Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad as Meat Loaf belted out in 1977, around the same time the NHL was getting full bang for its buck from a best-of-three preliminary playoff series.
There is talk such a shortened set could be revived, whenever the NHL cautiously comes out of pandemic postponement to help fast-track completion of the 2019-20 schedule.
“That would be really interesting as a way to get back playing,” said former Maple Leafs captain Darryl Sittler, veteran of five such series from 1975 until the league went back to longer rounds in 1980. “You have teams that had a strong season, but by now almost everyone is healthy and would be starting at Ground Zero.
“They would be very intense series with little margin of error. Maybe there will be some asterisks at the end of the year, but unfortunately that’s the situation the league is in today.”
In ’75, three of the four preliminary rounds were deemed upsets. The Leafs were 27 points behind the Los Angeles Kings, but beat them in a coast-to-coast marathon played in just four days. The Chicago Blackhawks made it past Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito in the dynamic duo’s last year as Bruins, while the New York Islanders, debuting in post-season action, took out their bitter rivals on Broadway.
“You understood why they went to best-of-three, with more teams coming into the league,” Sittler said. “But those were high pressure series to be in. You almost had to win your first game, home or away.”
A look back to 10 memorably wild best-of-threes, with playoff seedings at the time:
1975
Toronto (12) vs. Los Angeles (4) — Leafs win 2-1
The opener in Tinseltown was trumped by TV’s Academy Awards as Toronto fans struggled to track the late-night developments.
Ron Ellis scored late to force overtime at 2-2, but future Leafs coach Mike Murphy won it in overtime. Blaine Stoughton was the hero in similar circumstances for the Leafs at the Gardens and the weary teams flew back to the West Coast to play again the next night.
“That was a four- or five-hour charter, then the game,” Sittler said of the condensed schedule.
But there was plenty of fight remaining in both teams. Bad blood from Game 2 saw Sittler in two rumbles, with Gene Carr at the opening faceoff, then Murphy, with Leafs teammate Tiger Williams joining in. In the final frame, with the Leafs up 2-0 on goals by George Ferguson and Inge Hammarstrom, L.A.’s Dave Hutchinson went after Williams in the penalty box, both wildly swinging sticks.
As a couple of fans tried to get at Williams, the camera caught Leafs scratches Eddie Shack and Brian Glennie, in colourful California garb, headed across the seats to intercede.
“Well that was the mid-70s,” said Sittler. “Every team had a tough guy and there were a lot of bench-clearing brawls.
“The fans were caught up in that emotion, too. For the players, the element of fear and courage was a big part of it. Guys hit hard and fought hard. I’m not taking anything away from the game today, but there was some serious s**t going on then. It was all for real. There was no place to hide.”
L.A.’s Don Kozak drew his team closer on the board, but Gord (The Bird) McRae hung on in net for the 2-1 win. It was Sittler’s first series win, but the Broad St. Bullies followed with a four-game sweep.
NY Islanders (8) vs. NY Rangers (7) — Isles win 2-1
“That was the series that started it all for the Islanders,” said Harry Klaff, who was The Hockey News correspondent for the team. “Up to then, the rivalry with the Rangers looked more like a mugging. The Rangers used to roll right over them.”
Then the Isles’ high draft picks, such as Denis Potvin, began to turn the tide. By the spring of ‘75, there was parity, both clubs finishing with 88 points. The Rangers had home ice advantage on more wins and took a 2-0 lead into the third period at MSG in Game 1. But Billy Harris scored on the power play, Jean Potvin (Denis’s brother) beat Ed Giacomin on a rebound and with less than seven minutes to go, big rookie Clark Gillies had the eventual winner.
“Game 2 was over before it started,” chuckled Klaff. “The Rangers were up 3-0 early, Billy Smith went in for Chico Resch and it was an 8-3 final. Which brings us to Game 3 …”
There was lots of swagger among Ranger fans after such as decisive road victory in Nassau Coliseum. But they were silenced as Gillies scored late in the first period, the Potvins teamed up on the power play and Denis added another. Giacomin got into a fight late in the second period with Isles’ pest Garry Howatt, saying later he’d done it to stir up his mates.
