THN Archive: 50 Years Ago, Esposito, Hawks Record 11-Game Unbeaten Streak On the Road

The Chicago Blackhawks suffered through a competitive drought for many years, but in this cover story from THN's Archive, the Hawks' success on the road was the focal point of their 1973-74 season.

The Chicago Blackhawks are suffering through a roster rebuild, But in this cover story from THN’s Jan. 11, 1974 edition – Vol. 27, Issue 15 – writer Bob Verdi profiled a Hawks team that was one of the NHL’s best at that time.

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In the 1973-74 season, the then-spelled Black Hawks posted a 41-14-23 record, and they were coming off a 1972-73 campaign in which they made it to the Stanley Cup final. Verdi spoke to a number of Chicago players in the cover story, and they noticed in particular the Hawks’ standout play on the road, which set a new team record for a road unbeaten streak. 

“We are,” said Hawks forward Dennis Hull, “just like the Harlem Globetrotters. They never lose any road games and we never lose any road games.”

The Black Hawks’ achievement at the time of publication was an unbeaten string of 11 games (8-0-3) away from home. It was one game short of tying a 12-game unbeaten road streak set in 1967-68, which the 2012-13 Blackhawks tied. But despite the road success, the Hawks were still chasing Philadelphia for the top spot in the West Division.

“I think that’s part of why we’re playing so well.” Chicago’s Pit Martin said. “The fact that we’re in second place and going after somebody that’s almost as hot as us makes us work harder. We know we can’t afford to lose.”

Hawks star goalie Tony Esposito chalked up his team’s play in the other side’s rink to a change in the makeup of the roster.

“The only thing I’ve seen is that sometimes at home, when we could freeze the puck in our end, sometimes we try to get it out instead and maybe get burned,” Esposito said. “On the road, we’d hold it for a faceoff. But I can’t complain. The protection has been great. Everybody still basically thinks defensively on this club.”

The Blackhawks wouldn’t get back to the Cup final for another 18 seasons, but all things considered, they remained a threat to go far for a long time.

“(L)ast year was a year of transition,” Esposito told Verdi. “We had lost Bobby Hull, other teams didn’t have to worry about watching him, and our guys were concerned about picking up the slack in goals. This year, we lost another valuable guy, an all star like Pat Stapleton, but everybody is trying to make up for it.”

Vol. 27, No. 15, Jan. 11, 1974

By Bob Verdi

CHICAGO – Dennis Hull’s teeth were still missing, enhancing the totality of the grin and the urgency of the message.

“We are,” he announced in a jocular Black Hawk dressing room, “just like the Harlem Globetrotters. They never lose any road games and we never lose any road games.”

Amazing and almost true, although there is no substance to the rumor that management of the Chicago Six will request 78 road games for their squad when the 1974-75 schedule is formulated.

Such a situation, after all, would not only throw the National Hockey League into confusion, and not only deprive Chicago Stadium concession stands of substantial income just when money is tight, but what about the poor players’ wives?

“No,” decided coach Billy Reay, “I don’t think we’ll go quite that far. But this is nice while it lasts, isn’t it?”

“This” was a team record unbeaten string of 11 games for the Chicago Six, one they were dearly hoping to extend to a dozen before Philadelphia stopped them 4-2 on the Spectrum ice Dec. 22.

The skein was a coast-to-coast job, starting at California with a 1-1 standoff Nov. 7 and reaching to Madison Square Garden’s 6-1 rout versus the New York Rangers Dec. 16. Arithmetic? Eight wins, three ties in 11 times, snapping a Chicago road unbeaten string of 10 established by the 1964-65 squad.

Thanks to this business of making foreign rinks a home away from home, the Hawks churned to an overall mark of just one loss in 18 games (12 wins, one loss, five ties) during which they outscored the opposition by a decisive 71-31.

And yet, the Hawks still found themselves chasing the Philadelphia Flyers.

“I think that’s part of why we’re playing so well.” said Pit Martin. “The fact that we’re in second place and going after somebody that’s almost as hot as us makes us work harder. We know we can’t afford to lose.

If we were in first place by a few points, having an easier time of it, we’d probably also have seven or eight losses instead of just five.”

“The road record? It’s unusual, but we have been working hard for it. At home, we sometimes screw around a little and open up too much. Whenever we go on the road, though, we think only defensively.”

That brought up an interesting point. Because through 11 home contests, while they lost only one, the Hawks had won only five.

“I don’t think we’ve been as aggressive defensively at home as on the road,” offered Stan Mikita. “There have been times when we open up too much and don’t check the other team as tightly as maybe we should.”

Cliff Koroll surmised that perhaps anxious Stadium fans screaming for goals prompted the club to subconsciously opt for offense over defense. And Tony Esposito, who has to pay for any untidiness before him, noticed the following.

“The only thing I’ve seen is that sometimes at home, when we could freeze the puck in our end, sometimes we try to get it out instead and maybe get burned. On the road, we’d hold it for a faceoff.

“But I can’t complain. The protection has been great. Everybody still basically thinks defensively on this club. Last year, we all got off to a slower start defensively, especially me. I remember saying that I was facing a lot of difficult shots.

“But last year was a year of transition. We had lost Bobby Hull, other teams didn’t have to worry about watching him, and our guys were concerned about picking up the slack in goals. This year, we lost another valuable guy, an All Star like Pat Stapleton, but everybody is trying to make up for it.”

And it was working. Through one-third of the season, the Hawks had a better record than last year, and the goals-against was down 25. But up ahead were the Philadelphia Flyers.

“It’ll probably be close this way the rest of the year,” said Reay.

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