Rogie Vachon Starts 1977-78 With Opening Night Shutout

The 1977-78 NHL season opened with a statement performance from Rogatien “Rogie” Vachon and the Los Angeles Kings.

On October 12, 1977, Vachon backstopped the Kings to a 2-0 Opening Night victory over the visiting Cleveland Barons, becoming the first goaltender of the season to record a shutout. Rogie was flawless, stopping all 24 shots he faced for the 42nd shutout of his NHL career. At the opposite end, Cleveland’s Gilles Meloche was strong as well, allowing just two goals on 28 shots.

Los Angeles wasted little time getting on the board. At 12:18 of the first period, Ernie Hicke scored the game-winning goal, set up by Marcel Dionne and Glenn Goldup. That same trio struck again just 39 seconds into the third period when Dionne finished off another perfectly executed sequence to make it 2-0.

While Vachon controlled the crease, the game also featured a bit of Opening Night theater to keep the crowd buzzing. In the first period, Kings enforcer Dave Schultz squared off with Cleveland’s Reg Kerr in a heavyweight bout. Midway through the third period, L.A.’s Dave Hutchison dropped the gloves with Barons defenseman Bob Girard.

The 1977-78 season would see Vachon record four shutouts for the Kings, matching his lowest total since the 1972-73 campaign. It also marked his final season in Los Angeles. Vachon began the following year with the Detroit Red Wings, spending two seasons in Hockeytown before finishing his Hall of Fame career with the Boston Bruins.

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Cowboy Rides Into L.A. and Burns His Old Team in 1972 Return

When Bill “Cowboy” Flett stepped onto the ice at the Forum on March 9, 1972, it wasn’t just another regular-season game. Less than six weeks earlier, Flett had been part of a blockbuster January 28 trade that sent him from the Los Angeles Kings to the Philadelphia Flyers alongside Eddie Joyal, Ross Lonsberry, and Jean Potvin. Heading west in return were Serge Bernier, Larry Brown, Bill Lesuk, and Jim Johnson.

Now back in Los Angeles wearing orange and black, Flett made sure Kings fans knew exactly what they had given up.

Through two periods and halfway into the third, the Kings held a 2-1 lead and Flett was still off the scoresheet. That changed quickly, and dramatically, beginning at 10:58 of the third period. On the power play, Flett buried his 13th goal of the season past Gary Edwards, assisted by Jean Potvin and Bobby Clarke.

Thirty seconds later, he turned playmaker, setting up Clarke for the Flyers’ go-ahead goal. Just ten seconds after that, Flett struck again, scoring his second of the night and 14th of the season off another Clarke assist. In under a minute, the Cowboy had completely flipped the game, putting Philadelphia ahead 4-2 with what would stand as the game-winning goal in a 5-3 Flyers victory.

He wasn’t finished.

After Backstrom pulled the Kings within one, Flett completed the story at 14:29 of the third period, netting his hat trick goal with helpers from Rick Foley and Clarke. The goal capped a four-point night in his return to Los Angeles and marked the fourth hat trick of Flett’s NHL career. Interestingly, his first three hat tricks had all come against the Detroit Red Wings.

Flett and Clarke each finished the night with seven shots on goal, while Gary Edwards faced 32 shots in the Kings’ net. Flett closed out the 1971-72 season with 11 goals in 31 games for the Flyers, added to the seven he scored in 45 games with Los Angeles, good for 18 total on the year.

The following season, the Cowboy truly broke out, erupting for a career-high 43 goals and proving just how costly that January trade turned out to be for the Kings.

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Crazy 8’s on Long Island: Mike Bossy Scores Four in Historic 8–8 Tie With Oilers

On March 3, 1981, the Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders delivered one of the wildest offensive showcases in NHL history. Sixteen total goals lit up the Nassau Coliseum scoreboard as the two clubs skated to an 8-8 tie, the NHL’s first 8-8 draw in 45 years.

The last time a game ended with that score was February 16, 1936, when the Montreal Maroons and New York Americans battled to a similar deadlock. Nearly half a century later, two teams that helped usher in hockey’s modern offensive era revived the rare result.

Mike Bossy was at the center of the madness. The Islanders’ superstar scored four goals on just four shots, netting goals No. 58 through 61 of his remarkable 1980-81 season. Despite the goal explosion, Edmonton goaltender Eddie Mio faced only 24 shots, while Islanders netminder Billy Smith was tested far more frequently, turning aside shots among the 41 he faced.

After forty minutes, New York appeared to be in control, holding a 6-4 lead. But the Oilers exploded in the third period. In a blistering 4:09 span, Edmonton scored four times to seize an 8-6 advantage. Wayne Gretzky tallied his second goal of the night, his 44th of the season, as part of a four-point performance. He was joined on the scoresheet by Glenn Anderson, Jari Kurri, and Mark Messier, each finishing the night with four points.

The Islanders weren’t finished.

Just 47 seconds after Kurri gave Edmonton its two-goal cushion, Bossy struck again to pull New York within one. With time winding down, Anders Kallur completed the comeback, tying the game at 18:14 of the third period with helpers from Héctor Marini and Wayne Merrick.

Bossy also added an assist earlier in the game on Steve Tambellini’s second-period goal, giving him a five-point night in one of the most unforgettable regular-season games of the era. The final horn sealed an 8-8 tie, a fitting result for a night that perfectly captured the free-wheeling, high-octane style that defined early-1980s NHL hockey.

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