It worked, as Bill Fairbairn scored in the third, tipped in a Steve Vickers shot, then Vickers scored himself 14 seconds later on Smith. But woe to those in the washroom, beer line or just settling in their seats who missed the NHL’s fastest overtime goal up to then.
“Jude Drouin won the draw and Dave Lewis dumped it deep in the corner,” Klaff recited from his original game notes. “Drouin just flew down there, about a foot from the red line with a perfect pass in front to J.P. Parise. Despite Brad Park being all over him, Parise got a stick on it.”
It took all of 11 seconds.
“You know the expression ‘no cheering in the press box’? Well there was a lot at that moment,” said Klaff. “Everyone around the Rangers had been saying, ‘forget it, the Islanders don’t have a chance’.”
Their story was just beginning. On eight more occasions in the coming weeks they faced elimination, falling behind 3-0 to Pittsburgh then 3-0 to Philadelphia, finally losing Game 7 of the conference final to the Flyers. They made the playoffs a total of 14 straight seasons and won four Cups in the early ‘80s.
Chicago (11) vs. Boston (5) — Blackhawks win 2-1
“I always hated the first round,” Boston coach Don Cherry said, many years after this reversal. “You have to play the (underdog) team. They’re just happy to get in, they’re loosey, goosey. Me, I had a gun to my head.”
His Bruins could have looked at their significant advantage on Chicago in the standings and two 100-point stars in Orr and Espo. The latter had a hat trick in an 8-3, Game 1 romp. But Phil’s brother Tony atoned in net, 33 saves in Game 2, while Ivan Boldirev won it 4-3 in OT.
Then ‘Tony O’ made 54 stops in the Boston Garden clincher after his team surged to a 3-0 lead, begun by Keith Magnuson less than two minutes in, while Chicago had only 19 total shots on Gilles Gilbert. The ending marked a changing of the guard in Boston, as Orr’s worst troubles with knee surgery soon followed. Ironically, he’d finish his career in Chicago.
1976
St. Louis (8) vs. Buffalo (1) — Sabres win 2-1
The Sabres had made the ‘75 Cup final – then barely avoided getting kayoed in this first series.
Their nemesis was a goalie whose early ambition was to join the Canadian military. Ed Staniowski was instead drafted by the home province Regina Pats and played well enough to get picked by the Blues in the second round. In his rookie playoff debut, he was a 5-2 winner and would be an OT goal away from advancing to the quarterfinals.
The trailing Sabres opted for the second and third matches at home and needed the boost after Staniowski made 37 saves in Game 1., Staniowski followed that with 39 of his 54 stops in the first two periods in the Auditorium, but offensive help wasn’t there in a 3-2 loss.
“Staniowski was out of his tree the way he played,” recalled Sabres play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret. “If he’d been a Sabre, they’d have built a statue of him.
“The Aud was a great place for playoff hockey. The other thing about that series for me, Derek Sanderson scored for the Blues (the first goal of the series, in his only year with them). I knew him from my days in Niagara Falls.”
In the second of back-to-backs at the Aud, Gilbert Perreault and Red Berenson traded early goals, however, nearly 40 scoreless minutes elapsed before Don Luce beat Staniowski in the extra frame. Staniowski eventually realized his career dream and rose to lieutenant colonel, serving in Afghanistan in the 2000s, the Forces’ highest ranking former NHLer.
1977
Atlanta (6) vs. Los Angeles (3) — Kings win 2-1
This series marked the only playoff victory the Flames would enjoy in their three years of best-of-three play. Eric Vail had the Game 2 winner at the Omni, but Cliff Fletcher’s expansion team couldn’t follow that up.
To make it worse, the Kings had eliminated Atlanta by 2-1 and 1-0 scores the year before, Rogie Vachon beating fellow French Canadian goalies Dan Bouchard and Phil Myre in four out of five meetings.
