1927–28 NHL season

1927–28 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	November 15, 1927 – April 14, 1928
Number of games	44
Number of teams	10
Regular season
Season champions	Montreal Canadiens
Top scorer	Howie Morenz (Montreal Canadiens)
Canadian Division champions	Montreal Canadiens
American Division champions	Boston Bruins
Stanley Cup
Finals champions	New York Rangers
Runners-up	Montreal Maroons
NHL seasons
← 1926–27 1928–29 →

The 1927–28 NHL season was the 11th season of the National Hockey League. Ten teams played 44 games each. The New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup beating the Montreal Maroons becoming the first United States-based team since the formation of the NHL to win it and first since the Seattle Metropolitans won in 1917.

League business

The O'Brien Cup, which used to go to the National Hockey Association (NHA), later the NHL league champion, would now go to the winner of the Canadian Division. The Prince of Wales Trophy, first awarded to the winner of the first game at[Madison Square Garden, and later the NHL league champion, would now go to the winner of the American division.

The Toronto Maple Leafs introduce new sweaters of blue and white, changing from the former green logo on white uniform. They are the first team in the NHL to have a set of white uniforms and a set of dark uniforms.

Rule changes

The league changed the rule for substitution, allowing "on the fly" changes, as long as the player going off is on the bench before the substitute goes on.

Regular season

The Chicago Black Hawks fired coach Pete Muldoon before the season, and coaching was split between Hugh Lehman and Barney Stanley. The Black Hawks finished last, recording only seven wins. The firing of Muldoon prompted him to publicly put "a curse" (known as the "curse of the Muldoons") on the Black Hawks, stating that the team would never win the NHL pennant. The Black Hawks would not place first in the NHL until the 1966–67 season.

The Ottawa Senators, by far the smallest market in the league, were affected by franchises in the U.S. and, thus, escalating salaries, and were in financial trouble as a result and requested a bigger road receipt from the other teams. They also sold their star right wing Hooley Smith to the Montreal Maroons for $22,500 plus the return of right wing Punch Broadbent, followed by the sale of defenceman Edwin Gorman to Toronto. Part of the problem was that fans in Ottawa tended to only attend games with Canadian opponents.

Howie Morenz, the NHL's top drawing card, dominated the scoring race and was runaway winner of the Hart Trophy. He scored 33 goals and led the league in assists as well. Despite Ottawa's financial difficulties, Alex Connell, Ottawa goalkeeper, set an all-time record with six consecutive shutouts. His record shutout sequence reached 460 minutes and 59 seconds without being scored on.

Toronto, now the Maple Leafs, showed power early on and it looked like they would make the playoffs. However, injuries to Hap Day and Bill Carson doomed the team, and the Leafs sagged to fourth, out of the playoffs for the third straight year. It would take another 80 years until the Leafs missed the playoffs three straight times again.

Thanks to the great play of Eddie Shore and goaltender Hal Winkler, who tied with Connell for the leader in shutouts with 15, the Boston Bruins finished first for the first time in the American Division, while the Canadiens, who were running away with the Canadian Division at mid-season, slumped after an injury to Pit Lepine but managed to hold onto first place at season's end.

Final standings

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold

Canadian Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Montreal Canadiens	44	26	11	7	59	116	48	496
Montreal Maroons	44	24	14	6	54	96	77	549
Ottawa Senators	44	20	14	10	50	78	57	483
Toronto Maple Leafs	44	18	18	8	44	89	88	436
New York Americans	44	11	27	6	28	63	128	563

American Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Boston Bruins	44	20	13	11	51	77	70	558
New York Rangers	44	19	16	9	47	94	79	462
Pittsburgh Pirates	44	19	17	8	46	67	76	395
Detroit Cougars	44	19	19	6	44	88	79	395
Chicago Black Hawks	44	7	34	3	17	68	134	375

Playoffs

In the Canadian Division, the Montreal Maroons beat the Ottawa Senators and then went to the limit against the Canadiens before Russell Oatman put the Maroons into the finals with a goal in overtime.

In the American Division, the New York Rangers knocked off the Pittsburgh Pirates in a rough series, and then beat Boston to go to the finals against the Montreal Maroons.

Quarterfinals

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
March 27	Montreal Maroons	1	Ottawa Senators	0
March 29	Ottawa Senators	1	Montreal Maroons	2

Montreal wins two-game, total goals series 3–1

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
March 27	Pittsburgh Pirates	0	New York Rangers	4
March 29	Pittsburgh Pirates	4	New York Rangers	2

New York wins two-game, total goals series 6–4

Semifinals

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
March 31	Montreal Canadiens	2	Montreal Maroons	2
April 3	Montreal Maroons	1	Montreal Canadiens	0

Montreal Maroons win two-game, total goals series 3–2

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
March 31	Boston Bruins	1	New York Rangers	1
April 3	New York Rangers	4	Boston Bruins	1

New York wins two-game, total goals series 5–2

Final

The circus knocked the Rangers out of Madison Square Garden, and all games would be played in the Montreal Forum, even though Boston offered to host the Rangers. The Maroons won game one 2–0, with Nels Stewart and goaltender Clint Benedict the stars.

Drama took over in game two when Nels Stewart fired a hard shot that struck New York goaltender Lorne Chabot in the eye. He could not continue, and the Rangers needed a goaltender. However, when coach Eddie Gerard refused to let the Rangers use Alex Connell or minor league goaltender Hugh McCormick, Lester Patrick, Ranger coach, in anger, decided to don the pads himself. The Rangers then body-blasted any Maroon who got near Patrick. Bill Cook scored, putting the Rangers ahead 1–0, but Nels Stewart was not to be denied and scored, tying the game. In overtime, Frank Boucher got the winner for the Rangers and they carried Patrick, tears streaming down his eyes, off the ice. Patrick stopped 17 of 18 shots he faced.

