This Day in Hockey History – November 11, 1974 – Reunited, And It Feels So Good, Or Does It?

The Boston Bruins had been playing Wayne Cashman, Phil Esposito and Ken Hodge as a line for years. In fact, during the 1970-71 season, they set NHL records for most points by a line (336) and most goals (140).

Going into their game against the Atlanta Flames on Sunday, November 11, 1974, Bruins head coach Don Cherry had split up his tremendous trio slotting Cashman onto another line to replace a player who was injured.

In a surprise turn of events, Bruins superstar Bobby Orr was actually outskated in the first period by Flames Tom Lysiak, who put the visitors on the scoreboard first, where things remained until the middle frame, when Orr got a shorthanded goal to tie things up 1:24 into the second period as the Bruins were killing a carryover holding penalty called on Carol Vadnais.

“Orr skated the length of the ice in a slow, weaving drive, drew Flames goalie Dan Bouchard down to his left, circled the net, and slid the puck under a diving Bob Leiter,” reported The Post-Standard of Syracuse the next day.

“On that shorthanded goal of his which tied up the game in the second period, he drew the goalie and both defensemen over to him and he swung around the net. Then he comes out the other side and has the whole net to shoot at and nobody near him,” Cherry described. “I’ve been in hockey for 21 years and I’ve never seen anything like him. He always does something new to amaze me.”

When the Bruins got a go-ahead goal from Don Marcotte, unassisted, less than two minutes later, it looked like things were going to go well for the home team, but the Flames weren’t going away. With 7:08 remaining in the second period Bryan Hextall knotted the game up. Lysiak notched his second of the game with 1:12 remaining in the second. And as the teams went into the locker rooms for the second intermission, the home team was trailing the Flames 3-2.

It was during the third period that Coach Cherry elected to reunite his talented trio and with them back together, scoring resumed in favor of those wearing black and gold. Just 1:07 into the final period, Lysiak was whistled for a hold and six seconds into the power play Esposito put the puck in the Flames net for his 15th goal on the season, assisted by Vadnais and Orr. Six minutes later Flames forward Tim Ecclestone, who had an assist on Hextall’s goal back in the second, was sent to the box for a tripping call. This time it would take the Bruins 47 seconds to find the twine behind Bouchard. The go-ahead goal and game-winning goal came from Cashman, assisted by Esposito and Vadnais. As the buzzer signaled the end of the game, the Buins had edged out the Flames in Boston.

“I made the move because Esposito wasn’t getting enough good shots without [Cashman],” Cherry said. “I wondered afterwards why I hadn’t thought about making that move in the first period.”

By the end of the 1974-75 regular season, Esposito had 61 goals and 66 assists in 79 games for 127 points. Cashman ended up with 11 goals and 22 assists for 33 points in 42 games. While Hodge notched 23 goals and added 43 assists for 66 points in 72 games. The line combined for 95 goals and 131 assists for 226 points.

It was less than a year later though when the hockey world was shocked, as were the players, when on November 7, 1975, Esposito and Vadnais were traded to the New York Rangers in return for Brad Park and Jean Ratelle, along with Joe Zanussi—who played for the Rangers AHL team.

“I was crushed. Trades are part of the game. You have to accept it,” said Esposito after playing his first game as a Ranger. “I was shocked and I’m sure Ratelle, Park and Vadnais were, too. But there’s no bitterness.”

Additional Sources:

• “Power Plays Key in 4-3 Bruins’ Victory,” The Brattleboro Reformer (Brattleboro, Vermont), Monday, November 11, 1974, p. 9.
• “Espo tallies two for Rangers; terms first performance fair,” The Lowell Sun (Lowell, Massachusetts), Saturday, November 8, 1975, p. 6.