1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Game 4 Bruins vs Rangers #38 1971-72 NHL Playoffs Stanley Cup Finals

Description

1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Game 4 Bruins vs Rangers #38 1971-72 NHL Playoffs Stanley Cup Finals Bobby Orr owned Madison Square Garden on May 7, 1972, and the 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Game 4 Bruins vs Rangers #38 1971-72 NHL Playoffs Stanley Cup Finals card tells the whole tale of Boston's gripping 3-2 win. The front captures the boardside battle above the yellow GAME 4 at New York bar and the puck graphic reading BRUINS 3 RANGERS 2, while the reverse prints the complete bilingual scoring summary in English and French with shots on goal and the Madison Square Garden attendance of 17,250. Orr scored twice in the opening 8:17, first from Mike Walton at 5:26 and again from John McKenzie and Johnny Bucyk at 8:17, then set up Don Marcotte's decisive second-period goal at 16:33 to give himself a hand in all three Boston goals. Ted Irvine and Rod Seiling rallied the home crowd late for New York, but the Bruins left town holding a commanding three games to one stranglehold on the series. This was Orr at the absolute zenith of his powers, the same 1970s icon whose diving 1970 Cup-winning goal remains the most famous photograph in hockey, an eight-time Norris Trophy winner and two-time Hart Trophy winner who made defensemen scorers fashionable everywhere. The card is one of just six 1971-72 NHL Playoffs cards seeded into first-series packs of the 340-card 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee checklist, so set builders chase it constantly. The reverse is the Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back with the game summary printed in English and French, not a puzzle back, with the O-Pee-Chee copyright line anchoring the layout. corners show light wear at the tips with slight whitening along the top edge near the upper right corner and a faint rough patch at the lower right tip, the remaining edges are smooth and clean, and centering is near even left to right at about 55/45 with a slight bottom-heavy lean of approximately 55/45 top to bottom. Surfaces show no creases, wrinkles or marks beyond a single faint factory speck in the photo area. With only the gentlest of edge and corner issues, a conservative raw grade of EX-MT 6 fits this copy well. Orr fans and Rangers romantics will both want this one on display. Grade Estimate: EX-MT 6