Game 41: Boston 4 at Toronto 2

Real Chevrefils scored two goals and Terry Sawchuk made 35 saves as Boston Bruins took over second place with a 4-2 victory over Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto.

Chevrefils, who came into the game with a disappointing one goal, scored his second tally of the game on a power play at 13:38 of the third period, giving Bruins (8-5-1) a two-goal lead.

Maple Leafs (7-5-2) scored first, as Al MacNeil fired a slap shot past Sawchuk at 5:53 of the first period.

Cal Gardner tied the game with a power play marker at 18:46.

Chevrefils put Bruins ahead at 2:46 of the middle stanza, and after Ted Kennedy scored his first goal of the season two minutes later to tie the game, Fleming MacKell put Boston ahead to stay with a wrist shot at 9:08.

The only goal of the third period was Chevrefils' second of the game.

Bruins blocked seven Toronto shots in the third period, yet Maple Leafs still managed to get 37 shots on goal for the game, but Sawchuk was strong all night.

Bruins are 5-0-1 in their last six games as they take over the second spot in the standings, coveted because of the home ice advantage it provides in the semi-finals.

Both teams lost a defenseman due to injury: Dick Cherry (BOS) took a puck to the face and Hugh Bolton (TOR) suffered a serious leg injury of some sort.

1st Period
TOR- MacNeil (Armstrong, Sloan) 5:53
BOS- Gardner (Labine, Flaman) PPG 18:46

2nd Period
BOS- Chevrefils (Bionda) 2:41
TOR- Kennedy (Stewart, MacNeil) PPG 4:49
BOS- MacKell (Stanley, Flaman) 9:08

3rd Period
BOS- Chevrefils (MacKell, Bionda) PPG 13:38

SOG
BOS 10-6-10 = 26
TOR 8-16-13 = 37

PP: BOS 2-4; TOR 1-5

Goalies
BOS- Sawchuk
TOR- Chadwick


Sawchuk makes one of his 35 saves, this one against Sid Smith

Game 40: Chicago 4 at Detroit 3

Ed Litzenberger scored Chicago Black Hawks' third power play goal of the game at 9:37 of the third period to snap a 3-3 tie in defeating Detroit Red Wings, 4-3 at Olympia Stadium.

The victory was the first one on the road this season for Chicago (3-10-1), who have garnered two of their three wins over Detroit.

Gordie Howe scored twice for Red Wings (5-6-3), who failed to enter into a temporary tie for third place with Boston.

As usual, Detroit's offense came from one line: Howe, Ted Lindsay and Alex Delvecchio. They teamed up on all three Red Wings goals. Lindsay had three assists.

After Chicago took a 3-1 lead in the second period, Red Wings shifted momentum and it paid off when Howe scored his first goal of the night at 15:46 to make the score 3-2.

Red Wings carried the play for the rest of the period but couldn't score the equalizer.

At 2:07 of the third period, Howe struck again, on the power play. He skated from the corner and lifted a shot past Al Rollins to knot the score, 3-3, as the Olympia crowd roared its approval.

But Rollins stoned Howe minutes later, denying the NHL's leading goal scorer a hat trick, while also keeping the score tied.

That save would prove huge at 9:37, when Litzenberger scored on the power play much the same way Howe did earlier in the period, putting Black Hawks back in front.

Both teams clogged the shooting lanes as there were 19 blocked shots among the 72 fired at the respective goals.

Chicago's Gus Mortson got into two fights in the first period, but in each instance, the Red Wings opponent was whistled for an extra two minutes.

1st Period
DET- Delvecchio (Lindsay, Kelly) 3:33
CHI- McIntyre (Mortson, Litzenberger) PPG 10:20

2nd Period
CHI- Wilson (McIntyre, Litzenberger) PPG :09
CHI- Nesterenko (Mickoski, Ciesla) 2:50
DET- Howe (Delvecchio, Lindsay) 15:46

3rd Period
DET- Howe (Lindsay, Pronovost) PPG 2:07
CHI- Litzenberger (Wilson, McIntyre) PPG 9:37

SOG
CHI 8-6-9 = 23
DET 9-11-10 = 30

PP: CHI 3-4; DET 1-3

Goalies
CHI- Rollins
DET- Hall


McIntyre notched a goal and two assists in Chicago's first road win 

Game 39: Toronto 5 at Chicago 4

Gary Aldcorn scored at 8:28 of the third period, snapping a 4-4 tie and leading Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-4 victory over Chicago Black Hawks at Chicago Stadium.

