Forty years ago today, Maple Leaf Gardens played host to a truly historic night for hockey.
On February 7, 1976, Leafs captain Darryl Sittler entered the Saturday night matchup against the Boston Bruins as the target of owner Harold Ballard’s wrath, having been mired in a scoring slump.
Sittler responded with the greatest single-game offensive output ever recorded in the NHL: a ten-point outing in which he collected six goals and four assists.
The Leafs routed the Bruins 11-4. All of Toronto’s goals were scored against Boston backup goaltender Dave Reece.
Reece was on hand last Thursday at Air Canada Centre as part of a tribute to Sittler to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the milestone night.