This Day in Hockey History – December 22, 1979 – Broad Street Streak

Best known as the Broad Street Bullies for their willingness to play rough and the number of penalty minutes they amassed during the 1972-73 season; the Philadelphia Flyers also hold the record for the longest unbeaten streak in the NHL. They surpassed the previous record of 28 games, set by the Montreal Canadiens during the 1977-78 season, when they beat the Boston Bruins at Boston Garden on December 22, 1979.

“Just when it looked as if the redefined game of hockey was about to sweep past the Philadelphia Flyers—shazam, the Flyers changed with the times. In one of the most dramatic and radical changes in the history of sports, the Flyers swapped mugging for finesse, spearing for speed and brawn for brains,” wrote Al Morganti in the Fort Lauderdale News.

Such was the team that was able to enter Boston Garden on December 22nd, tied with the Canadiens for longest unbeaten streak.

“The new Flyers, a team that does its damage with its skates, not its fists, is the hottest thing on ice. They are off to the best start in the history of the National Hockey League (21-1-9) and have set a league record of 29 consecutive games without a loss. They haven’t lost a hockey game in 70 days. Their last, and only loss of the season came on Oct. 13 at Atlanta,” continued Morganti.

The new Flyers went into Boston Garden without really concentrating on the record. As with most players, they insisted that it was the two points from the game that were the most important. And the opening period saw a bit of the old Flyers, but then again they were playing the Big Bad Bruins.

Less than ten minutes into the opening frame, with Philadelphia already on the scoreboard from an unassisted goal by Bobby Clarke, things boiled over. At 7:18 Ray Bourque got five minutes for fighting while teammate John Wensink got two for roughing, five for fighting and a match penalty. On the other side Flyers Mel Bridgman got five for fighting and Paul Holmgren got five for fighting and a match penalty. One minute and twenty seconds later Boston’s Bobby Lalonde took a slashing penalty at 8:39, and while on the five-on-three the Flyers got their second goal of the game just 12 seconds in. Bill Barber notched his 17th goal of the season, a “40-footer from the middle of the ice” that got by a screened Gilles Gilbert.

The game was certainly still within reach for the Bruins. Despite going down 3-0 off a Ken Linseman shot—a “25-footer from [the] inside edge of [the] right circle low to near side,” 56 seconds into the middle frame, the Bruins finally got on the board at 3:03 of the second. Thomas Songin’s shot at close range deflected off a Philadelphia player’s stick and into the net past Phyl Myre, stick side.

Two minutes and seven seconds later, Mike Milbury notched his third of the season and put the Bruins within one with a shot from the left point that actually went off Myre’s skate and in. However, the Flyers responded 30 seconds later when defenseman Jimmy Watson took a shot from the left point that got past Gilbert who was screened at the time.

“The goal that hurt us the most was Jimmy Watson’s. We were coming on,” said Milbury. “And Watson got that goal right back.”

The Flyers got their fifth goal of the game at 10:21 of the third period for a decisive win, reaping not only the new record for longest unbeaten streak, but also the important two points from the game. This goal came off the stick of Bob Kelly from the slot.

“It doesn’t matter who scores the winning goal,” said Linseman, who had the game-winning goal. “It’s who wins. This was the hardest and best game we’ve played this season.”

The Flyers would continue their unbeaten streak for a total of 35 games (25 wins and 10 ties). The streak would come to an end when the Flyers played an away game in Bloomington, Minnesota at the Metropolitan Sports Center, home to the Minnesota North Stars. The North Stars extinguished the Flyers streak in resounding fashion on January 7, 1980 when they beat them 7-1.

At the end of the season, the Flyers were the Patrick Division champions. They carried their winning ways into the playoffs, sweeping the Edmonton Oilers in the first round. They beat the New York Rangers in five games in the second round and then knocked off the North Stars to become the Campbell Conference champions as well as guarantee themselves a spot in the Stanley Cup Final. Unfortunately, they would lose to the New York Islanders in six games on a goal that was sullied by a missed offside call during overtime.

Additional Sources:

• Al Morganti “The Broad Street Ballet,” Fort Lauderdale News (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), Sunday, December 23, 1979, p. 3C.
• “Flyer defensemen stayed cool,” The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts), Sunday, December 23, 1979, p. 38.
• Karen Guenther, “Broad Street Bullies,” The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, online.