It would need a different title today, as the “Slap Shot” only occasionally shows itself in NHL games.

George Roy Hill immortalized it with his classic sports/comedy film of 1977, starring Paul Newman. “I think two or three years ago, but I can’t remember who shot the puck,” the veteran Avalanche defenseman said. Jan Hejda stared into space when asked the same question. “I honestly can’t remember,” said former Avalanche player Troy Murray, now a radio analyst with the Chicago Blackhawks, after a long pause, when asked the last time he saw an unimpeded slap shot from the side boards go into the net. Two things happened on that goal that now happen roughly on the order of someone winning Powerball: 1, Lafleur had time and space to wind up with his big slapper from the right half-boards and 2, the puck went in.

The unimpeded slap shot goal, once a staple of hockey lore, rests only in pieces of grainy YouTube clips now.Ĭlick on the one of Guy Lafleur, light brown hair flowing in the no-helmet-allowed NHL era of 1979, letting loose the game-tying goal on Boston Bruins goalie Gilles Gilbert late in the third period of Game 7 in the conference finals. Like pension plans, smoking sections on airplanes and the Pet Rock, it has become another quaint addition to the “Wait, those really existed?” file cabinet. Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu

Hockey slot shot