1954–55 NHL season

1954–55 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 7, 1954 – April 14, 1955
Number of games	70
Number of teams	6
Regular season
Season champion	Detroit Red Wings
Season MVP	Ted Kennedy (Maple Leafs)
Top scorer	Bernie Geoffrion (Canadiens)
Stanley Cup
Finals champions	Detroit Red Wings
Runners-up	Montreal Canadiens
NHL seasons
← 1953–54 1955–56 →

The 1954–55 NHL season was the 38th season of the National Hockey League. The Detroit Red Wings were the Stanley Cup champions as they defeated the Montreal Canadiens four games to three in the best-of-seven final series.

League business

Art Ross announced at the league governors meeting that his connection with Boston would terminate at the end of September. As this would be his last appearance at a league meeting, he took the opportunity to thank the governors and others associated with the league during the 30 years of his being officer of the Boston club for the kindness, courtesy and cooperation he had received, and extended his good wishes for the continued success of the league. Conn Smythe and Frank Selke voiced the good wishes of all present to Ross on his retirement.

Prior to the season, Red Wings head coach Tommy Ivan left Detroit to become general manager of the Chicago Black Hawks, and Jimmy Skinner replaced him behind the bench in the Motor City. One of the first things Ivan did at Chicago was to establish an extensive farm system, something the Black Hawks never had.

Regular season

On November 3, although he was booed throughout most of the game, Eric Nesterenko of Toronto scored the tying goal to salvage a 1-1 tie with Detroit. The main feature of the game was the constant heckling of referee Red Storey by Red Wings assistant trainer Ross "Lefty" Wilson. Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe demanded that Wilson be fined $1,000 by the league. NHL President Clarence Campbell disagreed, but told Wilson to cork it or face a heavy fine.

On December 2 at the Detroit Olympia, Montreal beat the Red Wings 4-1. Maurice "Rocket" Richard got his 398th goal and a misconduct penalty for an argument with referee Bill Chadwick. With two minutes left to play, a free-for-all broke out in front of the Detroit bench and both teams had to be sent to their dressing rooms to cool off. Detroit coach Jimmy Skinner exchanged punches with Butch Bouchard in the melee.

On December 18, Richard scored his 400th career goal against Chicago netminder Al Rollins in a 4-1 Canadiens victory over the Black Hawks.

Montreal and Toronto played to a 1-1 tie on December 29, at Maple Leaf Gardens. Rocket Richard got a standing ovation when he scored his 401st goal late in the first period. With five minutes left in the game, Bob Bailey gave Richard a heavy check near the boards, sending him to the ice. Richard went after Bailey and fists flew before officials restrained them. Richard tried to get a stick from a teammate but was restrained. He finally broke away from linesman George Hayes and struck the linesman with an empty glove. The fans laid a barrage of boos for Richard, whom they had cheered in the first period. Richard received a major penalty and two misconducts, while Bailey also received a major penalty and two misconducts. Ten days later, Richard was fined $250 for his attack on Hayes.

During a Montreal-Detroit clash on New Year's Day, NHL president Clarence Campbell went to the Detroit bench to warn Detroit coach Jimmy Skinner about his players using obscene language. Campbell was told to mind his own business, and that he was only a spectator. Campbell agreed that he was a spectator, but only had the league interest in mind.

On January 22, the Leafs defeated Detroit 3-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens when Ted Lindsay got into trouble. A spectator grabbed Gordie Howe's stick as he was skating by, and the fan and Howe scuffled briefly. As Howe skated away, the fan made a futile attempt to strike Howe. At that point Lindsay rushed over and struck the spectator with his stick. President Campbell took a dim view of this incident and suspended Lindsay for ten days (five games). Lindsay appealed the suspension, but the board of governors upheld Campbell's actions.

In a scoreless tie at the Montreal Forum on March 10, a new ice cleaner and resurfacer called a Zamboni was used for the first time. The fans were not appreciative of Toronto's defensive style in this game and threw garbage, including pig's feet, on the ice.

With three games left in the season, Rocket Richard, the famous 50-in-50 goal scorer, got into a stick-swinging fight with Hal Laycoe of Boston Bruins and then punched linesman Cliff Thompson, who was trying to restrain him. NHL President Clarence Campbell suspended the Rocket for the remaining three games of the season and the playoffs. At the time, the Canadiens held a two point lead over the Red Wings for first overall in the NHL and Richard held a two point lead over teammate Bernie Geoffrion for the NHL scoring lead. Geoffrion ended up passing Richard in total points and was awarded the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL leading scorer. Two days after the Campbell handed out the suspension, Richard attended a game at the Montreal Forum between the Canadiens and Red Wings. The Wings assumed a 4-1 lead,and then NHL president Clarence Campbell rubbed salt into the fans wounds when he showed up near the end of the first period. He was showered with pig's feet and other debris, and a fan punched him. One fan rubbed a tomato on his chest. Then a policeman, realizing the president's life was in danger, threw a tear gas bomb near the Canadiens goal during the intermission. A stampede for the exits commenced, and the fire director ordered the game called off for the safety of the public. A riot ensued that ended the game and carried over to the next day. The Red Wings won the game by forfeit and eventually went on to take first overall in the NHL for a record seventh straight season.

