Sawchuk was on the brink of history in 1964 when he arrived in Montreal, with three shutouts to that point in 1963-64.
His third had come against the Canadiens on Nov. 10 at the Detroit Olympia, which tied him with Hainsworth with 94. That game would be much more famous for Red Wings superstar Gordie Howe passing Canadiens icon Maurice Richard for the NHL regular-season goal-scoring lead with the 545th of his career, scored shorthanded against Canadiens goalie Charlie Hodge.
"It had been expected that the Rocket's goal record would be passed. It was only a matter of time," Red Wings defenseman Marcel Pronovost told author David Dupuis in the 1998 biography, "Sawchuk: The Troubles and Triumphs of the World's Greatest Goalie."
"However, the shutout record of Hainsworth, now that's another story. Nobody ever thought it would be touched, but Terry was on the verge of doing it. We couldn't believe it."
Hainsworth had ranked No. 1 in NHL shutouts since 1936. He won the Vézina Trophy in 1927, 1928 and 1929, the first three seasons it was awarded following the 1926 death of Canadiens goaltending icon Georges Vezina. Hainsworth sometimes was booed by Forum fans for no reason other than he was in the goal crease of a beloved, sadly missed Canadiens star, who died from tuberculosis at age 39.
Hainsworth's name surfaced more and more while Sawchuk closed the gap, the Red Wings goalie shrugging off his chase of the record as secondary to his team's success.
And then Sawchuk seized the record, typically telling reporters later, "I didn't give a darn about [the shutout] during the game. The win was more important."
He was exhausted, physically and emotionally, a famous image by Canadiens photographer David Bier showing him slumped between coach Sid Abel and Howe, both men offering their congratulations.