Jean Beliveau poses with the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy (photo: AP)
The Forgotten Dynasty got it’s start on this day in 1965 as the Montreal Canadiens won their 13th Stanley Cup, and the first of five in a seven-year span.
The Canadiens, making their first Cup Finals appearance since their unmatched five consecutive wins in 1960, had stopped the Toronto Maple Leafs from an attempt at four straight Cups, following a seven-gam Semi-Finals matchup.
Only the Chicago Black Hawks stood in the way of the Canadiens and Lord Stanley’s Mug.
The Canadiens would win the first two games at The Forum and the Black Hawks responded with a pair of victories in Chicago Stadium. The turning point was in Game 5 where the Habs John Ferguson laid out a beating on Eric Nesterenko, as the Canadiens rolled to a 6-0 win. Chicago managed to scrape enough together to escape with a 2-1 overtime win in Game Six.
The Habs put things to an end, scoring all four goals in the first period of the deciding game. With Claude Provost shutting down Chicago sniper Bobby Hull throughout the series, it made things easier for Montreal goaltender Lorne Worsley. Playing in the first Cup Finals of his career, “Gump” made 20 saves to pick up his second shutout of the series, and became just the second netminder in NHL history to record a whitewash in the seventh game of the Finals. Teammate Charlie Hodge also picked up a shutout in the series for the Canadiens.
Leading the scoring for Montreal was Jean Beliveau, with 16 points in 13 playoff games. His eighth goal of the playoffs would prove to be the Cup winner, just 14 seconds into the the deciding game. The Canadiens’ captain would be presented with the inaugural Conn Smythe Trophy, as playoffs MVP.
“When we took to the ice for the final game against Chicago, the Forum fans were Cup-starved and showed their desire to end our four-year drought with a huge ovation that pumped us from the first drop of the puck,” said Beliveau in his autobiography. "Shortly after 10pm that night, I hoisted my first Stanley Cup as captain of the Canadiens.”
Also on this day…
1969: Rogie Vachon recorded his first career playoff shutout, and Dick Duff scored two goals and an assist to lead the Canadiens to a 4-0 playoff win against the Blues, in Game Three of the Stanley Cup Finals
1975: Ken Dryden recorded his third career playoff shutout, and Guy Lafleur scored a hat trick to lead the Canadiens to a 7-0 win over the Sabres in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Semi-Finals.
Sources:
“My Life in Hockey” Jean Beliveau, Chris Goyens, Alan Turowitz