1951–52 NHL season

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1951–52 NHL season
League National Hockey League
Sport Ice hockey
Duration October 11, 1951 – April 15, 1952
Number of games 70
Number of teams 6
Regular season
Season champion Detroit Red Wings
Season MVP Gordie Howe (Red Wings)
Top scorer Gordie Howe (Red Wings)
Stanley Cup
Finals champions Detroit Red Wings
  Runners-up Montreal Canadiens
NHL seasons

The 1951–52 NHL season was the 35th season of the National Hockey League. The Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup by sweeping the Montreal Canadiens four games to none.

League business

A long standing feud between Boston president Weston Adams and general manager Art Ross ended on October 12, 1951 when Adams sold his stock in Boston Garden to Walter Brown.

Chicago, who had made the mammoth nine player deal the previous season, now decided to make the largest cash deal for players to this time by paying $75,000 for Jim McFadden, George Gee, Jimmy Peters, Clare Martin, Clare Raglan, and Max McNab.

Rule changes

The league mandated that road teams would now wear a basic white uniform, while home teams will wear coloured uniforms.[1]

The goal crease is enlarged from 3 × 7 feet to 4 × 8 feet. The faceoff circles are expanded from a 10-foot radius to a 15-foot radius.[1]

Regular season

Conn Smythe offered $10,000 for anyone who found Bill Barilko, missing since August 26th. Barilko and Dr. Henry Hudson had left Rupert House on James Bay in the doctor's light plane for Timmins, Ontario after a weekend fishing trip and had not been found.

For the fourth straight season, the Detroit Red Wings finished first overall in the National Hockey League.

Highlights

Montreal opened the season before a crowd of 15,100 fans as the Canadiens beat Chicago 4-2. Rocket Richard had a goal and Bernie Geoffrion had two. On the same night, Terry Sawchuk had his first shutout of the season as Detroit beat Boston 1-0.

Princess (later Queen) Elizabeth and Prince Phillip were in attendance at the Montreal Forum, and Floyd Curry came alive with the hat trick and Richard scored two goals as Montreal beat the New York Rangers 6-1.

Inspired by the return of Black Jack Stewart to the lineup, Chicago had a rare trouncing of the Red Wings right at the Olympia, 6-2. During the game, Chicago's Gus Bodnar twisted his shoulder and Harry Lumley hurt a knee. Trainer Moe Roberts, who played his first game in the NHL for Boston in 1925-26, played the rest of the way in goal for Chicago and played quite well at age 46. Roberts would stand as the oldest person to ever play an NHL game until Gordie Howe returned to the NHL at age 51 in 1979.

Chicago wasn't drawing well and so they decided to experiment with afternoon games. It worked, as the largest crowd of the season, 13,600 fans, showed up for a January 20 game in which Chicago lost to Toronto 3-1.

Elmer Lach night was held March 8 at Montreal Forum as the Canadiens tied Chicago 4-4. 14,452 fans were on hand to see Lach presented with a car, rowboat, TV set, deepfreeze chest, bedroom and dining room suites, a refrigerator and many other articles.

On the last night of the season, March 23, 1952, with nothing at stake at Madison Square Garden, 3,254 fans saw Chicago's Bill Mosienko score the fastest hat trick in NHL history, 3 goals in 21 seconds. Lorne Anderson was the goaltender who gave up the goals to Chicago. Gus Bodnar also set a record with the fastest three assists in NHL history as he assisted on all three goals Mosienko scored. Chicago beat the New York Rangers 7-6.

Final standings

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

National Hockey League GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Detroit Red Wings 70 44 14 12 100 215 133 694
Montreal Canadiens 70 34 26 10 78 195 164 661
Toronto Maple Leafs 70 29 25 16 74 168 157 841
Boston Bruins 70 25 29 16 66 162 176 601
New York Rangers 70 23 34 13 59 192 219 532
Chicago Black Hawks 70 17 44 9 43 158 241 627

Playoffs

In the playoffs, Detroit finished 8–0, sweeping the defending Stanley Cup champions Toronto (the first time in NHL history the cup champs were swept in the first round) and Montreal, the first time a team had gone undefeated in the playoffs since the 1934–35 Montreal Maroons. The Wings scored 24 goals in the playoffs, compared to a combined five goals for their opponents. Detroit goaltender Terry Sawchuk did not give up a goal on home ice during the playoffs.[2]

Semifinals

Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Date Away Team Home Team
March 25 Toronto 0 3 Detroit
March 27 Toronto 0 1 Detroit
March 29 Detroit 6 2 Toronto
April 1 Detroit 3 1 Toronto
Detroit won the series 4:0.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins
Date Away Team Home Team Notes
March 25 Boston 1 5 Montreal
March 27 Boston 0 4 Montreal
March 30 Montreal 1 4 Boston
April 1 Montreal 2 3 Boston
April 3 Boston 1 0 Montreal
April 6 Montreal 3 2 Boston OT
April 8 Boston 1 3 Montreal
Montreal won the series 4:3.