The win lifted Toronto (7-4-2) into second place.

Toronto staked themselves to a 3-0 lead after Bob Pulford scored a power play goal at 8:03 of the second period, but Black Hawks (2-10-1), the lowest-scoring team in the league, mounted a spirited comeback.

Chicago finally tied the game after scoring two power play goals in the third period---at 2:39 (Pierre Pilote) and 4:33 (Johnny Wilson). Black Hawks own the NHL's worst power play, as well, but it clicked twice to bring the crowd to its feet.

But with 11:32 left in the game, Aldcorn deflected Al MacNeil's shot past Al Rollins, temporarily quieting the partisans.

Chicago enjoyed two more power plays after Aldcorn's goal, but despite intense pressure, Toronto goalie Ed Chadwick stood tall. Black Hawks pulled Rollins with 90 seconds remaining, and again Chicago peppered Chadwick with pucks as the crowd stood and roared for support. But Black Hawks couldn't get the equalizer past the Toronto goalie.

Toronto had a season-high 44 shots on goal.

1st Period
TOR- Bolton (Smith, Sloan) 3:40
TOR- Pulford (Kennedy, MacNeil) 5:41

2nd Period
TOR- Pulford (Kennedy, Hurst) PPG 8:03
CHI- Hergesheimer (Ingram, Kennedy) 8:28
TOR- Armstrong (Thomson) 17:46
CHI- Woit (Lalande) 18:09

3rd Period
CHI- Pilote (Nesterenko) PPG 2:39
CHI- Wilson (Litzenberger) PPG 4:33
TOR- Aldcorn (MacNeil, Hurst) 8:28

SOG
TOR 17-16-11 = 44
CHI 8-8-16 = 32

PP: TOR 1-4; CHI 2-5

Goalies
TOR- Chadwick
CHI- Rollins


Aldcorn's third goal of the season proved to be the game-winner

Game 38: Montreal 1 at Boston 6

Six different Boston Bruins scored as the team ended Montreal Canadiens' 10-game winning streak with a rousing 6-1 victory at Boston Garden.

Real Chevrefils and Fleming MacKell each had three assists for Bruins (7-5-1), who temporarily passed Toronto Maple Leafs to move into second place. But Toronto has a game in hand.

Bruins are 4-0-1 in their last five games.

After Jean Beliveau tied the game at 1-1 in the second period, Bruins exploded for four goals in 3:10, starting with Cal Gardner's tally at 14:45. Leo Boivin's power play goal was sandwiched between those of Johnny Peirson and Larry Regan during the onslaught.

Fleming MacKell rounded out the scoring with a deflection of a Chevrefils wrist shot following a Canadiens turnover, at 4:59 of the third period. The goal came against goalie Gerry McNeil, who replaced Jacques Plante after 40 minutes.

Montreal (10-3-0), the league's highest scoring team, managed just 25 shots on goal against Terry Sawchuk, who got the start in net for Boston after Don Simmons was injured in warm-ups, taking a shot in the neck.

Only three minor penalties were called in the entire game.

1st Period
BOS- Labine (Chevrefils, MacKell) 3:59

2nd Period
MON- Beliveau (Plante) 9:18
BOS- Gardner (Peirson, Flaman) 14:45
BOS- Peirson (Gardney, Stanley) 15:40
BOS- Boivin (Bionda, MacKell) PPG 17:33
BOS- Regan (MacKell, Chevrefils) 17:55

3rd Period
BOS- MacKell (Chevrefils) 4:59

SOG
MON 10-7-8 = 25
BOS 8-11-4 = 23

PP: MON 0-2; BOS 1-1

Goalies
MON- Plante (19 shots, 5 goals); McNeil (0:00 3rd; 4 shots, 1 goal)
BOS- Sawchuk


Plante made the save here, but he surrendered five goals on 19 shots against Bruins

Game 37: New York 1 at Detroit 4

Detroit Red Wings found themselves trailing after just 12 seconds, but recovered to down New York Rangers, 4-1 at Olympia Stadium.

