Canadiens vs. the Soviet Red Army - Dec. 31, 1975

[sarcee1960]

Still considered one of the greatest hockey games ever played.

[MARILYN19481]

Yes it was a great game but too much is made of this game. The Quebec Nordiques beat the Soviet National Team (with Tretiak in nets) in 1977 (January) and 1978 (December). In December 1977 the Nords represented Canada at the Isvestia tournament.

[okpapereat]

Yes, you did hear Volchenkov, His son now plays in the NHL with the New Jersey devils, Anton Volchenkov.

[osjaikisa]

"the communist repression of the U.S.S.R."

a2zme, take this bullshit off!!!

[tor378a]

Sensational game, Just an exhibition game, yet the teams played as if it was the World Championship game....but, I guess it was. Two best teams in the world. The Canadiens deserved the win, but Tretiak was simply incredible. Not to sound old, but they don;t play hockey like this any more. A shame, its just goons now.

[BostonCreamDonut]

Why can`t the NHL have draws, instead of the lame shootouts.

[AlexandrePRKHL]

Remember than North American hockey shot allways until you score and soviet hockey style is base on to shoot when you can score. Overshoot not signified you dominate the game.

[nikpristouris]

I will never forget this game for the rest of my life. One of the rare moments where an NHL team outplayed the Soviets. Tretiak was glorious. Dryden I feel is getting a bad rap here because the Soviets were not about getting pucks on the net. They were very selective with their play making as they would set up 'The Opportunity' with skillful lethal attacks that were always dangerous goal scoring opportunities as this game clearly demonstrated. Dryden had to be sharp on a sudden moments notice.

[MegaJackbest]

@nikpristouris i agree, the greatest hockey game i ever saw...

[1958michaelforever]

hey it's my birthday accept im born 12-31-90 it's cool how people can upload old footage like this

[gorriep1]

the game was fixed,how much did dryden get from the russians.i watch the game back then.or he was on something.he couldn,t even stand up.what a disgrace for montreal.

[cuzi123]

Hockey was hockey back in the 70s! What an arena! The organ (no blaring music), no glass behind the benches (home and away teams) and there were no problems. Good clean hockey!

[Frequent2001]

damn where can i get the whole game

[alexkvaskov]

This had to be one of the very best hockey games. Ever.

[Slushyyy639]

dryden doesnt have shit on tretiak

[altfactor]

They should have had playoff overtime rules, meaning they would have played until there was a winner.

I believe the game started quite early for an evening game (6 P.M. EST??) because it was New Year's Eve.

I don't think this game was televised anywhere in the United States, but I believe Boston's WBZ radio (the then-radio flagship of the Boston Bruins) did carry the game with Boston announcer Bob Wilson noting at the end that there had never been a better tie game in hockey history.

[622mister]

Thanks for that video ... It was a greatest match in the hockey history ...

The greatest match between greatest teams - Canadiens and CSKA ...

[HawkFest]

Thanks for that video ! I remember my uncle brought me and my bro. to this game. At 10, I was playing Pee-Wees league in Montreal, whatching every game of my heroes, and being there ended up like a dream... What a game! The most exciting I've ever attended or seen. Just pulled a tear of nostalgia

[Magenta408]

The big mout who lauds Ken Dryden is Howie Meeker. Biggest tool in the NHL media. Dryden couldn't stop anything the Moscovites through at him. Another Luongo.

[Magenta408]

Yes,I remember the cheap shot from Bobby Clarke. I was in fact embarrased how brutal the attempt to cripple Kharlamov. I guess they had to win at all costs. Clarke just showed how much of a goon he was. Fortunately we had Esposito, Cournoyer and of course, Paul Henderson. Who will forget?

[hanksnow2]

About 3 years prior to this game, Ferguson was giving to orders to Clarke, to break Kharlamov's ankle.

Although somewhere in this game, Robinson nearly decapitates him (K), but I see he survived & even played the last shift.

Kharlamov was worth the price of admission, even though he was skating on a leg & half, thanks to "Bobby Clobber"!

[ryankuntz19]

The Russians can't match Dryden in net? Did the guy who said that know who the Russian goalie was?

[babystinky]

montreal should have won that game. tretiak was the reason.

