September 29, 1973. Brantford (Ontario) Civic Centre. The Pittsburgh Penguins squared off against their arch-nemesis—the truculent St. Louis Blues—in an NHL exhibition game.
Early in the second period all hell broke loose. The Pens’ pint-sized policeman Bryan Watson—an early version of Bobby Farnham—was hunched forward into the wheelhouse of big Blues defender Steve Durbano. “Demolition Durby” teed off on Watson with both hands.
Moments later Watson was escorted to the penalty box, but it was hardly a safe haven. A cadre of Blues, including Barclay Plager and Gary Sabourin, had gathered a few feet away to menace the chippy Pens defender.