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1949–50 NHL season

(Redirected from 1950 Stanley Cup playoffs)

The 1949–50 NHL season was the 33rd season of the National Hockey League. The Detroit Red Wings defeated the New York Rangers in seven games for the Stanley Cup. It was the Red Wings' fourth championship.

1949–50 NHL season
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationOctober 12, 1949 – April 23, 1950
Number of games70
Number of teams6
Regular season
Season championDetroit Red Wings
Season MVPCharlie Rayner (Rangers)
Top scorerTed Lindsay (Red Wings)
Stanley Cup
ChampionsDetroit Red Wings
  Runners-upNew York Rangers
NHL seasons

League business

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The NHL decided to increase the number of games played from 60 to 70 games for each team. Each team played every other team 14 times. Goaltenders would no longer have to face a penalty shot if they took a major penalty. A team-mate could serve the penalty in the penalty box.[1]

In June 1949, the NHL decided to henceforth paint the ice surface white. This was done by adding white paint to the water before freezing. Previously, the ice surface was just frozen water on concrete, which made a dull grey colour. By "whitening" the ice surface, it made seeing and following the puck much easier, especially on the relatively new medium of television.

Regular season

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Detroit, led by the new Production Line of Lindsay, Abel and Howe won the regular season. The Production line led the league in scoring 1–2–3.

Highlights

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On November 2, 1949, at Chicago Stadium, a rather serious brawl broke out in a game Chicago defeated Montreal 4–1. During the second period, some rinkside fans began to get on Montreal defenceman Ken Reardon, and when one fan grabbed his sweater, Reardon swung his stick and hit one of the rowdies. Leo Gravelle and Billy Reay joined in, and yet another fan climbed over the boards and challenged Reardon, but was forced back to his seat. When the game ended, police arrested Reardon, Reay and Gravelle. Later, the players were cleared when a judge ruled that the fans were the aggressors and overstepped the prerogatives as fans.

After Chicago defeated Toronto 6–3 on November 27, Conn Smythe told goaltender Turk Broda, "I'm not running a fat man's team!" and said that Broda would not play until he reduced his weight to 190 lb. At the time, Broda weighed almost 200. Al Rollins was purchased from Cleveland of the AHL and Gil Mayer was brought up for good measure. When he reached 189 pounds, Broda went back into the Toronto net and he gained his fourth shutout of the season December 3 and Maple Leaf fans cheered all of his 22 saves.

After the Red Wings clobbered Chicago 9–2 on February 8, writer Lew Walter tried to interview Chicago coach Charlie Conacher. Conacher exploded in anger, criticized Walter's past stories and punched Walter, knocking him down to the floor. Walter announced that he would seek a warrant for Conacher's arrest. NHL president Clarence Campbell took a dim view of Conacher's actions and fined him $200. Conacher then phoned Walter and apologized, saying he regretted what had taken place.

Montreal fans began to boo Bill Durnan, as they had in 1947–48, despite the fact he was the league's best goalkeeper, and in an interview, he stated he was going to retire at the end of the season. In reality, Durnan had been cut a number of times during the season, and at one point, had to take penicillin. It caused a high fever and he missed some action. Despite this, he recorded eight shutouts and won the Vezina Trophy for the sixth time in his seven-year career.

Ken Reardon got himself into trouble when he made a statement to a magazine suggesting retribution to Cal Gardner, stating: "I'm going to make sure that Gardner gets 14 stitches in his mouth. I may have to wait a long time, but I'll get even." On March 1, 1950, Clarence Campbell made Reardon post a $1,000 bond to make sure he did not carry out his threat. When the season ended, Reardon was refunded the $1,000, since he did not hurt Gardner as he said he would.

Final standings

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National Hockey League[2]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Detroit Red Wings 70 37 19 14 229 164 +65 88
2 Montreal Canadiens 70 29 22 19 172 150 +22 77
3 Toronto Maple Leafs 70 31 27 12 176 173 +3 74
4 New York Rangers 70 28 31 11 170 189 −19 67
5 Boston Bruins 70 22 32 16 198 228 −30 60
6 Chicago Black Hawks 70 22 38 10 203 244 −41 54

Playoffs

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Playoff bracket

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Semifinals Stanley Cup Finals
      
1 Detroit 4
3 Toronto 3
1 Detroit 4
4 New York 3
2 Montreal 1
4 New York 4

Semifinals

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Detroit defeated Toronto in seven games to advance to the Finals; while New York defeated Montreal in five games to also advance to the Finals.

