Eddie Johnston made his NHL debut in goal for the Boston Bruins in 1962-63. At the beginning of the season, Bob Perreault was given the starting job between the pipes by Bruins coach Phil Watson. Perreault, like Johnston, was in his first NHL season. When Boston sputtered out of the gate, they replaced Watson with Bruins' legend Milt Schmidt in November.
By mid-December, Perreault was being hampered by injuries. In one game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Perreault was sent to the sidelines in the third period after suffering both knee and ankle injury. As a result, the bulk of the goaltending duties were being handled by Johnston.
A rookie at 27, the opportunity to gain confidence came with each game. And Johnston saw a lot of pucks. Asked after a rather busy outing if he was aware he faced 41 shots, Johnston replied, "I handle that many every night I play."
During Johnston's first six years, the Bruins failed to make the playoffs, but they turned it around when Bobby Orr arrived on the scene. Also, Johnston gained a new partner in the crease when Gerry Cheevers joined the Bruins.
Johnston's best performance in the playoffs came in 1972, when he went on a hot streak.
On April 8, 1972, Johnston notched his one and only playoff shutout. It came in game three of the Bruins quarter-final series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The two clubs split the first two contests in Boston.
At Maple Leaf Gardens, Johnston replaced Cheevers, and earned his first win in the '72 playoffs. In fact, it was his first ever playoff win.
"Johnston shutout [the] Leafs, 2-0, with brilliant goaltending," noted a story on the game. Both Boston goals came on the power play with Mike Walton and Bobby Orr doing the damage.
The next night, Johnston was back to face the Leafs and was peppered with 42 shots on goal. Toronto held a 4-2 lead early in the third period, but goals by Ed Westfall, Phil Esposito, and Ken Hodge gave Boston a 5-4 come from behind win. It was his second win in the '72 playoffs.
After the 5-4 victory, Bruins' forward Wayne Cashman talked about his goalie.
"We got big saves from Eddie. I guess we have such an offensive team nobody notices our goaltending. But through the season I'd think we average 30 shots against, and even when we were down tonight, Eddie kept us in the game."
On the second straight road win, Boston coach, Tom Johnson, said, "When you lose a game like that on your home ice it really flattens you." He added, "And it should lift our guys just as high as it sinks [the] Leafs."
Despite backstopping his team to two decisive wins, the Bruins went with Gerry Cheevers in game 5. Boston eliminated the Leafs with a 3-2 win.
In the semi-finals, Boston and St. Louis played game one on April 18, at Boston Garden. At practice the day before, Johnston was informed by Tom Johnson that he would start in the opener.
The Bruins had little difficulty with the Blues as they handed them a 6-1 loss. It was Johnston's third win in the '72 playoffs.
"They usually check pretty closely," said Johnston in his post-game comments. "I guess they figured they had to open up. Maybe they were trying to steal one in our rink." While Johnston had a relatively easy game, he did have a scare in the middle frame when Bobby Orr toppled Garry Unger and sent him into Johnston's right leg. "It felt like it locked. Just a cramp, but it's okay."
Sticking to his plan to alternate his goalies, Johnson turned to Gerry Cheevers for game two. Once again, Boston hammered St. Louis by a score of 10 to 2, and jetted to St. Louis with a two game advantage.
Little changed for the Blues when they hosted Boston in game three on April 23. The Bruins didn't take their skate off the gas pedal and downed St. Louis 7-3. It was Johnston's fourth win in the '72 playoffs.
As one article noted, "[The] Blues wilted in the face of Boston goaltender Ed Johnston's sharp reflexes and the overwhelming Bruin firepower that produced two goals each by John McKenzie and Mike Walton."
Now in a position to sweep the series, Cheevers and his teammates defeated St. Louis 5-3.
When the Stanley Cup final opened on April 30, Boston held home ice advantage over the New York Rangers. In a closely played contest, the Bruins edged New York 6-5. Although he didn't play, Johnston provided his analysis of the game.
"The best goalkeeping all afternoon came after it was tied 5-5," said Johnston. "Giacomin [New York's goalie] had to be fabulous or we'd have won it about 8-5. And Cheesy stood his ground when Vic Hadfield got in tight and made him shoot wide."
Eddie Johnston got his turn in the crease in game two on May 2. In another closely knit played game, the Bruins emerged with a 2-1 win. It was Johnston's fifth win in the '72 playoffs. New York Rangers forward, Vic Hadfield, heaped praise on Johnston for his work.
"The big man for them was Johnston," Hadfield told the press. "He stole us blind, made two tremendous saves on Jean [Ratelle] in the first period."
In the confines of Madison Square Garden, the Rangers rebounded with a 5-2 victory. Gerry Cheevers was in net for the loss. In the opinion of Johnston, his partner in the goaltending union couldn't be faulted for the defeat.
"Gerry didn't have a chance on those first three power play goals. We gave their point-man, Park [Brad], too much time, allowed them to wind up and fire bombs. Those two that Park scored travelled so fast they smoked. No one stops that kind. Give the Rangers credit for a big game in a must situation, but we'll stop them on Sunday and finish it off at home."
Eager to see his prediction through, Johnston returned to the cage for game four in New York on May 7. He faced 23 shots in a 3-2 victory. It was Johnston's sixth win in the '72 playoffs. But he knew there was a lot of hockey left for the Rangers to crawl back.
"[The] Rangers are a disciplined team. They'll come out flying in Boston on Tuesday night."
Fully aware of Johnston's streak of six wins in the '72 playoffs, Tom Johnson made the decision to start his hot goalie in game five at home on May 9. It was now up to Johnston to make his prediction whole and help his team win the Stanley Cup in front of the hometown crowd.
Eddie Johnston's streak in the '72 playoffs came to an end when the Rangers outscored Boston 3-2 and extended the Cup final to a sixth game in New York. Johnston reflected on the loss in the Bruins' dressing room.
"I had the winner all the way until it hit Dallas Smith and changed direction," said Johnston of Bobby Rousseau's game-winning tally. "If Dallas hadn't moved into the picture it would have been routine. But that's the way it goes. You have to take the good with the bad."
Not wanting to go to a seventh and deciding game, where anything could happen, the Bruins knew the importance of winning game six in New York. With Gerry Cheevers back in goal, the Boston Bruins captured the Stanley Cup by blanking the Rangers 3-0.
In 7 games, Eddie Johnston posted a 6-1 record and a 1.86 average. His six victorious were the most for the padded warriors chasing the Stanley Cup in 1972.
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| EDDIE JOHNSTON AGAINST THE LEAFS IN THE QUARTER-FINALS |
