The Good Friday Massacre was a second-round playoff match-up during the 1984 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The game occurred on Good Friday, April 20, 1984 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada between the Quebec Nordiques and the Montreal Canadiens at the Montreal Forum. There were over 18,090 people in attendance at the game.
Broadcast[]
The game was broadcast on CBC Television and Télévision de Radio-Canada in Canada and on the USA Network in the United States.
Game Recap[]
After a number of fights, a bench-clearing brawl broke out near the end of the second period.
When the teams returned to ice for the extended third period, as they were warming up, a second brawl broke out between the teams (including players who had already been ejected from the game but had not been notified prior to their return to the ice). The officials had to be summoned to the rink to restore order.
Referee Bruce Hood was late in announcing the penalties as the third period began, and the players reassembled on the ice.
As a consequence, a second brawl erupted and lasted until the players left once more. Hood was roundly criticized for his handling of the fight and eventually retired after the playoffs that year, doing so amidst speculation that his retirement occurred at the behest of NHL officials.
A total of 252 penalty minutes were incurred and 11 players were ejected.
Amongst the fourteen altercations at the end of the second period were the Canadiens' Mario Tremblay smashing the nose of the Nordiques' Peter Stastny and Louis Sleigher knocking Jean Hamel unconscious by hitting him in the eye.
Hamel managed to return for training camp in the autumn of 1984, but he sustained another eye injury in Montreal's last pre-season game which prompted him to retire.
Aftermath[]
When the brawl took place, the Canadiens were trailing 1-0.
They came back to score all five of their goals in the third period to defeat the Nordiques that night by a score of 5-3, thereby winning the series 4 games to 2.
However, the Canadiens were defeated in the Prince of Wales Conference Finals by the New York Islanders in six games.
Game Summary[]
- Scoring Summary
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | QUE | Peter Stastny (2) (PP) | Jean-Francois Sauve (1), Anton Stastny (4) | 5:12 | 1–0 QUE |
| 3rd | QUE | Michel Goulet (2) (PP) | 2:02 | 2–0 QUE | |
| MTL | Steve Shutt (3) | Bobby Smith (2), Pierre Mondou (2) | 6:23 | 2-1 QUE | |
| MTL | Steve Shutt (4) | Mats Naslund (6) | 9:11 | 2-2 | |
| MTL | Rick Green (1) | Bobby Smith (3) | 12:14 | 3-2 MTL | |
| MTL | John Chabot (1) | Guy Lafleur (2), Mats Naslund (2) | 13:27 | 4-2 MTL | |
| MTL | Guy Carbonneau (3) | Ryan Walter (2) | 14:28 | 5-2 MTL | |
| QUE | Wilf Paiement (3) | Jean-Francois Sauve (2), Alain Cote (2) | 16:51 | 5-3 MTL |
- (Number in parenthesis represents the player's total in goals or assists to that point of the playoffs)
- Penalty summary
| Period | Team | Player | Penalty | Time | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | QUE | Wilf Paiement | 0:23 | 5:00 | |
| MTL | Mike McPhee | 0:23 | 5:00 | ||
| QUE | Michel Goulet | 2:48 | 2:00 | ||
| MTL | Bobby Smith | 2:48 | 2:00 | ||
| MTL | Craig Ludwig | 4:18 | 2:00 | ||
| MTL | Jean Hamel | 5:01 | 2:00 | ||
| QUE | Wally Weir | 9:51 | 2:00 | ||
| QUE | Blake Wesley | 11:52 | 2:00 | ||
| QUE | Pat Price | 17:23 | 2:00 | ||
| MTL | Chris Nilan | 17:23 | 2:00 | ||
| QUE | Mario Marois | 20:00 | 2:00 | ||
| 2nd | QUE | Michel Goulet | 3:52 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Chris Chelios | 15:20 | 2:00 | ||
| QUE | Dale Hunter | 15:20 | 2:00 | ||
| QUE | Dale Hunter | 17:30 | 2:00 | ||
| MTL | Rick Green | 17:30 | 2:00 | ||
| QUE | Anton Stastny | 17:50 | 5:00 | ||
| MTL | Craig Ludwig | 17:50 | 5:00 | ||
| QUE | André Doré | 18:44 | 2:00 | ||
| MTL | Bobby Smith | 19:48 | 2:00 | ||
| QUE | Dale Hunter | Roughing (double minor), Game misconduct | 20:00 | 24:00 | |
| MTL | Guy Carbonneau | 20:00 | 5:00 | ||
| MTL | Jean Hamel | Fighting, Game misconduct | 20:00 | 25:00 | |
| MTL | Mike McPhee | Fighting, Game misconduct | 20:00 | 25:00 | |
| MTL | Mario Tremblay | Fighting, Game misconduct | 20:00 | 25:00 | |
| MTL | Richard Sevigny | Fighting, Game misconduct | 20:00 | 25:00 | |
| QUE | Wally Weir | Fighting, Game misconduct | 20:00 | 25:00 | |
| QUE | Peter Stasny | Fighting, Game misconduct | 20:00 | 25:00 | |
| QUE | Louis Sleigher | Fighting, Game misconduct | 20:00 | 25:00 | |
| QUE | Clint Malarchuk | Fighting, Game misconduct | 20:00 | 25:00 | |
| QUE | Randy Moller | Fighting, Misconduct (10 minutes), Game misconduct | 20:00 | 35:00 | |
| MTL | Chris Nilan | Fighting (double major), Misconduct (10 minutes), Game misconduct | 20:00 | 40:00 | |
| 3rd | QUE | Michel Goulet | 6:46 | 2:00 |
- Shots
| Period | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quebec | 8 | 9 | 7 | 24 |
| Montreal | 11 | 8 | 7 | 26 |
- Power Play Opportunities
| Goals/Opportunities | |
|---|---|
| Quebec | 1/5 |
| Montreal | 0/6 |
- Three Star Selections
| Team | Player | Statistics | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | MTL | Steve Shutt | 2 Goals |
| 2nd | MTL | Mats Naslund | 1 Assist |
| 3rd | MTL | Chris Chelios |