Pat Hickey’s Five-Point Night Sinks Tony Esposito At MSG

On November 15, 1978, the Chicago Blackhawks rolled into Madison Square Garden to face the New York Rangers, and left with very little to show for it. While another famous kid from Brantford was still lighting up the WHA at the time, it was Pat Hickey, also born in Brantford, Ontario, who stole the spotlight in New York.

Hickey wasted no time making his presence felt. Just 1:03 into the opening period, he beat Tony Esposito for his first of the night, with assists from Ulf Nilsson and Carol Vadnais. Less than five-and-a-half minutes later, Vadnais added a shorthanded goal of his own. Then, only 41 seconds after that, Hickey set up Anders Hedberg to give the Rangers a commanding 3-0 lead.

The Rangers kept pouring it on. Hickey struck again at 16:56 of the second period, once more assisted by Nilsson, along with Ron Greshner, to make it 5-0. In a rare brother-versus-brother moment, Phil Esposito scored on his older brother Tony at 6:24 of the third period, pushing the lead to 6-0.

Before the night was done, Hickey completed his hat trick, scoring his third goal of the game and seventh of the 1978-79 NHL season. He also added another assist on a goal by Nilsson, finishing the night with a five-point performance.

The Rangers’ top line was unstoppable. Hickey, Nilsson, and Hedberg combined for 13 points in the blowout win. Nilsson recorded one goal and four assists, while Hedberg chipped in with a goal and two helpers. Hickey led all skaters with six shots on goal, while Tony Esposito faced 39 shots overall. At the other end of the ice, John Davidson turned aside 32 of 33 shots to seal the victory for New York.

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The 1969 NHL “Nothing Game” That Rewrote the Record Book

The final game of the 1968-69 NHL regular season meant little in the standings for the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings. Both Original Six clubs had already been eliminated from postseason contention. Yet on March 30, 1969, at Chicago Stadium, the two rivals delivered one of the most statistically bizarre and historically rich games in league history.

Chicago skated away with a wild 9-5 victory, but the boxscore told a far deeper story than the score alone.

Blackhawks defenseman Pat Stapleton etched his name into the NHL record book by becoming just the second blueliner in league history to record six assists in a single game, tying a 25-year-old mark set by Babe Pratt in 1944. Stapleton’s assists were spread across the lineup: two on goals by Pit Martin, two on Stan Mikita goals (both scored shorthanded), and single helpers on tallies by Ken Wharram and Bobby Hull.

Stapleton’s assist on Hull’s goal with just 11 seconds remaining in the second period carried historic weight of its own. That goal was Hull’s 58th of the season, setting a new NHL single-season record at the time, one that would stand until Phil Esposito surpassed it two years later.

Detroit had its own milestones on the night. Gordie Howe posted two goals and two assists for a four-point performance, finishing the season with 103 points. While not a record, it was part of a landmark season in NHL history, 1968-69 marked the first time players crossed the 100-point threshold, with Esposito and Hull reaching the mark earlier that year.

Back on the Chicago side, Pit Martin turned in one of the most efficient scoring performances ever recorded, scoring four goals on just four shots. For Detroit, Frank Mahovlich found the net for his 49th goal of the season, the closest the Big M would come to the elusive 50-goal plateau during his NHL and WHA career.

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Tony Esposito and the Only Road Shutout of the 1974 Playoffs

The 1973-74 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs featured five shutouts in total, split among some of the era’s elite goaltenders. Bernie Parent recorded two, Tony Esposito posted two of his own, and Gilles Gilbert added one more. Yet among those five clean sheets, only one came on the road.

That lone road shutout occurred during the quarterfinal series between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Los Angeles Kings, a matchup defined by elite goaltending on both sides. Chicago’s Tony Esposito and Los Angeles netminder Rogie Vachon turned the series into a battle of patience, positioning, and shot suppression.

Game 3 was played at the Forum in Los Angeles on April 13, 1974, and it required only one goal to decide the outcome.

Just 40 seconds into the contest, Germain Gagnon stunned the home crowd by beating Vachon for what would stand as the game’s only goal. Stan Mikita and Cliff Koroll earned assists on the play, and from that moment on, scoring chances became scarce. Vachon allowed no further damage, stopping the final nine shots he faced.

At the opposite end of the ice, Tony Esposito was far busier. The Kings fired 32 shots on goal, but none found their way past the Chicago netminder. Esposito’s flawless performance sealed the 1-0 victory and marked the only shutout by a visiting team during the entire 1974 postseason.

The win pushed the Blackhawks to a commanding 3-0 lead in the series. Los Angeles avoided the sweep by winning Game 4, but Esposito closed the door again in Game 5 at Chicago Stadium with another 1-0 shutout. Over the five-game series, Chicago outscored the Kings by just a 10-7 margin, advancing despite averaging only two goals per game.

