Remembering one of the original Capitals in Gord Smith.
This article originally appeared in The Hockey News Mar 4, 1977/vol. 30, issue 22
BY RON WEBER
WASHINGTON- Biff. Bam. Pow. Socko.
What's this all about—reruns of Batman? A Gordie Smith hip check, or the Flyers in action?
For the purposes of this story, either of the last two can be considered a correct answer.
The Washington Capitals would like it known that the Flyers are back. Not that Philadelphia would ever admit they were away. But in the final meeting of the season the Caps were sockoed by Philadelphia 9-2.
The Flyers display in the Caps end was awesome. To say they kept coming in waves would be misleading, since there's usually a lull between waves. Whatever, coach Tom McVie's two worst poundings have been administered by the Philly bullies.
Last April 1, the Capitals were picked clean 11-2. So a cynic—or a cockeyed optimist—could point out the Capitals weren't so bad this time. And, you know, that's right. It's the Flyers that were so good.
Any chance the Capitals had of getting that first upset win over Fred Shero probably was dissapated the night before. In a game that tightened the stomachs of Caps backers even worse than any onesided defeat, the locals squandered a 4-1 lead to struggling Chicago and “settled” for a tie.
McVie was anything but settled after that one. accusing four or five players of working just hard enough to get by. Guessing their indentities can be an aimless exercise, but one can come up with four or five he wasn't talking about—including defenseman Gordie Smith.
Which brings us back to the other “pow".
Now, the 27-year-old Smith's conduct almost all the time is as average as his name. While not wanting to appear un-cooperative to the press and public, he nevertheless discourages publicity. Gordie likens himself to your average Joe, carrying a lunch pail, keeping his nose clean and giving a honest week's work for an honest week's pay.
Still, those that know him well recognize some special qualities. Qualities that cross him off any non-hustlers list of hockey players. Qualities that cause McVie to finger Gordie as acting captain when Yvon Labre was out for a month with an injury.
And when Labre came back, Smitty stopped sitting toward the front of the team bus (the better to make a head count) and melted into the crowd again.
But there is one time Gordie Smith stands out in the crowd. Ask Terry O'Reilly In an early February game the aggressive Bruin right winger was skating near the Washington blueline unaware he was about to view Boston Garden upside-down. Then wham. Or was it pow.
Gordie's hip check completely cart-wheeled the improper Bostonian. Clean—but oh so hard—was the contact eyed carefully by the ref, Ron Hoggarth. Embarassed, O'Reilly got up. ran Smith's defensive partner. Gordie Lane, then elbowed Blair Stewart, providing Washington with a power play.
The Caps scored with the extra man and so lost only 5-2. But maybe next time Gordie's hip will lead to an important goal.
Not that Smith or anybody else gets many chances. The check has become, if not a lost art, certainly a rare one, partly because it must be used with discretion. Miss your man, and somebody's got to pick him up, as you've taken yourself out of the play. A missed hip-check is not the goalie's best friend.
Says Gordie, “If they expect it, they go wide. But in this league teams see you less and you can sometimes surprise them. It's worked better for me this year because our team is better.”
GORDIE SMITH … Solid Hip Checker
One reason for the improvement is Smith himself. An original Capital, one of three left, Gordon got in 63 contests in the first Caps year. Season two, the figure dropped to 25—and that on a late call-up.
“I never had a shot,” recalls Smith, “I played in one exhibition game. This past fall, everybody got a fair trial, playing a lot and with different guys. It was a wide open camp with everybody was in shape and ready to go.”
Before long McVie paired the two Gordies. “When Lane and I have played, I think we've gotten it together.” ■