This Day in Hockey History – February 19, 1955 – Five and Five in ‘55

Feb 19, 2020

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One February 19th was all about the number 5. The year was 1955, and No. 5 Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion scored five goals while defenseman Doug Harvey had five assists. This would be the only time between the years 1947 and 1961 that anyone scored five goals in one NHL game.

The game was a rematch opportunity. The Montreal Canadiens hosted the New York Rangers at the Forum for a crowd of 14,990, the “largest of the season.” Six days earlier, the Rangers had hosted at Madison Square Garden, where they beat the Canadiens 4-1, and this had temporarily knocked them out of first place in the rankings. Otherwise, the Rangers were dwelling near the bottom of the barrel and shouldn’t pose a problem. However, the Montreal Gazette worried that “tonight’s game at the Forum could be the spot for an upset” because the Canadiens had a tendency to let down after a big win (having just defeated Detroit 4-2) and might be distracted by a tribute night planned for Kenny “Big Moe” Mosdell.

With a final score of 10-2, the worry seemed completely unfounded. The major factor in the crushing victory, besides Geoffrion’s individual performance, was the Canadiens’ powerful power play. Five of the ten tallies were power-play goals. Of the fourteen penalties Referee Scotty Morrison called, eight of them penalized the Rangers. As the Gazette pointed out, “and they hurt, as the Blueshirts just couldn’t cope with Canadiens’ power play.”

To be fair, no one could cope. The Candiens had a reputation for taking the fullest advantage during penalties because at that time, the guilty parties had to sit the full two minutes regardless of how many times the other team scored. In fact, their power-play success during a game held that November 5th was cited as one reason the NHL governors voted on June 6, 1956 to change the rules. In what came to be called “The Canadiens Rule” (Rule 26c), the guilty party would be released as soon as the opponent scored.

As to Geoffrion, perhaps the most famous No. 5 and known for his slap shot, he had four of the five power-play goals. Just over two minutes into the first period, Bert Olmstead then Geoffrion made the best of Bill Eznicki’s penalty for interference. Scoring again at the top of the second period, Geoffrion had his only goal while everyone was at full strength. In the final minute of that session, he earned his hat trick “on a screened shot” while Louie “the Leaper” Fontinato sat out for charging. The third period had barely begun when Geoffrion scored back-to-back goals thanks to Ivan Irwin’s tripping penalty carried over from late in the second. Geoffrion had snared the net at :41 and at (remarkably) :55.

The five goals matched his teammate Maurice Richard’s achievement from December 28, 1944 (when hosting Detroit at the Forum). Apparently, when speaking with the press in the locker room afterwards, Geoffrion “said he thought he got his stick on the goal credited to Tom Johnson” at 14:05 of the third period. However, the record for most goals in a game was seven, as set by Joe Malone in 1920, anyway. Still, the assist gave Geoffrion the point he needed (61) to pull ahead of Richard in the scoring race.

Meanwhile, Geoffrion’s teammates racked up the assists. Harvey had two in the first period and then assisted Geoffrion on three of his goals. The five assists brought his point total to 39, just one shy of Babe Pratt’s record for most points by a defenseman (set in 1943-44). Harvey would have 30 or more assists during seven seasons, even when he never scored more than nine goals in any of them. He later said, “I’m not throwing any pucks away. I’m trying to do what’s best for the team. That’s why I take my time and make the play.” Geoffrion simply said of Harvey, “He changed the whole game.”

Meanwhile, Jean Beliveau earned four assists, and Richard was credited for three. Beliveau’s gave him 66 points, which put him in the lead. The guest of honor, Mosdell, “couldn’t collect a single point. But he collected everything else.” His wife and two children joined him at center ice for presentations. Elmer Lach handed him the keys to an Oldsmobile ’98 (which had been driven on the ice), and his son received a collie puppy. Capt. Butch Bouchard made the key speech saying, “Kenny is a great worker, he gives us his best, and we appreciate him very much.” Mosdell commented, “I hope I’m with the Canadiens another 11 years.”

At the end of the 1954-55 season, Geoffrion won his first scoring title. Montreal fans blamed Richard’s suspension (which resulted in the “Richard Riot”) for the fact that Boom Boom beat the Rocket by a single point. They heckled him not to score while Richard was away, but the Canadiens needed to win the last two games to take first place. As Geoffrion remembered it, Harvey told him, “Listen, we came to win first place. You’ve got to score goals to help us win.” To which, Geoffrion responded, “You put the puck on my stick and if I have a chance to score, I don’t care who I have to surpass. I get paid to play and score goals.” His subsequent goal and two assists gave him the Art Ross Trophy.

Many of these Canadiens were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame around the same time. When Geoffrion and Beliveau were installed in 1972, fans were furious that Harvey had been left out. Thus, by the time the Hall rectified the situation the following year, Harvey declined to attend the ceremony (but was inducted anyway).

The Canadiens finally retired Geoffrion’s No. 5 on March 11, 2006, mere hours after he passed away from stomach cancer. His wife Marlene attended and watched his number go up next to that of her father, Howie Morenz. The team had already retired Harvey’s No. 2 back in 1985.