Wikipedia

1951–52 NHL season

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.

1951–52 NHL season
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationOctober 11, 1951 – April 15, 1952
Number of games70
Number of teams6
Regular season
Season championDetroit Red Wings
Season MVPGordie Howe (Red Wings)
Top scorerGordie Howe (Red Wings)
Stanley Cup
ChampionsDetroit Red Wings
  Runners-upMontreal Canadiens
NHL seasons

League business

edit

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.[citation needed]

The Chicago Black Hawks, 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.[citation needed]

The NHL and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) agreed to a January 15 deadline for professional teams to call up players from the CAHA's Major Series of senior ice hockey. The agreement gave the NHL a source of emergency replacement players, and prevented teams in Canada from losing players during the Alexander Cup playoffs.[1]

Rule changes

edit

The league mandated that home teams would now wear a basic white uniform, while road teams will wear coloured uniforms. Before then, teams would often play with colored jerseys against each other, and with Television being in black white at the time, this helped viewers at home identify the two teams clearly.[citation needed]

The goal crease is enlarged from 3 ft × 7 ft (0.91 m × 2.13 m) to 4 ft × 8 ft (1.2 m × 2.4 m). The faceoff circles are expanded from a 10-foot (3.0 m) radius to a 15-foot (4.6 m) radius.[2]

Regular season

edit

Conn Smythe offered $10,000 for anyone who found Bill Barilko, missing since August 26. 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

edit

On November 25 in Chicago, Chicago goalie Harry Lumley hurt a knee. At age 46, trainer Moe Roberts, who played his first game in the NHL for Boston in 1925–26, played the third period in goal for Chicago and did not yield a goal.[3] 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.[4]

Chicago was not 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 the Forum in Montreal as the Canadiens tied Chicago 4–4. 14,452 fans were on hand to see Lach presented with a car, rowboat, TV set, deep-freeze 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.[3]

Final standings

edit
National Hockey League[5]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Detroit Red Wings 70 44 14 12 215 133 +82 100
2 Montreal Canadiens 70 34 26 10 195 164 +31 78
3 Toronto Maple Leafs 70 29 25 16 168 157 +11 74
4 Boston Bruins 70 25 29 16 162 176 −14 66
5 New York Rangers 70 23 34 13 192 219 −27 59
6 Chicago Black Hawks 70 17 44 9 158 241 −83 43

Playoffs

edit

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 never allowed a goal on home ice during the playoffs.[3]

Playoff bracket

edit
Semifinals Stanley Cup Finals
      
1 Detroit 4
3 Toronto 0
1 Detroit 4
2 Montreal 0
2 Montreal 4
4 Boston 3

Semifinals

edit

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

edit
March 25 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–3 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
No scoring First period 13:35 – Red Kelly (1)
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 02:59 – pp – Sid Abel (1)
14:21 – Johnny Wilson (1)
Al Rollins Goalie stats Terry Sawchuck
March 27 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–1 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
No scoring First period 15:33 – pp – Johnny Wilson (2)
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Al Rollins Goalie stats Terry Sawchuck
March 29 Detroit Red Wings 6–2 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
Marty Pavelich (1) – 10:56
Ted Lindsay (1) – pp – 16:57 		First period 11:16 – Joe Klukay (1)
Johnny Wilson (3) – 02:10
Leo Reise Jr. (1) – 05:22 		Second period 12:20 – Max Bentley (1)
Johnny Wilson (4) – 00:48
Benny Woit (1) – 08:47 		Third period No scoring
Terry Sawchuck Goalie stats Al Rollins
April 1 Detroit Red Wings 3–1 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens Recap  
Ted Lindsay (2) – pp – 04:35
Tony Leswick (1) – pp – 09:32 		First period 02:56 – Harry Watson (1)
Sid Abel (2) – 04:52 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Terry Sawchuck Goalie stats Al Rollins
Detroit won series 4–0