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	42	17	11	95	204	134	827
Montreal Canadiens	70	41	18	11	93	228	157	890
Toronto Maple Leafs	70	24	24	22	70	147	135	990
Boston Bruins	70	23	26	21	67	169	188	863
New York Rangers	70	17	35	18	52	150	210	690
Chicago Black Hawks	70	13	40	17	43	161	235	733

Playoffs

Semifinals

Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Date Away Team Home Team 22. March Toronto 4 7 Detroit 24. March Toronto 1 2 Detroit 26. March Detroit 2 1 Toronto 29. March Detroit 3 0 Toronto Detroit won series 4:0.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins Date Away Team Home Team Notes 22. March Boston 0 2 Montreal 24. March Boston 1 3 Montreal 27. March Montreal 2 4 Boston 29. March Montreal 4 3 Boston OT 31. March Boston 1 5 Montreal Montreal won series 4:1.

Final

Prior to the playoffs, Montreal's Maurice Richard was suspended and would be missed by the Canadiens.

In the second game, Ted Lindsay would score four goals to set a NHL record for most goals in one game in a Final series. The win was also the Wings' fifteenth consecutive, another NHL record.

Gordie Howe set two NHL records, amassing 12 points in this round, and surpassing former Canadiens player (and soon-to-be-coach) Toe Blake's point mark for the playoffs with 20 points in 11 games.

This was also the first final in which the home team won all seven games of the series, a feat that would be repeated only twice in the next 50 years, in 1965 (Montreal defeated the Chicago Black Hawks) and 2003 (the New Jersey Devils beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim).

Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Canadiens

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
April 3	Montreal	2	Detroit	4
April 5	Montreal	1	Detroit	7
April 7	Detroit	2	Montreal	4
April 9	Detroit	3	Montreal	5
April 10	Montreal	1	Detroit	5
April 12	Detroit	3	Montreal	6
April 14	Montreal	1	Detroit	3

Detroit wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 3

Playoff bracket

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

Awards

• Prince of Wales Trophy: Detroit Red Wings
• Art Ross Memorial Trophy: Bernie Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens
• Calder Memorial Trophy: Ed Litzenberger, Chicago Black Hawks
• Hart Memorial Trophy: Ted Kennedy, Toronto Maple Leafs
• James Norris Memorial Trophy: Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens
• Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Sid Smith, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Vezina Trophy: Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings

All-Star teams

First team	Position	Second team
Harry Lumley, Toronto Maple Leafs	G	Terry Sawchuk, Detroit Red Wings
Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens	D	Bob Goldham, Detroit Red Wings
Red Kelly, Detroit Red Wings	D	Fern Flaman, Boston Bruins
Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens	C	Ken Mosdell, Montreal Canadiens
Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens	RW	Bernie Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens
Sid Smith, Toronto Maple Leafs	LW	Danny Lewicki, New York Rangers

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
Bernie Geoffrion	Montreal Canadiens	70	38	37	75	57
Maurice Richard	Montreal Canadiens	67	38	36	74	125
Jean Beliveau	Montreal Canadiens	70	37	36	73	58
Earl Reibel	Detroit Red Wings	70	25	41	66	15
Gordie Howe	Detroit Red Wings	64	29	33	62	68
George Sullivan	Chicago Black Hawks	69	19	42	61	51
Bert Olmstead	Montreal Canadiens	70	10	48	58	103
Sid Smith	Toronto Maple Leafs	70	33	21	54	14
Ken Mosdell	Montreal Canadiens	70	22	32	54	82
Danny Lewicki	New York Rangers	70	29	24	53	8

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
Harry Lumley	Toronto Maple Leafs	69	4140	133	1.93	23	24	22	8
Terry Sawchuk	Detroit Red Wings	68	4080	132	1.94	40	17	11	12
Jacques Plante	Montreal Canadiens	52	3120	109	2.10	31	13	7	5
Charlie Hodge	Montreal Canadiens	14	820	31	2.27	7	3	4	1
John Henderson	Boston Bruins	45	2652	109	2.47	15	14	15	5
Lorne Worsley	New York Rangers	65	3900	195	3.00	15	33	17	4
Jim Henry	Boston Bruins	27	1548	79	3.06	8	12	6	1
Hank Bassen	Chicago Black Hawks	21	1260	63	3.00	4	9	8	0
Al Rollins	Chicago Black Hawks	44	2640	149	3.39	9	27	8	0

Team Photos

• 

  Boston Bruins

• 

  Chicago Black Hawks

• 

  Detroit Red Wings

• 

  Montreal Canadiens

• 

  New York Rangers

• 

  Toronto Maple Leafs

References

• Coleman, Charles L. (1976), Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol III, Sherbrooke, QC: Progressive Publications 
• (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. Kingston, NY: 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. 
• Duplacey, James (2008), Hockey’s Book of Firsts, North Dighton, MA: JG Press,  
• (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 (1969), 50 Years Of Hockey, Winnipeg, MAN: Greywood Publishing, ISBN B000GW45S0 
• 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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