"Beat the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1975 postseason, starting their four-year run of not winning a single postseason series. Then, beat the Hawks again in the 1980 playoffs after Chicago finally broke the spell."
For most of the 1960s, the Chicago Blackhawks (Known as the "Black Hawks" at the time), were close-but-no-cigar in the postseason. Sure, they'd won it all in 1960/61, but from there, Toronto, Detroit and Montreal seemed to have their number in the playoffs.
It had all started in 1958/59. Led by Bobby Hull and the newly acquired (From Detroit) Glenn Hall, the team finished a game below .500 (28-29-13), but made the postseason. It was a postseason of surprises in the four-team event. The Black Hawks did better than you'd might expect, by pushing the Montreal Canadians to six games. The underdog Toronto Maple Leafs somehow beat the Boston Bruins. Once in the finals, the Habs ended the Leafs' dream in five games.
The Hawks did the same in 1959/60, as they had in 58/59. They finished with a record of 28-29-13. And they faced the Habs again. Though they'd added Stan Mikita, the team wasn't ready. Montreal swept Chicago in four in the semifinals, then did the same to Toronto on the final stage.
The Black Hawks then surprised everyone the next season. Hull had 59 points. Mikita 56. The team was only four games above .500, but surprised the Canadiens in six games. The not-to-be-overlooked Detroit Red Wings put up a fight in the finals, but it was Chicago that won the Stanley Cup in six games.
The Black Hawks didn't finish in first place until 1966/67 with Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull, and Glenn Hall. The team sort of lacked the depth to compete the the heavy weights of the NHL. Toronto beat them in six games in the finals in 1961/62, plus upset them in '67 in the semis. Montreal got some revenge on Chicago in the 1965 finals, taking seven games to pull if off. They'd needed six games a round earlier to stop Toronto from advancing to the finals for the fourth straight year. There was not much to choose between the Black Hawks, Red Wings, Canadians and Leafs back then. The poor New York Rangers and Boston Bruins had it tough, alas. They were usually not part of the equation come the postseason around this time. The Big Four had just a little more.
Detroit had been an obstacle for Chicago (The Red Wings beat the Black Hawks in the 1966 semi-finals), but by 66/67, had fallen by the wayside. The Black Hawks had two pretty good goalies back then in Glenn Hall and Dennis DeJordy. But Hall was left exposed in the 1967 expansion draft. The St. Louis Blues took Hall, and went to three straight finals (1968 - 1970). Another mistake by Chicago was trading away a budding superstar in Phil Esposito during the summer of '67. The Hawks also gave up Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield. In return, the team that had finished in first place got only a seldom-used goalie in Jack Norris, an okay defenceman in Gilles Marotte, and a very good centre in Pit Martin.
It was a one-sided trade. Phil Esposito led the Bruins back to the playoffs for the first time since 1959 in 1967/68. The next season? Phil got 126 points, an NHL record at the time. Boston won Stanley Cups in 1970 and 1972. They swept Chicago in '70, then beat them in six games four seasons later.
Chicago made the playoffs in 1967/68, but the team was no longer any good. While they beat the New York Rangers in the first round (The playoffs had been extended two three stages to accommodate the six new franchises that had been awarded in '67), Montreal was there to finish 'em off in five in the semifinals. The next year, as Boston pushed Montreal to six games at that stage, Chicago wasn't even around come the postseason. They'd miss qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 1957/58. A 34-33-9 record was no longer good enough. Get this: All six teams in the Eastern Conference (Boston, New York, Toronto, Montreal, Chicago and Detroit) finished .500 of better in 68/69, but it was the Black Hawks and Red Wings (Who got an amazing 44 goals and 59 assists from 41-year old Gordie Howe that season) who were on the outside looking in when it came to the postseason. It seemed not fair that in the Western Conference, only St. Louis was above .500. So three teams below .500 in one conference made it to the playoffs that year while two teams above .500 in the stronger Eastern Conference missed it! Something needed to be done. And it would be.