(2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) Boston Bruins

edit
March 25 Boston Bruins 1–5 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
No scoring First period 05:45 – Maurice Richard (1)
Pentti Lund (1) – 06:27 Second period 00:30 – Dickie Moore (1)
14:16 – Maurice Richard (2)
No scoring Third period 03:09 – Billy Reay (1)
19:24 – Floyd Curry (1)
Jim Henry Goalie stats Gerry McNeil
March 27 Boston Bruins 0–4 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
No scoring First period 04:01 – Ken Mosdell (1)
09:49 – pp – Bernie Geoffrion (1)
No scoring Second period 13:39 – Bernie Geoffrion (2)
No scoring Third period 17:14 – Bernie Geoffrion (3)
Jim Henry Goalie stats Gerry McNeil
March 30 Montreal Canadiens 1–4 Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 02:05 – Hal Laycoe (1)
02:38 – Dave Creighton (1)
03:07 – Ed Sandford (1)
Floyd Curry (2) – 15:24 Third period 06:14 – Fleming MacKell (1)
Gerry McNeil Goalie stats Jim Henry
April 1 Montreal Canadiens 2–3 Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
No scoring First period 09:53 – Real Chevrefils (1)
Floyd Curry (3) – pp – 19:46 Second period 06:55 – Milt Schmidt (1)
Floyd Curry (4) – 06:48 Third period 14:37 – Fleming MacKell (2)
Gerry McNeil Goalie stats Jim Henry
April 3 Boston Bruins 1–0 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
Jack McIntyre (1) – 03:30 Third period No scoring
Jim Henry Goalie stats Gerry McNeil
April 6 Montreal Canadiens 3–2 2OT Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
No scoring First period 02:53 – Milt Schmidt (2)
11:44 – Dave Creighton (2)
Eddie Mazur (1) – 04:53 Second period No scoring
Maurice Richard (3) – 11:05 Third period No scoring
Paul Masnick (1) – 07:49 Second overtime period No scoring
Gerry McNeil Goalie stats Jim Henry
April 8 Boston Bruins 1–3 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
Ed Sandford (2) – 12:25 First period 04:25 – Eddie Mazur (2)
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 16:19 – Maurice Richard (4)
19:26 – Billy Reay (2)
Jim Henry Goalie stats Gerry McNeil
Montreal won series 4–3


Stanley Cup Finals

edit
Main article: 1952 Stanley Cup Finals


April 10 Detroit Red Wings 3–1 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Tony Leswick (2) – 03:27 Second period No scoring
Tony Leswick (3) – 07:59
Ted Lindsay (3) – 19:44 		Third period 11:01 – Tom Johnson (1)
Terry Sawchuck Goalie stats Gerry McNeil
April 12 Detroit Red Wings 2–1 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
Marty Pavelich (2) – 16:09 First period 18:37 – pp – Elmer Lach (1)
Ted Lindsay (4) – pp – 00:43 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Terry Sawchuck Goalie stats Gerry McNeil
April 13 Montreal Canadiens 0–3 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
No scoring First period 04:31 – pp – Gordie Howe (1)
No scoring Second period 09:13 – Ted Lindsay (5)
No scoring Third period 06:54 – Gordie Howe (2)
Gerry McNeil Goalie stats Terry Sawchuck
April 15 Montreal Canadiens 0–3 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
No scoring First period 06:50 – pp – Metro Prystai (1)
No scoring Second period 19:39 – Glen Skov (1)
No scoring Third period 07:35 – Metro Prystai (2)
Gerry McNeil Goalie stats Terry Sawchuck
Detroit won series 4–0


Awards

edit
Award winners
Prince of Wales Trophy:
(Regular season champion)		 Detroit Red Wings
Art Ross Trophy:
(Top scorer)		 Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
Calder Memorial Trophy:
(Best first-year player)		 Bernie Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Trophy:
(Most valuable player)		 Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:
(Excellence and sportsmanship)		 Sid Smith, Toronto Maple Leafs
Vezina Trophy:
(Goaltender of team with best goals-against average)		 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

edit

Scoring leaders

edit

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 62 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[6]

Leading goaltenders

edit

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[7]

Coaches

edit

Debuts

edit

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1951–52 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

Last games

edit

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1951–52 (listed with their last team):

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Puck Chiefs Come To An Agreement". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. May 27, 1952. p. 16. 
  2. ^ Fischler et al. 2003, p. 202.
  3. ^ a b c Dryden 2000, p. 54.
  4. ^ Goaltending Legends: Maurice "Moe" Roberts
  5. ^ "1951–1952 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  6. ^ Dinger 2011, p. 148.
  7. ^ "1951–1952 – Regular Season – Goalie – Skater Season Stats Leaders – Points – NHL.com – Stats". nhl.com. Retrieved January 16, 2012.

Sources

edit
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1951–52_NHL_season&oldid=1256848465"