In the Toronto Star on April 14, Jim Proudfoot wrote that the Rangers
had been targeting Bob Baun, who had missed the last six games of the
1970-71 season due to neck and back injuries. He quoted Ted Irvine as
saying "I think we're finally getting to Bobby Baun just a little
bit," and "He's the guy we've got to go after, because he's the key
to their defence." Bear in mind, the rest of the Leafs defence were
fairly green.

In the same day's Star, Red Burnett commented, "In the past, when
Leafs faced a win-or-else obstacle, coach John McLellan called on
goalie Jacques Plante, veteran miracle worker, to pull the team out
of the skid.

"On those occasions, however, Plante was replacing a shaky Bruce
Gamble, now with Philadelphia Flyers. This time, he will be called on
to improve on a brilliant Parent. And, goal was the one place Leafs
looked respectable last night."

"However, Plante has the knack of settling down Leafs' young
defencemen. And, for this reason, one has to figure the veteran will
get the assignment in this win-or-pack-up contest."

In game 5, Ted Irvine scored 34 seconds into the first period. He was
on the checking line, which Emile Francis started to neutralize the
Henderson-Ullman-Ellis line. "[Parent] made three saves before Irvine
sank his own rebound."

Burnett wrote that the Rangers defence "played solid, clever hockey.
They either sent their forwards away with quick, smooth passes or
lugged the puck out of danger. By comparison, the Leaf defenders,
with the exception of Baun, were guilty of too much stickhandling
near their goal crease. This created havoc for Parent and anchored
the forwards."

The next day, Milt Dunnell of the Star wrote: "So what does McLellan
hope to gain by making a change? It's strictly a psychological thing,
professor. Now that the Rangers are congratulating themselves on
getting rid of the Parent hex, which was a hangover from his days in
Philadelphia, maybe Plante will throw them out of gear.

"There is also the possibility that McLellan might be thinking of
next season. He wouldn't want to send Jacques into summer quarters
suffering from a suspicion that his services no longer are
appreciated in these parts. ..."

So we have a few possibilities which are not mutually exclusive: 1)
that McLellan just wanted to throw something different at the
Rangers; 2) that McLellan had a habit of turning to Plante in big
games; 3) that Plante had a positive effect on a disorganized defence
corps (a role Baun also played), and with him in net the Rangers
might not get fourth chances the way they had against Parent in game 5.


On 7-Aug-08, at 3:59 PM, nybos1974 wrote:

> Can anyone tell me why Jacques Plante got the start in game 6 of the
> playoffs in 1971 against the Rangers instead of Bernie Parent? Plante
> started the first game and played poorly. If I remember correctly,
> Parent had won his last 13 starts against New York and had played well
> in the series. So why didn't Parent start? Maybe a gut feeling or
> instinct came into play? Thanks.

--
Lloyd Davis
ldaviseditor@...
--