Indeed, it didn't seem fair that the Blues had a bit of a free ride in the Western Conference. The other new teams (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Oakland and Minnesota) weren't very good. It could be argued, neither was St. Louis. Sure, they had Hall, Jacques Plante some other castoffs, but reality hit home when they reached the Stanley Cup Finals. They got swept there in '68, '69 and '70.
Meanwhile, Chicago was making moves. From Toronto, they got Jimmy Pappin after the 1967/68 season. Jimmy was no slouch, as he'd topped the Maple Leafs in points in the postseason the previous year. From Montreal, they purchased Tony Esposito after missing the playoffs in 1968/69. And the younger brother of Phil had shown plenty of potential in the nets in the 1968/69 season, going 5-4-4 with a 2.75 goals-against average and .919 save percentage. So it was the Black Hawks that scooped up the 26-year old in the inter-league draft in June of 1969.
Gilles Marotte was traded for Bill White during the 1969/70 season. While the new-look Chicago team started out slow, the new arrival was awesome in goal. Tony Esposito won the Calder Trophy that season for Rookie of the Year (And his 15 shutouts that season is a modern record that has still never been surpassed). Bill White and Pat Stapleton were steady on defence. And there was newfound toughness on the Hawks in rookie Keith Magnuson. This team was not only talented, but now they had character players in Bobby and his brother Dennis Hull, Mikita, Pappin, Maggie and their new amazing goalie. Their days of being a third, fourth and fifth place team were behind them. Well, for the next five seasons.
All that added up a first-place finish in the East. Detroit was pushed aside in four games in the opening playoff round, but then Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr ended any hopes of Chicago advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. They needed just four games to get rid of the team they'd won an important trade over three seasons ago. So the Black Hawks were still feeling the effects of a poor transaction.
So, the NHL added Buffalo and Vancouver for 1970/71, and that meant some shuffling. Chicago was now over in the Western Conference as Vancouver was added to the East. Were things easier for the Black Hawks? You bet. They'd had 99 points via a 45-22-9 season in 1969/70. They upped it to 107 points in '70/71. Chicago had a nice 20-point cushion on St. Louis. And the Blues would not be back in the Stanley Cup Finals again for a fourth straight season. Al Arbour had taken over the coaching duties for the Blues that season from Scotty Bowman. Come time for postseason, St. Louis lost in the first round to Minnesota in six games. Bowman would find greater success in the years to follow with Montreal. Not that Scotty didn't help Pittsburgh and Detroit in the 1990s, either. And Arbour led the New York Islanders (Who entered the NHL in 1972/73) to nineteen consecutive playoff series won from 1980 to 1984.
But for now, we are in the 1971 postseason. Could Chicago do better than last time? Philly was swept. The New York Rangers and Chicago went the distance. Thanks to Bobby Hull (Who did it all in game seven, trust me) Chicago won. Now only Montreal, who'd upset Phil Esposito and company in the first round (And the elder Esposito had 152 points that year!) waited.
Chicago won the first two games at home. Montreal then held serve their two games at home. A win back at Chicago Stadium (A 2-0 shutout by Esposito) seemed to spell the end for Montreal. But it was the Habs that eked out a 4-3 win in game six at the Montreal Forum, then stole the seventh game (3-2, despite the home team up 2-0 at one point) right there in Chicago.
A setback? For sure. However, the Black Hawks seemed set to return to the Stanley Cup Finals many more times in the 70s (And they'd be back within two seasons). And if not, some deep postseason runs at least. 1971/72 saw Chicago back in first place, again with 107 points. The postseason was a disappointment. The team skated by Pittsburgh, sweeping them. But then fell to New York, also via a sweep.
Worse still, a new rival league to the NHL formed. The World Hockey Association. They signed many-an NHL player. Bobby Hull was one such person. He'd notched his fifth, 50+ goal campaign in 1971/72, and was still in his prime (Just 33). That was a huge loss. After 1972/73, it was Pat Stapleton who departed the Black Hawks for the WHA's Chicago Cougars. Stapleton would end up playing in the Avco Cup Finals in 1973/74, one year after appearing in the final round of the NHL playoffs.
