1955–56 NHL season
National Hockey League season
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The 1955–56 NHL season was the 39th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams played 70 games each. The Montreal Canadiens were the Stanley Cup champions as they beat the Detroit Red Wings four games to one in the best-of-seven final series.
| 1955–56 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 6, 1955 – April 10, 1956 |
| Games | 70 |
| Teams | 6 |
| TV partner(s) | CBC, SRC (Canada) None (United States) |
| Regular season | |
| Season champion | Montreal Canadiens |
| Season MVP | Jean Beliveau (Canadiens) |
| Top scorer | Jean Beliveau (Canadiens) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Montreal Canadiens |
| Runners-up | Detroit Red Wings |
League business
At a governors' meeting in December, a discussion took place concerning the uniforms worn by officials. It was contended that the present orange and black uniforms were confusing to players and fans, particularly when red uniforms were worn by either of the participating teams. Furthermore, it was pointed out that the existing uniforms showed up black on television. It was unanimously agreed that officials' uniforms should be changed to black and white vertical stripes. The black and white uniforms were first worn on December 29, 1955.
With Montreal frequently racking up two or three goals on any one power play, NHL President Clarence Campbell said he'd like the penalty rule revised to a penalized player returning to the ice when a power play goal is scored on a minor penalty. The Canadiens was the lone club to vote against the new legislation.[1][2]
Regular season
The streak of seven straight seasons at the top of the NHL held by the Detroit Red Wings' dynasty came to an end as the Montreal Canadiens were tops. The Canadiens set a new record for wins in a season with 45. The Canadiens had a new coach, their one-time great former All-Star left-winger, Hector "Toe" Blake.
Also in 1955, John Utendale became the first Black player to sign a contract directly with an NHL team, the Red Wings. Utendale practiced with the Red Wings but never played in an NHL game; instead, he played with the Edmonton Flyers, as they were the Red Wings' minor league affiliate. In 2006, Utendale's brother claimed that Red Wings coach Jack Adams had refused to give Utendale any playing time on the Red Wings because Adams objected to his relationship with a white woman whom Utendale later married.[3]
Dick Irvin, formerly the coach in Montreal, whom Habs' GM Frank Selke Sr. found a little truculent, took over as coach in Chicago, but could not get them out of the cellar, though they did improve. It was sort of a homecoming for Irvin as he started his coaching career with Chicago in 1930.
Highlights
When the Hawks went to the Montreal Forum on October 22, Irvin was presented with a set of silver flatware by William Northey, representing the Canadian Arena Company. In the game itself, rookie Henri Richard scored two goals as Montreal shut out Chicago 6–0.
On November 5, Jean Beliveau scored three goals in 44 seconds as Montreal beat Boston 4–3. The record for the fastest hat trick still was held by Bill Mosienko with three goals in 21 seconds.
On December 29, officials debuted the new "zebra" outfits in a game between the Canadiens and Maple Leafs.[4]
On January 11, a crowd of 15,570 delighted fans at Madison Square Garden watched the Rangers trounce the Canadiens 6–1. Pete Conacher was a star for the Rangers with two goals. Lou Fontinato and Maurice Richard had a gala fight and Fontinato knocked out Richard with a punch that required several stitches above Richard's eye.
Montreal routed the Rangers 9–4 on February 18 as Beliveau had the hat trick and Richard two. The Rocket was incensed when referee Louis Maschio gave his brother a misconduct penalty and his teammates had to cool him off.
Beliveau set a record for goals by a center when he scored his 45th goal on March 15. Maurice Richard was hurt in this game when he fell over Hawk defenceman Pierre Pilote's skate and went headlong into the goal. He required stitches and was taken to hospital for X-rays. The Rocket was back in the lineup on St. Patrick's Day as the Canadiens trounced the Rangers 7–2 and Richard had the hat trick.
Rookie Glenn Hall had 12 shutouts and a 2.11 goals-against average for the Detroit Red Wings. He received the Calder Memorial Trophy over Henri "Pocket Rocket" Richard.
