In 1962-63 the Toronto Maple Leafs finished in first place and won the Stanley Cup. The Boston Bruins finished in last place. On Saturday, January 18,1964, the Leafs were in a strong third place and the Bruins were still mired in last place.
So when the Bruins came to Toronto for a game against the Leafs there was little doubt who would win. Right?
Wrong!!!!
The Bruins scored a goal in the first minute of play. They would go on to a 6-0 lead in the first period. They added a goal in the second and burst out for another four goals in the third.
The Leafs had seconf-stringer goalie Don Simmons in net but the slaughter was not all his fault, None of the Leafs could do anything right that night.
The last place Bruins got three goals each from Andy Hebenton and Dean Prentice, two goals from Murray Oliver, and singles from Gary Dornhoefer, Leo Boivin, and Jean-Guy Gendron. Prentice added three assists for a six point night and Orland Kurtenbach also got three assists.
Ironically Simmons was not supposed to start the next game on Sunday, January 19 in Chicago against the powerful Black Hawks. But an airplane malfunction grounded the plane that was bringing Al Millar to start the game. Simmons, instead, started the game and shutout the Hawks 2-0 in a complete reversal for the Leafs.
Meanwhile on that same night the Bruins, fresh off that teriffic game, tied the first place Montreal Canadiens 1-1 at Boston.
The game probably led Leafs General Manager and coach Punch Imlach to make a blockbuster trade with the New York Rangers. Andy Bathgate and Don McKenney, two veteran top scorers, joined Toronto in exchange for Bob Nevin, Dick Duff, Bill Collins, Rod Seiling, and Arnie Brown. The Leafs gave up a lot of their future but they did win the Stanley Cup in 1964 - despite being on the wrong end of an 11-0 score during the season.