Toronto Maple Leafs win Stanley Cup
The 1967 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven series played between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Maple Leafs would win the series four games to two to win their thirteenth Stanley Cup. This is Toronto's most recent Stanley Cup championship, and most recent appearance in the championship final.
This was the last Stanley Cup before the 1967 expansion which meant only three series in total were played in the playoffs. Montreal defeated New York to advance to the finals and Toronto defeated Chicago.
The average age of the Leafs' players was 31, the oldest lineup to win the Cup.[1] Johnny Bower was 42 and Allan Stanley was 41. Dave Keon won the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Montreal won the opener 6–2, soundly trouncing Toronto. For the second game, Terry Sawchuk was replaced with Bower and provided the Leafs with a shutout win 3–0. Bower was in net for game three won 3–2 on Bob Pulford's overtime goal. This game has been described as "one of the most exciting games ever played".[2]
Bower was injured before game four and Sawchuk had to take over. Al Smith was called up from the minors to served as back-up for the fourth and fifth games. The Canadiens defeated the Leafs 6–2 again, this time in Toronto to even the series. Sawchuk would play very well in the next two games, backstopping the Leafs to the Cup. In the sixth game Bower returned to the line-up as back up. Jim Pappin scored his seventh goal of the playoffs and Sawchuk stopped 41 shots helping Toronto win the cup. Pappin had four goals and four assists in the Final series.
The Chicago Black Hawks ran away with the regular season, finishing first with 94 points -- 17 more than second place Montreal and 19 better than the third-place Toronto Maple Leafs. The defending-champion Canadiens faced the New York Rangers in the semi-final. New York was making their first playoff appearance in five years. They didn't last long, losing to Montreal in four games. Chicago was challenged by Toronto, who shocked the star-laden Black Hawks by beating them in six games. The final featured the two Canadian teams?oddly appropriate since it was Canada's Centennial Year. Montreal won game one 6-2 with Henri Richard registering a hat-trick. Johnny Bower and the Leafs shut out Montreal 3-0 to take game two. In game three, Rogatien Vachon stopped 62 shots, while Bower handled 54 to lead the Maple Leafs to a 3-2 win. But Bower was hurt in the warm-up of game four, and Terry Sawchuk took over in the crease. Montreal won game four 6-2. Sawchuk rebounded in game five, helping Toronto beat Montreal 4-1. Rogie Vachon, who Leaf coach Punch Imlach called a 'Junior B goalie,' was removed and replaced by Gump Worsley in the third period. Toronto beat Montreal 3-1 to take game six, winning the Stanley Cup. In doing so, the Leafs sported the oldest line-up ever to win the championship ? the team's average age was 31.
