Canadiens vs the Soviet Red Army Hockey Highlights

Broadcast Date: Dec. 31, 1975

Three years after the Summit Series captivated hockey fans across Canada, the Soviet Union's best players return for a New Year's Eve matchup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1975. Almost 19,000 fans are on hand at the Forum to witness a match representative of the ongoing Cold War, pitting the freedom and democracy of the West against the communist repression of the U.S.S.R. In these segments from the game, the teams' disparate styles of play are on show: the Soviets' puck control and long forward passes, and the Habs' suffocating defense and creative on-the-fly attack.
Canadiens vs. the Soviet Red Army

• The match was officially billed as an exhibition contest, but for the members of the Canadiens, the game was a showdown between the best hockey teams in the world. Just as the Habs dominated the NHL most seasons, the Soviet Red Army team (known domestically as CSKA Moscow) was perennially atop the Soviet elite league standings.

• Combined, the two teams boasted an astounding 37 championship titles.

• Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretiak faced seven shots before his cross-rink rival, Ken Dryden, saw a single puck come his way. The Canadiens scored two goals in the first eight minutes of the game. Early in the second period, Boris Mikhailov scored one for the Soviets before the Habs got a third goal. The Red Army scored two more in the third.

• Although the Canadiens outshot the Soviets 38-13, the historic game ended in a 3-3 draw.

Canadiens vs. the Soviet Red Army

Broadcast Date: Dec. 31, 1975

Duration: 5:36

Last updated:
Jan. 23, 2009

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Montreal
• Canadiens
• Soviet
• Red
• Army
• Hockey
• Vladislav
• Tretiak
• Ken
• Dryden
• Russian

[rherbert57]

@MrHatesTheHabs Go ahead and hate them all you want.  Expend 99% of your energy hating them, and it won't change the fact that they've won more Stanley Cups than any other team will ever win. It's too bad that whatever team you cheer for won't ever come close, but I think your energy would be better spent cheering for them, as opposed to hating something you can't change.

[jackcan1000]

The Flower was scary

[habs4life41]

great sportsmanship at the end by both teams! i love how they played back then i wish i was born then so i could have experienced it, especially the announcer! hes the best i have ever heard

[habsfan93]

go habs go

[thierryman]

My god, it's were to realize that this game is almost exactly 35 years old!

[jackcan1000]

The Flower was scary

[alanrdowney]

I don't think the Canadiens needed Tretiak... not until after 1978-79 anyhow. I think Mr. Dryden was a pretty decent goalie himself. And from 1985-86 for the next ten years, they had a guy named Roy who was fairly good. (Of course, I am seriously understating things as both Dryden and Roy are in the HOF and have TEN Cups between them - Dryden six and Roy four - two with the Habs.)

[Mannixxx]

@pinkdarkechoes Tretiak did end up joining the Habs as the Goaltending coach for awhile.

[MrHatesTheHabs]

I cheered for the Russian I hate the habs that much

[pinkdarkechoes]

I was a kid when I saw this but I remember it well....I always wished Tretiak would defect and join the Habs.