L.A. Kings

It was an achievement of some note that the Los Angeles Kings managed a .500 record despite the NHL’s third-highest total of manpower games lost to injuries. Vancouver Canucks players missed a total of 257 contests, the Washington Capitals were next at 242, and then came the Kings’ 233. At the top of the injury list were defenseman Brian Glennie, who underwent back surgery in February and played in just 18 games; wing Murray Wilson, who still was recovering from back surgery and appeared in just 58 contests, and right wing Mike Murphy, who missed 16 games because of a pulled groin muscle and a bad shoulder but was sub-par for a number of others. Perhaps the hardest-hit was the defense, for along with Glennie, defenseman Darryl Edestrand played in just 55…

BOB GAINEY: HOCKEY’S COMPLETE PLAYER

The glittering cup, symbol of hockey supremacy in North America had not yet completed its first bumpy circuit of the Montreal Forum ice surface, borne largely in the hands of captain Serge Savard and veteran centerman Jacques Lemsire, when it glided to s stop amidst a jumble of players near the announcer’s bench. Almost on cue the public address announcer began: Madames et messieurs, ladies and gentlemen … le gagnant de la trophee Connie Smythe … the Conn Smythe Trophy winner is … Bob Gainey …and the rest of the sentence was drowned out as the Forum burst into a cacophony of appreciation. As the roar, which had begun building early in the third period, peaked to reach levels which shook the foundations of the St. Catherine street structure, Gainey emerged…

MONTREAL AGAIN TOOK SHORT ROUTE TO CUP

American Hockey League Statistics