Game 276
Canadiens 5, Maple Leafs 2
Thursday, November 16, 1950
Forum de Montréal, Montréal, Québec
The Montréal Canadiens out-bumped and out-hustled the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third period tonight for three goals and a 5-2 decision.
The Leafs, in suffering their worst defeat of the NHL season and their first on the road, provided goalie Turk Broda with some atrocious support and showed need of a hard hitting rearguard instead of stick checkers, against the once-again Flying Frenchmen, at least.
The Habitants, outshooting the Leafs 21-5 in the final 20 minutes and 40 to 18 on the game, broke a 2-2 tie, as at the end of the season, on a goal by Calum MacKay, and added a counter by Curry and Billy Reay in a dazzling – for 14,583 Forum fans – last period display.
On each of those goals, the Toronto rearguard looked bad, with special reference to Bill Barilko, who was off his game all the way.
In a high sticking affair that was ragged throughout the opening two periods, Tod Sloan and Flem MacKell were the Leafs’ marksmen. Curry and Léo Gravelle were the Hab marksmen to make it 2-2 going into the third.
The Canadiens, winless in their last seven games, broke that on a passing play early in the final period with MacKay netting on a passing play that bewildered the Barilko-Bill Juzda defence. Barilko missed the puck carrying MacKay on another passing attack less than three minutes later, and MacKay passed to Curry for a 4-2 margin. Reay finished it off little more than three minutes before the end on a backhander from 15 feet out.
The Leafs, starting out as if they intended to make it look easy, scored from the game’s first faceoff. Centre “Teeder” Kennedy shook Sid Smith loose with a neat pass, and Smitty rounded defenceman Bud MacPherson and let go a shot. Goalie Gerry McNeil juggled it, and as he looked for the puck behind him, Sloan swooped in to push it into the cage. That was at 20 seconds. Floyd Curry, parked in front of the net, tied it little more than a minute later on a pass from Ken Mosdell.
The Leafs led 2-1 at the end of the first when MacKell, working on the line with Cal Gardner and Harry Watson for this one, took Gardner’s pass inside the Hab blue line, scurried around Hal Laycoe, and jammed the puck past McNeil.
In a ragged second period, the Flying Frenchmen tied it up at the midway mark with the only goal of that 20 minutes. Léo Gravelle let go a drive that whizzed by Gus Mortson and into the short side of the cage.
NOTES: The mighty “Rocket” Richard, who claims he is tired of being held by opponents, took a five minute slashing major in the first period after raising his stick and smashing it over the padded shoulder of Bill Juzda. Juzda, who was checking him at the time, took a minor for hooking and was all for taking on “Rocket” at the penalty gate. Richard was ready, too, one globe off, but they were separated…Altogether, there were much too many high sticks on both sides…Broda made a great diving save on Vern Kaiser to start the third…Referee Bill Chadwick called 15 penalties, eight against Toronto, including a misconduct for MacKell for something he said to Chadwick when the referee got in the way of the little winger on a possible scoring thrust…Richard gained nary a point. Neither did Max Bentley, the NHL leader.
Story originally published in The Globe & Mail, November 17, 1950
BOXSCORE
1st Period
TOR GOAL – 00:20 – Sloan (Smith)
MTL GOAL – 01:31 – Curry (Mosdell)
MTL PEN – 03:33 – Laycoe, cross checking
MTL PEN – 04:27 – Kaiser, hooking
TOR GOAL – 07:14 – MacKell (Gardner)
TOR PEN – 07:43 – Klukay, hooking
TOR PEN – 09:00 – Mortson, holding
MTL PEN – 12:43 – MacKay, slashing
TOR PEN – 12:48 – Mortson, holding
MTL PEN – 17:48 – Richard, slashing major
TOR PEN – 17:48 – Juzda, hooking
MTL PEN – 18:32 – MacKay, high sticking
2nd Period
TOR PEN – 03:01 – MacKell, misconduct
MTL GOAL – 10:03 – Gravelle (Dussault)
3rd Period
TOR PEN – 02:08 – Sloan, hooking
MTL GOAL – 05:01 – MacKay (Mosdell, Curry)
MTL PEN – 05:35 – Harmon, hooking
MTL GOAL – 08:05 – Curry (Mosdell, MacKay)
TOR PEN – 13:50 – Juzda, elbowing
TOR PEN – 14:59 – Mortson, elbowing
MTL PEN – 16:07 – Lach, slashing
MTL GOAL – 16:54 – Reay (Kaiser)
GOALTENDERS
MTL – McNeil (W, 16-18)
TOR – Broda (L, 35-40)
ROSTERS
MTL – Goaltenders: Gerry McNeil. Defence: Glen Harmon, Doug Harvey, Tom Johnson, Hal Laycoe, Bud MacPherson. Forwards: Floyd Curry, Norm Dussault, Léo Gravelle, Bert Hirschfeld, Vern Kaiser, Elmer Lach, Calum MacKay, Paul Masnick, Kenny Mosdell, Billy Reay, Maurice Richard.
TOR – Goaltenders: Turk Broda. Defence: Bill Barilko, Bill Juzda, Gus Mortson, Jimmy Thomson. Forwards: Max Bentley, Cal Gardner, Ted Kennedy (C), Joe Klukay, Danny Lewicki, Fleming MacKell, John McCormack, Howie Meeker, Tod Sloan, Sid Smith, Ray Timgren, Harry Watson.
TEAM RECORDS
MTL – 5-7-4 (.438)
TOR – 9-3-3 (.700)
ATTENDANCE
14,583
Two Solitudes 