Goodbye Gardens
Blackhawks spoil Maple Leafs' last game in MLG
Posted: Sunday February 14, 1999 01:43 AM
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Doug Gilmour and the Blackhawks were all too happy to upend Mike Johnson and the Maple Leafs in their final game at Maple Leaf Gardens. AP |
TORONTO (AP) -- On a night of tears, cheers and hockey nostalgia, the Chicago Blackhawks
finished what they started -- winning the last NHL game at historic Maple
Leaf Gardens just as they won the first 68 years ago.
Unfazed by the hoopla of a gala goodbye party, the Blackhawks dominated
for all but a few moments in the second period to break a seven-game losing
streak and subdue a celebrity-studded crowd Saturday night with a 6-2
victory over Toronto.
There was symmetry to the outcome, since it was the Blackhawks who won
the opening game in the Gardens back in November 1931, beating the Maple
Leafs 2-1.
The Blackhawks' Bob Probert had the honor of scoring the final NHL goal
at the Gardens -- only his third of the season.
"I got the puck and I'm going to put it on a plaque," said Probert. "I'll
never forget this moment."
Though the Gardens will remain a venue for minor league hockey and other
events, the Maple Leafs will have a new home as of next Saturday -- the
18,800-seat Air Canada Centre. The game with Chicago marked the NHL's
departure from the last of the arenas built in the 1920s and '30s for the
league's Original Six franchises.
Toronto coach Pat Quinn said his players were disappointed to fall short
on such a big occasion.
"They wanted to win very badly tonight," he said. "They tried very hard
-- they just weren't very smart."
The Maple Leafs, who had been under an intense media spotlight heading
into the game, seemed nervous at the start, and Chicago jumped to a quick
2-0 lead. Tony Amonte backhanded his own rebound past Curtis Joseph at 4:18
for his 28th goal, and Reid Simpson made it 2-0 at 6:41 with his first goal
of the season.
Former Maple Leafs captain Doug Gilmour stretched the Blackhawks' lead to
3-0 on a power-play goal at 3:11 of the second period before the Maple
Leafs rallied.
With a two-man advantage for Toronto, Steve Thomas knocked in a pass
across the crease from Steve Sullivan for the first Maple Leafs' goal, and
Derek King pulled Toronto within a goal at 8:15, beating a sprawling
Jocelyn Thibault from close range.
The crowd began to sound hopeful, then was stunned as Chicago put the
game away with three straight goals in the third period. Simpson scored his
second goal at 3:48, Eric Daze beat Joseph with a high slap shot at 5:19
and Probert scored at 11:05.
Fans shook off their disappointment and began a standing ovation when
longtime announcer Paul Morris said, as he had done hundreds of times
before: "Last minute of play in this period."
After the game, more than 100 former Maple Leafs players marched one by
one onto the rink for an hour-long, nationally televised ceremony bidding
farewell to the Gardens by remembering its great moments. Resounding
ovations greeted many of the former stars, including Hall of Famers Lanny
McDonald, Borje Salming, Darryl Sittler, Frank Mahovlich and Johnny Bower.
Among the alumni was Red Horner, 89, the only surviving member of the
1931 team that played the Gardens' opening game.
Horner dropped the puck for a ceremonial faceoff along with Frank "Mush"
March, now 90, who as a Blackhawk scored the first goal at the Gardens in
the opener Nov. 12, 1931.
At the close of the post-game ceremony, Horner handed a team flag to
Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin.
"Mats, take this flag to our new home, but always remember us," Horner
said.
Sundin said he had mixed feelings about moving to a new arena.
"We're very comfortable here," he said. "Now it feels like we'll have to
start all over."
The Maple Leafs completed their 68-year run at the Gardens with a record
of 1,215-768-356. They won 11 of their 13 Stanley Cups at the arena, but
none since 1967.
Before the game, Quinn reflected wistfully on the NHL's shift away from
the old hockey rinks to new, all-purpose arenas.
"We've slowly lost our shrines," he said. "As we've moved to these
monstrous buildings -- that are beautiful and great places to showcase our
game -- we've lost the old element where it was just a place for the
everyday guy to go."
Scalpers commanded $400 for the worst seats in the house, much more for
good seats.
"This is history," said Phillip DuPre, who shelled out $1,000 for a pair
of mid-level seats for himself and his 13-year-old son, Jon. "I grew up
watching the Leafs here. No price is too high for tonight."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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