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs

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March 28 Toronto Maple Leafs 5–0 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Joe Klukay (1) – 00:10
Bill Barilko (1) – pp – 08:49
John McCormack (1) – sh – 11:29 		Second period No scoring
Cal Gardner (1) – 03:29
Joe Klukay (2) – 11:17 		Third period No scoring
Turk Broda Goalie stats Harry Lumley
March 30 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–3 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
No scoring First period 09:13 – pp – Red Kelly (1)
15:47 – Sid Abel (1)
No scoring Second period 10:32 – Joe Carveth (1)
Fleming MacKell (1) – 05:44 Third period No scoring
Turk Broda Goalie stats Harry Lumley
April 1 Detroit Red Wings 0–2 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 06:44 – Joe Klukay (3)
19:40 – Max Bentley (1)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Harry Lumley Goalie stats Turk Broda
April 4 Detroit Red Wings 2–1 2OT Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
Marty Pavelich (1) – 10:50 First period 03:34 – Max Bentley (2)
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Leo Reise (1) – pp – 00:38 Second overtime period No scoring
Harry Lumley Goalie stats Turk Broda
April 6 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–0 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
Ted Kennedy (1) – pp – 10:35 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
Max Bentley (3) – 08:37 Third period No scoring
Turk Broda Goalie stats Harry Lumley
April 8 Detroit Red Wings 4–0 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
Marty Pavelich (2) – pp – 06:55
George Gee (1) – 19:40 		First period No scoring
Gerry Couture (1) – pp – 10:31 Second period No scoring
Jack Stewart (1) – 05:03 Third period No scoring
Harry Lumley Goalie stats Turk Broda
April 9 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–1 OT Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
No scoring First overtime period 08:39 – Leo Reise (2)
Turk Broda Goalie stats Harry Lumley
Detroit won series 4–3


(2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) New York Rangers

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March 29 Montreal Canadiens 1–3 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden III Recap  
Norm Dussault (1) – pp – 08:27 First period 14:40 – pp – Don Raleigh (1)
No scoring Second period 11:18 – pp – Nick Mickoski (1)
No scoring Third period 19:38 – Pat Egan (1)
Bill Durnan Goalie stats Chuck Rayner
April 1 New York Rangers 3–2 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
Pentti Lund (1) – 10:10 First period 06:57 – Floyd Curry (1)
09:48 – Norm Dussault (2)
No scoring Second period No scoring
Buddy O'Connor (1) – pp – 11:58
Ed Slowinski (1) – 13:34 		Third period No scoring
Chuck Rayner Goalie stats Bill Durnan
April 2 Montreal Canadiens 1–4 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden III Recap  
Bert Hirschfeld (1) – 08:30 First period 07:12 – Pentti Lund (2)
15:58 – pp – Ed Slowinski (2)
No scoring Second period 14:20 – Pentti Lund (3)
No scoring Third period 02:16 – pp – Pentti Lund
Bill Durnan Goalie stats Chuck Rayner
April 4 New York Rangers 2–3 OT Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
Pentti Lund (5) – 09:14 First period 17:15 – pp – Norm Dussault (3)
Don Raleigh (2) – 09:07 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 09:34 – pp – Maurice Richard (1)
No scoring First overtime period 15:19 – Elmer Lach (1)
Chuck Rayner Goalie stats Gerry McNeil
April 6 New York Rangers 3–0 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
Jack Gordon (1) – 04:22
Pat Egan (2) – 05:18
Dunc Fisher (1) – 16:47 		Third period No scoring
Chuck Rayner Goalie stats Gerry McNeil
New York won series 4–1


Stanley Cup Finals

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Main article: 1950 Stanley Cup Finals

Two games were played in Toronto, with the rest in Detroit, as the circus had taken over Madison Square Garden in New York.


