became evident who the real leader on the team was, and that was Esposito.
Phil Esposito in 1972 was, in my mind, the best forward in all of hockey. He was at his best when he was in the slot and so dangerous from in close. He was like a bag of cement out there – you couldn’t move him. He had such a great shot, a great release, and every time he was in position and fired the puck, the goalie he was facing had to make a great stop or that puck was going in the net.
Phil was notorious for not working very hard to get into shape – he’ll be the first to admit that – but despite that he really had such incredible stamina. I felt I was in a lot better shape than he was, but he could stay out there on a shift way longer than I could, he just had such great stamina and drive. He really was quite a workhorse.
He was a great, great player, but he would have been really scary if he had been in top shape. If I had lived the lifestyle he did, well, I wouldn’t have been able to take it! But Phil was larger than life. What really stood out about him on the ice was his presence, he just had a commanding presence, and he could do everything you asked him to do out on the ice. On a good night, he was just about unstoppable, and there were a lot of those nights in his career.
He wasn’t a dirty player by any means, but he played hard. He’s a big, lovable guy too, and anybody who knows Phil likes him. He really is a terrific guy to be around. There’s no way we could have won the 1972 series without him in the lineup. He led us on and off the ice in that series.
Harry Sinden remained the calming influence, even after the loss in the fifth game. He reminded us again of his mantra – “One game at a time, guys; one game at a time” – and that all we had to worry about was winning game six. The other games in the series would look after themselves – and that was reassuring to us.
Yes, we were down 1–3–1 now in the series and faced the daunting prospect of having to win three straight games on enemy ice to win the series, but we still had a sense of confidence, believe it or not. We were getting into shape, and we were becoming a very strong and stable hockey club. We went into game six confident that we could outplay them again and that we could win the next game.
For game six, Ken Dryden took over in goal from Tony Esposito. Rod Seiling and Frank Mahovlich sat out, and Red Berenson, Serge Savard, and Dennis Hull were inserted into the lineup. We had a game plan now; it was just a matter of executing it. And we were still loose, hard as it may be to believe. I remember kidding Dennis Hull – who was being brought back into the lineup – on the bus on the way to the rink, saying, “Come on, Moses, time to lead us out of the wilderness.” And you know, Dennis played very well for us and really made a positive impact playing with Jean Ratelle and Rod Gilbert.
It wasn’t a spectacular win in game six, but it was still a victory. Hull played Moses to the hilt by scoring the first goal, and Yvan Cournoyer and I also had goals as we heldon for a 3–2 win. That was the score after two periods, and that’s the way it stayed, as we outshot the Russians 17–7 in the final twenty minutes and Dryden had what was probably his best game of the series.
We were right back in the series and we knew it. So did the Russians. And leave it to Harry to again proclaim, “Just worry about game seven now, and we’ll tackle game eight when we get there.” His philosophy was working, we were taking one game at a time and not worrying about the game after.
Securing the win in game six was great, of course. My confidence was already sky-high as a result of the way things had gone in Canada during the series, and our line was playing well. We were all contributing, our whole team was rounding into form, and we had a sense we would prevail and win the series.
One of the great things about the 1972 Summit Series was that we became
Phil Esposito in 1972 was, in my mind, the best forward in all of hockey. He was at his best when he was in the slot and so dangerous from in close. He was like a bag of cement out there – you couldn’t move him. He had such a great shot, a great release, and every time he was in position and fired the puck, the goalie he was facing had to make a great stop or that puck was going in the net.
Phil was notorious for not working very hard to get into shape – he’ll be the first to admit that – but despite that he really had such incredible stamina. I felt I was in a lot better shape than he was, but he could stay out there on a shift way longer than I could, he just had such great stamina and drive. He really was quite a workhorse.
He was a great, great player, but he would have been really scary if he had been in top shape. If I had lived the lifestyle he did, well, I wouldn’t have been able to take it! But Phil was larger than life. What really stood out about him on the ice was his presence, he just had a commanding presence, and he could do everything you asked him to do out on the ice. On a good night, he was just about unstoppable, and there were a lot of those nights in his career.
He wasn’t a dirty player by any means, but he played hard. He’s a big, lovable guy too, and anybody who knows Phil likes him. He really is a terrific guy to be around. There’s no way we could have won the 1972 series without him in the lineup. He led us on and off the ice in that series.
Harry Sinden remained the calming influence, even after the loss in the fifth game. He reminded us again of his mantra – “One game at a time, guys; one game at a time” – and that all we had to worry about was winning game six. The other games in the series would look after themselves – and that was reassuring to us.
Yes, we were down 1–3–1 now in the series and faced the daunting prospect of having to win three straight games on enemy ice to win the series, but we still had a sense of confidence, believe it or not. We were getting into shape, and we were becoming a very strong and stable hockey club. We went into game six confident that we could outplay them again and that we could win the next game.
For game six, Ken Dryden took over in goal from Tony Esposito. Rod Seiling and Frank Mahovlich sat out, and Red Berenson, Serge Savard, and Dennis Hull were inserted into the lineup. We had a game plan now; it was just a matter of executing it. And we were still loose, hard as it may be to believe. I remember kidding Dennis Hull – who was being brought back into the lineup – on the bus on the way to the rink, saying, “Come on, Moses, time to lead us out of the wilderness.” And you know, Dennis played very well for us and really made a positive impact playing with Jean Ratelle and Rod Gilbert.
It wasn’t a spectacular win in game six, but it was still a victory. Hull played Moses to the hilt by scoring the first goal, and Yvan Cournoyer and I also had goals as we heldon for a 3–2 win. That was the score after two periods, and that’s the way it stayed, as we outshot the Russians 17–7 in the final twenty minutes and Dryden had what was probably his best game of the series.
We were right back in the series and we knew it. So did the Russians. And leave it to Harry to again proclaim, “Just worry about game seven now, and we’ll tackle game eight when we get there.” His philosophy was working, we were taking one game at a time and not worrying about the game after.
Securing the win in game six was great, of course. My confidence was already sky-high as a result of the way things had gone in Canada during the series, and our line was playing well. We were all contributing, our whole team was rounding into form, and we had a sense we would prevail and win the series.
One of the great things about the 1972 Summit Series was that we became
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