1958: Boston Pushes Montreal To Brink, But Can't Pull Off The Upset

The year is 1958. Led by the usual cast of Jean Beliveau, Boom Boom Geoffrion, Doug Harvey, Tom Johnson, Dickie Moore, Bert Olmstead, Jacques Plante, Henri Richard and of course Maurice "Rocket" Richard, the Montreal Canadiens are heavy favorites to capture their third consecutive Stanley Cup championship.

The no-name Boston Bruins, featuring relative NHL newcomers Bronco Horvath and Johnny Bucyk, stand in the Canadiens way. The Bruins were easily dismissed as Cup challengers the previous year, but in 1958 they gave Montreal all they could handle. The two teams split the first four games, with Montreal escaping the pivotal fifth game with an overtime tally courtesy of Rocket Richard.

The Canadiens would wrap up the title in game 6 in Boston, the first time the Habs had won the Cup on the road. The Bruins fans booed so mercilessly that the league's board of governors had a debate about the future of the Stanley Cup's on-ice presentation.