‘Boom Boom’ Geoffrion dies
Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, the hockey Hall of Famer credited with inventing the slap shot, died Saturday before his No. 5 jersey was retired by the Montreal Canadiens.
Geoffrion, who helped lead powerhouse Montreal teams to six Stanley Cups in the 1950s and early ‘60s, died after a brief battle with stomach cancer. He was 75.
Geoffrion died in an Atlanta hospital, the Canadiens said. His cancer was discovered during surgery last week.
He didn’t live to see his number retired, but still was able to relish the knowledge that his place in history was secure, said Rejean Houle, former Montreal general manager and current head of the Canadiens alumni.
“He had known six months ago, and he enjoyed every minute of it,” Houle said. “At least it’s not like we decided to do it after he passed away.”
The Canadiens went ahead with the ceremony before Saturday night’s game against the New York Rangers. Geoffrion’s wife, Marlene, his three children and his grandchildren were in attendance.
His number went up right next to the No. 7 of Marlene’s father, Canadiens great Howie Morenz, just as Geoffrion predicted many years ago when the couple was dating.
“Tonight marks the realization of his life’s dream and brings closure to a magnificent career,” said Danny Geoffrion, who was coached by his father with Montreal in 1979-80. “Dad, your family loves you more than you’ll ever know.”
Danny addressed the crowd in English, and brother Bobby spoke in French. A moment of silence was observed in Bernie Geoffrion’s honor just moments after Marlene and their children raised his banner.
On the ice
Following the ceremony honoring Geoffrion, Cristobal Huet recorded his second shutout in two games and Craig Rivet scored on a power play in the first period, leading Montreal to a 1-0 victory over the New York Rangers.
Huet, who made 28 saves in Thursday’s 3-0 win in Boston, stopped 26 shots in his 13th straight start and earned his fifth shutout of the season. Huet had shutouts on consecutive days over Boston and Philadelphia on Feb. 5-6.
Rivet scored his sixth goal at 17:15, beating Henrik Lundqvist with 10 seconds remaining in New York defenseman Tom Poti’s hooking penalty.
Sabres 6, Flyers 5: At Philadelphia, Mike Grier’s goal with 4.6 seconds remaining lifted Buffalo to a win over Philadelphia.
Chris Drury, Teppo Numminen, Jochen Hecht, Jean-Pierre Dumont and Daniel Briere also scored for Buffalo, which has won five straight games to get within two points of Northeast Division-leading Ottawa.
Sharks 3, Predators 2 (OT): At San Jose, Calif., Christian Ehrhoff scored a power-play goal with 2:04 left in overtime as San Jose overcame Tomas Vokoun’s 39-save performance for a fight-filled win over Nashville.
Blue Jackets 4, Oilers 3 (OT): At Columbus, Ohio, Rostislav Klesla scored from a hard angle immediately after Edmonton’s Nikolai Zherdev couldn’t control a bouncing puck in front of an open Columbus net as the Blue Jackets beat the Oilers.
Penguins 6, Devils 3: At Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby helped chase Martin Brodeur by late in the second period with two goals and an assist during Pittsburgh’s victory over New Jersey.
Red Wings 6, Blackhawks 4: At Detroit, Steve Yzerman scored twice as Detroit had three goals in each of the first two periods to beat Chicago.
Islanders 3, Bruins 1: At Boston, Trent Hunter tipped in Miroslav Satan’s shot to snap a tie with 5:01 left as New York upended Boston.
Maple Leafs 5, Lightning 1: At Toronto, Jason Allison scored twice and had an assist as Toronto beat Tampa Bay.
Panthers 4 Hurricanes 3 (OT): At Sunrise, Fla., Joel Kwiatkowski scored in overtime to give Florida a win over Carolina.
Kings 2, Blues 1 (SO): At St. Louis, Mathieu Garon made 31 saves and stopped all three attempts in the shootout, lifting Los Angeles past St. Louis.
Mighty Ducks 5, Coyotes 3: At Glendale, Ariz., Rob Niedermayer scored twice, and Teemu Selanne added his team-leading 28th goal as Anaheim knocked off Phoenix.
Stars 2, Canucks 1: At Vancouver, British Columbia, Mike Modano scored the tying goal 5 minutes into the third period and then netted the winner with 5 minutes remaining as Dallas rallied to beat Vancouver.