1956-57 NHL season
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The 1956-57 NHL season was the 40th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 70 games. The Montreal Canadiens were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the Boston Bruins four games to one in the best-of-seven final series.
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[edit] Regular season
On October 1, it was announced that Dick Irvin had resigned as coach of Chicago due to ill health. He was suffering from bone cancer and had been ill for two years and had been hospitalized in Montreal. Irvin had been several days late to training camp. Tommy Ivan took over as coach. Later in the season, it was reported that Irvin had undergone minor surgery for anemia at Ross Memorial Hospital. Irvin died on May 15, 1957.
Dave Trottier, former Montreal Maroons star, died November 13, 1956 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was 50 years old.
Ted Lindsay, Detroit's star left wing, became the fourth player to score 300 career goals on November 18 when he picked up two goals in an 8-3 pasting of the Montreal Canadiens. The other players to reach this prestigious mark were Nels Stewart, Maurice Richard and Gordie Howe (who played opposite Lindsay for most of the latter's career).
On January 5th, the Rangers and the Black Hawks played an afternoon game at Madison Square Garden and the Bluesirts beat the Hawks 4-1. This game was broadcast on the Columbia Broadcast System network (CBS). Glen Skov spoiled Lorne "Gump" Worsley's would-be shutout with a goal in the third period.
Montreal beat Toronto 2-1 at the Forum in Montreal January 10 and moved into first place. The game was hard-fought and referee Frank Udvari found it necessary to rule with an iron hand that angered the fans. Fans thought he was being filthy, calling chippy penalties against the Habs and deliberately failing to call hooking and holding penalties by the Maple Leafs. The blow-off came in the last two minutes of the game. Maurice Richard received a high-sticking penalty. At 18:14, knowing his Maple Leafs were in danger, Toronto coach Howie Meeker pulled goaltender Ed Chadwick for six attackers. Here, Dick Duff scored the tying goal, causing Richard, arguably the most popular and maybe the most outstanding player in Canadiens history, to go berserk and commence a heated argument with Udvari, and Richard banged his stick on the ice. He might have attacked Udvari if his teammates hadn't restrained him. Fans threw programmes, paper cups, hats and other debris and the game was held up. When it did resume, Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion set up Don Marshall for the winning goal with a mere 6 seconds left to play. Although the fans were pleased with the outcome, an angry hum commenced as the players and officials left the ice. Udvari had to be escorted to his dressing room by police and ushers. A large part of the crowd now directed its attention to NHL President Clarence Campbell seated in his box seat and he became the target of jeers and threats. The situation began to show some of the aspects of the Richard Riot of two years ago when Richard had been suspended for an attack on an official. It was at least 30 minutes before Campbell was able to leave under police protection.
Terry Sawchuk had been playing well for the Boston Bruins and was a candidate for the Hart Memorial Trophy, when he came down with mononucleosis. He came back too soon and by January 16, he announced his retirement from hockey, a temporary one as he would be back in Detroit next season.
Glenn Hall wasn't as good as last season, but led the Detroit Red Wings to first place. Hall had played only two games prior to 1955-56, but shown such promise Sawchuk was sent off.
[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
| National Hockey League | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 38 | 20 | 12 | 88 | 198 | 157 | 656 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 35 | 23 | 12 | 82 | 210 | 155 | 870 |
| Boston Bruins | 70 | 34 | 24 | 12 | 80 | 195 | 174 | 978 |
| New York Rangers | 70 | 26 | 30 | 14 | 66 | 184 | 227 | 870 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 21 | 34 | 15 | 57 | 174 | 192 | 829 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 16 | 39 | 15 | 47 | 169 | 225 | 809 |
[edit] Scoring leaders
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 | 44 | 45 | 89 | 72 |
| Ted Lindsay | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 30 | 55 | 85 | 103 |
| Jean Beliveau | Montreal Canadiens | 69 | 33 | 51 | 84 | 105 |
| Andy Bathgate | New York Rangers | 70 | 27 | 50 | 77 | 60 |
| Ed Litzenberger | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 32 | 32 | 64 | 48 |
[edit] Stanley Cup playoffs
[edit] Playoff bracket
| Semifinals | Finals | |||||||
| 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 1 | ||||||
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 4 | ||||||
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 1 | ||||||
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||
| 4 | New York Rangers | 1 | ||||||
[edit] NHL awards
[edit] See also
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- 10th National Hockey League All-Star Game
- National Hockey League All-Star Game
- 1956 in sports
- 1957 in sports
[edit] References
| NHL seasons |
|---|
|
1952-53 | 1953-54 | 1954-55 | 1955-56 | 1956-57 | 1957-58 | 1958-59 | 1959-60 | 1960-61 |
