Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler, known as “The Hockey Maven,” writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com, sharing his humor and insight each Wednesday. This week, Fischler takes a seven-decade look back at one of hockey’s greatest goalies, Terry Sawchuk, who credited a single save during the 1952 Stanley Cup Playoffs with boosting his confidence and leading the Detroit Red Wings to the first eight-game playoff sweep in NHL history.
After his first full NHL season with the Detroit Red Wings in 1950-51, there was no doubt about Sawchuk’s future stardom. He won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year and was soon named to the first of seven NHL First All-Star Teams, boasting a goals-against average of 1.97. Emile Francis, former NHL goalie, and New York Rangers general manager, later called Sawchuk “the greatest goalkeeper ever.” Max McNab, former New Jersey Devils GM who played with Sawchuk In the minors, remarked, “Terry was a big, happy puppy dog who eventually turned into the best goalie I ever saw.”
Yet, in the spring of 1952, at age 22, Sawchuk still doubted his ability, despite the Red Wings finishing first in the NHL, 26 points ahead of the third-place Toronto Maple Leafs, who had taken home four Stanley Cups in the preceding five years. Talk of a “sophomore slump” had reached Sawchuk, who felt he had more to prove. “I understood that the postseason would be my biggest challenge,” Sawchuk said. “We would be thrilled to defeat Toronto, and it would give me my first opportunity to play for a potential Cup winner. I continued to feel that I had much to prove, namely that I wasn’t a one-year wonder.
Sawchuk started strong against the Maple Leafs in the NHL Semifinals opener at Detroit’s Olympia Stadium on March 25, 1952, with a flawless game leading to a 3-0 victory. “Sawchuk was excellent in goal and utterly bewildered the Leafs,” writer Charles L. Coleman wrote in “The Trail of The Stanley Cup.” But Sawchuk knew there was more to achieve, and Game 2 became his supreme confidence-builder, thanks to one remarkable save.
Late in Game 2, with the Red Wings leading 1-0 on Johnny Wilson’s power-play goal, Sawchuk was determined to maintain the shutout, despite being two men short. ” I thought it was now or never to preserve the advantage because we had two men in the penalty area,” Sawchuk remarked. “I also felt that if we could weather this storm, we’d take the game.” Herb Ralby, the Boston Globe’s veteran hockey writer, recounted the iconic play in the April 1956 issue of Hockey Pictorial magazine, noting how Sawchuk stopped a labeled shot from Sid Smith with his foot. “That was Toronto’s big threat. Our guys returned before they could cause any harm, and we prevailed 1-0 to lead the series by two games.”
Driving to Toronto for Game 3, Fischler and his friends were eager to see Sawchuk’s prowess in action. Detroit coach Jack Adams, confident in Sawchuk’s abilities, had traded championship goalie Harry Lumley after the Red Wings’ 1950 Cup win to make room for Sawchuk. In Game 3, Sawchuk’s flawless performance led to a 6-2 win, and the Red Wings completed the sweep three nights later with a 3-1 victory.
Sawchuk faced a tougher test in the Stanley Cup Final against the Montreal Canadiens, starting on April 10, 1952. Despite the loaded Canadiens squad, Sawchuk led the Red Wings to victories in the first two games, only needing two home games to wrap up the series with a pair of 3-0 shutouts. Sawchuk’s stellar performance, denying both Toronto and Montreal a single goal in Detroit over the two series, solidified his self-esteem and set him on the path to continued success.
“I felt very confident after the four shutouts at home,” Sawchuk said. It was a result of both those victories and the first Stanley Cup, but I want to be clear that I wasn’t the only one who contributed. I couldn’t have. It definitely was a team effort. I just needed to get those shutouts and those incredible playoff thrills because the Wings provided me with such excellent protection in the previous two games.”
According to Adams, “Thanks in large part to Terry Sawchuk, that was the greatest team I ever had!”
