This Day in Hockey History – October 18, 1977 – Whole Lotta Nothing

In 60 minutes and 69 shots, not a single goal was scored between the Los Angeles Kings and New York Islanders on October 18, 1977, when Nassau Coliseum played host to 12,254 hockey fans. Both Rogie Vachon and Glenn Resch earned shutouts, and the Islanders franchise experienced their first 0-0 tie.

Vachon began his NHL career in 1966, and while with the Montreal Canadiens, they won the Stanley Cup championships in 1968 and 1969. After the first, Vachon received the Vezina Trophy. On November 4, 1971, Montreal traded him to Los Angeles in return for fellow-goalie Denis DeJordy (among others). With the Kings, Vachon almost always had above a .900 save percentage.

At the age of 32, Vachon had one of his best games, making 41 saves. This was his second shutout of the season, 30th with the Kings, and 43rd shutout of his career. “It’s hard to explain those kinds of games,” he said. “Mentally, I could see all the shots coming. I felt great during the warmups and then they put pressure on me right away. Maybe it was a good thing. It woke me up. They send down the puck and then throw two guys at you.” According to NY Daily News, “He kicked, dove, blocked, twisted and brought off all manner of super acrobatics.” Vachon noted, “Usually you get some rest but they kept coming and coming for 60 minutes.”

After killing off a four-minute penalty midway through the third period, the New Yorkers actually gave Vachon a standing ovation. “For a minute, I didn’t know what was happening. It felt wonderful. I couldn’t believe it.” His coach, Ron Stewert, praised, “In all my years in the NHL I have never seen a better example of goaltending. And if I live to be 100, I don’t think I ever will.”

Before the start of the next season, Vachon signed with Detroit, who traded him to Boston in mid-1980. After playing his final NHL season in 1981-82, Vachon occasionally coached games for the Kings. His career total for shutouts came to 51. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016.

On the other end of the rink, Resch had less to keep him busy. He had begun his NHL career with the Islanders after he was traded with DeJordy (and others) from Montreal on June 6, 1972. He, too, consistently had a save percentage over .900. Considering his team fared better overall in the 1970s, Resch’s save percentage and goals against average were better than Vachon’s.

That night, he made 28 saves for his 15th career shutout. Still, his attention seemed instead on his counterpart. Resch remarked, “I had a lot of chances to stand and watch the way Rogie positions himself in the net and moves around. This game was pretty much the best I ever saw him play.” He continued, “It began to look as though we just weren’t going to score. And I sensed that Rogie had the feeling that nothing was going to get by him.” Resch’s coach, Al Arbour, agreed saying, “We’ve got a long way to go. When Rogie gets hot he gets hot … But we just weren’t jumping on rebounds, and some of our players were handling the puck like it was a hot potato.”

Resch remained with the Islanders, winning the Stanley Cup in 1980. In March 1981, they traded him to Colorado, and he moved with that franchise to New Jersey in 1982. That was the year Resch won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The Devils traded him to Philadelphia in March 1986, and the next season was his last. He ended his career with 26 shutouts, all but one of which were with the Islanders.

At that early stage in the 1977-78 season, Los Angeles had the only undefeated team in the NHL (if preseason counted) while the Islanders sat in the Patrick Division cellar. By the end, the Islanders ranked third (with 111 points) and the Kings tenth (with 77 points) in the NHL. Neither made it very far in the playoffs.

Additional Sources:

• https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/lak-vs-nyi/1977/10/18/1977020024#game=1977020024,game_state=final
• Sheila Moran, “Vachon Stops 41 Shots in Tie,” Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 1977, section 3, p. 2.
• Gene Ward, “Vachon’s 41 Saves Help Kings Tie Isles 0-0,” New York Daily News, 19 Oct. 1977, p. 93.