April 13, 1944: Durnan and The Punch Line lead Habs to their fifth Cup

Bill Durnan wrapped up his first season in the NHL as effectively as it began.

The 29-year-old rookie had already claimed the Vezina Trophy, and was a unanimous pick to the First All-Star Team (a first for a rookie), as he led the Montreal Canadiens to first place in the 1943-44 standings.

The Canadiens lost just five games that season, allowing just 109 goals in 50 games. By comparison, the second fewest goals allowed were by the Toronto Maple Leafs with 174.

Up front, coach Dick Irvin finally found chemistry for struggling winger Maurice Richard. In December, the left-handed shooting Richard was put on the right wing with veterans Elmer Lach and Toe Blake. The Punch Line was born, blending in with a well-balanced Canadiens offense (six players had 20 or more goals) that didn’t slow down entering the semifinals against Toronto.

The Leafs would pull off a surprise 3-1 victory in Game 1, but that would be as far as the blue and white would get. The Canadiens won the next four games, with Durnan allowing just three goals the rest of the series. In the final game, he shut Toronto out as the Canadiens humiliated their rivals 11-0.

Richard scored seven goals in the series, including his famous five-goal Game Two (March 23)that earned him all Three Stars of the game. The Rocket’s legend was beginning, but as history would show, he was just getting warmed up.

The Canadiens would move on to face the Chicago Blackhawks in the Finals.

Chicago had upset the Detroit Red Wings in five games and came in with some offensive firepower of their own. In fact, Doug Bentley, Clint Smith and Bill Moisienko had a better combined point total than Montreal’s top trio in the regular season.

It would be Richard’s first Final appearance and he would not disappoint. Backed by the goaltending of Durnan, the Canadiens would prove to be no match for the Cinderella hopefuls from the Windy City.

The series took a peculiar format due to lack of ice availability at Chicago Stadium. The first game would be played at the Montreal Forum with the next two games played in Chicago. Game Four, and any remaining games needed, would be played in Montreal.

Montreal took Game One at at the Forum, showing their scoring depth, by a 5-1 score

 

In Chicago Richard scored all three goals in the Canadiens 3-1 win in Game Two.

In the third game, the Blackhawks managed to get 23 shots at Durnan. Many came from the outside and were easily stopped as Montreal steamed on with a 3-2 victory.

Richard had a single assist in the game, on a second period goal by Blake, that would break the playoff scoring record with his 15th point. It would be a short lived record.

The series moved back to the Montreal with the home team seeking the four-game sweep.

Chicago was not going away easy, and took a 4-1 lead midway into the third period. The forum crowd became angered and started to jeer the Canadiens players. Some even yelled out “Fake!”, feeling their team was throwing the game.

Blake’s squad, an more so the Punch Line, took the crowd’s reaction to heart, and exploded on the Blackhawks.

Lach responded first with a goal,that bounced off the skates of Blackhawks goaltender Mike Karakas, to cut the lead to two with around five minutes to play.

Then a first in Stanley Cup play occurred when the Canadiens Leo Lamoureux tripped up Virgil Johnson on a breakaway. Johnson would be awarded a penalty shot. A Chicago goal would more than likely end any chance for a Montreal rally. Durnan turned aside the penalty shot and stood his ground the rest of the night in the Montreal goal.

Shortly after, it was Richard’s turn. After Blake foiled a Chicago attempt to put the game away, the trio worked up the ice where Blake fed the Rocket the puck. Richard moved in, stopped and drilled the puck past Karakas.

The Forum erupted in jubilation as the Canadiens were within one.

“It was one of the most sensational goals in a Stanley Cup series,” said broadcaster Doug Smith. “This boy Richard beats you all the time. Just when you think he’s scored a goal that defies all description, he comes across with another one.”

Irvin kept his best weapons on the ice in an effort to tie the game, and his players wouldn’t let him down.

Chicago pushed the puck back into the Canadiens zone, but defenceman Emile “Butch” Bouchard stripped Bentley and moved the puck back up the ice. Once the Canadiens broke the blueline, he flipped the puck into the corner for Blake. Again, the veteran found Richard.

Within a minute and 15 seconds, Richard had potted two goals and the game was tied at four.

The game went into overtime where Blake finally put the Forum crowd at ease at 9:12. Durnan and Lach lifted the overtime hero on their shoulders as the crowd cheered and debris littered the ice.

Toe Blake scores the overtime winner in Game 4 – Montreal Gazette Photo

The Montreal Canadiens had won their first Stanley Cup in thirteen  years. The proverbial torch was being passed from the legends of Morenz and Joliat to the new guard of Blake, Lach and Richard.

Irvin stood proud of the team that proved the skeptical crowd wrong.

“There are always people who think everything is fixed and I suspect they must be shady themselves,” the coach said. “The chanting made my players see red. Why, they tied the score with in ten minutes after hearing those taunts and Toe Blake almost tore off the back of the net with his overtime counter.”

