Game 531
Canadiens 6, Maple Leafs 3
Saturday, November 8, 1969
Forum de Montréal, Montréal, Québec
The 19 hours the Toronto Maple Leafs spent reaching this city were bad enough, but the worst came when the Leafs finally arrived at Chicago Stadium last night. They spent 2 ½ hours watching goals pour into their net.
The Chicago Black Hawks won 9-0, sliding Toronto into last place in the National Hockey League Eastern Division.
It all started Saturday in Montréal, when the Canadiens beat the Leafs 6-3. The Leafs straggled into their dressing room and were told that their flight to Chicago had been cancelled.
Chicago was fogbound. The Leafs would have to board a train at midnight; it would arrive in Toronto at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, and pull into Chicago at six o’clock Chicago time.
Toe Blake, the Canadiens’ vice-president and former coach, smiled widely when he heard the news and informed Leaf officials that taking the train would bring good luck. His Canadiens never lost in Chicago when they took the night-and-day train ride.
But perhaps Toe did not realize the seriousness of Toronto’s troubles. With centre Mike Walton completing his three-game suspension, injured Rick Ley absent on defence and defenceman Jim Dorey a Saturday casualty, the Leaf forces were seriously depleted.
Jacques Lemaire scored three goals in the 6-3 Canadiens win. Ted Harris, John Ferguson and Bobby Rousseau got the other goals.
Toronto’s weekend production was provided by Norman Ullman, Murray Oliver and Jim Dorey.
Saturday, when his troubles were only beginning, Leaf coach John McLellan was realistically depressed.
“Horton and Quinn were on for five goals,” McLellan observed Saturday. Last night, with Dorey out of the lineup because of an injured tailbone and the defence necessarily reorganized, Pat Quinn became Brian Glennie’s blueline partner. Quinn and Glennie were on the ice for eight of Chicago’s goals.
The Leafs ran into more trouble last night when winger Floyd Smith hurt his back in the first period. He was replaced by Ron Ward, the rookie who set up Ullman’s goal against Montréal.
Edwards had never lost a league game in the Toronto goal before the twin disasters. The 15 goals scored against him compare to 11 in his first five games.
Story originally published in The Globe & Mail, November 10, 1969
BOXSCORE
1st Period
TOR PEN – 08:44 – Ullman, hooking
MTL PP GOAL – 10:42 – Lemaire (Cournoyer, Savard)
TOR GOAL – 11:59 – Oliver (Keon, Glennie)
2nd Period
MTL PEN – 04:31 – Laperrière, holding
TOR PP GOAL – 05:51 – Ullman (Ward, Keon)
TOR PEN – 07:14 – Pulford, hooking
MTL PP GOAL – 08:23 – Lemaire (Savard, Rousseau)
MTL GOAL – 15:29 – Harris (Redmond, Richard)
3rd Period
MTL PEN – 02:53 – Harris, slashing
MTL GOAL – 05:18 – Ferguson (Harris, Backstrom)
MTL PEN – 06:07 – Ferguson, cross checking
MTL GOAL – 10:09 – Lemaire (Redmond, Richard)
TOR GOAL – 13:13 – Dorey (Keon, Oliver)
TOR PEN – 16:55 – Pelyk, cross checking + fighting major
MTL PEN – 16:55 – Redmond, fighting major
MTL PP GOAL – 18:04 – Rousseau
GOALTENDERS
MTL – Vachon (W, 22-25)
TOR – Edwards (L, 41-47)
SHOTS ON GOAL
MTL – 17+16+14 = 47
TOR – 7+9+9 = 25
ROSTERS
MTL – Goaltenders: Rogatien Vachon, Gump Worsley. Defence: Terry Harper, Ted Harris, Jacques Laperrière, Serge Savard. Forwards: Ralph Backstrom, Jean Béliveau (C), Christian Bordeleau, Yvan Cournoyer, John Ferguson, Jacques Lemaire, Peter Mahovlich, Claude Provost, Mickey Redmond, Henri Richard, Bobby Rousseau.
TOR – Goaltenders: Marv Edwards, Bruce Gamble. Defence: Jim Dorey, Brian Glennie, Tim Horton, Jim McKenny, Mike Pelyk, Pat Quinn. Forwards: Ron Ellis, Paul Henderson, Dave Keon (C), Murray Oliver, Bob Pulford, Brit Selby, Floyd Smith, Norm Ullman, Ron Ward.
TEAM RECORDS
MTL – 6-2-5 (.654)
TOR – 4-6-2 (.417)
ATTENDANCE
17,811
Two Solitudes 