[datsyuk134life]

watch this on mute and play this watch?v=HRtromH3M6w&feature=re­lated

history was made

[MadeInFinland44]

wtf, this isn't the red army

[Kanerocks7]

When the U.S and Russia were fighting with words, our allies in Canada were fighting it on the ice.

[andrebaker35]

Soviet style of play changed the NHL, just look at Scotty Bowman for adopting there style on the Red Wings years ago

[Magenta408]

@andrebaker35 and where do you think the Oilers learned how to win Stanley Cups without having to dump the puck in the zone like Tarantah would do.

[Qwalnuts]

Well, sure...that can be said for all hockey players...but there are important variables here. If Tretiak, at that age, was given modern equipment and a few modern games as exposure, I imagine he would adapt pretty quickly.

[hitmansb]

LOL@ Howie Meeker stating that the Russians couldn't match Dryden in goal. Foot in mouth much?

[Lava1964]

Howie Meeker says the Russians can't match Dryden in goal. Oops! I think Howie's prediction was a little bit off.

[UpstairsMaid]

i was there, red line, 10 rows up from centre ice.... best game I ever saw.

[gcdcjccc]

wow, great stuff. i remember that game very well, and i remember where i was. Vintage Danny Galivan and Dick Irvin

[babystinky]

Without Tretiak, Montreal would have beaten them by 6 or more goals.

[alexkvaskov]

@babystinky Yeah that's kinda the point, we had an incredible goalie idiot

[jaynebosco]

Thank goodness HNIC doesn't have those awful blue suit jackets anymore.

[babystinky]

the new hockey buildings are boring as hell and they all look the same. the old days the buildings had spirit and character and you knew which rink was which. it was wonderful.

[allenst]

habs were putting in 19,000 in the building 35 years ago

[ldhorricks]

@allenst And what a building it was...The Forum and the Spectrum were probably the most electric buildings in hockey history...sad all the shrines are gone other than MSG.

[bleewicket]

I forgot the Habs outshot Red Army by such a wide margin that night. Tretiak was a god. Dryden was... well, he was never that good against the Russians.

[UpstairsMaid]

@bleewicket Dryden faced 15 shots, 2 of the goals were cherry picked breakaway or 2 on 1's.

[wilmanric1]

@bleewicket Yeah, I never could figure out why. Dryden could be brilliant, like in the '71 Quarter Finals against Boston--he stoned the Bruins, then the finest team in hockey. (How I hated those bastards!) But then against the Sov's he was just not at his best. It has always puzzled me!

[Potts132]

@wilmanric1 We are pretty scary in person ;)

[Jones89ful]

Мда . . .даже на табло вместо ЦСКА написали "visitors"!

[BillyBoysing]

38-13 in shots??? wow

[GaurMiaur]

it's usual. soviet teams shoots when it very good chance to score only. you can see almost in all games canadias teams мы soviet teams canadians shoots more several times.

[wilmanric1]

@GaurMiaur Look at around 3:10--wow! Tretiak was incredible. I remember this game very well. Russia played a fast, open kind of hockey that we once played, but nearly forgot about. In the mid 70's only Montreal still played that, "the Flying Frenchmen" they were called. I knew that Montreal v. Russia would be an excellent game, and it was. Some of the best hockey I have ever seen in my life.

[wilmanric1]

@GaurMiaur One thing I have always admired about any Russian hockey team is that no matter what the score is, your players NEVER GIVE UP! Even if your team is behind three or four goals, your players never quit! They always play as if the game is tied in overtime. I admire that spirit!

[Qwalnuts]

Vladislav Tretiak has to be amongst the greatest goaltenders in all of history.

[Perrotti9368]

@Qwalnuts no goalies before the 90s compare with goalies now. Tretiak was the best at his time and all before his time. Hockey has progressed so much since then (goaltending wise) that theres not even a hint of competition if a goalie now were to go back in time and be compared with a 70s goalie :P

[Askar9992]

@Qwalnuts he is in!

[pwnage12345679]

the worlds best hockey game

[Infofan]

Thanks for the clip of this famous and legendary game, a2zme!

Go Canada, and Slava Rodinu!

Five stars!