April 11 New York Rangers 1–4 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
Buddy O'Connor (2) – 05:58 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 04:43 – pp – Joe Carveth (2)
09:32 – George Gee (2)
10:06 – Jim McFadden (1)
13:56 – pp – Gerry Couture (2)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Chuck Rayner Goalie stats Harry Lumley
April 13 Detroit Red Wings 1–3 New York Rangers Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Gerry Couture (3) – 03:05 Second period 10:39 – Pat Egan (3)
No scoring Third period 03:04 – Edgar Laprade (1)
11:20 – Edgar Laprade (2)
Harry Lumley Goalie stats Chuck Rayner
April 15 Detroit Red Wings 4–0 New York Rangers Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
Gerry Couture (4) – pp – 14:14
George Gee (3) – pp – 19:08 		First period No scoring
Sid Abel (2) – 19:16 Second period No scoring
Marty Pavelich (3) – 16:55 Third period No scoring
Harry Lumley Goalie stats Chuck Rayner
April 18 New York Rangers 4–3 OT Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
No scoring First period 06:31 – Ted Lindsay (1)
16:48 – Sid Abel (3)
Buddy O'Connor (3) – 19:59 Second period No scoring
Marty Pavelich (4) – 03:32
Edgar Laprade (3) – 08:09 		Third period 16:26 – Gus Kyle (1)
Don Raleigh (3) – 08:34 First overtime period No scoring
Chuck Rayner Goalie stats Harry Lumley
April 20 New York Rangers 2–1 OT Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Dunc Fisher (2) – 07:44 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 18:10 – Ted Lindsay (2)
Don Raleigh (4) – 01:38 First overtime period No scoring
Chuck Rayner Goalie stats Harry Lumley
April 22 New York Rangers 4–5 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
Allan Stanley (1) – 03:45
Dunc Fisher (3) – 07:35 		First period 19:18 – Ted Lindsay (3)
Pentti Lund (6) – pp – 03:18 Second period 05:38 – Sid Abel (4)
16:07 – Gerry Couture (5)
Tony Leswick (1) – 01:54 Third period 04:13 – Ted Lindsay (4)
10:34 – Sid Abel (5)
Chuck Rayner Goalie stats Harry Lumley
April 23 New York Rangers 3–4 2OT Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
Allan Stanley (2) – pp – 11:14
Tony Leswick (2) – pp – 12:18 		First period No scoring
Buddy O'Connor (4) – 11:42 Second period 05:09 – pp – Pete Babando (1)
05:30 – pp – Sid Abel (6)
15:57 – Jim McFadden (2)
No scoring Third period No scoring
No scoring Second overtime period 08:31 – Pete Babando (2)
Chuck Rayner Goalie stats Harry Lumley
Detroit won series 4–3


Awards

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This was the last season that the O'Brien Cup was awarded to the Stanley Cup runner up – in this season, the New York Rangers – as it went into retirement for the second and final time at season's end. (It was not awarded between 1917 and 1921)

O'Brien Cup:
(Stanley Cup runner-up)		 New York Rangers
Prince of Wales Trophy:
(Top record, regular season)		 Detroit Red Wings
Art Ross Trophy:
(Top scorer)		 Ted Lindsay, Detroit Red Wings
Calder Memorial Trophy:
(Top first year player)		 Jack Gelineau, Boston Bruins
Hart Trophy:
(Most valuable player)		 Charlie Rayner, New York Rangers
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:
(Excellence and sportsmanship)		 Edgar Laprade, New York Rangers
Vezina Trophy:
(Goaltender of team with best goals against average)		 Bill Durnan, Montreal Canadiens

All-Star teams

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First Team   Position   Second Team
Bill Durnan, Montreal Canadiens G Chuck Rayner, New York Rangers
Gus Mortson, Toronto Maple Leafs D Leo Reise Jr., Detroit Red Wings
Ken Reardon, Montreal Canadiens D Red Kelly, Detroit Red Wings
Sid Abel, Detroit Red Wings C Ted Kennedy, Toronto Maple Leafs
Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens RW Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
Ted Lindsay, Detroit Red Wings LW Tony Leswick, New York Rangers

Player statistics

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Scoring leaders

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

PLAYER TEAM GP G A PTS PIM
Ted Lindsay Detroit Red Wings 69 23 55 78 141
Sid Abel Detroit Red Wings 69 34 35 69 46
Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings 70 35 33 68 69
Maurice Richard Montreal Canadiens 70 43 22 65 114
Paul Ronty Boston Bruins 70 23 36 59 8
Roy Conacher Chicago Black Hawks 70 25 31 56 16
Doug Bentley Chicago Black Hawks 64 20 33 53 28
Johnny Peirson Boston Bruins 57 27 25 52 49
Metro Prystai Chicago Black Hawks 65 29 22 51 31
Bep Guidolin Chicago Black Hawks 70 17 34 51 42

Source: NHL[3]

Leading goaltenders

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Note: GP = Games played; Mins – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts

Player Team GP Mins GA GAA W L T SO
Bill Durnan Montreal Canadiens 64 3840 141 2.20 26 21 17 8
Harry Lumley Detroit Red Wings 63 3780 148 2.35 33 16 14 7
Turk Broda Toronto Maple Leafs 68 4040 167 2.48 30 25 12 9
Chuck Rayner New York Rangers 69 4140 181 2.62 28 30 11 6
Jack Gelineau Boston Bruins 67 4020 220 3.28 22 30 15 3
Frank Brimsek Chicago Black Hawks 70 4200 244 3.49 22 38 10 5

Coaches

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Debuts

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The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1949–50 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

Last games

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The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1949–50 (listed with their last team):

See also

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References

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  • Diamond, Dan, ed. (1994). 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.
  • Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
  • Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
  • Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
  • Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (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. ^ Fischler et al. 2003, p. 190.
  2. ^ "1949–1950 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  3. ^ Dinger 2011, p. 148.
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