Hockey legend Gordie Howe, who died Friday at age 88, has the second-most goals in NHL history, at 801. He became the first NHL player to reach 700 goals Dec. 4, 1968, at Civic Arena against the Penguins.
Below is the Post-Gazette’s story from that milestone game.
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Gordie Howe scored the 700th goal of his spectacular hockey career last night in comparative semi-privacy.
There were only 4,451 in the Civic Arena when the greatest hockey player in National Hockey League history started the Red Wings on a scoring spree. Detroit went on to thump the ambitious Penguins, 7-2, snapped a six-game Pittsburgh skein without a loss, and trumped the Penguins’ move to climb into a tie for second place in the NHL’s West Division.
The Penguins started the game with a style that made it seem they would have little difficulty maintaining their point-gathering tempo. They met the Red Wings at their own blue line and broke up every rush the invaders tried to organize.
Keith McCreary scored for Pittsburgh at 4:56.
But little more than two minutes later, Howe put the Wings even with No. 700, and from that moment on it looks liked the Iglooites were just going along for the ride.
Howe’s goal came with such suddenness that goalie Les Binkley had no chance to stop it.
Alex Delvecchio and Frank Mahovlich were fighting with a couple of Penguins for possession of the puck off to Binkley’s right. Mahovlich flipped it forward toward Howe as he moved toward the goal 25 feet away. Gordie’s stick was coming down as the puck arrived.
The piece of rubber, no more than two or three inches off the ice all the way, zipped past Binkley’s right foot, stopped temporarily in the back of the net, and then was en route to Howe’s well-stocked trophy room.
“There was no pressure here like there was at home Sunday,” Gordie said after it was all over. He had scored No. 699 against Glenn Hall of St. Louis at Detroit last Thursday, but failed to score against Philadelphia in the Olympia Sunday.
A big thrill?
“I really believe my first National Hockey League goal provided a bigger thrill,” he said. ”That was against Toronto’s Turk Broda Oct. 16, 1946.
He also said he was not nearly so tense last night as when he broke the all-time scoring record of Maurice (Rocket) Richard of the Canadiens. That goal, No. 545, he scored right in Montreal against Charlie Hodge on Nov. 16, 1963.
Howe’s goal last night seemed to ignite a flame under the Red Wings. Four minutes after that historic point, Bruce MacGregor tipped in a slap shot by Paul Popiel, and Detroit never trailed thereafter.
Nick Libett, who pace the Wings’ attack, scored what turned out to be the winning goal at 9:52 of the second period, a 20-footer from a sharp angle to Binkley’s right. Then rookie Gary Unger pumped home a screened shot at 15:22, a 40-footer.
Billy Harris fanned the flickering flames of hope among the Penguin faithful when he took a pass from Jean Pronovost, skated around the net and flipped the puck into the goal from the corner of the crease at 1:33 of the third period.
That made it 4-2. It also started another Detroit barrage. Bobby Baun scored on a slap shot with an assist from Libett; Dan Lawson dumped in a short one, and Libett added another on a power play while Leo Boivin was sitting out a high-sticking penalty.
In the first few minutes, the Penguins had half a dozen shots at goalie Roger Crozier. At the end of that first period they had taken eight shots. At the end of the game the Wings had fired 50 times at Binkley; the Penguins got off but 24 against Crozier.
That was the difference.
First Published: June 11, 2016, 4:53 a.m.
