A great picture of hockey !

Maurice Richard was one of the most intense competitors ever to play in the NHL. His fiery eyes live on in his statue outside of the Bell Centre and in all sorts of photos from his playing days. The above photo is after Game 7 of a Montreal-Boston series from the 1952 Stanley Cup playoffs. Earlier in the game, Richard was caught with an open-ice hit, lost consciousness and must have sustained a concussion. He left the game for a while, but returned in time for the last few minutes of regulation in a 1-1 game. The Canadiens broke out of their own zone and got Richard the puck. He beat two defenders and deked around goalie ‘Sugar’ Jim Henry to give the Habs the lead. They hung on for the win and advanced to the Cup final.
After time had run out, the two teams went through the handshake line. Here, Henry and Richard meet and it;s almost as though Henry is bowing to The Rocket.

A great hockey picture !

And despite the early pressure, Gretzky lived up to the hype and then some. In 1989, Gretzky passed how on the all-time points list, mostly because of the ridiculous amount of assists he tallied. It’s always mind-blowing to think about the fact Gretzky has more assists than any other player has points, so even if he never scored a goal in the NHL, he’d still be the all-time leading scorer.
But he did score a pile of goals, too. In 1981-82 he scored 92 in one season, a record that is hard to believe will ever be broken. And in 1994, Gretzky scored his 802nd career NHL goal, passing Howe’s record of 801 in the league. Gretzky scored it against the Vancouver Canucks – and here is the very moment he made history.

A great hockey picture !

This is one I have hanging up at home. At the bottom of it is a quote from Gordie Howe: “I play religious hockey. It’s better to give than to receive.” No kidding. In this photo, Howe is throwing an illegal check for boarding, hitting from behind and, heck, probably charging too. Caught up in the fray is referee Frank Udvari, a legendary NHL official who passed away last week. He’s doing his best to get out of the way of this thundering Howe check. Helping him is the fencing around the board that he could grab on to. Fencing! How awesome is that?

A great picture of hockey !

Heading into the 1969-70 season, Bobby Orr had a Calder and two Norris Trophies already and he’d win the Art Ross, Hart, Norris and Conn Smythe Trophies that season. Whew. His Bruins faced the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup final, a team that reached its third Cup final in a row, but had yet to win a game there (the ’67 expansion teams took a while to become competitive). The Bruins swept the Blues in 1970, but the series was capped off in dramatic fashion. Orr scored 40 seconds into overtime to lead the Bruins to victory after taking a pass from Derek Sanderson in the corner. It was Boston’s first Cup since 1941 and they’d win another two years later.

In the photo, Orr is flying through the air like Superman after he was lifted off his feet by St. Louis defenseman Noel Picard.

A great picture of hockey !

We used this photo of Alexander Frolov for a photo gallery a few years back and it always stuck with me. A member of the Los Angeles Kings at the time, here Frolov has locked eyes with a young fan during warmup and is making somewhat of a goofy face at him. This is simply wonderful and puts a smile on your face. I wonder if the kid still remembers the interaction.

A great picture of hockey !

This has got to be one of the most famous hockey photos ever. Gordie Howe, who would have been close to or at the end of his days with the Detroit Red Wings, with Wayne Gretzky, who I believe is 10 years old in the picture. Howe would go on to play in the WHA for the Houston Aeros and New England Whalers and return to the NHL for a year when the Whalers moved to the NHL in the merger. Gretzky was still years away from turning pro, but even at such a young age, the spotlight was starting to shine on him. Howe, No. 9, was Gretzky’s idol, so when he did get to the NHL, he wore No. 99

Hockey card of the day : 1980-81 O-Pee-Chee #289 Mark Messier UER RC #card #hockey #trade #nhl

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Source : Beckett.com

      Item Details

• Set: 1980-81 O-Pee-Chee
• Player: Messier, Mark
• Sport: Hockey
• Team: Edmonton Oilers
• Attributes: RC
• Card Number: #289
• Manufacturer: O-Pee-Chee
• Brand: O-Pee-Chee