Joe "Red Light" Miller, New York Americans goalie, was allowed to take Chabot's place in goal and he played well in a 2–0 loss in game three. However, Frank Boucher starred as the Rangers took the next two games, and the Stanley Cup. Drama almost took place in the final game when Miller was badly cut on a shot, but he was able to continue. The crowd became unruly at times and referee Mike Rodden took abuse for disallowed goals by Maroon players. Even NHL president Frank Calder was a target of some fans for not intervening. The Rangers became the second American team to win the Cup and the first NHL American team to do so. In addition, the Rangers became the first team to win the Stanley Cup at the Montreal Forum which was only repeated in 1989

New York Rangers vs. Montreal Maroons

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
April 5	New York Rangers	0	Montreal Maroons	2
April 7	New York Rangers	2	Montreal Maroons	1	(OT)
April 10	New York Rangers	0	Montreal Maroons	2
April 12	New York Rangers	1	Montreal Maroons	0
April 14	New York Rangers	2	Montreal Maroons	1

New York wins best-of-five series 3–2

Awards

The terms for awarding the O'Brien Cup and the Prince of Wales Trophy were changed to honour the top finisher in each of the NHL's divisions. Howie Morenz won the Hart Trophy, the first of three times he would be named most valuable player. Frank Boucher won the Lady Byng, the first of seven times he would win the award. George Hainsworth won the Vezina Trophy for the second consecutive year.

1927–28 NHL awards
Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player)	Howie Morenz, Montreal Canadiens
Lady Byng Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship)	Frank Boucher, New York Rangers
O'Brien Cup: (Canadian Division champions)	Montreal Canadiens
Prince of Wales Trophy: (American Division champions)	Boston Bruins
Vezina Trophy: (Fewest goals allowed)	George Hainsworth, Montreal Canadiens

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Howie Morenz	Montreal Canadiens	43	33	18	51
Aurel Joliat	Montreal Canadiens	44	28	11	39
Frank Boucher	New York Rangers	44	23	12	35
George Hay	Detroit Cougars	42	22	13	35
Nels Stewart	Montreal Maroons	41	27	7	34
Art Gagne	Montreal Canadiens	44	20	10	30
Bun Cook	New York Rangers	44	14	14	28
Bill Carson	Toronto Maple Leafs	32	20	6	26
Frank Finnigan	Ottawa Senators	38	20	5	25
Bill Cook	New York Rangers	43	18	6	24
Duke Keats	Detroit Cougars/Chicago Black Hawks	38	14	10	24

Source: NHL

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shut outs; GAA = Goals against average

Player	Team	GP	Mins	GA	SO	GAA
George Hainsworth	Montreal Canadiens	44	2730	48	13	1.05
Alex Connell	Ottawa Senators	44	2760	57	15	1.24
Hal Winkler	Boston Bruins	44	2780	70	15	1.51
Roy Worters	Pittsburgh Pirates	44	2740	76	11	1.66
Clint Benedict	Montreal Maroons	44	2690	76	6	1.70

Source: hockey-reference.com

Team Photos

• 

  Boston Bruins

• 

  Chicago Black Hawks

• 

  Detroit Cougars

• 

  Montreal Canadiens

• 

  Montreal Maroons

• 

  New York Americans

• 

  New York Rangers

• 

  Ottawa Senators

• 

  Toronto St. Patricks

References

• (2000) in Diamond, Dan: Total Hockey. Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X. 
• (2011) The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5. 
• (2000) Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd.. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9. 
• Duplacey, James (1996). The annotated rules of hockey. New York, NY: Lyons & Burford, Publishers. ISBN 1-55821-466-6. 
• (2003) The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. 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

1917–18 - 1918–19 - 1919–20 - 1920–21 - 1921–22 - 1922–23 - 1923–24 - 1924–25 - 1925–26 - 1926–27 - 1927–28 - 1928–29 - 1929–30 - 1930–31 - 1931–32 - 1932–33 - 1933–34 - 1934–35 - 1935–36 - 1936–37 - 1937–38 - 1938–39 - 1939–40 - 1940–41 - 1941–42 - 1942–43 - 1943–44 - 1944–45 - 1945–46 - 1946–47 - 1947–48 - 1948–49 - 1949–50 - 1950–51 - 1951–52 - 1952–53 - 1953–54 - 1954–55 - 1955–56 - 1956–57 - 1957–58 - 1958–59 - 1959–60 - 1960–61 - 1961–62 - 1962–63 - 1963–64 - 1964–65 - 1965–66 - 1966–67 - 1967–68 - 1968–69 - 1969–70 - 1970–71 - 1971–72 - 1972–73 - 1973–74 - 1974–75 - 1975–76 - 1976–77 - 1977–78 - 1978–79 - 1979–80 - 1980–81 - 1981–82 - 1982–83 - 1983–84 - 1984–85 - 1985–86 - 1986–87 - 1987–88 - 1988–89 - 1989–90 - 1990–91 - 1991–92 - 1992–93 - 1993–94 - 1994–95 - 1995–96 - 1996–97 - 1997–98 - 1998–99 - 1999–00 - 2000–01 - 2001–02 - 2002–03 - 2003–04 - 2004–05 - 2005–06 - 2006–07 - 2007–08 - 2008–09 - 2009–10 - 2010–11 - 2011–12 - 2012–13 - 2013–14 - 2014–15 - 2015–16 - 2016–17 - 2017–18 - 2018–19 - 2019–20 - 2020–21 - 2021–22 - 2022–23 - 2023–24

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