Canadiens1958]

Sticks

Short on time so just watched a few minutes. Things that stuck out to me:

- The teams playing in this game play a more "modern" game then some of the 1980s clips I watched. Tight-checking with some defensive structure. I watched the 1987 Canada Cup DVD and everyone was just running around. Could be the teams playing though.

- Everyone talks about how the "speed of the game" has increased dramatically, but this game is very high-tempo. And that's with significantly worse skate technology.

- The most noticeable thing is the sticks. It honestly doesn't look like skate technology has changed that much, but stick technology definitely has. The wood sticks just don't have that "oompf" on shots and even passes. I also notice that the players in the video tend to use shorter sticks relative to height compared to modern players.

No special allowance for tall players to use longer sticks. Chara's stick would not be allowed.

Forget about "oompf" - did you see sticks break with a tap or in mid-shot and the puck just dribble away ruining a scoring chance?

 

[BobbyAwe]

Watch Howe starting at 25:54 of the YouTube version

 

[tarheelhockey]

Just an explanation of the strategy. Really no different than a football alignment where the idea is to misdirect the opposition. How many of the lost faceoffs with the d-man playing center resulted in goals?

Delvecchio's goal at 1:08:43 of the video came directly off a faceoff in which Howe beat Tim Horton on a draw. This was the really neat moment noted above, when Howe switched his handedness to suit the situation.

The Cup-winning goal at 2:22:30 came directly off the draw when Pulford beat Doug Barkley cleanly.

Also, Detroit came VERY close to scoring at 15:00 when the puck was loose under Bower in a scramble directly after Baun lost two consecutive faceoffs cleanly.

So defensemen losing draws cleanly accounted for 2 out of 3 goals, and almost a 3rd.

 

[WildGopher]

. . . The wood sticks just don't have that "oompf" on shots and even passes. . .

I noticed a weakness with the passes, too. And your comment for a moment made me consider upgrading from the dinosaur wood sticks I still use, except I wonder this: Were those apparently slow-moving passes partially or even mainly due to the ice? To watch a cross-ice pass from someone as strong as Howe just kind of rumble toward its target makes me think it probably had more to do with the ice than his using a wooden stick. Maybe someone who watched on TV or attended games at the Gardens back then can comment on if by mid-April, the ice would have been warm there and a little slower. I know Boston Garden was known for having soft ice by the time it got deep into the playoffs. Different rinks have reputations for good, bad ice - i.e. Edmonton's at Rexall Place was always said to be great. I'd guess that over the years, the ice plant at the Gardens might have been changed at least a couple times, so maybe there were times when ice there was great and other times less so; I don't really know. I'll await someone's thoughts about what caused those slow passes before trading up from my heavy lumber museum-piece sticks!

 

[Theokritos]

Bumping this in case anyone hasn't seen this thread yet. The next edition will be out in the second half of the coming week, so there's still time to catch up.

 

[BayStreetBully]

I just finished watching this game. What a great idea for a thread. My thoughts on watching that video:

- I loved the God Save the Queen anthem at the beginning played by organ. It was chilling, as it brought me back to a Canada that no longer exists. I'd be curious to know when they stopped playing this and switched over to O Canada. I'd also be curious whether this was only played in Toronto. Did Montreal play something different at the a Forum?

- the little differences as opposed to today just jump out at you. Everyone wearing suits, as you were expected to dress up. No music after goals or between whistles. As Tarheel mentioned, the old-style clock. And fittingly, if you watched it on tv, all in black and white. I was told by an older fan a while back that stepping into Maple Leaf Gardens in those days was like stepping into heaven because everything you ever see on tv comes into life with colour. I'd also be curious to know when all the changes occurred- when people stopped wearing suits, when the clock went digital...

- Dave Keon was in his 3rd season, but you could already see the love affair between the fans and Keon. The fans went crazy every time Keon began rushing up the ice. And the chanting of "we want Keon!" after the game when he had already hit the showers. Why Keon specifically? Too bad he had a falling out with the team after. He was the one player still alive and not hospitalized who could have brought the house down at the closing of the Gardens in 1999.

- Gordie Howe's defensive game. Great backchecking, and great anticipation in knocking the puck off others' sticks- like with Mahovlich towards the end of the game. He doesn't look particularly strong under that loose jersey, but his play tells you otherwise.

- What a great skater Red Kelly was. He's 36 by now, and he's still flying out there with speed and edge work.

- Great personal respect by players on both teams. You can see the especially close relationship between Howe and Bower, both growing up together in Saskatchewan. But respect by all players on both teams after the game. I guess that's what happens when you play each other 14 times a year, and there are only 120 of you. And great respect by the fans, to give Howe a standing ovation after the game when they were booing him on the ice 5 minutes earlier.

- I loved seeing Dick Duff and Bob Nevin still playing for the Leafs. They grew up through the Toronto system with St. Mike's and the Marlies, so as Nevin mentioned, it was sad to part with the team the next year. When I talk to old timers, they have a special affinity for the 1963 team that they don't have with the 1964 team, simply because Duff and Nevin are gone by then. And with the already old Leafs getting older by the year, they seemed to be at the height of their powers in 1963.

 

[Killion]

And with the already old Leafs getting older by the year, they seemed to be at the height of their powers in 1963.

Yeah, Keon has said that the 62/63 Leafs team was the best of that era. In the 63 Playoffs he scored 7G's, 12PTS in total. He was a sensation coming out of Junior, a Scoring Machine however under the guidance of Father David Bauer @ St. Mikes & Bob Goldham (Toronto boy, ex-Marlie, played pro from 41-56, Defenceman, long-time color commentator on CBC's HNIC Leaf Broadcasts) became as well one of if not the best two way players in the NHL and I mean from his first training camp on.

 

[Theokritos]

Bump becaused the video footage (periods 2+3) has reappeared on YouTube.