Leafs Tie Series with Canadiens

Apr. 8, 1965 - Johnny Bower (pictured), the granddad of them all, came up with a phenomenal goaltending performance tonight, and the aging Leafs caught fire in the third period for a 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. The victory squared the best-of-seven Stanley Cup semifinal at 2-2.

The Leafs, down 2-0 before six minutes of play had elapsed, cut the Habs’ margin with the only goal of the second period and won on a pair 40 seconds apart in the sixth minute of the finale.

Veteran Red Kelly scored twice for Toronto, his second goal in an empty Montreal net in the final minute of the game. Rookie Ron Ellis and George Armstrong were the other Leaf scorers. But the game belonged to Bower, the 41-year-old netminder who appears to improve with age.

“I would rather be lucky than good,” said Toronto coach Punch Imlach when asked if Bower helped the Leafs “steal” the triumph. “But I found out sadly many times myself that there are three periods in a hockey game, and we certainly came to life at the finish. It was Bower against the Canadiens for the first two periods, then the team took over.”

Team captain Armstrong said: “Bower may be the oldest goalie in the league, but he’s got the fastest reflexes and never quits fighting. When he’s playing like that, he gives some guys a lift, but it makes you all feel more ashamed of your contribution to the game than anything.”The amazing Bower, speaking quietly amid the tumult in the Leaf dressing room, took the plaudits in stride and with exceptional modesty.

“Let’s say the Lord was with me,” he said. “I was pretty lucky on a couple of shots, but that’s the game.”

He said his biggest stop of the game was on a shot he didn’t even see. With the score 2-0 in Montreal’s favor, Claude Larose fired a shot which hit Bower’s arm and bounced over the goal.

Bower said: “That was a big stop. I can’t say I saw it because I didn’t.”

“This is a best-of-three series now, and I like that,” said Imlach. “My team’s in pretty fair shape, we practice every day, we don’t mess about, and the tougher the going gets, the better Bower will be.”Asked what he felt was the turning point tonight, Imlach said as far as he was concerned, it came “when the Canadiens drew us to play in the series.”He added: “I told the boys after the first period that the Canadiens may have gone all out and shot their bolt. It looked like I was right.”

Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s