The Canadiens celebrate their fifth Stanley Cup – Montreal Gazette photo

Richard finished the series with five goals in the Finals as he and his linemates scored 10 of the teams 16 goals. His twelve goals in the playoffs were a new league record.

Blake had factored in on all five goals on the night and jumped ahead of Richard for the playoff scoring race, breaking the league record yet again in the same season.

Some Canadiens Stanley Cup Fun and Games

Bill Durnan not only thwarted the opposition on the way to his first Stanley Cup, but also thwarted his teammates practical jokes along the way as this April 12, 1944 Montreal Gazette shot demonstrates.

The photo on the left shows Durnan dumping water on the head of  Murph Chamberlain as he attempts a hot foot on Toe Blake.

Stanley Cup Typos

You’ll notice a few typos on the Cup after the Habs won in 1943 (Bill Durman, Leo Lamoureuz). Durnan’s name was corrected when a Replica cup was created in 1992-93.

Gerald Heffernan won just one Cup in his career but had his first name redone three times. It was originally stamped as Gerald in 1944, then Jerry when the Cup ring was redesigned in 1958 and later Gerry in 1993 on the Replica ring.

Sources for this article:

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette April 5 and 7, 1944

Montreal Gazette April 6-14, 1944

Diamond, Dan, 2008 Playoff Media Guide:Total Stanley Cup

Jenish, D’Arcy,  The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory

McFarlane, Brian,  True Hockey Stories: The Habs

Who will lead them?

Well the Montreal Canadiens roster officially got trimmed by one more player.

Despite a “rally of the masses” on Sunday afternoon at the Bell Centre, Habs GM Bob Gainey told CJAD radio on Monday that Alex Kovalev would not be returning.

 Fans rallied Sunday to keep Alex Kovalev in Montreal

Hours later, Kovalev took the money ($10 million over two years) and ran up the highway to Ottawa Senators.

The Northeast Division will be fun to watch this season without a doubt.

With Kovalev’s departure and the likely signing of Saku Koivu to either Buffalo, Atlanta, Anaheim or whatever square Eklund’s rumor dart hit this afternoon, this leaves the captain and all assistant captains off to greener pastures.

Mike Komisarek defected to the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1 and Christopher Higgins was traded to the New York Rangers on June 30.

The question now has to be asked, who will be the next captain?

Andrei Markov has been an assistant captain in the past but is unlikely as a captain.

You have to remember that Koivu was criticized for not speaking French. Markov can barely speak English so it’s safe to rule him out.

The Kostitsyn brothers??? Georges Laraque ??? Forget it!

Scott Gomez seems to be an early popular choice, despite not playing one game for the Canadiens.

Sorry Mr. Gomez, but there’s too much tradition to just walk in and take the “C”.

Ditto for Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta.

All likelihood two of these three will be alternate captains.

Young bucks Josh Gorges, Maxim Lapierre and maybe Guillaume Latendresse would be a good choices as an alternate captains in my opinion, but I feel none of this trio is at a full leadership level.

Roman Hamrlik is the long-time veteran on the team, but could be moved before the start of the season.

In any event, the Canadiens have never gone without a captain in their history.

Jean Beliveau is the Canadiens’ longest serving captain

Guy Carbonneau and Chris Chelios alternated months in the 1989-90 season when the team vote was as close as the Quebec Referendum vote.

The captaincy of the Montreal Canadiens has always been voted on by the players, so ultimately it will be up to the final roster when it is set sometime in late September.

The players may elect to go a shared route in the 2009-10 season.

Either way, that individual is the go-to man by the fans and media of a team with 100 years of history, and 16 years and counting without a Stanley Cup.

Preferably I want a long standing captain like Koivu (win or lose), and not a revolving door that we saw in the mid-90’s.

But let’s not rule out the current captain just yet, shall we?

List of Montreal Canadiens Captains

Jack Laviolette           1909-10	Emile Bouchard                    1948-56
Newsy Lalonde            1910-11	Maurice Richard                   1956-60
Jack Laviolette           1911-12	Doug Harvey                        1960-61
Newsy Lalonde            1912-13	Jean Beliveau                       1961-71
Jimmy Gardner           1913-15	Henri Richard                       1971-75
Howard McNamara      1915-16	Yvan Cournoyer                    1975-79
Newsy Lalonde            1916-22	Serge Savard                       1979-81
Sprague Cleghorn        1922-25	Bob Gainey                          1981-89
Billy Coutu                  1925-26	G. Carbonneau/C. Chelios    1989-90
Sylvio Mantha             1926-32	Guy Carbonneau                   1990-94
George Hainsworth     1932-33	Kirk Muller                           1994-95
Sylvio Mantha             1933-36	Mike Keane          Apr – Dec       1995
Albert “Babe” Seibert  1936-39	Pierre Turgeon                     1995-96
Walter Buswell            1939-40	Vincent Damphousse             1996-99
Hector “Toe” Blake     1940-48	Saku Koivu                           1999-??
Bill Durnan    Jan – Apr      1948

The Hockey Hall of Fame, Part One: A must visit for Canadiens Fans!