The Flames, and the Thrashers in the 2000s, moved to Calgary and Winnipeg, respectively. Pat Quinn, later to follow Fletcher as a league executive and Leafs GM, played his last hockey in this series.
Toronto (5) vs. Pittsburgh (4) — Leafs win 2-1
The birth of the Blue Jays on April 7 smoke-screened a home loss that could’ve been disastrous after the Leafs’ big road win in Game 1. Ron Stackhouse, later to be a Leaf, had two goals in the 6-4 surprise at the Gardens.
The deciding game featured Lanny McDonald’s three goals at the Igloo including a big assist from Sittler, who gave up his chance for an empty netter to pass to McDonald for his hat trick.
“That night, there was a call at my house,” Sittler said. “It was Bobby Orr, who saw the game and left a message for my wife to compliment what I did for Lanny. When a player of that stature takes the trouble to phone, you never forget.”
Despite winning four road games that spring, the Leafs were eliminated a third straight time by Philly.
1978
Colorado (8) vs. Philadelphia (1) — Flyers win 2-0
From their inception in 1974 to their unlikely run to the conference final in 1988 as the New Jersey Devils, this was the only ‘Rocky Hockey’ playoff push.
Still comprised of many expansion journeymen, Denver’s first team came second in a woeful Smythe Division and drew the mighty Flyers.
Yet there were tight collars in the Spectrum when Dave Hudson scored in the third period and Game 1 went to a fourth period at 2-2. Ex-Flyer Doug Favell was beaten by Mel Bridgman on the first shift, while Favell’s 40-save game went for naught back in Denver in a 3-1 loss.
1979
Vancouver (8) vs. Philadelphia (1) — Flyers win 2-1
Wearing their new ‘Flying V’ sweaters with the curious colour palette, the Canucks were looking for their first series win on their third try – and it would’ve been a doozy of an upset.
The Flyers were still a force. Hall Of Fame goalie Bernie Parent was injured, but Vancouver tripped over 5-foot-5 replacement Robbie Moore. He came in after Wayne Stephenson lost the opener in Philly and stayed on to win the duel with Gary Bromley.
The Canucks, who’d lost six of their seven playoff games entering this set, had no answer for the Flyers’ arsenal at the end. Still, Philly had to resort to Kate Smith’s lucky God Bless America recording for Game 3 and triumphed 7-2, with seven different snipers. Kate herself improved to 52-7-2 at home.
Pittsburgh (5) vs. Buffalo (4) — Penguins win 2-1.
As a Leaf, George Ferguson had a role in twice eliminating the Penguins from a best-of-three.
This time, it was a helping hand for the Pens. Part of the trade with Randy Carlyle for Dave Burrows (Carlyle would later win the Norris Trophy in Pittsburgh) Ferguson tied the deciding game, then won it in the first minute of OT.
Denis Heron made 38 saves that evening, Jim Hamilton scored twice and future NHL head office exec Colin Campbell added a couple of points.
Toronto (6) vs. Atlanta (3) — Leafs win 2-0
Never mind the ancient rivalry with the Canadiens, the other battles with Original Six teams or conflicts with the Flyers and Isles. No other Leafs playoff game had more penalty minutes than the 109 assessed in the opener of this series or had more combined minutes with Atlanta’s 110. It’s also the 11th highest total of any NHL playoff game.
“The Flames had Willi Plett and a very tough lineup,” Sittler said.
Most of the mayhem was at the 19:09 mark of the middle period, after Walt McKechnie’s second of two gave the Leafs the one-goal lead they clung to all night at the Omni. Sittler had two goals and Dan Maloney the series winner back in Toronto, a 7-4 spanking. It was the final series that Roger Neilson won as Leafs coach and the last for the team until 1986.
“Roger readied you for every night like it was a Game 7, made you accountable.” praised Sittler. “We didn’t get far the next round against a great Montreal team, but he was the most prepared coach I ever saw.”
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
