Before his famous goal, Paul Henderson kept Canada’s comeback alive

Paul Henderson’s first winning goal of the Summit Series came on September 24, 1972, when Canada beat the Soviet Union 3-2 in Moscow to keep its comeback alive. The Game 6 victory began the three straight wins that decided the series.

Canada entered that game trailing three victories to one, with one tie. Another defeat would have put the eight-game series beyond reach, making the September 24 result essential to everything that followed.

Henderson scored the winner 6:36 into the second period, according to Hockey Canada’s retrospective. The Canadians protected the lead through the third period and returned two days later to win Game 7, again on a Henderson goal.

His last-minute winner in Game 8 became the lasting image, but it was the third part of a sequence. The comeback began four days earlier with a narrow win that gave Canada another chance.