Parker MacDonald sprang loose on a breakaway, taking a pass at the Detroit blue line, and deposited the puck past Glenn Hall moments after the opening faceoff, giving Rangers a 1-0 lead before the crowd even got seated.

Red Wings were in jeopardy of falling into a tie for fourth place with New York, and MacDonald's goal didn't look promising for a Red Wings team that came into the game with a  2-5-1 record over their past eight games.

Dutch Reibel scored the first of his two goals at 3:20 of the first period, tying the game, firing a shot through Gump Worsley's pads from between the faceoff circles.

After a scoreless, tight-checking second period, Marcel Pronovost broke the tie at 6:37 of the third stanza, slapping a rebound over Worsley's shoulder.

At 12:06, Gordie Howe redirected a Ted Lindsay pass past Worsley, as a crowd gathered near the crease, making the score 3-1.

Reibel added his second goal at 14:26 to cap the scoring and keep Red Wings (5-5-3) in fourth place, while Rangers fell to 3-7-3.

There were two fights: Warren Godfrey (DET) and Lou Fontinato at 4:48 of the second period, and Dale Anderson (DET) and Bill Gadsby at 14:05 of the third period.

1st Period
NY- MacDonald (Murphy, Cahan) :12
DET- Reibel (McNeill, Godfrey) 3:20

3rd Period
DET- Pronovost (Ullman, Dea) 6:37
DET- Howe (Lindsay, Delvecchio) 12:06
DET- Reibel (Ferguson) 14:26

SOG
NY 6-10-5 = 21
DET 8-7-8 = 23

PP: NY 0-3; DET 0-2

Goalies
NY- Worsley
DET- Hall


Reibel scored two goals as Detroit won for just the third time in their past nine games

Game 36: Chicago 0 at New York 3

Andy Bathgate scored his fourth goal of the season, all on the power play, which proved to be the only marker New York Rangers needed in a 3-0 whitewashing of last-place Chicago Black Hawks at Madison Square Garden.

It was the second time this season that Rangers (3-6-3) shutout Black Hawks by the same score in New York.

The win gives Rangers a chance to tie Detroit for the fourth and final playoff spot, when the teams meet at Olympia Stadium.

Rangers scored twice in the second period as Black Hawks (2-9-1), with the worst offense in the league, failed to muster much of an attack, registering just 20 shots on goal.

Perhaps showing frustration, with less than two minutes to go in the game, Chicago's Ian Cushenan got into a fight with Dean Prentice.

1st Period
NY- Bathgate (Cahan, Prentice) PPG 8:48

2nd Period
NY- Gendron (Popein, Gadsby) 2:01
NY- Creighton (Bathgate, Gadsby) 12:36

3rd Period
No scoring

SOG
CHI 8-6-6 = 20
NY 7-9-7 = 23

PP: CHI 0-2; NY 1-4

Goalies
CHI- Rollins
NY- Worsley


All four of Bathgate's goals have come on the power play

Game 35: Detroit 1 at Boston 2

Real Chevrefils finally scored his first goal of the season, and it proved to be the game-winner as Boston Bruins upended Detroit Red Wings, 2-1, at Boston Garden.

The victory lifted Boston (6-5-1) into third place all alone, while Red Wings (4-5-3) are 2-5-3 in their last 10 games.

Red Wings welcomed Alex Delvecchio back from injury after the center missed seven game, and Delvecchio scored Detroit's only goal, at 12:49 of the third period to draw Red Wings within one goal.

Chevrefils' goal came at 11:47 of the second period, on the power play. He blasted a slap shot from the point that found its way past Glenn Hall.

Vic Stasiuk deflected Jerry Toppazzini's shot past Hall to open the scoring at 14:47 of the first period.

In the final two minutes of the game, Bruins did an outstanding job of maintaining puck possession deep in Red Wings' zone, and as a result Detroit wasn't able to pull Hall for an extra attacker until about 40 seconds remained.

Throughout the game, Bruins did an excellent job slowing down Detroit's offense. Red Wings couldn't get much sustained pressure in the Boston zone.

George Ranieri (BOS, playing in his first game of the season) and Al Arbour drew fighting majors at 5:33 of the first period.