The 1972/73 Chicago Black Hawks were still good enough to finish in first place in the Western Conference. However, both Minnesota and Philadelphia made it a closer race. The Black Hawks had slipped to 93 points, while the North Stars and Flyers had 85 each. And Philly was about to acquire goalie Bernie Parent, so things were about to get tough for Chicago.
In any event, the individual and team stats for Chicago in 72/73 remained impressive. Jimmy Pappin led the team with 93 points. Right behind him with 90 apiece were Dennis Hull and Pit Martin. Stan Mikita played in only 57 games but had 83 points.
Tony Esposito had (For him) an off season that year. He'd been awesome in the famous 1972 Summit Series vs. the USSR (2-1-1, 3.25 GAA). Espo slumped to a 2.52 goals-against average just one season after posting a 1.77 GAA. But Tony still won 31 games.
The Black Hawks went into the postseason and did well. First, they needed just five games to beat the St. Louis Blues. Versus the New York Rangers in the Final Four, Chicago dropped the first contest, 4-1. New York also scored four more in the second game, but it was their opposition that won, 5-4. From there, Esposito was nothing but a nightmare for the New York Rangers: They scored exactly one goal in each of the remaining three contests! The Black Hawks won 'em, 2-1, 3-1 and 4-1, getting better every game.
The same thing appeared to happen in the finals. Montreal beat Chicago 8-3 and 4-1 at home to get this final thing underway. But then the Black Hawks got right back into the series with a 7-4 win on home ice. The Habs beat the Black Hawks 4-0, as Ken Dryden kicked 'em all away for the Canadieas in game four. The crucial road win was under Montreal's belt. However, this thing wasn't over. Tony-O allowed seven goals in game five in Montreal. Kenny Dryden did worse: He allowed eight! It was an odd final score in a contest in which both goalies from the Summit Series a year a goal looked awful ordinary.
So it was back to Chicago Stadium, as the home team had done better than you might have expected. They even took a 2-0 lead early on the visitors, and it looked like the Black Hawks might get to another game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. But the Canadians rallied, later breaking a 4-4 tie with two tallies. The Stanley Cup had just eluded Chicago, again.
And the Black Hawks didn't exactly falter the next season. You think Tony Esposito wouldn't rebound? Think again. His save percentage had been just .917 in 1972/73. The next season? .929. Plus his goals-against average dropped to just 2.04. Tony had just four shutouts in 72/73. It was back to double digits with ten in 1973/74. For my older viewers, did you catch this game of his that season vs. Boston? The goalie from Sault Ste. Marie beat his brother's team in this January 24, 1974 contest, 2-1.
The Black Hawks went 41-14-23 that season, improving from 93 to 105 points. And Tony-O had some offence to work with! Stan Mikita, still going strong at 33, led the Black Hawks with 80 points. Right behind him was Pit Martin with 77. Pappin had 73. Dennis Hull, 68. Bill White, sans his pal Stapleton, led the team with a +51.
It appeared as if Chicago was primed for another run to the finals, which would make it it three in four years. But while Ken Dryden was a holdout for Montreal, Esposito's quest for another Vezina Trophy wasn't so easy. Remember when I told you Philadelphia had gotten Bernie Parent? Well, Parent was great in 1973/74: 47 wins!
That wasn't the only thing. Bernie topped the NHL with a .932 save percentage, a 1.89 goals-against average, and even twelve shutouts. He'd topped Tony in a variety of important stats. Still, because the Vezina trophy went to the netminders on the team that allowed the fewest goals back then, the Chicago goalie was not to be discounted. Both the Flyers and Black Hawks allowed just 164 goals in 73/74, so there was a split among the two greats in the twine. It marked the only time two goalies on different teams shared the hardware.
Chicago may have tied Philly there, but not in the standings. First place had been Chicago's, regardless of what division they were in, since 1969/70. Well, not in 1973/74. The Flyers took over, largely because of their new keeper. Philly went 50-16-12 to snatch first place (With 112 points) from Chicago (The Black Hawks finished just seven points back of Flyers).
