Game 630
Canadiens 4, Maple Leafs 3
Saturday, October 21, 1995
Forum de Montréal, Montréal, Québec
Wonderful things can happen when a hockey club can score more than once a game.
The Montréal Canadiens found that out last night, riding the emotion of a new general manager and head coach to pot more than a single goal for the first time this season en route to a 4-3 win over the Maple Leafs.
It was Montréal’s first victory this season after losing five straight games in which they managed a total of four goals. The Leafs (3-3-0) lost after winning two straight, and still haven’t won three consecutive games in more than a year.
Pierre Turgeon scored his second of the game with less than a second left in the third period to give the Habs their first win under head coach Mario Tremblay, hired to succeed Jacques Demers just hours before the game.
It had been an rollercoaster day for the Habs, down after losing on Long Island the night before for their fifth straight defeat, and then stunned just hours before game time when president Ronald Corey announced the hiring of the club’s new hockey braintrust.
In general manager Réjean Houle, Tremblay and assistant coach Yvan Cournoyer, Corey went for three former Habs, three Francophones and no NHL experience in his latest attempt to revive his club.
Tremblay shuffled his lineup a little, exhorted his troops a lot and did a great deal of fist- pumping behind the Montréal bench in his first NHL game as a coach, perhaps supplying some badly needed emotion to the struggling Canadiens.
The Leafs led 2-1 heading into the third, largely on the basis of Félix Potvin’s 29 saves over the opening 40 minutes. The Canadiens came out flying in the third, however, scoring two goals 52 seconds apart before the period was four minutes old.
Rookie Craig Ferguson tied the match 2-2 at 2:53 of the period, giving the Habs two goals in the game for the first time all season. After Valeri Bure charged his way to the front from the left corner but failed on an attempt to jam the puck under Potvin, Ferguson swatted in the rebound as defenceman Dave Ellett failed to cover.
The Leafs had another defensive breakdown less than a minute later as Brian Savage was left uncovered down the left side to easily bang Mark Recchi’s cross-ice feed into a mostly open net.
The Leafs tied the game with less than five minutes to play after referee Paul Stewart gave Vince Damphousse a four-minute double minor.
Story originally published in The Toronto Star, October 22, 1995
BOXSCORE
1st Period
TOR PEN – 05:43 – team, too many men on the ice
MTL PP GOAL – 06:44 – Turgeon (Malakhov, Recchi)
MTL PEN – 09:06 – Koivu, hooking
TOR GOAL – 15:40 – Craig (Hendrickson, Yushkevich)
TOR GOAL – 18:27 – Murphy (Jonsson, Hogue)
2nd Period
TOR PEN – 02:02 – Hudson, interference
MTL PEN – 04:29 – Damphousse, tripping
TOR PEN – 09:16 – Baumgartner, roughing + misconduct
MTL PEN – 09:16 – Odelein, roughing + misconduct
3rd Period
MTL GOAL – 02:53 – Ferguson (Bure, Brashear)
MTL GOAL – 03:45 – Savage (Recchi, Brisebois)
TOR PEN – 09:56 – Baumgartner, holding
TOR PEN – 13:02 – Jonsson, hooking
TOR PEN – 14:14 – Damphousse, cross checking double minor
TOR PP GOAL – 15:14 – Wood (Sundin, Hendrickson)
MTL GOAL – 19:59 – Turgeon (Brisebois)
GOALTENDERS
MTL – Roy (W, 28-31)
TOR – Potvin (L, 40-44)
SHOTS ON GOAL
MTL – 12+18+14 = 44
TOR – 13+9+9 = 31
ROSTERS
MTL – Goaltenders: Patrick Roy. Defence: Patrice Brisebois, Vladimir Malakhov, Lyle Odelein (A), Peter Popovic, Stéphane Quintal, Yves Racine. Forwards: Donald Brashear, Benoît Brunet, Valeri Bure, Vincent Damphousse (A), Craig Ferguson, Mike Keane (C), Saku Koivu, Oleg Petrov, Mark Recchi, Yves Sarault, Brian Savage, Pierre Turgeon.
TOR – Goaltenders: Félix Potvin. Defence: Dave Ellett (A), Todd Gill (A), Kenny Jonsson, Jamie Macoun, Larry Murphy, Dmitri Yushkevich. Forwards: Dave Andreychuk, Ken Baumgartner, Mike Craig, Mike Gartner, Doug Gilmour (C), Darby Hendrickson, Benoît Hogue, Mike Hudson, Sergio Momesso, Zdenek Nedved, Mats Sundin, Randy Wood.
TEAM RECORDS
MTL – 1-5-0 (.167)
TOR – 3-3-0 (.500)
ATTENDANCE
17,959
THREE STARS
⭐ Pierre Turgeon (MTL)
⭐⭐ Mark Recchi (MTL)
⭐⭐⭐ Félix Potvin (TOR)
Two Solitudes 