1945–46 NHL season

1945–46 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 24, 1945 – April 9, 1946
Number of games	50
Number of teams	6
Regular season
Season champion	Montreal Canadiens
Season MVP	Max Bentley (Chicago Black Hawks)
Top scorer	Max Bentley (Chicago Black Hawks)
Stanley Cup
Finals champions	Montreal Canadiens
Runners-up	Boston Bruins
NHL seasons
← 1944–45 1946–47 →

The 1945–46 NHL season was the 29th season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Boston Bruins for the team's sixth championship.

League business

Synchronized red lights to signal goals were made obligatory for all NHL rinks.

It was rumoured in the press that Lester Patrick planned to retire as general manager of the New York Rangers. On February 22, 1946, he announced his retirement from the general manager position, however he would stay on as vice president of Madison Square Garden.

Regular season

Veterans came back to their teams this year, as World War II ended, but many found they could not regain their form. One who did regain his form was the man formerly known as "Mr. Zero"—Boston Bruins' goaltender Frank Brimsek. He was shelled in an 8–3 contest with Chicago, but got better game by game. The Bruins had first place at one point, then finished second. Brimsek made the Second All-Star Team as a result.

Max Bentley of Chicago led the league in scoring, and, because of the "Pony Line" including him, his brother Doug and Bill Mosienko, the Black Hawks were in first place at one point. But misfortune hit the Hawks when Doug Bentley injured his knee in a January 23 game and the team sagged.

Frank Patrick, former Pacific Coast Hockey Association president and former managing director for the NHL, suffered a heart attack and was not released from the hospital for several weeks.

A bombshell exploded on January 30, 1946, when defenceman Babe Pratt was expelled from the NHL for betting on games. However, he only bet on his own team and appealed his expulsion. On his promise he would not bet on any more games, he was reinstated. Pratt missed 9 games during his suspension.

Maple Leaf Gaye Stewart led the league in goals with 37, but Toronto finished fifth and missed the playoffs for the first time since playing at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Bill Durnan equalled George Hainsworth's record of three consecutive Vezina Trophies and led the league in shutouts with 4.

Final standings

GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold

National Hockey League	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Montreal Canadiens	50	28	17	5	61	172	134	337
Boston Bruins	50	24	18	8	56	167	156	273
Chicago Black Hawks	50	23	20	7	53	200	178	339
Detroit Red Wings	50	20	20	10	50	146	159	298
Toronto Maple Leafs	50	19	24	7	45	174	185	247
New York Rangers	50	13	28	9	35	144	191	285

Playoffs

Semifinals

Montreal Canadiens vs. Chicago Blackhawks Date Away Team Home Team March 19 Chicago 2 6 Montreal March 21 Chicago 1 5 Montreal March 24 Montreal 8 2 Chicago March 26 Montreal 7 2 Chicago Montreal won the series 4:0.

Boston Bruins vs. Detroit Red Wings Date Away Team Home Team Notes March 19 Detroit 1 3 Boston March 21 Detroit 3 0 Boston March 24 Boston 5 2 Detroit March 26 Boston 4 1 Detroit March 28 Detroit 3 4 Boston OT Boston won the series 4:1.

Stanley-Cup-Finale

Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins
Date	Away Team		Home Team		Notes
March 30	Boston	3	4	Montreal	OT
April 2	Boston	2	3	Montreal	OT
April 4	Montreal	4	2	Boston
April 7	Montreal	2	3	Boston	OT
April 9	Boston	3	6	Montreal
Montreal won the series 4:1 and the Stanley Cup.

Awards

The NHL changed the criteria for the Vezina Trophy to award it to the goaltender who plays the most games for the team which gives up the least goals in the season.

Award winners

O'Brien Cup: (Playoff runner-up)	Boston Bruins
Prince of Wales Trophy: (Regular season champion)	Montreal Canadiens
Calder Memorial Trophy: (Best first-year player)	Edgar Laprade, New York Rangers
Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player)	Max Bentley, Chicago Black Hawks
Lady Byng Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship)	Toe Blake, Montreal Canadiens
Vezina Trophy: (Goaltender of team with lowest GAA)	Bill Durnan, Montreal Canadiens

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
Max Bentley	Chicago Black Hawks	47	31	30	61	6
Gaye Stewart	Toronto Maple Leafs	50	37	15	52	8
Toe Blake	Montreal Canadiens	50	29	21	50	2
Clint Smith	Chicago Black Hawks	50	26	24	50	2
Bill Mosienko	Chicago Black Hawks	40	18	30	48	12
Maurice Richard	Montreal Canadiens	50	27	21	48	50
Ab DeMarco	New York Rangers	50	20	27	47	20
Elmer Lach	Montreal Canadiens	50	13	34	47	34
Alex Kaleta	Chicago Black Hawks	49	19	27	46	17
Billy Taylor	Toronto Maple Leafs	48	23	18	41	14

Source: NHL

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
Bill Durnan	Montreal Canadiens	40	2400	104	2.60	24	11	5	4
Harry Lumley	Detroit Red Wings	50	3000	159	3.18	20	20	10	2
Frank Brimsek	Boston Bruins	34	2040	111	3.26	16	14	4	2
Mike Karakas	Chicago Black Hawks	48	2880	166	3.46	22	19	7	1
Turk Broda	Toronto Maple Leafs	15	900	53	3.53	6	6	3	0
Frank McCool	Toronto Maple Leafs	22	1320	81	3.68	10	9	3	0
Chuck Rayner	New York Rangers	40	2377	149	3.76	12	21	7	1
Jim Henry	New York Rangers	11	623	42	4.04	1	7	2	1

Team Photos

• 

  Boston Bruins

• 

  Chicago Black Hawks

• 

  Detroit Red Wings

• 

  Montreal Canadiens

• 

  New York Rangers

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

External links

• Hockey Database
• NHL.com

National Hockey League seasons

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