So when the the playoffs started, Chicago beat Los Angeles, four games to one. Philadelphia did even better that round. They swept Atlanta.
And the semifinals promised to be entertaining. Philadelphia and the New York Rangers were destined to go seven. Chicago gave Boston all they could handle by taking game one, right there in the Garden, 4-2. An offence-oriented second game saw the Bruins beat the Hawks, 8-6. Boston seemed destined to win the first game in Chicago when they led 3-1 into the final frame. But it was the home team that rallied (Keith Magnuson taking on Boston's Terry O'Reilly in a one-sided fight the Chicago defenceman clearly lost), tying the game with the goalie out. Pappin played hero in extra time, taking a Bill White slap-pass from the point.
Alas, this was essentially the Black Hawks last gasp. Boston won the next two games, quite handily. Game six saw the Black Hawks, at home, trying to send it to seven. Tied 2-2 late in the third, Greg Sheppard put the visiting Boston Bruins ahead for good with a tally with just 99 seconds left. An empty net goal by Sheppard 33 seconds later ended any doubt.
And, really, this was the last year in the 1970s that Chicago contented. The next season saw Chicago slip back to just 37-35-8. Coach Billy Reay was doing all he could to keep the team competitive. They managed to upset the Boston Bruins in the first round (With the postseason now being an extra length), two games to one. But up next were the Buffalo Sabres. With their "French Connection" line of Rene Robert, Richard Martin, and the awesome Gilbert Perreault, this Sabres had too much for a so-so Black Hawks. Buffalo had finished the season with forty-nine wins and 113 points.
It wasn't that bad, but Buffalo won the series in just five games. Most of the contests themselves were close, as games two and five were won only 3-1 by the Sabres. The only Hawks' win was the third contest, in overtime.
Buffalo didn't stop there. They overcame Montreal in six games to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. They gave Philadelphia and Bernie Parent all he could handle, pushing it to six games. But Parent allowed just one goal in a 5-1 game five win, then shutout the Sabres 2-0 the next contest to clinch it. Parent won his second consecutive Conn Smythe Award.
Chicago continued to make the postseason, but were overwhelmed from here until 1980.
Montreal swept 'em in 1976. It was during the sweep at the hands of the Habs that Bill White suffered an injury to his neck that forced him to retire.
The team won only 26 games in 1976/77. They'd added the great Bobby Orr to their defence core, but the Parry Sound native was only able to play twenty games. And that wasn't the only problem. Bill Reay was not longer behind the Chicago bench as the team skated out for their 35th game of the season in 76/77. After sitting out all of 1977/78, Orr hung 'em up after suiting up for just six more contests in 1978/79.
The New York Islanders with Dennis Potvin and Bryan Trottier, made short with of the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1977 playoffs, beating them 2-0. The Black Hawks jumped over .500 the next season, but the Bruins got revenge for 1975, beating 'em 4-0 in the first round. It was essentially the same result the next year, but the team got worse: They won just 29 games before being bounced in four games by the New York Islanders (Who'd added the great right-winger Mike Bossy for the 77/78 season).
So finally, the new decade arrived. It couldn't have come soon enough for the organization. Chicago opened the 1979/80 season with a win over the expansion Edmonton Oilers, despite the presence of kids: Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Kevin Lowe!
The 4-2 win got the team on track, sort of. From there, the team added 33 more wins against 27 losses. It might not seem like much, but 87 points was good enough for first place in the Smythe Division. Alas, the team had lost the great Stan Mikita to retirement that season, and Dennis Savard was still not there. So the team really didn't have that one dominating centre, although Terry Ruskowski and Tom Lysiak tried. Grant Mulvey led the team with 39 goals. Ruskowski totaled 79 points for team lead.
The loss off Mikita and Orr was certainly a blow to Chicago. Also saying goodbye was Mr. Tough Guy. Keith Magnuson retired just three games into the 79/80 season. The Hawks had drafted a great in Doug Wilson, who'd score 39 goals in the 1981/82 season. In 1979/80, Wilson record a dozen goals and added 49 assists from the blueline. He was a star on the rise that season.