I recently had some time in Toronto to play tourist and explore the Hockey Hall of Fame.

For the record, the last time I paid a visit to the Hall was nearly 20 years ago in it’s old diminutive home at the Exhibition grounds.

Now situated in the old Bank of Montreal Building on the northwest corner of Front and Yonge, the Hall has a massive 57,000 square foot facility to display hockey’s history.

Upon entering the foyer to the Hall through the lower level of the building, one finds a large goalie mask display known as the Mask Columns.

Encased in the columns are Ken Dryden’s pretzel mask and two masks that he used later in his career. It also shows how one of these fiberglass mask was made.

Behind the columns is a wall showcasing 1300 pucks acquired at different arenas and tournaments around the world.

After paying my $15 admission, that was worth every penny, one of the first things you see are nine foot statues of Dryden and Fred “Cyclone”Taylor.

I admired the massive statue of my childhood hero then glanced into the feature exhibit area that the statues guard.

A tremendous Montreal Canadiens Centennial exhibit is currently on display with memorabilia, photos, and equipment from the storied team.

A series of cabinets feature many of the team’s most honored players.

I made several passes through this exhibit during my visit, spotting something else each time.

From Jacques Plante’s personal Hart Trophy or a copy of the program from the 1975 New Year’s Eve game against Central Red Army to Jose Theodore’s toque from the Heritage Game and Joe Hall’s 1918 contract from 1918 for $700, many a unique Canadiens relic is to be found in this exhibit.

The note issued by Campbell and Selke, forfeiting the game against Detroit during the Richard Riots 

At the far end, a large video screen runs episodes of The Heroes of Hockey series, featuring Habs Hall of Famers.

If there was a chair, I would have sat there for them all!

A variety of exhibits surround the centerpiece including a tribute area of the famed Stanley Cup dynasties.

The Canadiens own three of these displays – The four Cup run from the ‘70s, the “Forgotten Dynasty” four in five from 1965 to 1969 and the unequalled five straight from 1956-1960.

 

The 70’s display shown above encases Ken Dryden’s set of gloves that he used throughout his final season (1978-79).

As I glanced through these fantastic displays, I couldn’t help but wonder, “If that stick, jersey, glove could only talk, what stories it could tell.”

My attention then turned to one of the most popular exhibits in the hall, the to-scale replica Montreal Canadiens dressing room from the Montreal Forum.

With locker stalls for several of the Canadiens Hall of Fame players, it’s interesting to look at the equipment used in the various eras.

Looking at knee pads similar to the ones Guy Lafleur once used, I thought about the massive, yet equally if not lighter, ones I have in my bag at home.

I sat down on the bench of Patrick Roy’s stall and took the massive goal pads up to my leg. As I did I looked at the smaller brown leather pads that Ken Dryden and Jacques Plante once used.

More history is played on video monitors above the room while you tour around.

On a quiet June Sunday morning, I was able to take a high detailed video of the room.

Making my way to the Upper Deck Collector’s Corner I found a treasure trove of Canadiens memorabilia.

Rookie cards of Dryden, Roy and Lafleur adorn one of the card displays while a complete Shiriff/Salada Coin set (in it’s display) was mounted on another.

I even came across a cardboard stand-up of Doug Risebrough from the 1970’s. I still have this one and several other of these at home still intact in their packaged form!

A media pass from the 1993 All-Star Game was found in a huge cabinet of passes and tickets.

I worked my way to the Great Hall, which houses the Stanley Cup, the awards trophies and the Hall of Fame plaques of all the inductees, including 44 players and builders from the Canadiens.

The wall of inductees is rather tall so you may need to look waaaaay up to find your favorite player.

  In Lord Stanley’s vault, I discovered some of the “retired” rings removed from the Stanley Cup. A few acknowledged previous Canadiens teams, so alas not all 24 Cup engravings are on the cup together.

Another find was one of the first personal miniature cups issued out to winning Stanley Cup players and management in 1957-58.

I clearly can spend another day in detail of this fantastic facility and was also interested to know that a huge resource centre is also available for public use by appointment only.

On your way out, you’ll find a pile of Canadiens collectibles to add to your collection at the Spirit of Hockey store.

I budgeted this time and just grabbed a 100th Anniversary game puck for this trip. I have a list in case you are going and would like to get me something. :)

I found it interesting that some Saku Koivu t-shirts were on at clearance prices. My trip was 10 days before the free-agent deadline.

Did the Hall know something ahead of time?

In the meantime, I offer my complete collection of Canadiens exhibit photos taken during my visit here.

I will be adding a second part on International hockey as well as another installment on the rest of the Hall  of Fame to my site in the coming weeks.