That defensive formula would not carry into the next round. Facing the Boston Bruins in the semifinals, the Blackhawks surrendered 28 goals over six games and were eliminated. Adding to the sting was the performance of Phil Esposito, Tony’s brother, who torched Chicago for six goals and two assists while firing 32 shots on net.

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Darcy Rota Lights the Lamp in His First NHL Game

Darcy Rota arrived in the NHL with serious scoring credentials. Drafted 13th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft, he was fresh off a massive 73-goal season with the Edmonton Oil Kings. While he would never match those junior numbers at the NHL level, his career high was 42 goals with Vancouver in 1982-83, Rota wasted no time proving he belonged among the pros.

His NHL debut came on October 10, 1973, when the Blackhawks opened their season on the road against the Los Angeles Kings at the famed Forum. The matchup featured two elite goaltenders in Tony Esposito and Rogie Vachon, and for most of the night, both lived up to their reputations. All three goals came in a tight eight-and-a-half-minute stretch of the second period: J.P. Bordeleau opened the scoring at 5:35, Dennis Hull added another at 7:40, and Rota capped the run at 14:13, marking his first NHL goal in his first NHL game and helping seal a 3-0 Chicago win.

Rota’s milestone goal was one of four shots he fired at Vachon that night, with Cliff Koroll and Stan Mikita picking up the assists. It was the first of 21 goals he scored during his rookie campaign, where he totaled 33 points in 74 games. He added three more goals in the postseason, including his first playoff goal, also against the Kings, in his very first playoff game.

Across his NHL career from 1973-74 through 1983-84, Rota was a reliable and consistent scorer. Playing 794 regular-season games and 60 playoff contests with Chicago, Atlanta, and Vancouver, he finished with 256 goals and recorded nine 20-goal seasons. His debut goal was just the opening chapter of a career defined by steady production and timely scoring.

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NHL Hockey Trivia: Darcy Rota

Much more NHL hockey trivia can be found at our website: World's Best Hockey Trivia

1. Which team drafted Darcy Rota 13th overall in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft?

Chicago Blackhawks
Atlanta Flames
Vancouver Canucks
Detroit Red Wings

2. Darcy Rota scored his first NHL goal against which goaltender?

Rogie Vachon
Bernie Parent
Ken Dryden
Tony Esposito

3. How many 20-goal seasons did Darcy Rota record in his NHL career?

Nine
Five
Eleven
Seven

4. With which team did Darcy Rota record his NHL career-high 42-goal season?

Vancouver Canucks
Chicago Blackhawks
Atlanta Flames
Winnipeg Jets

5. How many regular season goals did Darcy Rota finish with in his NHL career?

256
198
311
227

When Denis DeJordy Ruled December: Chicago’s Forgotten Goalie Hero

Between the eras of Glenn Hall and Tony Esposito, Chicago fans were treated to another standout goaltender: Denis DeJordy. Though often overlooked, DeJordy was no mere stopgap; he shared the Vezina Trophy with Hall in 1966-67 before Hall was claimed by the St. Louis Blues in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft.

With Hall gone, DeJordy took over as the Blackhawks’ number one goalie for the 1967-68 season and quickly proved he was up to the task. He posted a 2.71 goals-against average with four shutouts over 50 games, guiding Chicago past the Rangers in the playoffs before bowing out to the powerhouse Montreal Canadiens.

But it was December 1967 that defined his season, a stretch where DeJordy was simply unbeatable.

On December 10, he blanked the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 at the Spectrum, stopping 30 shots as Doug Mohns and Bobby Hull provided the offense. A week later, on December 17, he turned away 29 shots to shut out the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0 at Chicago Stadium, with Pit Martin finally breaking through Johnny Bower late in the third.

To cap off the month, DeJordy cruised to a 3-0 New Year’s Eve win over the expansion Oakland Seals, needing just 23 saves as Dennis Hull, Mohns, and Martin took care of the scoring.

His fourth and final shutout of the campaign came on February 29, when he stopped 38 shots in a 1-0 victory over Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens with Bobby Schmautz netting the lone goal.

Though his time as Chicago’s starter was short-lived, Tony Esposito’s arrival soon pushed him out, DeJordy’s December heroics remain a bright chapter in Blackhawks history. After a stint with the Los Angeles Kings, his NHL career began to fade, but for one icy month in 1967, Denis DeJordy was as good as any goaltender in the league.

