Game 210
Canadiens 7, Maple Leafs 4
Thursday, January 11, 1945
Forum de Montréal, Montréal, Québec
The Montréal Canadiens did an effective smashing job on the jinx the Toronto Maple Leafs have held over them most of this season when they whipped the Leafs 7-4 tonight before a capacity 13,071 fans.
Almost incidentally, as far as the fans were concerned, the Canucks moved a game ahead of the Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League race, while smashing Toronto’s hopes of narrowing the gap separating them from the two top teams.
The victory gave the Canadiens two triumphs and a draw against one loss to the Leafs on home ice this season, but the Leafs still lead in the intercity series by virtue of three straight victories over the Canucks in Toronto.
Until late in the third period, it looked as though the Leafs were going to be the victims of a one-sided score, but they took advantage of the Canadiens’ laxness in the final minutes to ram in three counters.
The second period was the big one for the victors, with five straight goals parsing Frank McCool before the Leafs finally scored on Sweeney Schriner’s goal in the final minute of the frame. Schriner added another in the third to serve notice that he was getting back to form after a long layoff.
The Blake-Lach-Richard line sparked the Canadiens’ win with five counters. Toe Blake and Maurice Richard collected two each, and Elmer Lach got the fifth, as well as three assists. Other Canadien counters went to Dutch Hiller – who scored the only goal in the opening period – and Butch Bouchard, who contributed a solo effort for the only Canuck counter of the third.
Nick Metz and Lorne Carr were the scorers for the Leafs, in addition to Schriner’s two, with their counters coming late in the game.
Story originally published in The Globe & Mail, January 12, 1945
BOXSCORE
1st Period
TOR PEN – 00:25 – Johnstone
MTL PEN – 06:37 – Chamberlain
TOR PEN – 10:01 – Davidson
MTL GOAL – 16:43 – Hiller (O’Connor)
2nd Period
MTL GOAL – 01:53 – Blake (Lach)
MTL GOAL – 08:05 – Richard (Bouchard)
MTL GOAL – 09:57 – Blake (Lach)
MTL GOAL – 10:28 – Lach (Richard, Harmon)
MTL GOAL – 17:00 – Richard (Blake, Lach)
TOR GOAL – 19:48 – Schriner (McCreedy, Jackson)
3rd Period
MTL GOAL – 09:20 – Bouchard
TOR GOAL – 14:07 – Metz
TOR GOAL – 18:55 – Pratt (Jackson)
TOR GOAL – 19:20 – Schriner (Carr, Jackson)
GOALTENDERS
MTL – Durnan (W)
TOR – McCool (L)
ROSTERS
MTL – Goaltenders: Bill Durnan. Defence: Butch Bouchard, Frank Eddolls, Glen Harmon. Forwards: Toe Blake (C), Murph Chamberlain, Fern Gauthier, Ray Getliffe, Dutch Hiller, Elmer Lach, Leo Lamoureux, Kenny Mosdell, Buddy O’Connor, Maurice Richard.
TOR – Goaltenders: Frank McCool. Defence: Reg Hamilton, Ross Johnstone, Babe Pratt, Wally Stanowski. Forwards: Gus Bodnar, Lorne Carr, Bob Davidson (C), Mel Hill, Art Jackson, Ted Kennedy, John McCreedy, Nick Metz, Sweeney Schriner.
TEAM RECORDS
MTL – 19-5-2 (.769)
TOR – 13-11-2 (.538)
ATTENDANCE
13,071
Two Solitudes 