Bernie Parent: Backbone of the Flyers Historic 1973-74 Season Starts It Off With A Pair Of Shutouts

When hockey fans discuss the legendary 1973-74 Philadelphia Flyers, the conversation often centers around their hard-hitting identity and the infamous "Broad Street Bullies" style that defined the era. But while their physicality set the tone, the foundation of the Flyers' Stanley Cup championship was built in net, thanks to elite goaltending by Bernie Parent.

A Dominant Start to a Legendary Season

Parent kicked off his record-setting campaign with back-to-back shutouts to open the season. On October 11, 1973, the Flyers hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Spectrum. In a game that saw early fireworks, including a first-period fight between Dave Schultz and Borje Salming, Philadelphia came out on top with a 2-0 victory. Goals from Terry Crisp and Bill Barber sealed the win, while Parent stopped all 28 shots he faced. Across the ice, former Flyers goalie Doug Favell made 22 saves on 24 shots for Toronto.

Just two nights later, the Flyers visited Long Island to face the New York Islanders. Parent was once again perfect, turning aside all 23 shots in a 6-0 rout. Bill Flett scored the game-winning goal just 1:49 into the first period. Philadelphia showcased their penalty-killing strength with two shorthanded goals, one from Flett and another by Barber, assisted by Bobby Clarke. Don Saleski led the offensive charge with two goals and an assist.

Vezina-Worthy Performance

By Christmas, Bernie Parent had already recorded seven of his league-leading 12 shutouts. He appeared in 73 of the Flyers' 78 regular-season games, finishing with a remarkable 1.89 goals-against average. His performance earned him the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender and a second-place finish in Hart Trophy voting, just behind Boston’s Phil Esposito.

Postseason Heroics and the Conn Smythe Trophy

Parent continued his dominance into the 1974 NHL playoffs, adding two more shutouts and posting a 2.02 GAA. His stellar play backstopped the Flyers to their first-ever Stanley Cup championship. For his efforts, Bernie Parent was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the postseason.

About Bernie Parent

Brought up in the Boston Bruins system, Bernie Parent played 608 regular season and 71 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1965-66 and 1978-79 with the Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He also appeared in 63 regular season games and one more in the post season with the Philadelphia Blazers of the WHA in 1972-73.

A Hockey Hall of Fame member since 1984, Parent had his jersey number 1 retired by the Flyers in 1979. Berie won the Conn Smythe Trophy and Vezina Trophy in both 1973-74 and 1974-75 while leading Philadelphia to consecutive Stanley Cup championships. In both those years, he recorded 12 shutouts and was named an NHL First Team All-Star. He finished his career with 55 regular season and six playoff shutouts.

Ron Francis Torches His Cousin Mike Liut in Their First NHL Matchup

Ron Francis began the 1981-82 season playing junior hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. Just 25 games in, he was called up to the NHL by the Hartford Whalers and quickly made an impact, producing better than a point per game over 59 contests that season. In just his 11th game with Hartford, Francis faced off against the St. Louis Blues and his second cousin, goaltender Mike Liut, for the first time in the NHL.

The matchup took place on December 9,1981, at the Hartford Civic Center, and it was a rough night for Liut and the Blues. Francis assisted on a Blaine Stoughton goal at 8:02 of the second period, which would stand as the game-winner in a dominant 5-1 victory. Later that period, Francis added two power-play goals of his own to stretch the Whalers' lead to 4-0.

He capped off his four-point night with another assist on Stoughton's second goal of the game and 20th of the season at 15:53 of the third period. Liut made 35 saves on 40 shots, including six from Stoughton and four from Francis himself. At the other end, GregMillen stopped 33 of 34 shots to earn the win for Hartford.

The cousins would eventually become teammates. On February 21, 1985, the Whalers acquired Liut and Jorgen Pettersson from St. Louis in exchange for Millen and Mark Johnson. Liut remained in Hartford until late in the 1989-90 season, when he was dealt to the Washington Capitals for Yvon Corriveau. Francis stayed with the Whalers until near the end of the 1990-91 season, when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

NHL Hockey Card Greats: Mike Liut [Video]

Mike Walton Awarded Penalty Shots In Consecutive Games (1967-68)

Mike Walton took three penalty shots over his NHL career, scoring on one. Two of those penalty shots occurred a day apart. The first, against the Detroit Red Wings, was unique in it's own way.

Mike Walton Penalty Shot 1 (vs. Detroit Red Wings)

On March 9, 1968 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, the home team held a slim 6-5 lead with 3:20 left in the game. That's when Walton was give the penalty shot. In an interesting move, Detroit pulled starting goaltender Roy Edwards and replaced him with Roger Crozier, just for Walton's attempt.

Shakey scored on the cold Crozier for his 27th of the 1967-68 NHL season to make the score 7-5 for the Maple Leafs. Edwards came back in to the game and Crozier's official line was zero saves on one shot with no actual game time.

For Mike, it was the only one of seven shots on net that night resulting in a goal. He led all skaters in that category with Toronto putting a total of 38 shots on Edwards in the game. Walton also added an assist on a Ron Ellis goal earlier in the period for a two point night. Ron's goal was part of some rapid fire offense by both teams that saw five goals scored over a span of 4:12.

Mike Walton Penalty Shot 2 (vs. Chicago Blackhawks)

The next night, March 10, the Maple Leafs were at Chicago Stadium to play the Blackhawks. At 2:49 of the second period, Walton was hauled down by Doug Jarrett on a breakaway and again was awarded a penalty shot.

This time, Shakey was thwarted in the attempt, stopped by Chicago goalie Jack Norris. It was one of 27 shots Norris stopped in the game, earning a 4-0 shutout. 

Despite causing the penalty shot, Doug Jarrett played a prominent role in the win for the Blackhawks. He led all skaters with seven shots and had a three point game with a goal and two assists. His first assist was on a Ken Wharram goal at 17:21 of the first period, the goal that turned out to be the game winner. 

After the Maple Leafs pulled Johnny Bower late in the game and Chicago's Pit Martin scored into the empty net to make the score 3-0, Jarrett popped one past Bower for his third of the season with just nine seconds left. That goal was assisted by Doug Mohns and Stan Mikita.

Mike Walton Penalty Shot 3 (vs. New York Islanders)

Walton had one more penalty shot during his NHL career, over a decade after the missed attempt in Chicago. Interestingly, by this time he was playing for the Blackhawks. On April 20, 1979 in game three of a quarter-final series between Chicago and the New York Islanders, Dave Lewis was assessed the penalty for covering the puck in the crease. Walton was chosen to take the shot.

This time, it was Glenn Resch who shut the door. In fact, Resch shut the door on the whole Blackhawks team in a 4-0 shutout win to put the Islanders up 3-0 in the series. Denis Potvin led the Isles offensively with three points on a goal and two assists while Ed Westfall had a pair of helpers.