1965-66 NHL season
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The 1965-66 NHL season was the 49th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 70 games. The Montreal Canadiens won their second consecutive Stanley Cup as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings four games to two in the final series.
Two new trophies was introduced for this season. Jack Adams won the first Lester Patrick Trophy for his contribution to hockey in the United States. This was also the first season the Conn Smythe Trophy was awarded for the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The only significant rules change for this season was a requirement that teams suit up two goaltenders for each game.
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[edit] Regular season
Among notable players to debut this season was Ed Giacomin for the Rangers, Bill Goldsworthy for the Bruins, Ken Hodge for Chicago and Mike Walton for Toronto. In the meantime, however, the career of future Hockey Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay was over, as his request for reinstatement as an active player was vetoed by the Toronto ownership.
Gordie Howe scored his 600th NHL goal in Montreal November 27th in a 3-2 loss to the Canadiens to the cheers of the local fans. Among lesser milestones in the season were Frank Mahovlich's 250th goal and John Bucyk's and Claude Provost's 200th.
In an unusual incident, the Red Wings' jerseys were stolen from the visitors' dressing room in Montreal the night before a January game, and Detroit was compelled to play in the uniforms of their junior farm team in Hamilton, which were express shipped to Montreal in time for the match.
February saw the momentous announcement that six conditional franchises had been awarded to Los Angeles, San Francisco, St. Louis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, all to begin play in 1967. The St. Louis franchise was surprising, as no formal application from the city had been tendered. On the debit side, a strong bid from Vancouver was rejected, much to the anger of Canadians and the protest of Prime Minister Lester Pearson, and the rumor was widely spread - fuelled by a corroborating statement from Leafs' general manager Punch Imlach that the Toronto and Montreal owners had vetoed the bid out of a dislike for sharing television money.
James D. Norris, owner of the Chicago Black Hawks, died of a heart attack in late February.
Bobby Hull set a new record for goals in a season with 54 and a new record for points in a season with 97, earning him the Art Ross Trophy and his second straight Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player. Jacques Laperriere of Montreal won the Norris Trophy as best defenseman. In possibly the weakest Calder choice in history, Brit Selby won the Calder Memorial Trophy as best rookie.
[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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 41 | 21 | 8 | 90 | 239 | 173 | 884 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 37 | 25 | 8 | 82 | 240 | 187 | 815 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 34 | 25 | 11 | 79 | 208 | 187 | 811 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 31 | 27 | 12 | 74 | 221 | 194 | 804 |
| Boston Bruins | 70 | 21 | 43 | 6 | 48 | 174 | 275 | 787 |
| New York Rangers | 70 | 18 | 41 | 11 | 47 | 195 | 261 | 894 |
[edit] Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Hull | Chicago Black Hawks | 65 | 54 | 43 | 97 | 70 |
| Stan Mikita | Chicago Black Hawks | 68 | 30 | 48 | 78 | 58 |
| Bobby Rousseau | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 30 | 48 | 78 | 20 |
| Jean Beliveau | Montreal Canadiens | 67 | 29 | 48 | 77 | 50 |
| Gordie Howe | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 29 | 46 | 75 | 83 |
[edit] Leading goaltenders
[edit] Stanley Cup playoffs
The second game of the semi-final series between Detroit and Chicago on April 10th, in which Detroit won by the score of 7-0, was reputed to be the first nationally televised hockey game in the United States.
[edit] Stanley Cup Finals
Behind the skilled goaltending of Roger Crozier, who had missed parts of the regular season with illness, the Red Wings won the first two games of the Finals. However, Crozier was injured in the fourth game and seemed not to recover his form, and the Canadiens won the Cup four games to two. Roger Crozier won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the outstanding player in the playoffs.
[edit] Playoff bracket
| Semifinals | Finals | |||||||
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 0 | ||||||
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||
| 4 | Detroit Red Wings | 2 | ||||||
| 2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2 | ||||||
| 4 | Detroit Red Wings | 4 | ||||||
[edit] NHL awards
[edit] See also
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- 1965 NHL Amateur Draft
- 19th National Hockey League All-Star Game
- National Hockey League All-Star Game
- 1965 in sports
- 1966 in sports
[edit] References
| NHL seasons |
|---|
|
1961-62 | 1962-63 | 1963-64 | 1964-65 | 1965-66 | 1966-67 | 1967-68 | 1968-69 | 1969-70 |
