This Day in Hockey History – January 25, 1964 and 1972 – Espo’s Expos

Jan 25, 2020

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Scoring goals was typical for Phil Esposito. But everyone has to start somewhere, and for Esposito, he scored his first NHL goal on January 25, 1964. On the eighth anniversary of that milestone, in 1972, he notched the game-winning goal for the East Division at the NHL All-Star Game. It was his first All-Star goal.

1964

For rookie Esposito’s fifth NHL game, his Chicago Blackhawks played at Detroit’s Olympia Stadium before a crowd of 14,226. As far as scoring, the first two periods of the game went Wings then Hawks then Wings then Hawks. Alex Delvecchio scored both for Detroit. Red Hay tied things up a minute after Delvecchio’s first, and Esposito tied the game again at 16:01 of the second period.

During a period high in penalties, 21-year-old Esposito “scored on a setup by [Reggie] Fleming.” Afterwards, Detroit’s leader, Sid Abel, said, “I was on the phone before he scored. Ron Ingram was backing up at the blue line and it gave Fleming room to maneuver to get the puck to Esposito.”

Despite Esposito’s effort, Detroit scored again. The Blackhawks managed to tie once more when Bobby Hull “pushed the puck home from only a foot away as he lay sprawled against Sawchuk.” However, then Detroit’s Bruce MacGregor found the net twice within the final six minutes, first from “flat on his back” and then “while on his knees” to win the game 5-3.

Esposito would only tally two more goals over the remainder of the season. After being traded to the Boston Bruins on May 15, 1967, his scoring shot up. Over the next seven seasons, he would earn the Art Ross Trophy five times.

1972

He also participated in ten NHL All Star Games between 1969 and 1980. The 25th such game, in 1972, was held at Bloomington, Minnesota for 15,658 fans. The West Division took the lead after Bobby Hull kicked things off. During the second period, the East Division caught up to knot the score at 2-2.

The only one to score during the third period was Phil Esposito. At just 1:09, Bobby Orr set up the play so that “Dallas Smith slipped Esposito between Keith Magnusson and Doug Mohns for the deciding goal with a perfect pass. Phil did the rest.” Esposito explained, “I pulled the puck on my backhand, and Gump moved. When he did, I just let it go and it went in off his pad.” As the Boston Globe put it, “Strange as it may seem, the points earned on the deciding goal were the first in All-Star competition for Esposito, who has played in five games, and Orr, who has played in four.”

For Esposito, the goal was just an experience. He told the press, “A win in the All Star game is nice but let me put it this way: It doesn’t mean as much to me as a regular season win for the Bruins.” As the game-winner, he was entitled to $160. The players all contributed $10 apiece for the winning goal. Orr joked, “I’m not going to give Esposito $10. Hey Phil, will you take an IOU from me.” Although Orr did pay, his teammate did not accept the money. Instead, when trainer Eddy Palchak tried to reward him, Esposito told him, “Here Eddy. Split the money up between the trainers.” Then Johnny McKenzie reminded Espo he had yet to contribute to the pot, so scoring the goal actually cost the winner $10 instead of earning him $160. He did not even receive recognition as a star of the game as Orr took the first star.

Both Orr and Esposito injured themselves in the final moments of the game. With about 3:40 to go, Orr was hurt putting himself in the way of Bobby Hull’s slap shot. He went to the dressing room but returned for the final minute. With only 55 seconds remaining, Esposito later said, “I banged my ankle off the post at the back of the net and then my skates caught in the netting.” At least they ended victorious.

Esposito had quite an improvement between his first season and that of the All-Star game-winner. In 1963-64, he played just 27 games and scored three goals and two assists. By 1971-72, he played the full 76 games and tallied 66 goals, 67 assists, and 133 points. That was the third-highest of his career and earned him the Art Ross Trophy, again.

After being traded to the New York Rangers on November 7, 1975, Esposito retired in 1981 with 717 goals, then only second to Gordie Howe. He still ranks sixth in career goals and tenth in career points (1,590).