Game 456
Maple Leafs 4, Canadiens 2
Wednesday, October 16, 1963
Forum de Montréal, Montréal, Québec
The Toronto Maple Leafs scored three goals in the final period last night to overcome the Montréal Canadiens and a stubborn rebound tumbling device known as Gump Worsley, 4-2.
The Leafs lost their veteran centre Red Kelly on the final play of the first period, when he was charged head-long into the boards by Jean Béliveau.
Kelly, who has worn a protective helmet since suffering a concussion last season, sustained a mild concussion and required five stitches to close a cut over his left eye. Béliveau received a major penalty.
Although Kelly was back on the bench early in the second period, he did not play again and it was not immediately known whether he will be permitted to take part in the weekend home-and-home series against the Detroit Red Wings.
Defenceman Tim Horton, the outstanding player for the Leafs in their second victory of the National Hockey League season, scored the winning goal on a screened slapshot from the right point at 6:10 of the final period.
It was the second goal of the night on the Toronto power play. Horton also assisted on the fourth goal, scored by Ron Stewart, after a masterly rush by Frank Mahovlich.
Mahovlich, who did not inspire superlatives either in Chicago or the first two periods here, also started the play leading to Horton’s goal. He carried the puck the length of the ice, but was the fourth man on the play as Bob Nevin and Bob Pulford had chances before Horton scored.
Nevin, who shared the Leafs’ spotlight with Dave Keon, Horton, Pulford, Bobby Baun and goalkeeper Johnny Bower, gave the Leafs their second of three leads early in the third period. He took Pulford’s pass and banked a shot off the far post.
Keon scored the first goal, and the only one of a nasty first period, taking Dick Duff’s setup and rolling his first goal of the season over Worsley’s pads.
Worsley was at his acrobatic best in the second period. The Leafs shot 10 pucks at him, and any of seven could have gone in through no fault of the former Ranger goalie.
He made skate saves on Pulford, Allan Stanley and Ed Shack, gloved a golf stroke by George Armstrong, and balked Pulford, Baun and Armstrong almost consecutively in a fantastic display, which drew howling appreciation from a, small for the Forum, crowd of 12,776.
Bower had more than his share of tough shots as the Canadiens outshot the Leafs 36-31.
Stanley and Nevin were caught up ice and Bower made three saves late in the second period without the Leafs clearing the puck. As a result, Gilles Tremblay finally punched it past him to tie the game 1-1.
Billy Harris failed to check Bill Hicke in front of the Leaf net, and Hicke tied the game 2-2 28 seconds after Nevin and given the Leafs their second goal.
The Leafs were two men short twice in the game – for 74 seconds in the first period and 67 at the start of the third – but Montréal could not score.
It was during the second session, with the score 1-1, that Bower made his greatest stops. He blocked John Ferguson’s short range drive, then, somehow, got over to the other side, sprawled and interrupted Dave Balon’s rebound bid.
The Canadiens, who had tied Boston and beaten New York, were not consistent. They started each period slowly, didn’t test Bower in the first six minute of either the first or second period, and failed to keep pressure on when the Leafs became disorganized late in the second period.
Story originally published in The Globe & Mail, October 17, 1963
BOXSCORE
1st Period
MTL PEN – 01:39 – G. Tremblay, hooking
TOR PEN – 06:31 – Horton, boarding
TOR PEN – 07:17 – Keon, tripping
MTL PEN – 09:18 – Laperrière, high sticking
TOR PEN – 09:43 – team, too many men on the ice
MTL PEN – 10:44 – Harper, holding
TOR PP GOAL – 12:28 – Keon (Duff, Kelly)
MTL PEN – 16:40 – Ferguson, elbowing
TOR PEN – 16:40 – Horton, high sticking
MTL PEN – 20:00 – Béliveau, charging major
TOR PEN – 20:00 – Douglas, charging
MTL PEN – 20:00 – Hanna, charging
2nd Period
MTL PEN – 08:18 – Laperrière, charging
MTL GOAL – 16:06 – G. Tremblay (Backstrom, Harper)
TOR PEN – 19:05 – Douglas, holding
TOR PEN – 19:58 – Baun, elbowing
3rd Period
TOR GOAL – 02:23 – Nevin (Baun, Pulford)
MTL GOAL – 02:51 – Hicke (Richard, Provost)
MTL PEN – 03:10 – Talbot, tripping
MTL PEN – 04:53 – J. Tremblay, hooking
TOR PP GOAL – 06:10 – Horton (Nevin, Pulford)
TOR GOAL – 09:17 – Stewart (Mahovlich, Horton)
TOR PEN – 17:18 – Shack, high sticking
MTL PEN – 17:18 – Hicke, interference
GOALTENDERS
TOR – Bower (W, 34-36)
MTL – Worsley (L, 27-31)
SHOTS ON GOAL
TOR – 13+10+8 = 31
MTL – 9+15+12 = 36
ROSTERS
TOR – Goaltenders: Johnny Bower. Defence: Bobby Baun, Kent Douglas, Tim Horton, Red Kelly, Allan Stanley. Forwards: George Armstrong (C), Dick Duff, Billy Harris, Dave Keon, Ed Litzenberger, John MacMillan, Frank Mahovlich, Bob Nevin, Bob Pulford, Eddie Shack, Ron Stewart.
MTL – Goaltenders: Gump Worsley. Defence: John Hanna, Terry Harper, Jacques Laperrière, Jean-Guy Talbot, J.C. Tremblay. Forwards: Ralph Backstrom, Dave Balon, Jean Béliveau (C), Red Berenson, John Ferguson, Bernie Geoffrion, Bill Hicke, Claude Provost, Henri Richard, Bobby Rousseau, Gilles Tremblay.
TEAM RECORDS
TOR – 2-1-0 (.667)
MTL – 1-1-1 (.500)
ATTENDANCE
12,776
Two Solitudes 