1st Period
BOS- Stasiuk (J. Toppazzini, Boivin) 14:47

2nd Period
BOS- Chevrefils (Flaman, Labine) PPG 11:47

3rd Period
DET- Delvecchio (Lindsay, Howe) 12:49

SOG
DET 8-4-8 = 20
BOS 9-6-6 = 21

PP: DET 0-4; BOS 1-5


It took 12 games, but Chevrefils no longer has a goose egg in his goals scored column

Game 34: Toronto 3 at Montreal 4

Bert Olmstead deflected an Henri Richard shot past Ed Chadwick with 2:22 left in the game, restoring a two-goal lead for Montreal Canadiens, who beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3 at the Forum.

It was Montreal's 10th straight victory, but it wasn't easy.

Throughout the game, Maple Leafs had several stretches of action where they dominated Montreal (10-2-0), but once Canadiens took a 2-1 lead midway through the second period, Maple Leafs couldn't quite catch them.

Toronto (6-4-2) remains in second place, but fell six points behind Canadiens. A win would have lifted Maple Leafs to within two points of first place.

Once again, Canadiens were opportunistic, scoring four goals on just 24 shots, including two on five shots in the third period.

Toronto's Barry Cullen tied the game, 1-1, with an assist from brother Brian at 1:24 of the second period. But despite Maple Leafs taking the play to Canadiens, Montreal went ahead on a goal by Dickie Moore at 10:34.

Maurice Richard scored his second goal of the game just 45 seconds into the third period to put Montreal ahead 3-1.

Tod Sloan drew Toronto to within one goal at 6:20, rifling a wrist shot from near the blue line that eluded a screened Jacques Plante.

But Olmstead, cruising in front of the Toronto net, got his stick on Henri Richard's slap shot from the right faceoff circle. The deflected puck fluttered over Ed Chadwick's left arm to restore the two-goal lead at 17:38.

Toronto pulled Chadwick moments later but couldn't score until Sid Smith buried a centering pass from Ron Stewart with just eight seconds remaining in the game.

Jean Beliveau had three assists for Canadiens.

There were two fights: George Armstrong (TOR) and Dollard St. Laurent (MON) at 15:30 of the first period, and Toronto's Bob Pulford squared off with Jean-Guy Talbot at 4:53 of the second period.

1st Period
MON- M. Richard (Beliveau, Talbot) 1:24

2nd Period
TOR- Barry Cullen (Brian Cullen) 1:24
MON- Moore (Beliveau) 10:34

3rd Period
MON- M. Richard (St. Laurent, Beliveau) :45
TOR- Sloan (Reaume) 6:20
MON- Olmstead (H. Richard, Provost) 17:38
TOR- Smith (Stewart, Sloan) 19:52

SOG
TOR  9-9-11 = 29
MON 13-6-5 = 24

Goalies
TOR- Chadwick
MON- Plante


Olmstead's goal at 17:38 of the third period proved to be the game-winner

Game 33: New York 1 at Toronto 2

Toronto Maple Leafs scored two power play goals, the second with less than four minutes remaining in the third period that turned out to be the game-winning goal, in a 2-1 victory over New York Rangers at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Second-place Toronto (6-3-2) kept pace with first-place Montreal and moved three points ahead of Detroit and Boston.

George Armstrong's wrist shot from the left faceoff circle to Gump Worsley's right beat the New York goalie to the stick side at 16:07 of the third period to make the score 2-0.

At 18:18, Dave Creighton scored with Worsley pulled for the extra attacker, but Rangers couldn't get Worsley out of the net again until less than 30 seconds remained.

Dick Duff deflected Rudy Migay's shot past Worsley at 17:10 of the second period to open the scoring.

Rangers (2-6-3) fell four points out of the fourth and final playoff spot.

The win did come at a cost for Maple Leafs, as right wing Mike Nykoluk suffered a major shoulder injury and will likely miss the rest of the season.

1st Period
No scoring

2nd Period
TOR- Duff (Migay, Horton) PPG 17:10

3rd Period
TOR- Armstrong (Morrison) PPG 16:07
NY- Creighton (Bathgate) 18:18

SOG
NY 11-5-6 = 22
TOR 6-10-9 = 25

PP: NY 0-4; TOR 2-6

Goalies
NY- Worsley
TOR- Chadwick


Chadwick turned aside 21 of 22 shots in Maple Leafs' victory

Game 32: Chicago 2 at Boston 4

Boston Bruins scored twice on the power play, and despite giving up a shorthanded goal, they defeated Chicago Black Hawks, 4-2 at Boston Garden.

