A Canadian hero was made 48 years ago today
On this date, 48 years ago, Paul Henderson scored one of the most important goals in Canadian hockey history, making himself a hero in the hearts of many hockey fans across the nation.
It was game 8 of the fierce battle between the Soviet Union and Canada, a back and forth game, which ended with Paul Henderson's legendary goal, 34 seconds left in the third period to give Canada the win in the game and in the series.
If you aren't too familiar with the 1972 Summit Series, it was an 8-game series between Canada and the Soviet Union, and was the first best on best competition. Prior to the 1972 Summit Series, the Olympics and IIHF World Championships barred professional players from participating, with the exception of the Soviet Union for the most part. Soviet teams and players were considered amateurs due to the fact they were either apart of the KGB or in the Soviet army, but played hockey full time and were paid by the government. In 1970, Canada was set to host the IIHF World Championship but decided to withdraw from the tournament after not being allowed to bring a roster of professional players.
#OTD in 1972: Paul Henderson scored arguably the most iconic goal in Canadian hockey history to secure the Summit Series victory for his country. 🇨🇦 🏒 🚨 pic.twitter.com/NwIc7yar4t— theScore (@theScore) September 28, 2020
Two years on from that, in April of 1972, Hockey Canada officials met with the Soviets to go through the details of a potential series between the two nations, featuring the best players available. An agreement was reached which had an 8-game series hosted between Canada and the Soviets. Canada's home games were played in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver, while the Soviets held all four games in Moscow.
Henderson, now 77, had a pretty good NHL career. He played for the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Atlanta Flames. He also played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Toronto Toros and Birmingham Bulls. At the time, the WHA was a rival league of the NHL, but didn't succeed and folded in 1979.
In 707 NHL games, Henderson had 477 points (236 G, 241 A), and 304 penalty minutes. In 360 WHA games, he put up 283 points (140 G, 143 A), and 112 penalty minutes.
Henderson's goal will remain in the memory of Canadian hockey fans forever, whether you were alive at the time or not, the stories were more than likely passed down from your grandparents and parents. Decades from now, we will be passing down the story to our kids and grandkids of Crosby's golden goal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Two great goals that will forever remembered by many Canadians.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mark Scheifele | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kyle Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Zach Benson | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Ryan McLeod | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jonatan Berggren | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brent Burns | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Joel Farabee | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Morgan Geekie | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dylan Guenther | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jake Guentzel | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Peyton Krebs | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dylan Larkin | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Adam Larsson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Adam Lowry | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nick Paul | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Darren Raddysh | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 62 | 42 | 16 | 4 | 88 | |
Capitals | 62 | 40 | 14 | 8 | 88 | |
Stars | 61 | 40 | 19 | 2 | 82 | |
Golden Knights | 61 | 37 | 18 | 6 | 80 | |
Maple Leafs | 62 | 38 | 21 | 3 | 79 | |
Panthers | 62 | 38 | 21 | 3 | 79 | |
Lightning | 61 | 36 | 21 | 4 | 76 | |
Hurricanes | 62 | 36 | 22 | 4 | 76 | |
Wild | 62 | 36 | 22 | 4 | 76 | |
Oilers | 61 | 35 | 22 | 4 | 74 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||