Esposito Scores 100 Points.

Esposito Scores 100 Points. Canadian hockey player Phil Esposito was not one of the top scorers in his first few seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, choosing instead to pass the puck so his teammates could score. But soon after Esposito was traded to the Boston Bruins in 1967, he began racking up the points with a combination of goals and assists. In 1969 Esposito became the first hockey player to score 100 points in a single season. . Esposito Scores 100 Points Hockey player Phil Esposito was always the superstitious sort. When a Ouija board "told" him he would amass 45 goals and win the scoring championship in 1969, Esposito took heart. Both of those predictions came true. What the board neglected to mention was that the Boston Bruins center would also become the first player in National Hockey League (NHL) history to score at least 100 points in one season. The agents of providence may not have been surprised by Esposito's record-breaking season, but the hockey world was. The sad-eyed center had never been a prolific scorer. During his four seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Esposito served as a setup man for superstars Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita. From 1965 to 1967, Esposito averaged a modest 24 goals per season. Meanwhile, both Hull and Mikita flirted with the 100-point mark on the receiving end of Esposito's passes. In 1966 Hull's 97 points broke by 1 point the record set by Dickie Moore of the Montréal Canadiens seven years earlier. Mikita matched that new standard a year later. Esposito's emergence as the NHL's top scorer was all the more improbable considering that he lacked the outward intensity of a Bobby Hull, the shooting accuracy of a Gordie Howe, or the grace of a Jean Beliveau. Esposito's trademark was more subtle. "Phil's biggest virtue is patience," Boston head coach Harry Sinden explained in the book, Great Moments in Pro Hockey. "He'll skate around on the ice, hold the puck, wait until his man makes a move, never give the puck away under any circumstances. He just knows how to play. He may not be flashy--he just scores all the time." Like a "cherry-picking" basketball player with a knack of scoring easy hoops with tip-ins, Esposito constantly prowled the net for loose pucks that could be converted into easy goals. "They call me the 'garbage goal collector,'" he once said, "but I don't care what they call me as long as the pucks go in." Esposito was also known for his off-ice shenanigans. Even though his Chicago teammates appreciated the stunts, Blackhawks general manager Tommy Ivan didn't. He found Esposito's behavior inappropriate, which made it easier for the team to trade Esposito to Boston following the 1966-1967 season. After eight consecutive fifth-place or sixth-place finishes, Boston vaulted to third in 1967-1968, Esposito's first season in Beantown. The squad made its first trip to the play-offs since 1959, losing to the eventual-champion Montréal Canadiens in the first round but offering hope of a brighter future. Esposito, whose previous personal best was 61 points, collected a league-high 49 assists en route to an 84-point season. He ranked second in the NHL scoring race, just 3 points behind his former teammate Mikita. Esposito's second season in Boston, 1968-1969, landed him in the record books. By February it was clear that his torrid pace would likely result in a 100-point season. He suffered a minor setback on February 8, however, when he took a swing at referee Bob Sloan. The outburst yielded a two-game suspension and a meager $175 fine. Although he was initially upset by the incident, Esposito returned to the ice with exuberance. At the end of February Esposito tied Hull's and Mikita's record of 97 points. On March 1 the Bruins hosted the New York Rangers at Boston Garden. It was Esposito's 60th game of the season. With 14 games remaining, the question was not whether he would reach the 100-point plateau but how far beyond it he would soar. Every time Esposito's stick touched the puck, the Garden's sellout crowd cheered wildly. The Rangers knew as well as anyone that he would break the record, but they didn't want to surrender the historic point. New York goalie Ed Giacomin was in fine form. Esposito missed on his first ten shots of the night. One clanked off the goal post, drawing a chorus of "oohs" and "ahhs" from the crowd. Finally, in the second period, Esposito beat Giacomin and right wing Bob Nevin to ring up point number 98. It was his 38th goal of the season. Later in the game Esposito notched his 99th point on an assist to Bobby Orr. Obviously keyed up to break the record, Esposito unleashed 14 shots on goal that night, two short of the all-time single-game record held by the Rangers' Rod Gilbert. Boston won the game, 8-5, avenging a 9-0 defeat at the hands of New York six days earlier. After the game dozens of young fans waited outside the Garden in hopes of adding an "Esposito" to their autograph collection. Just as guards accompanied by German shepherds were about to break up the crowd, Esposito emerged from the darkened building. "Okay," he said, smiling, "let's make an even line. I'll take care of each of you." A mere point shy of 100, Esposito put an end to the anticipation in short order. The next night, Sunday, March 2, Boston hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Garden. Another capacity crowd of more than 14,500 people was on hand, hoping to witness a slice of hockey history. They would have to wait until the third period. As Esposito skated onto the ice for the final stanza, a young fan shouted, "Please, get that 100th point, Phil! I want to be able to say I saw it!" Esposito listened. Seventeen seconds into the third period, he culminated a play from Ted Green and Ken Hodge with a 20-foot wrist-shot that whizzed past Penguins goalie Joe Daley. "Daley moved to his right and hit the ice," Esposito later said. "I spilled it underneath him." For 15 minutes the Bruins faithful stood and applauded. They showered the ice with hats, programs, a football helmet--even a pink bra. Six minutes later Esposito scored again, giving Boston a 4-0 lead that stood until the final horn. Boston's fourth consecutive victory also moved the club into a first-place tie with the Canadiens. Esposito finished the season on a tear, tacking on 25 more points in the final 13 games. He closed out the campaign with 49 goals and a league-high 77 assists for a total of 126 points. Four of his goals came against his brother Tony, then a goalie with Montréal. Phil Esposito became the first Boston player to have his name inscribed on the Art Ross Trophy as the league's top scorer. (Bruins left wing Herbie Cain won the title with 82 points in 1943-1944, but the trophy itself was not awarded until 1947.) Esposito's performance, his first of six 100-point seasons within seven years, helped Boston compile a league-record 303 goals. Despite Esposito's efforts, the Bruins could not keep pace with Montréal in the East Division. The race was decided on the final weekend, with Boston finishing 3 points out of first place. With Esposito leading the way, the Bruins recorded their first play-off series victory in a decade, sweeping the Toronto Maple Leafs in three games. Boston then lost to Montréal in one of the most thrilling postseason matchups in recent history. Three of the six contests were decided in overtime, including the finale, which the Canadiens won after 31 minutes 28 seconds of sudden death. Esposito was magnificent, recording a league-high 18 postseason points. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.