Don McKenney, Vic Stasiuk and Cal Gardner each had a goal and an assist for Bruins (5-5-1), who tied Detroit for third place with the victory. But Red Wings own the tiebreaker based on head-to-head play.

Black Hawks (2-8-1) again couldn't find their offense, mustering just 18 shots against Don Simmons. Chicago is the lowest scoring team in the league.

But Black Hawks did jump out to a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal by Nick Mickoski at 6:56.

Just 1:23 later, McKenney deflected a shot past Al Rollins to tie the score.

Bruins added goals from Larry Regan (11:28) and Stasiuk (PPG at 15:41) to increase their lead to 3-1 after 20 minutes.

Just two minutes into the second period, Black Hawks' Johnny Wilson was the beneficiary of a sloppy play by Simmons. As Bruins held the man advantage, Simmons left his cage to play a puck that had been iced. But he fanned on his pass, and Wilson was Johnny-on-the-spot (literally) and swept the errant pass into Boston's net.

It was the first shorthanded goal in the league this season.

Bruins restored order at 6:35 of the second frame when Gardner scored on a power play to make the score 4-2.

There were two fights: Ian Cushenan (CHI) and Fleming MacKell (BOS) in the first period and Eric Nesterenko (CHI) and Fern Flaman (BOS) in the second period. Flaman reacted violently after Nesterenko slashed another Bruins player. Nesterenko picked up the extra two minutes for the slash, and Gardner cashed in 58 seconds later.

1st Period
CHI- Mickoski (Lalande, Nesterenko) 6:56
BOS- McKenney (J. Toppazzini, Stasiuk) 8:19
BOS- Regan (Armstrong, Gardner) 11:28
BOS- Stasiuk (Flaman, McKenney) PPG 15:41

2nd Period
CHI- Wilson (unassisted) SHG 2:07
BOS- Gardner (Bionda, Mohns) 6:35

3rd Period
No scoring

SOG
CHI 8-5-5 = 18
BOS 7-16-11 = 34

Goalies
CHI- Rollins
BOS- Simmons


Gardner was one of three Bruins with a goal and an assist

Game 31: Montreal 4 at Detroit 3

Jackie LeClair's goal at 2:53 of the third period capped a comeback from a 3-1 deficit as Montreal Canadiens beat Detroit Red Wings, 4-3 at Olympia Stadium for Habs' ninth win in a row.

Red Wings led, 3-1, after one period.

But Canadiens tied the game with two goals in the second period, less than four minutes apart. This was despite Detroit outshooting Montreal, 14-8 in the frame.

Canadiens (9-2-0) lead the season series over Red Wings, 2-1 and opened up a six-point lead over second place Toronto. Detroit (4-4-3) still has a tenuous hold on third place.

Maurice Richard opened the scoring with a power play goal at 6:40 of the first period, blasting a slap shot that beat Glenn Hall on the stick side.

But Red Wings stormed back---starting with Johnny Bucyk's goal at 10:11. Red Kelly and Ted Lindsay added goals and the fans at Olympia sensed an end to Montreal's winning streak.

But Canadiens, who rarely have played from behind during their streak, were opportunistic and scored on two of their eight shots in the middle frame.

On the winning goal, LeClair cruised down the right wing and fired a wrist shot from the faceoff circle. The shot seemed to handcuff Hall as it slipped under his left arm.

Detroit's Gord Hollingworth and Montreal's Doug Harvey drew fighting majors at 8:40 of the first period.

1st Period
MON- M. Richard (St. Laurent, H. Richard) PPG 6:40
DET- Bucyk (Strate) 10:11
DET- Kelly (Pavelich, Dineen) 15:11
DET- Lindsay (Howe, Ullman) 18:59

2nd Period
MON- Harvey (Olmstead, Goyette) 2:21
MON- Turner (M. Richard, Beliveau) 6:03

3rd Period
MON- LeClair (Pronovost, Curry) 2:53

SOG
MON 8-8-10 = 26
DET 10-14-9 = 33

PP: MON 1-3; DET 0-2

Goalies
MON- Plante
DET- Hall


LeClair's goal early in the third period proved to be the game-winner for Canadiens