This Date in NHL History: April 8
1971: In a game that still gives Boston Bruins fans nightmares, captain Jean Beliveau scores two goals and assists on two others to rally the Montreal Canadiens from a four-goal deficit to a 7-5 win at Boston Garden in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Quarterfinals.
The Canadiens are heavy underdogs in the series after finishing the regular season in third place in the Eastern Conference, 24 points behind the League-leading Bruins. No one, probably even the Canadiens themselves, gives Montreal much of a chance entering the series; after all, Boston is led by 76-goal scorer Phil Esposito and 102-point defenseman Bobby Orr.
Boston wins 3-1 in Game 1 and races off to a 5-1 lead against rookie goaltender Ken Dryden in Game 2. But Henri Richard's goal late in the second period gives the Canadiens a spark, and Beliveau scores twice in an 84-second span early in the third period to make it 5-4. Jacques Lemaire ties the game midway through the period, Beliveau sets up John Ferguson for the go-ahead goal with 4:37 remaining and Frank Mahovlich scores with 1:12 to play, capping a comeback for the ages.
The Canadiens go on to eliminate the Bruins in seven games, defeat the Minnesota North Stars in the Semifinals and rally past the Chicago Blackhawks to win the Final in seven games. Dryden, a rookie called up from the minors a month before the playoffs, wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
Let Bruins goaltender Gerry Cheevers, the Hockey Hall of Fame member who watched stablemate Eddie Johnston absorb the 7-5 beating, describe the aftershock of this stunner. From Cheevers' 1971 book "Goaltender," written with the late Trent Frayne:
"The Bruins won the first half of last night's second game 5-1, but in a turnaround to boggle the senses, the Canadiens won the second half 6-0. Any way you add that up, it comes out 7-5 Montreal.
"The trouble is, though, that letting up against the Oakland Seals or the Buffalo Sabres is not quite the same thing as letting up against the Montreal Canadiens. The Flying Frenchmen go slightly glassy-eyed when they get thinking of their tradition and their pride and the rest of that (expletive); they suddenly acquire adrenalin not available to many teams.
"Last night (April 8), it was Henri Richard and big Beliveau, 74 years old between them and acting like there was some kind of a law against anybody else winning."
1937: Referee Clarence Campbell officiates his first Stanley Cup match in Game 2 of the Final, a 4-2 win for the Detroit Red Wings against the New York Rangers. Campbell, who in 1946 becomes the third president in NHL history, hands out three penalties.
1961: Gordie Howe sets a playoff record for most career assists during the Detroit Red Wings' 3-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. Howe's two assists give him 61, two more than Doug Harvey.
1970: Phil Esposito has three goals and an assist to lead the Bruins to an 8-2 win against the New York Rangers in Game 1 of their Quarterfinal series at Boston Garden. The Bruins score five goals in a span of 10:21 and set a playoff record with two shorthanded goals in 44 seconds.
1973: Goaltender Ed Giacomin gets the only playoff shutout of his Hall of Fame career, making 33 saves to help the Rangers defeat the Bruins 4-0 at Madison Square Garden in Game 4 of their Quarterfinal series.
1980: The Philadelphia Flyers set a team record for most shots on goal in a playoff game with 51 against the Edmonton Oilers. They win 4-3 in Game 1 of the Preliminary Round when Bobby Clarke scores the winning goal 8:06 into overtime.
1982: Rangers forward Mikko Leinonen sets a single-game playoff record with six assists during a 7-3 win against the Flyers in Game 2 of the Patrick Division Semifinals.
1996: After a name-the-franchise contest, the soon-to-be-relocated Winnipeg Jets unveil their new logo and announce that the team will be known as the Phoenix Coyotes, beginning with the 1996-97 season.
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