Roy Puts Out Flames as Canadiens Win Title

The Montreal Canadiens weren’t even picked to win their own division when the National Hockey League season opened last October. And little wonder: They had a first year coach and eight rookie players.

But the bleu, blanc et rouge brought the franchise a 23rd Stanley Cup Saturday night with a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames before a sellout crowd of 16,762 at the Olympic Saddledome.

“If the people say we have a bad hockey club, I don’t really mind because nobody can take the Cup away from us,” said Montreal Coach Jean Perron, who became the 13th rookie coach to win the Cup and the first since Al MacNeil did it in 1971 with Montreal.

With the win, the Canadiens became the franchise with the most league championships in professional sports. The New York Yankees have won 22 titles.

“It’s going to be real hard to repeat,” said Montreal General Manager Serge Savard, who played on eight Stanley Cup winners with the Canadiens. “This is not a dynasty; it’s just a good hockey club that should be good next year.”

The Canadiens lost to the Flames in the first game of the best-of-seven series but won four straight games to bring the Cup back to Montreal for the first time since 1979.

Rookie goalie Patrick Roy, who talks to the goalposts, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. Goalie Ken Dryden of the Canadiens was the only other rookie to win the Smythe award, doing it in 1971. Roy was the eighth Canadien to win it.

The Flames almost scored three times on shots that hit the posts Saturday night. Asked what he said to the posts after the game, Roy said: “I touched the posts and I said ‘Thanks, guys, you did a heck of a job.’ ”

Roy at 20 the youngest player to win the Smythe award, played every minute of every game for Montreal in the playoffs, posting a 15-5 record. He tied the league record for most wins by goaltender in one playoff year. Billy Smith of the New York Islanders won 15 games in 1980 and 1982, and Grant Fuhr of the Edmonton Oilers did it in 1985.

“Patrick was very important early in the playoffs when some of the guys didn’t believe in themselves and didn’t think that we were that good,” Perron said.

Savard, who was criticized in the Montreal press because he didn’t trade for an experienced goaltender, said: “Roy didn’t play like a rookie. I wouldn’t have traded him for an experienced goalie because it would have been taking a step backward. We had a lot of confidence in the kid.”

The Canadien captain, Bob Gainey, said of Roy: “He’s been sensational. He’s won game for us single-handedly. We couldn’t have won it without that caliber of goaltending.”

Roy made 30 saves Saturday night and was tested in the final minute when the Canadiens led, 4-2. The Flames pulled goalie Mike Vernon for an extra skater, John Tonelli, and scored with 46 seconds left when Joey Mullen put a shot through Roy’s legs.

The Flames almost scored again with just 14 seconds remaining when defenseman Jamie Macoun got off a shot from close range. Roy made the save, and veteran defenseman Larry Robinson smothered the puck.

After the Canadiens held on to win, they mobbed Roy, piling on top of him.

“It went right down to the final seconds,” Gainey said. “The Flames never quit, but we didn’t want to play another game.”

Gainey has played on six NHL championship teams.

“I wondered if we’d ever have a chance to skate around the ice again with the Cup,’ ” Gainey said. “I think they’ve added another couple of pounds to it since the last time I held it.”

Said Montreal center Bobby Smith, who scored what turned out to be the winning goal off a pass from Mats Naslund with 9:30 left in the game: “I can’t describe the feeling of winning the Cup. It’s better than everyone said it would be. But I think you have to give credit to the entire team. Patrick Roy was an unbelievable tower of strength for us. We couldn’t have done it without him.”

The Flames, who were playing in the Stanley Cup final for the first time in the 14-year history of the franchise, crashed and burned in the championship series.

Calgary, which had eliminated the league’s two-time defending champion Edmonton Oilers in the Smythe Division final, was playing its 22nd game of the playoffs, an NHL record. And the long playoff season took its toll. The Flames were without three key players in the final because of injuries--center Carey Wilson, rookie defenseman Gary Suter and right wing Colin Paterson.

“We milked the cow dry and couldn’t get any more out of it,” Coach Bob Johnson said.

The Flames, the second-highest scoring team in the league during the regular season, went 198 minutes 20 seconds without an even-strength goal in the title series.

“Nobody likes to finish second, but we got beat by a better team,” said veteran right wing Lanny McDonald. “Playing in the final is an unbelievable feeling, and we want to be a part of it again. It’ll be a few days before I accept what happened. I don’t think anyone out there could possibly understand what it feels like to come this far and then feel the disappointment of losing.”

The Canadiens scored the only goal in the first period as rookie defenseman Gaston Gingras got his second goal of the playoffs on a power play at 6:53.

But the Flames tied it at 1-1 at 7:17 of the second period when left wing Steve Bozek scored the first of his two goals off a pass from center Joel Otto.

Montreal took a 2-1 lead into the third period after center Brian Skrudland scored on a rebound. Canadien left wing Mike McPhee hit the post, and Skrudland got the loose puck, slipped between two defenders and scored. Skrudland had the game-winning goal in overtime in the second game of the final.

The Canadiens scored two goals in 19 seconds of the third period to wrap up the Cup. Defenseman Rick Green scored his seventh goal of the playoffs, this one off a pass from Naslund at 10:11 of the period, and Smith scored at 10:30.

But Bozek got his second goal at 16:46 to close it to 4-2.