Was asked today by someone to post the details of the game in which Bill Masterton sustained his fatal injury in 1968.
To get a more full picture, it's necessary to post two games:
1) Saturday, January 13, 1968 - Oakland at Minnesota, the game in which the injury occurred, and....
2) Sunday, January 14, 1968 - Minnesota at Boston, with Masteron's fate not yet fully known and only part of the North Stars team able to arrive (late) for a game against the Bruins after traveling all day through a blizzard.
Masterton would die early on Monday morning, with a moment of silence recognized at the NHL all-star game on Tuesday the 16th in Toronto.
After that, the North Stars were scheduled to play 4 games in 5 nights starting on Wednesday, with Masterton's funeral scheduled for Thursday morning and a home game that night against Philadelphia. The team
asked for postponements but were denied by the league, so were forced to play in St. Louis on Wednesday night, fly home to attend the funeral on Thursday morning, then play a game against first place Philadelphia in the evening. The Flyers' team, already in town, also attended the funeral, along with a few players and representatives from other teams around the league.
Most notable was George Konik of the Pittsburgh Penguins, a friend and teammate of Masterton's from their days at the University of Denver. Konik played in a game in Oakland on Wednesday night, flew to Minneapolis to be a pall bearer on Thursday morning, then flew back to Los Angeles to play against the Kings on Thursday night.
League president Clarence Campbell insisted that no scheduling accommodations would be made for any players or teams.
Masterton's funeral on Thursday morning:
