mcphee
Registered User
I don't know if anyone has payed any attention to these but last night I caught some of the 1st game of the 1976 Czech/Canada final. I had forgotten how great that team was. On defense it was Orr's last statement. He was playing on one leg but still making plays no one else could. If you don't see film to remind you, you can forget how great Potvin was, what a beast on defense. Deadly on the point with a wrist or slap shot, fearless and he would hit to hurt. He seems to be a bit forgotten on all time lists sometimes. Savard,Laointe and Robinson played with such arrogance. They would break up the play, join a rush or chase loose pucks in the neutral zone in a way that would drive present coaches insane. They would take chances all game long because they had total confidence in their partner. At forward, Perreault was showing what a force he was, playing with an older Bobby Hull and Marcel Dionne. Every shift, Lafleur,Shutt and Mahovlich came close to breaking away. You tend to forget that Shutt and Mahovlich were tremendous complete players. If there was a more tenacious player than Bobby Clarke, I've never seen him. Gainey made his name in this tournament. To an extent, so did Sittler and McDonald. Imagine if those 3 were together for 10 years. Phil Esposito was their 13th forward and saw limited ice. They could dress 13 because their 5 defenseman may have been the best 5 ever put together. Keep in mind that this was before the Islanders made their name and the Oilers were 5 years away from making a name. I can't imagine a team put together topping this one.