HOW NHL TEAMS COMPARE

Player Outbursts Force New ‘Get Tough’ Edict

MONTREAL, Que— The National Hockey League has instructed its game officials to employ an iron hand in future when dealing with offenders. The edict was handed down by Referee-in-chief Scotty Morrison last week in the wake of three-game suspensions to both Montreal’s John Ferguson and Bernard Geoffrion of New York for their mistreatment of NHL linesmen in separate incidents. “From now on any physical contact between player and official will automatically call for a game misconduct penalty,” said Morrison. “There have been times when a player physically abused an official and had gotten off with a misconduct. Not any more. Any contact, even a brush or a push, will result in the player being ejected from the game,” he added. Both Ferguson and Geoffrion were suspended following incidents with linesmen. Jean-Guy Talbot, also of Montreal,…

Abel Shakes Up Red Wings, Calls Four From Pittsburgh

DETROIT, Mich.— Sid Abel of the Detroit Red Wings was never one to sit idle when his team wasn’t winning. The Wings hold the current season record for most players called up from the minors. Abel gave his Wings a sample of his player manipulating this past week when he called up four minor leaguers from Pittsburgh and left five regulars at home when the team went on the road. The move was destined to inject some new blood into the sagging Wings, who had lost four straight games and slipped back into fifth place behind the Toronto Leafs in the battle for the fourth and final playoff spot. Called up by Detroit were goalie George Gardner, defenseman Bob Wall, left winger Ted Taylor and right winger Craig Cameron. Abel said goalie Roger Crozier may…

Young Players Held Up During Leafs’ Slump

TORONTO. Ont.— It was a mighty big victory for the Toronto Maple Leafs when they beat Detroit Red Wings, 5-2, Jan. 14. Leafs were third in the National Hockey League at the time and this win put them 13 points in front of the fifth-ranked Redbirds in their quest to wrap up a berth in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs. By any definition, that had to be considered a comfortable margin. A little more than three weeks later, however, Leafs had blown third place and, when Detroit beat them, 5-2, on Feb. 8, they dropped to fifth, which is not good enough to qualify a team for Cup play. A 10-game losing streak, worst a Toronto team ever had experienced in one season, was responsible for the drastic change. The Detroit club, meanwhile,…