Ralph Backstrom’s Five-Point Night Powers Canadiens to 7-0 Win in Chicago

Ralph Backstrom had a hand in five of Montreal’s seven goals on November 23, 1967, scoring a hat trick and adding two assists in a 7-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at Chicago Stadium. The Kirkland Lake, Ontario native also fired ten shots at Denis DeJordy, accounting for nearly a third of the Canadiens’ 32 shots on goal.

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Highlights

• Montreal defeated Chicago 7-0 at Chicago Stadium on November 23, 1967.

• Ralph Backstrom scored three goals and added two assists.

• His first two goals came in the opening period.

• He completed the hat trick on a second-period power play.

• Backstrom recorded ten of Montreal’s 32 shots on goal.

• Gump Worsley made 15 saves for his 31st career NHL shutout.

• Backstrom and Denis DeJordy later became Los Angeles Kings teammates.

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Backstrom entered the game with just four goals through Montreal’s first 18 games of the 1967-68 season. He scored his fifth at 5:47 of the opening period, beating DeJordy with help from Claude Larose. Before the intermission, he struck again, this time assisted by J.C. Tremblay and Dick Duff, to give the Canadiens a 3-0 lead.

The hat trick was complete at 10:28 of the second period. With Chicago defenceman Doug Jarrett serving a tripping penalty, Backstrom scored on the power play with assists from Tremblay and Yvan Cournoyer. After arriving in Chicago with four goals on the season, he had increased his total to seven before the game was halfway through.

Backstrom then turned playmaker. Later in the second period, he helped Larose score his first goal of the season. At 6:44 of the third, he picked up another assist on a Cournoyer goal to complete his five-point performance. DeJordy, the goaltender on the receiving end of that outburst, would later become his teammate with the Los Angeles Kings.

At the other end, Gump Worsley stopped all 15 Chicago shots for his second shutout of the season and the 31st of his NHL career. His first shutout that season had also required just 15 saves, against the Toronto Maple Leafs. This would be the first of two times Worsley blanked the Blackhawks during the 1967-68 campaign.

Hockey’s Best Team Ever: A Chronicle of the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens' Record-Breaking Season

Relive the legendary 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens season, when a powerhouse roster led by Guy Lafleur, Ken Dryden, and Larry Robinson set an NHL record with 60 regular season wins before capturing the Stanley Cup.

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Ken Dryden Makes 46 Saves, but Flyers Beat Canadiens in 1975 Showdown

Ken Dryden stopped nearly everything Philadelphia threw at him on November 16, 1975. He even contributed an assist. Still, the Montreal Canadiens left the Spectrum with a 3-1 loss in an early-season showdown between two teams that would meet again in the 1976 Stanley Cup Final.

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Highlights

• Philadelphia defeated Montreal 3-1 on November 16, 1975.

• Dryden stopped 46 of the 48 shots he faced.

• He also assisted on Guy Lafleur’s opening goal.

• Rick MacLeish recorded ten shots and scored the winner.

• Wayne Stephenson made 26 saves for Philadelphia.

• Gary Dornhoefer sealed the victory with an empty-net goal.

• Dryden followed the loss with a 17-save shutout in Minnesota.

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Montreal struck first when Guy Lafleur beat Wayne Stephenson at 5:02 of the opening period. Pete Mahovlich and Dryden collected the assists, giving the Canadiens’ goaltender a hand in the only goal his team would score all night. At the other end, Philadelphia kept Dryden busy, forcing him to stop 46 of the 48 shots he faced.

Bob Kelly tied the game at 11:05 of the second period before Rick MacLeish put the Flyers ahead at 16:31. Gary Dornhoefer and Ross Lonsberry assisted on MacLeish’s seventh goal of the season, which held up as the winner. MacLeish alone fired ten shots at Dryden, with Montreal’s number 29 stopping nine of them.

Stephenson handled the lighter workload effectively, turning aside 26 of Montreal’s 27 shots. With Dryden on the bench for an extra attacker, Dornhoefer scored into the empty net with six seconds remaining. His goal and earlier assist made him the game’s only player with two points.

Dryden rebounded three nights later in Minnesota, stopping all 17 shots in a 6-0 victory over the North Stars. Remarkably, he had blanked Minnesota by the same score just eight days earlier, making 14 saves in Montreal on November 11. Against Philadelphia, however, even 46 saves and an assist had not been enough.

Hockey’s Best Team Ever: A Chronicle of the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens' Record-Breaking Season

Relive the legendary 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens season, when a powerhouse roster led by Guy Lafleur, Ken Dryden, and Larry Robinson set an NHL record with 60 regular season wins before capturing the Stanley Cup.

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Yvan Cournoyer’s Hat Trick Evens Canadiens–Rangers Series in 1974

The New York Rangers struck first in their 1974 Stanley Cup quarter-final series against the Montreal Canadiens, winning the opener 4–1 at the Montreal Forum. When the teams returned for Game 2 on April 11, the final score was identical, but the winning side changed. Yvan Cournoyer scored three consecutive goals to give the Canadiens a 4–1 victory and even the best-of-seven series.

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Highlights

• Montreal won Game 2 on April 11, 1974, at the Montreal Forum.

• Cournoyer scored three consecutive goals for a natural hat trick.

• His first goal, at 18:11 of the second period, was the game winner.

• Goaltender Michel Larocque assisted on the winning goal.

• Jacques Lemaire assisted on both third-period goals.

• Cournoyer and Lemaire combined for 14 of Montreal’s 31 shots.

• The Rangers ultimately won the series in six games.

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New York again grabbed the early advantage. Bruce MacGregor scored the only goal of the first period, with assists going to Pete Stemkowski and Brad Park. Montreal answered at 5:03 of the second when Steve Shutt beat Rangers goaltender Ed Giacomin, taking a setup from Henri Richard to tie the game.

Cournoyer then took control. At 18:11 of the second period, the Roadrunner scored his first goal of the playoffs to put Montreal ahead 2–1. Defenceman Pierre Bouchard and goaltender Michel Larocque earned the assists on what proved to be the winning goal.

The third period belonged to Cournoyer as well. He scored at 11:53 and completed his natural hat trick at 14:51, turning a one-goal lead into a comfortable three-goal cushion. Jacques Lemaire assisted on both third-period goals, while Chuck Lefley also picked up a helper on the hat-trick goal.

Cournoyer and Lemaire each fired seven shots at Giacomin, combining for 14 of Montreal’s 31 shots. At the other end, Larocque stopped 18 of the Rangers’ 19 attempts, contributing both a strong performance in goal and an assist on the deciding tally.

Montreal carried that momentum into Game 3, winning 4–2 at Madison Square Garden on April 13 to take a 2–1 series lead. The Rangers responded with three straight victories to eliminate the Canadiens in six games. New York then pushed the Philadelphia Flyers to seven games in the semi-finals before its playoff run ended.

Hockey’s Best Team Ever: A Chronicle of the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens' Record-Breaking Season

Relive the legendary 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens season, when a powerhouse roster led by Guy Lafleur, Ken Dryden, and Larry Robinson set an NHL record with 60 regular season wins before capturing the Stanley Cup.

Buy on Amazon

The PDF versions of some of our hockey books are now available for free download: Take a look!