Because Stan Mikita`s stickwork is limited to golf now that he`s retired from hockey, maybe this is the best way to explain what happened.
Imagine two golfers breaking the course record with the same score on the same day at Kemper Lakes, the tough Chicagoland layout where Mikita is an assistant pro.
”Amazing, isn`t it?” said a beaming Troy Murray. ”His record stands up for all that time and then two guys break it in the same game. I hope he doesn`t get too angry. I hope he lets us back on his course.”
Mikita`s mark for most goals in a season by a Black Hawk center (40)
stood for almost 18 years before Thursday night`s game in the Forum. Then, in one fell swoop, both Murray and Denis Savard smashed it in the Hawks` 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
For Murray, it was a little like finishing with a hole-in-one. The four-year pro from Calgary, Canada, overshadowed much of the season by his All-Star teammate`s scoring exploits, did it with his third three-goal hat trick of the campaign to go from 38 to 41.
For Savard, who left the contest early because of a recurring bout with the flu, it was almost like finishing with par. The talented little center, who had been sitting on 40 for a game, connected on a first-period power play to collect his 41st goal and 97th point.
”I`ve always had a lot of respect for Stan, and to be fair, I think the game`s changed a lot in our favor, as far as scoring goals go,” said Murray. ”But, to tell the truth, scoring 40 was the goal I`d set for myself at the beginning of the season.
”I don`t know if 50 is out of range, but with Curt (Fraser) and Eddie
(Olczyk) on my line, anything`s possible.”
That was especially true Thursday. Murray, who had a five-point night, and his linemates combined for five goals, with Olczyk getting two in the pivotal second period when the Hawks pulled ahead of the pesky Kings for the first time.
The record-breaking night for the Hawks included a wild melee with 3 minutes 54 seconds left in the second period that concluded with the rare sight of a goalie, Bob Sauve, being ejected for fighting. His adversary was Dave ”Tiger” Williams.
”I`ve never seen a goalie get kicked out of a game before, but I`m sure it`s happened,” said Pulford.
The incident was touched off when Williams, the most penalized player in National Hockey League history, was checked into Sauve after having a shot stopped.
”He kneed me in the head when he came in and then wouldn`t get up, so I popped him,” said the normally mild-mannered Sauve. ”Then he popped me, and then everything sort of broke loose.
”I`ve never been ejected before, but I`ve had problems with him before. I`ve never even fought before. It didn`t feel bad.”
The incident resulted in a total of 66 penalty minutes for four players, plus the ejection to Hawks` defenseman Bob Murray for being the third man into the fight. Kings` goalie Rollie Melanson also picked up a penalty for leaving his crease, a move that left him facing a subsequent power play that fizzled. The sight of Williams leaving the contest with a game misconduct wasn`t unusual, considering that the 27 minutes of penalty time he was assessed boosted his season total to 278 and his career total to 3,473.
Sauve left the game after facing 20 shots and giving up all three Kings`
goals. Murray Bannerman`s shutout relief work included eight saves.
