April 7th
A Penney Earned
On this day, the year of our Lord 1984, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 5-0 to put a bow on a sweep of the heavy favorite Bruins. The goals were provided by Bob Gainey, Mario Tremblay, Mike McPhee and Pierre Mondou. It was Steve Penney’s first career Stanley Cup Playoff shutout.
Penney was born in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, and got the call up to the Canadiens in 1984 due to the poor play of Rick Wamsley and Richard Sevigny. He and the Canadiens would beat the favored Bruins and Nordiques before falling victim to the New York Islanders empire.
Penney played 54 games the season after, but suffered a major injury in the 1985-86 season that saw him miss out on most of the regular season and playoffs. Ironically enough, his replacement was also a young goalie born in Sainte-Foy, Patrick Roy.
Rocketed to the Top
On April 7th, 1960, the Montreal Canadiens took to the ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first game of the Stanley Cup Final. The series wasn’t close as the Canadiens outscored the Leafs 15-5 en route to the sweep and winning their 5th straight Stanley Cup.
Maurice Richard finished the series with a goal and 2 assists, but more importantly, became the first player to play in 12 Stanley Cup Finals. This year would be his last. There have only been two players that have been able to tie this feat, those being younger brother Henri Richard, and fellow Canadiens teammate Jean Beliveau.