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HERITAGE
CLASSIC > FEATURES
Goalies stiff, but Gretzky sneaks in game winner
Ken Dryden pulled out almost every trick in his
goaltending arsenal, but sometimes there's just no stopping the Great
One.
Wayne Gretzky solved the Habs netminder with just over seven minutes remaining in the third period to lift his '84 Oilers to a 3-1 triumph over the '77 Canadiens at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium on Wednesday.
The power-play goal gave the Oilers a victory in the one-game, winner-take-all showdown between two of the greatest hockey dynasties in National Hockey League history.
Dryden turned aside a remarkable 52 shots on the night, with more than half the stops involving some type of spectacular dive, kick-save or glove-hand robbery. But The Thinker had no response for Gretzky's winner.
With Habs forward Doug Risebrough serving a cross-checking minor, the potent Oilers power play kicked into high gear. Ken Linseman threaded a precision pass through the skates of Montreal defencemen Larry Robinson and Guy Lapointe and onto Gretzky's stick.
No. 99, with skates firmly planted on the right side of the Montreal goalmouth, one-timed the Linseman feed past a sprawling Dryden.
Oilers winger Glenn Anderson added an empty-net tally with 5.9 seconds left in the third to secure the victory. Mark Messier also scored for Edmonton, while Yvon Lambert counted Montreal's lone goal of the contest.
Lambert's marker opened the scoring with 43 seconds remaining in the first period. However, the Oilers stormed back just 19 seconds later, as Messier tucked an Anderson rebound behind Dryden to send the teams into the first intermission tied at one apiece.
After a scoreless second, Gretzky took over with his heroics in the third to seal the deal.
Edmonton's Grant Fuhr more than matched the brilliant play of his goaltending counterpart. Fuhr earned No. 1-star honours on the strength of his 43-save performance.
The game was a highly offensive affair, even though just four goals were recorded in the boxscore. There wasn't a neutral-zone trap in sight.
Both squads took turns racing down the ice on rushes, using crisp passes and finesse dekes to penetrate the opponent's zone. The Oilers relied mostly on speed and savvy, while the Habs defenders chipped in by forcing Edmonton turnovers and feeding their highly-skilled front line players.
The two squads combined for 99 shots, including 45 in the third period. Edmonton finished with the edge in shots, 55-44.
Gretzky was the most dominant force, blistering 10 shots at Dryden. He also helped his linemates Linseman and Jari Kurri rack up nine shots apiece. Lambert led all Montreal shooters with 10.
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