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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Al MacAdam's Hat Trick Keeps Golden Seals Perfect To Start 1975-76

A perfect start to a season wasn't something California Golden Seals fans got to experience very often. But, for at least two games in October 1975, the Seals could enjoy life without a loss. After opening the 1975-76 NHL season with a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Flames at the Omni, California travelled to Detroit to face the Red Wings on October 11, 1975.

Highlights

• California opened the 1975-76 season with consecutive victories.

• Al MacAdam scored a hat trick in the 5-2 win over Detroit.

• His first goal was an unassisted shorthanded marker.

• MacAdam's second goal, just 1:10 into the third, was the game winner.

• It was the first of three NHL hat tricks in MacAdam's career.

• Gary Simmons stopped 24 shots for California.

• Dennis Maruk led the Golden Seals with six shots on goal.

• California won just one of its next 12 games and relocated to Cleveland after the season.

Al MacAdam was the star of the night at Detroit Olympia. The Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island native opened the scoring at 8:38 of the first period with an unassisted shorthanded goal on Detroit goaltender Jim Rutherford. Bob Stewart was serving a charging penalty at the time. The Red Wings battled back and the teams entered the third period tied 2-2.

MacAdam wasted little time putting California back in front. Just 1:10 into the third, he scored his second of the game, assisted by Mike Christie. The goal stood as the game winner. MacAdam then completed the hat trick at 16:26, with Christie and rookie Dennis Maruk picking up the assists. It was the first of three hat tricks MacAdam would record during his NHL career.

Bob Murdoch finished off the scoring with an empty-net goal as California came away with a 5-2 victory. Gary Simmons earned the win in net with 24 saves, while the Golden Seals fired 36 shots at Rutherford. Maruk led California with six shots on goal.

For the Golden Seals, the 2-0 start provided a brief moment of optimism during what would be their final season in California. The momentum disappeared quickly, with the club winning just one of its next 12 games. California finished 1975-76 with 27 wins and 65 points, missing the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season. The franchise relocated to Ohio that summer and became the Cleveland Barons.

The California Golden Seals: A Tale of White Skates, Red Ink, and One of the NHL's Most Outlandish Teams

Discover the fascinating and unconventional story of the California Golden Seals — one of the NHL’s most memorable and unusual franchises.

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