Johnny Bucyk and Bob Perreault Spark Bruins Upset Over Canadiens in 1962-63 Opener

The gap between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins couldn’t have been wider heading into the 1962-63 NHL season. Montreal had just finished atop the standings with 42 wins and 98 points in 1961-62, while Boston languished in last place with only 15 victories. On paper, the season opener looked like a mismatch. On the ice, it told a very different story.

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Highlights

• Bruins stunned Canadiens 5-0 in 1962-63 season opener

• Johnny Bucyk scored twice and added an assist

• Bucyk’s opening goal came just 4:23 into the first period

• Doug Mohns recorded 2 goals and 1 assist

• Bob Perreault made 28 saves for a shutout in his 10th NHL game

• Game played at Boston Garden on October 11, 1962

• Bruins won just 1 of their first 17 games after opener

• Boston finished season with only 14 wins despite hot start

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On October 11, 1962, at Boston Garden, the Bruins stunned the hockey world with a dominant 5-0 victory. Johnny Bucyk wasted no time setting the tone, scoring the game-winning goal just 4:23 into the first period against legendary goaltender Jacques Plante. Bucyk added another goal later in the game and chipped in an assist, finishing with a three-point performance that energized the home crowd.

Boston’s offensive push didn’t stop there. Doug Mohns delivered a standout performance of his own, recording two goals and an assist. Contributions from players like Wayne Connelly and Murray Oliver helped round out a relentless Bruins attack that overwhelmed Montreal from start to finish.

In goal, Bob Perreault authored one of the most surprising performances of the night. Appearing in just his tenth NHL game, and his first since the 1958-59 season, Perreault turned aside all 28 shots he faced to secure the shutout. Though his NHL career was brief, he built a remarkable legacy in the minors, capturing four Calder Cup championships in the AHL and another title with the San Francisco Seals in the WHL.

As memorable as the victory was, it proved to be a rare bright spot for Boston that season. The Bruins would go on to win just one of their first 17 games and finished the 1962-63 campaign with only 14 victories, one fewer than the previous year. Against Montreal, Boston managed just two wins in 14 meetings, including a narrow 2-1 triumph on Valentine’s Day, underscoring how fleeting that opening-night magic truly was.

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1966-67 Chicago Blackhawks: The One That Got Away

1966-67 is typically remembered by NHL fans as the last season of the ‘Original Six’ era, the first year of Bobby Orr and the last time the Toronto Maple Leafs would win the Stanley Cup. Chicago Blackhawks fans remember that year as a seemingly guaranteed Stanley Cup victory gone horribly wrong.

Chicago dominated the 1966-67 NHL regular season, winning 41 of 70 games and finishing seventeen points above the next competitor. The Black Hawks score 264 goals, 42 more than the Detroit Red Wings and allowed just 170, 18 less than the Montreal Canadiens.

Five of the top point-getters in the NHL that season wore a Chicago Black Hawks uniform. Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull went one-two with Mikita tying Hull’s single season record with 97 points. Ken Wharram finished fourth, Phil Esposito finished seventh and Doug Mohns came in ninth.

The well-rounded team also took the Vezina Trophy on the backs of the goaltending duo of Glenn Hall and Denis DeJordy. Three time Norris Trophy winner, Pierre Pilote, was runner-up to Harry Howell of the New York Rangers for the award for the top defenseman.

The Black Hawks took home the hardware in 1966-67. Of course, they won the Prince of Wales Trophy as the best team in the regular season. It was the first time in team history that the Hawks finished first in the NHL. Stan Mikita won the triple crown, taking home the Art Ross Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy and Lady Byng Trophy.

Four of the six players on the First All-Star Team were from Chicago. Pierre Pilote was on defense, Stan Mikita was at centre, Ken Wharram was on right wing and Bobby Hull was on the left side. Glenn Hall was the Second Team All-Star goaltender.

Yet, in spite of all this success, the Black Hawks bowed out in the opening round of the playoffs to the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games. What should have been Chicago’s fourth Stanley Cup victory, and first since 1961, instead became a Cup celebration for the third seed Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup finals in six games after Montreal took out the New York Rangers in four games in the opening round.

Chicago would make it to the Stanley Cup finals three more times, only to lose. It wasn’t until 2010 before the Blackhawks won their next Cup, their first since 1961. The Maple Leafs, after stealing the Cup from Chicago in 1967, have yet to make another appearance in the finals.