Mikita lasted until November 30th of 1979 (A game against the Vancouver Canucks), as his back gave out. In the previous game, on the 28th vs. the Edmonton Oilers, both he and the Gretzky kid went off for slashing in the first period. It was the beginning of one great career (#99 got two assists in the Oilers 4-2 win over Mikita's Black Hawks) and essentially the end of another. Stan had his last great game (1 G, 2 A, +3) vs. St. Louis on the 25 of November. The team ended the month with a season record of 8-8-7. Not bad. Tony Esposito had a great game in Stan Mikita's farewell: He stopped 41 of 42 shots in a 1-1 tie with Vancouver!
Mikita's departure was felt immediately as the Hawks were on the wrong side of the Kings' 7-0 win over them on December 1st. But the team recovered, and reached a season-high nine games over .500 (30-21-17) with a 6-6 tie with the Philadelphia Flyers on March 12, 1980. It was Philadelphia that had it all going their way that season. Between October 14th 1979 and March 1st of 1980, Philly's record was 40-4-15, including a 25-0-10 stretch from that October date until January 6th. So the Black Hawks had tied a pretty good team. A bit of a slump saw Chicago finish 4-6-2 in their last dozen contests, but no matter. A first place finish isn't to be complained about.
So the postseason started, and it was Chicago vs. St. Louis. The Blues had finished exactly .500 (34-34-12) and had Bernie Federko (94 points), Mike Zuke (64 points) and Wayne Babych (61 points in just 59 games). In goal, the underrated Mike Liut won 31 games and had a 3.18 goals-against average.
And they looked like they'd push Chicago to a long series (Best of five). The first contest, right there at the Stadium, Babych tied the game for the Blues just 32 seconds after Ted Bulley's goal at 14:10 of the third gave the Black Hawks a 2-1 lead. But Doug Lecuyer's goal at 12:34 of the first overtime gave Chicago their first playoff contest victory in five years. It must have seemed like forever. More importantly, the win seemed to take the wind out of the Blues' sails. The next two contests went to the Chicago Black Hawks, 5-1 and 4-1.
So, it was a new-look Buffalo Sabres team waiting for Chicago in the second round (The quarter-finals). Buffalo had a new coach that season, Scotty Bowman. Bowman was fresh off guiding Montreal to four Stanley Cups in the late 1970s. However, he grew frustrated with the Canadians' management, thinking he should have been picked for the new general management spot. When this didn't happen, Scotty left after another Stanley Cup in 1979. The Sabres still had Gilber Perreault, but had added Danny Gare, too. Rick Martin was still around, and he got 79 points. But Gilly? 106 point. Outstanding. Gare had 89 himself. Rene Robert, the other member of the "French Connection Line" had been traded in October of 1979 for defenceman John Van Boxmeer. Van Boxmeer had eleven goals, 51 points and a +40 rating that season. This was a team that was good at both ends of the ice. And in goal, Don Edwards and Bob Sauve could stop everything you threw at them. Yes, including the kitchen sink.
Edwards had a 2.57 goals-against average. You'd think that would have led Buffalo. But no. It was Sauve's 2.36 GAA which topped the Sabres. And Sauve complimented Edwards perfectly: Bob won 20 games and Don won 27!
Perreault and company were just a little too much for the Black Hawks in the 1980 quarter-finals. It was a Buffalo sweep of Chicago. The games themselves, with the exception of the Sabres' 5-0 pasting in game one (Edwards got the shutout) were close. The Hawks narrowly lost game 2, 6-4. The third and fourth contest, played at the Stadium, went to the visitors, 2-1 and 3-2.
The Black Hawks could take solace in that they'd finally gotten back to their winning ways in both the regular season and postseason. They didn't quite reach the Stanley Cup Finals in the 1980s, but reached the semi-finals in 1982, 1983, 1985 and again in 1989 with Dennis Savard carrying the team.
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