From the archives: Flyers win second Cup
This was published in the Daily News on May 28, 1975, the day after the Flyers won their second Stanley Cup.
This was published in the Daily News on May 28, 1975, the day after the Flyers won their second Stanley Cup. It was retrieved from microfilm through Newspapers.com.
BUFFALO – A team of goons. Nothing but hooligans who should be locked up. That’s how critics have downgraded the Flyers.
Last year’s Stanley Cup triumph? Ahh, the skeptics scoffed, the Flyers were lucky. Boston was overconfident and didn’t wake up until it was too late.
Well, the Flyers have now won consecutive Stanley Cups, the first NHL team since the 1968-69 Montreal Canadiens to retain the Cup. The Flyers are the first Philadelphia team since the 1948-49 Eagles to win back-to-back championships.
Nowhere in the madness of the Flyers dressing room last night were any players shouting “that ought to shutup the critics.” But the Flyers clearly felt vindicated.
“We didn’t goon it up the whole playoffs,” said Ross Lonsberry after the Flyers had appropriately capped the longest NHL season (ever) with a superbly played 2-0 conquest of the persistent Buffalo Sabres.
Seated in one of the few quiet corners of the closet-sized dressing room, Lonsberry said, “We just played hockey. You have nothing to prove to anybody as long as you win.”
Gary Dornhoefer, who realized his dream of staying healthy to help win the Cup, disagreed slightly with his linemate.
“There was a lot of noise last year, saying our win was a fluke,” the battered but proud original Flyer said. “We had something to prove. I’m glad we won it here so people couldn’t say we could only win at home.”
Bill Clement, whose first playoff point was the Flyers’ insurance goal last night, said, “As far as I’m concerned we didn’t have anything to prove. We finished with the best [regular season] record in the league and showed we’re the best by winning in six games on the opposition’s ice.”
Ted Harris was a newcomer to the Flyers this season. The veteran defenseman, who announced his retirement amid the champagne-beer aroma of his fifth Stanley Cup winner, sensed early in the season he had joined a team on a mission.
“A lot of people figured there was no way hey should have won last year,” Harris said. “All we heard was we’ll never repeat. We went out to prove people wrong. Why, even NBC’s experts predicted we wouldn’t beat Buffalo.”
NBC’s Tim-Ted-and-Brian braintrust might have conceded another magnificent goaltending performance by Bernard Marcel Parent was possible, but seeing vital goals by Bob (Hound) Kelly and Clement must have snarled their instant replay tapes.
The timing of Kelly’s second goal in two games stunned even Bobby Clarke.
“I wouldn’t have bet my house that we’d have scored on the first shift of the third period,” said a smiling Clarke. “We hadn’t had that many good chances. But the Hound made a helluva play. All of a sudden, he turned the game around.”
Kelly does everything suddenly. When he skates, to use the term loosely, his legs are several choppy strides ahead of the rest of his body. He also has an unintentional but delightful entertainer’s flair, as his crawl back to the blue line in Sunday’s Spectrum victory proved again.
The Spectrum faithful howled in appreciation of Kelly’s act then and they would have loved his goal last night. Just seconds after the third-period faceoff in the scoreless duel, Kelly popped out of a scramble behind Buffalo goalie Roger Crozier, paused, then slid a backhander into the far goal-cage corner.
“[Jerry] Korab had flattened me against the boards,” Kelly said. “Then Clarkie tied him up and the puck came out to me. I came out front and nobody was there. I just tried to keep my body between Crozier and the puck and just stuffed it.”
The Flyers failed on early consecutive power plays, then Crozier made three super saves to keep Buffalo’s hopes alive. Shortly after Parent made his last big save, stopping Don Luce from the right side, Clement paired with Orest Kindrachuk for the clincher.
Despite the ominous presence of Korab, Kindrachuk passed the puck to Clement, who beat Crozier from the slot with 2:47 remaining. While the Flyers celebrated, Kindrachuk lay writhing on the ice, courtesy of a Korab crunch.
“I felt like I went through the boards,” Kindrachuk said.
“You’ve got to admire ‘O,’ “said Dornhoefer. “He put himself on the block to make that play. He knew he was going to get creamed, but you have to take a check to win.”
“There was no way we wanted a seventh game,” Kindrachuk said. “Anything can happen then. That goal gave us breathing room.”
When Bobby Clarke was asked to sum up the decisive game, he said, “Bernie, again.” Kindrachuk’s explanation was just as accurate.
“If this isn’t a 150 percent team, then I haven’t seen one.”