The Black Hawks` Al Secord collected his 200th career goal Tuesday night in a 5-4 victory against his old Boston team, and afterward an historic puck was just inches from his dressing stall.
It was sitting in Denis Savard`s space, and it was going to remain his property, sports fans. That`s because Savard also just happened to get his 600th career point against the Bruins on a first-period assist.
”I guess 600 points just says I`m doing something right,” said Savard.
”I don`t know that it really means that much to me now. Maybe it will in time.”
In fact, the numbers on the Savard-Secord-Steve Larmer line were being tossed all over the place on this night in the Stadium. If the Hawks had taken a bow every time they hit a milestone, they`d probably still be playing, because the game, as it was, lasted an unusually long 3 hours, 5 minutes.
Secord`s two goals gave him 31, putting him past the 30-mark for the third time in his career, and, more significantly, signaling his complete comeback from a stomach injury that limited his play over the past two seasons.
Larmer had three points to extend the club`s longest current scoring streak to a modest five and lift him past the 50-point mark for the fourth consecutive year.
But all the numbers wouldn`t have meant much if Savard hadn`t scored his own goal at 7:53 of the third period to produce the Hawks` favorite letter in the alphabet–W.
”It was just a loose puck and a scramble,” said the center. ”They say if you don`t go to the net you don`t get goals. I`ve been doing it a little more this season. Our whole line is really coming on strong now.”
The Hawks opened the game as if nothing could stand in their way of making this an eventful evening. Darryl Sutter banged in his fourth goal in three nights with the game only 1:14 old, and Boston`s rookie goalie, Cleon Daskalakis, making his first big-league appearance of the season, had to be having thoughts of returning to Moncton in the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
”They came out fast, and they`re a great line,” said Daskalakis of Savard`s crew. ”I felt good, though. I`m not the type to get nervous. I`ve never been in a place like this with a crowd like this, but they just got me going.”
The Bruins came back to take the lead on goals by Geoff Courtnall and Ken Linseman, but it was short-lived. Secord knocked in his two goals 27 seconds apart, and Larmer got another before the period was over to make it 4-2.
”We came out hard the first few shifts and got some good goals, but then we just sort of relaxed,” said Hawk coach Bob Pulford. ”Maybe we thought we were going to fill the net all night.
”It wasn`t artistic. We won ugly, or whatever they call it. Maybe we got it out of our system.”
Before the Hawks could chalk this one up, the Bruins had the game tied 4-4 at the close of the second period on goals by Mike O`Connell and Keith Crowder.
Things got considerably chippy the rest of the way in the teams` final regular-season meeting. Hawk goalie Murray Bannerman required one lengthy injury timeout after a collision, and it was hard for either club to get anything going with the pace of the checking increasing throughout the action. After Savard`s winning goal, he went to the bench, and assistant coach Cliff Koroll leaned over to whisper in his ear.
The goal, which equaled Savard`s previous season-high of 38, also happened to tie him with Koroll on the Hawks` all-time goal-scoring list at 208.
According to Savard: ”I said to Cliff, `Does this mean I can retire and become an assistant coach, too ?` ”
No way.
