Aged on the Rink

It was the night of Feb. 6. The league-leading Chicago Black Hawks were playing the Toronto Maple Leafs, and all eyes were on Chicago's great Bobby Hull as he picked up the loose puck and rocketed down the rink. Hull had already scored one goal (his 38th in 48 games), and he was taking aim again when--oof!--Bob Baum hit him with a crunching body check. Hull crumpled to the ice with pulled ligaments in his knee. In that instant, the whole National Hockey League season turned topsy-turvy.

Hull has not scored a goal since. The Black Hawks, who led the league by as much as four points, have won only one of their last six games. And out of the shambles have risen the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit has not won the N.H.L. championship since 1957; on Feb. 6, the Red Wings were mired in fourth place, trailed only by the hapless New York Rangers and Boston Bruins. Last week the Red Wings edged New York 6-5 and Montreal 3-2, clobbered Toronto 4-2, and took over undisputed possession of first place. A few nights later, the Wings finally had their winning string snapped--after seven straight--by the Montreal Canadiens, 4-2. But with only seven games to play, they still led the N.H.L. by a full game.

Better All the Time. Obviously there is no substitute for experience. The Red Wings are so old that some of them are childhood heroes of the men they play against. At 36, in his 19th big-league season, Gordie Howe is the top scorer in N.H.L. history (590 goals), and he seems to get better all the time. Last week Gordie scored two goals against Toronto, assisted on another, and ran his season's total to 63 points--fourth highest in the league. Defenseman Bill Gadsby, 37, has also been around for 19 years; in that time, he has had his left leg broken twice, both big toes fractured, his nose broken seven times, both thumbs smashed, and 500 stitches taken in his face.

Then there is Ted Lindsay. After four years as a respectable, golf-playing Detroit businessman, "Terrible Ted," 39, is back on the ice--scoring 13 goals, and belting opponents around with such undisguised glee that he has already spent 159 minutes in the penalty box--second only to Toronto's "Bad Boy" Carl Brewer.

Four for Three. At season's start, the experts picked Detroit to finish no better than fourth. "Too old," they said --and worse yet, the Red Wings were playing with a rookie goalie, Roger Crozier, who had been traded away as hopeless by the Black Hawks. Only 5 ft. 8 in. and 150 Ibs., Crozier has a nervous stomach ("I worry a lot"), and no less an authority than Jacques Plante --six-time winner of the Vezina Trophy as the N.H.L.'s top goalie--flatly predicted that Roger would never make it in the big time. Last week Plante was down in the minors, tending net for Baltimore in the American Hockey League. Crozier, with six shutouts and an average of only 2.4 goals allowed per game, was leading the race for the Vezina Trophy.

To spare his aging stars, Detroit Coach Sid Abel makes full use of an old pro football tactic: free substitution. All other N.H.L. teams operate with three offensive lines, alternate them every 2 1/2min. or so. Abel uses four lines, substitutes every 1 1/2 min. "Play twice as hard for half the time," he tells the players. "The big secret around here is the spirit," says Ted Lindsay. "I'm happy. We're all happy. And we're going to win this thing." They just might, at that.

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