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NHL Hockey Trivia: Denis DeJordy 🏒

Much more NHL hockey trivia can be found at our website: World's Best Hockey Trivia

1. Denis DeJordy shared the 1966–67 Vezina Trophy with which legendary goaltender?

Tony Esposito
Glenn Hall
Gerry Cheevers
Eddie Giacomin

2. During December 1967, how many shutouts did DeJordy record for the Chicago Blackhawks?

Two
Three
Four
Five

3. Which future Hall of Famer replaced Denis DeJordy as Chicago’s starting goalie in 1969–70?

Ken Dryden
Bernie Parent
Tony Esposito
Ed Belfour

4. After leaving Chicago, which NHL team did Denis DeJordy play for as their number one goaltender?

Los Angeles Kings
Detroit Red Wings
St. Louis Blues
Pittsburgh Penguins

5. DeJordy was part of the Blackhawks organization between two of the greatest goalies in NHL history. Who were they?

Terry Sawchuk and Ken Dryden
Glenn Hall and Tony Esposito
Jacques Plante and Bernie Parent
Johnny Bower and Rogie Vachon

December 16, 1970: Cliff Koroll’s Four-Assist Period Ties NHL Record

On December 16, 1970, second-year forward Cliff Koroll carved his name into NHL history. In an 8-3 Chicago Blackhawks win over the St. Louis Blues at Chicago Stadium, Koroll recorded four assists in a single period, tying an NHL record that had stood since 1920-21.

The Blues entered the second period with a 3-1 lead, paced by Jim Lorentz’s two goals and an assist. But Chicago stormed back with five unanswered goals in the middle frame. Koroll set up two goals by Stan Mikita, one by Pit Martin, and one by Dennis Hull to etch his name into the record books. All five Blackhawks goals in that period came against St. Louis goalie Ernie Wakely, who faced 42 shots on the night.

Mikita had an unforgettable game himself. He scored Chicago’s first goal in the opening frame, then added three more in the second for a four-goal outing. He also picked up an assist on Dennis Hull’s goal, finishing with five points.

Koroll went on to play his entire NHL career with the Blackhawks, appearing in 814 regular season and 85 playoff games between 1969-70 and 1979-80. Known for his consistency, he reached the 20-goal plateau in five straight seasons, peaking with 33 goals in 1972-73.

Though Dale Hawerchuk eventually raised the bar to five assists in a period in 1983-84 (later matched by Kris Letang in 2023), Koroll remains part of an exclusive group of players who made NHL history in just one period of play.

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NHL Hockey Trivia: Cliff Koroll

Much more NHL hockey trivia can be found at our website: World's Best Hockey Trivia

1. Cliff Koroll played his entire NHL career with which team?

Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings
St. Louis Blues
Minnesota North Stars

2. How many career regular season games did Koroll play in the NHL?

612
814
929
740

3. What was Cliff Koroll’s highest single-season goal total in the NHL?

20
27
33
38

4. Which Hall of Fame linemate did Koroll often skate with during his Chicago years?

Stan Mikita
Bobby Orr
Guy Lafleur
Jean Ratelle

5. After retiring as a player, what role did Cliff Koroll hold with the Blackhawks?

Assistant Coach
General Manager
Team President
Play-by-Play Broadcaster

Hull and Hall Power Blackhawks Past Red Wings in 1962 Olympia Showdown

Both the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings were underachieving going into a February 1, 1962 match-up in Motown. The defending Stanley Cup champs from Chicago were one game over .500. The Wings, despite an all-star lineup that included Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Norm Ullman and Terry Sawchuk, were six games below even.

Detroit jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first period with Delvecchio assisting on the first two and scoring the third. However, Bobby Hull and the Blackhawks burst out of the gates in the second and the score was tied at four after two. Hull scored his 27^th and 28^th of the season in that second frame.

In the third, it was all Chicago. Reggie Fleming scored the game winning goal while Hull scored two more, his 29^th and 30^th of the 1961-62 campaign, for a four goal game in the 7-4 win. Bill Hay assisted on three of the four.

But, if it wasn't for goalie Glenn Hall, the game could have ended up quite different. Detroit pounded Mr. Goalie with 55 shots, with Hall turning away nearly 93%. Delvecchio led the way with eight while Warren Godfrey, Claude Laforge and Len Lunde each had six. At the other end of the ice, Terry Sawchuk faced a modest 27 shots while allowing the seven goals.

For Bobby Hull, 1961-62 was the first of five times he would reach the 50 goal plateau. At the time, just Maurice Richard and Bernie Geoffrion had accomplished the feat. That year, Bobby was a First Team All-Star while Glenn Hall made the Second Team.

Hockey Trivia Quiz: Hull and Hall vs. the Red Wings – February 1, 1962

Much more NHL hockey trivia can be found at our website: World's Best Hockey Trivia

1. Who scored four goals for the Chicago Blackhawks in this game?
   Gordie Howe
   Bobby Hull
   Reggie Fleming
2. How many shots did Glenn Hall face from the Red Wings?
   37
   45
   55
3. Which Detroit player had a goal and two assists in the first period?
   Norm Ullman
   Alex Delvecchio
   Claude Laforge
4. Who scored the game-winning goal for Chicago?
   Reggie Fleming
   Bill Hay
   Glenn Hall
5. In 1961-62, Bobby Hull reached the 50-goal plateau for the first time. Before him, how many players had done so?
   1
   2
   3