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NHL All
Stars Scoring Statistics USSR
Scoring Statistics Challenge
Cup
Scoring Leaders Challenge
Cup MVPs:
NHL - Clark Gillies
USSR - Boris Mikhailov Did
Not Play
NHL: Ron Greschner, Robert Picard, Tony Esposito USSR:
Viacheslav Fetisov (injured), Alexander Maltsev (injured)
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The 1979 Challenge Cup replaced the 1979 NHL All Star Game. The NHL
All Stars played the Soviet National Team in the "Series of the
Century."
The
series was played exclusively in New York City and at Madison Square
Gardens. The NHL was hoping to use the exhibition series to boost
hockey's exposure in the United States. However the tournament was
largely ignored in the U.S., especially by television broadcasters
CBS, NBC and ABC. The
NHL team should not be confused with Team Canada. The All Stars
featured the best players in the NHL, not just Canada. That being
said, only three members of the team were non-Canadians: Swedish stars
Borje Salming, Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson. The
NHL All Stars had exactly three practices together to prepare for the
series. The Soviets, by contrast, spent several weeks preparing
specifically for the contest. They even travelled to the Netherlands
where they found a rink that matched Madison Square Gardens ice
surface. The NHL
jumped out to a convincing 1st game victory, thanks to a opening play
goal by Guy Lafleur and a flat Soviet effort. The NHL were in good
shape half way through game two, on the verge of a series victory,
before the Soviets awakened. The Soviets stormed back to tie the
series. Game three
was no contest. The NHL All Stars had a few good chances in a
scoreless first period, but were continually stymied by the biggest
surprise of the series. Vladimir Myshkin, making his national team
debut, took over from Vladislav Tretiak in the final game. The Soviet
players played flawlessly in front of the rookie netminder, and
supported him with 6 goals scored. Myshkin never surrendered a single
goal. |
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