1939-40 NHL season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1939-40 NHL season, was the 23rd for the National Hockey League. Of the league's seven teams, the Boston Bruins were the best in the 48-game regular season, but the Stanley Cup winners were the New York Rangers, who defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the best-of-seven Finals 4-2 for their third Stanley Cup in 14 seasons of existence. It would be another 54 years before their fourth.
Contents |
[edit] Regular season
Tragedy struck the Montreal Canadiens when Babe Siebert, named coach of the struggling club, drowned along with his daughter in August. It put a big hole in the Habs defence and the team finished last under Pit Lepine. An all-star benefit was held in Siebert's memory.
The New York Americans, in financial trouble, decided to trade their star left wing Sweeney Schriner to Toronto for Harvey "Busher" Jackson, Buzz Boll, Murray Armstrong, and minor-leaguer Jimmy Fowler. Late in the season, they traded Eddie Wiseman and $5000 to Boston for Eddie Shore. The Americans then managed to make the playoffs by finishing a poor sixth. They also obtained Charlie Conacher and used him as a defenceman.
The first place Boston Bruins had a new coach in Cooney Weiland, their one-time captain, and were once again led by their "Kraut Line", Milt Schmidt, Woody Dumart, and Bobby Bauer as they finished 1-2-3 in overall league scoring. Unfortunately, the potient three were unable to help the Bruins get past the first round of the playoffs as the Bruins lost in 6 to the Rangers.
The New York Rangers were coasting in first place and went 19 consecutive games without a loss. They slumped in the second half, though, and Boston edged them out for first place.
[edit] Final standings
Note: GP = Games played, 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 highligted in bold
| National Hockey League | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 48 | 31 | 12 | 5 | 67 | 170 | 98 | 330 |
| New York Rangers | 48 | 27 | 11 | 10 | 64 | 136 | 77 | 520 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 25 | 17 | 6 | 56 | 134 | 110 | 485 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 23 | 19 | 6 | 52 | 112 | 120 | 351 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 16 | 26 | 6 | 38 | 90 | 126 | 250 |
| New York Americans | 48 | 15 | 29 | 4 | 34 | 106 | 140 | 236 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 10 | 33 | 5 | 25 | 90 | 167 | 338 |
[edit] Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milt Schmidt | Boston Bruins | 48 | 22 | 30 | 52 |
| Woody Dumart | Boston Bruins | 48 | 22 | 21 | 43 |
| Bobby Bauer | Boston Bruins | 48 | 17 | 26 | 43 |
| Bill Cowley | Boston Bruins | 48 | 13 | 27 | 40 |
| Gordie Drillon | Toronto Maple Leafs | 43 | 21 | 19 | 40 |
| Bryan Hextall | New York Rangers | 48 | 24 | 15 | 39 |
| Neil Colville | New York Rangers | 48 | 19 | 19 | 38 |
| Syd Howe | Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 14 | 23 | 37 |
| Murray Armstrong | New York Americans | 48 | 16 | 20 | 36 |
| Hector Blake | Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 17 | 19 | 36 |
[edit] Stanley Cup playoffs
The Boston Bruins were expected to make the Stanley Cup finals after a first overall finish during the regular season riding the shoulders of the "Kraut Line". But the New York Rangers were too much for the Bruins who lost in six and were out-scored 14 to 8 and shut-out twice in the first round. The third seed Toronto Maple Leafs swept the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks en route to the Stanley Cup finals.
Note: All dates in 1940
[edit] Playoff bracket
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | Boston Bruins | 2 | |||||||||||
| 2 | New York Rangers | 4 | |||||||||||
| 2 | New York Rangers | 4 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 0 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 0 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 2 | |||||||||||
| 6 | New York Americans | 1 | |||||||||||
[edit] Quarterfinals and Semifinals
Series A: Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers
| Date | Home | Score | Away | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 19 | New York Rangers | 4 | Boston Bruins | 0 | |
| March 21 | Boston Bruins | 4 | New York Rangers | 3 | |
| March 24 | Boston Bruins | 4 | New York Rangers | 2 | |
| March 26 | New York Rangers | 1 | Boston Bruins | 0 | |
| March 28 | Boston Bruins | 0 | New York Rangers | 1 | |
| March 30 | New York Rangers | 4 | Boston Bruins | 1 |
Rangers win best of seven series 4 games to 2
Series B: Chicago Black Hawks vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 19 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3 | 6:35 of OT |
| March 21 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1 |
Toronto wins best of three series 2 games to 0
Series C: New York Americans vs. Detroit Red Wings
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 19 | New York Americans | 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 2 | 0:25 of OT |
| March 22 | Detroit Red Wings | 4 | New York Americans | 5 | |
| March 24 | New York Americans | 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 3 |
Detroit wins best of three series 2 games to 1
Series D: Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 26 | Detroit Red Wings | 1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 | |
| March 28 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 | Detroit Red Wings | 1 |
Toronto wins best of three series 2 games to 0
[edit] Stanley Cup Finals
The final series between the Rangers and the Maple Leafs was an exciting one that went back and forth with three overtime games. The Rangers took the first two at home and the Leafs took the next two in Toronto. Normally, the series would then go back to New York, but Madison Square Garden was hosting a circus so the final two games, won by New York, were played in Toronto. Bryan Hextall scored in overtime in the final game to give the Rangers their last Stanley Cup in a long, long time. Perhaps it was burning their mortgage paper in the Cup that cursed the Rangers, or the Curse of Red Dutton. Whatever, it would be 1994 before the Rangers would win another Cup, over 50 years.
Series E: Toronto Maple Leafs vs. New York Rangers
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1 | New York Rangers | 2 | 15:30 of OT |
| April 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 | New York Rangers | 6 | |
| April 6 | New York Rangers | 1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 | |
| April 9 | New York Rangers | 0 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3 | |
| April 11 | New York Rangers | 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1 | 11:43 of OT |
| April 13 | New York Rangers | 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 | 2:07 of OT |
New York wins best of seven series 4 games to 2
[edit] Playoff scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Watson | New York Rangers | 12 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Neil Colville | New York Rangers | 12 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
[edit] 1940 New York Rangers roster
General Manager: Lester Patrick
Head Coach: Frank Boucher
Trainer: Harry Westerby
Players: Art Coulter (Captain), Mac Colville, Neil Colville, Ott Heller, Bryan Hextall, Dutch Hiller, Dave Kerr, Kilby MacDonald, Lynn Patrick, Muzz Patrick, Alf Pike, Babe Pratt, Alex Shibicky, Clint Smith, Phil Watson
[edit] NHL awards
[edit] See also
[edit] References
| NHL seasons |
|---|
|
1935-36 | 1936-37 | 1937-38 | 1938-39 | 1939-40 | 1940-41 | 1941-42 | 1942-43 | 1943-44 |