Final

Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Canadiens

Date Away Score Home Score
April 10 Detroit 3 Montreal 1
April 12 Detroit 2 Montreal 1
April 13 Montreal 0 Detroit 3
April 15 Montreal 0 Detroit 3

Detroit wins best-of-seven series 4 games to none

Playoff bracket

  Semifinals Finals
                 
1 Detroit Red Wings 4  
3 Toronto Maple Leafs 0  
    1 Detroit Red Wings 4
  2 Montreal Canadiens 0
2 Montreal Canadiens 4
4 Boston Bruins 3  

Awards

  • Prince of Wales Trophy: Detroit Red Wings
  • Art Ross Memorial Trophy: Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
  • Calder Memorial Trophy: Bernie Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens
  • Hart Memorial Trophy: Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
  • Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Sid Smith, Toronto Maple Leafs
  • Vezina Trophy: Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings
All-Star teams
First team   Position   Second team
Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings G Jim Henry, Boston Bruins
Red Kelly, Detroit Red Wings D Hy Buller, New York Rangers
Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens D Jimmy Thomson, Toronto Maple Leafs
Elmer Lach, Montreal Canadiens C Milt Schmidt, Boston Bruins
Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings RW Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens
Ted Lindsay, Detroit Red Wings LW Sid Smith, Toronto Maple Leafs

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Player Team GP G A PTS PIM
Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings 70 47 39 86 78
Ted Lindsay Detroit Red Wings 70 30 39 69 123
Elmer Lach Montreal Canadiens 70 15 50 65 36
Don Raleigh New York Rangers 70 19 42 61 14
Sid Smith Toronto Maple Leafs 70 27 30 57 6
Bernie Geoffrion Montreal Canadiens 67 30 24 54 66
Bill Mosienko Chicago Black Hawks 70 31 22 53 10
Sid Abel Detroit Red Wings 70 17 36 53 32
Ted Kennedy Toronto Maple Leafs 70 19 33 52 33
Milt Schmidt Boston Bruins 69 21 29 50 57

Source: NHL[3]

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts

Player Team GP MIN GA GAA W L T SO
Terry Sawchuk Detroit Red Wings 70 4200 133 1.90 44 14 12 12
Al Rollins Toronto Maple Leafs 70 4170 154 2.22 29 24 16 5
Gerry McNeil Montreal Canadiens 70 4200 164 2.34 34 26 10 5
Jim Henry Boston Bruins 70 4200 176 2.51 25 29 16 7
Chuck Rayner New York Rangers 53 3180 159 3.00 18 25 10 2
Emile Francis New York Rangers 14 840 42 3.00 4 7 3 0

Source: NHL[4]

Team Photos

  • Boston Bruins

    Boston Bruins

  • Chicago Black Hawks

    Chicago Black Hawks

  • Detroit Red Wings

    Detroit Red Wings

  • Montreal Canadiens

    Montreal Canadiens

  • New York Rangers

    New York Rangers

  • Toronto Maple Leafs

    Toronto Maple Leafs

References

  • (1994) in Diamond, Dan: Years of glory, 1942–1967: the National Hockey League's official book of the six-team era. Toronto, ON: McClelland and Stewart. ISBN 0-7710-2817-2. 
  • (2000) in Diamond, Dan: Total Hockey. Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X. 
  • (2011) The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5. 
  • (2000) Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd.. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9. 
  • (2003) The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International Inc.. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1. 
  • McFarlane, Brian (1973). The Story of the National Hockey League. New York, NY: Pagurian Press. ISBN 0-684-13424-1. 
Notes
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fischler et al. Duplacey, p. 202.
  2. ↑ Dryden 2000, p. 54.
  3. ↑ Dinger 2011, p. 148.
  4. ↑ "1951–1952 – Regular Season – Goalie – Skater Season Stats Leaders – Points – NHL.com – Stats". nhl.com. http://www.nhl.com/ice/historicalstats.htm?fetchKey=19522ALLGAHSALL&sort=goalsAgainstAverage&viewName=statsLeadersSingleSeasonGoalies. Retrieved January 16, 2012. 

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