Final standings
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Locations of teams for the 1942–67 National Hockey League seasons| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 45 | 15 | 10 | 222 | 131 | +91 | 100 |
| 2 | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 30 | 24 | 16 | 183 | 148 | +35 | 76 |
| 3 | New York Rangers | 70 | 32 | 28 | 10 | 204 | 203 | +1 | 74 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 24 | 33 | 13 | 153 | 181 | −28 | 61 |
| 5 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 23 | 34 | 13 | 147 | 185 | −38 | 59 |
| 6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 19 | 39 | 12 | 155 | 216 | −61 | 50 |
Playoffs
Playoff bracket
The top four teams in the league qualified for the playoffs. In the semifinals, the first-place team played the third-place team, while the second-place team faced the fourth-place team, with the winners advancing to the Stanley Cup Final. In both rounds, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series).
| Semifinals | Stanley Cup Final | ||||||||
| 1 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||
| 3 | New York | 1 | |||||||
| 1 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||
| 2 | Detroit | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||
| 4 | Toronto | 1 | |||||||
Semifinals
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (3) New York Rangers
| March 20 | New York Rangers | 1–7 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 13:29 – Bernie Geoffrion (1) | ||||||
| Jack Evans (1) – 06:45 | Second period | 04:17 – Maurice Richard (1) 17:48 – pp – Bernie Geoffrion (2) 18:30 – pp – Maurice Richard (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 01:55 – Maurice Richard (3) 14:33 – Dickie Moore (1) 15:32 – Jean Beliveau (1) | ||||||
| Gump Worsley 37 saves / 44 shots | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante 21 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| March 22 | New York Rangers | 4–2 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Andy Hebenton (1) – 03:45 Jean-Guy Gendron (1) pp – 14:41 |
First period | 07:38 – Jean Beliveau (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 11:20 – pp – Claude Provost (1) | ||||||
| Bronco Horvath (1) – pp – 00:42 Dean Prentice (1) – 14:10 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gordie Bell 32 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante 23 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| March 24 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–1 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| Ken Mosdell (1) – 14:42 | First period | 16:02 – Jean-Guy Gendron (2) | ||||||
| Bert Olmstead (1) – 16:24 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bert Olmstead (2) – en – 19:48 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jacques Plante 9 saves / 10 shots | Goalie stats | Gump Worsley 21 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| March 25 | Montreal Canadiens | 5–3 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| Bert Olmstead (3) – pp – 02:11 Bert Olmstead (4) – 13:33 |
First period | 16:26 – Wally Hergesheimer (1) 18:57 – pp – Bill Gadsby (1) | ||||||
| Jean Beliveau (3) – pp – 02:22 Claude Provost (2) – 03:22 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jean Beliveau (4) – 08:16 | Third period | 15:04 – Andy Bathgate (1) | ||||||
| Jacques Plante 18 saves / 21 shots | Goalie stats | Gump Worsley 28 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| March 27 | New York Rangers | 0–7 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 08:24 – pp – Doug Harvey (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 03:11 – Dickie Moore (2) 06:10 – Henri Richard (1) 13:00 – pp – Doug Harvey (2) 15:35 – Jean Beliveau (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 08:49 – Henri Richard (2) 13:28 – Dickie Moore (3) | ||||||
| Gordie Bell 29 saves / 36 shots | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante 29 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–1 | |
(2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Toronto Maple Leafs
| March 20 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| George Armstrong (1) – pp – 11:57 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ron Stewart (1) – 11:31 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 00:58 – Gordie Howe (1) 05:12 – Johnny Bucyk (1) 05:56 – Alex Delvecchio (1) | ||||||
| Harry Lumley 32 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall 28 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| March 22 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| George Armstrong (2) – 05:09 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 05:40 – Alex Delvecchio (2) 19:05 – Ted Lindsay (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 14:39 – Lorne Ferguson (1) | ||||||
| Harry Lumley 37 saves / 40 shots | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall 21 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| March 24 | Detroit Red Wings | 5–4 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| Red Kelly (1) – 12:27 | First period | 00:29 – George Armstrong (3) 16:33 – pp – Brian Cullen (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 13:20 – sh – Gerry James (1) | ||||||
| Metro Prystai (1) – 02:46 Gordie Howe (2) – 09:11 Ted Lindsay (2) – 14:25 |
Third period | 07:40 – pp – George Armstrong (4) | ||||||
| Ted Lindsay (3) – 04:22 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Glenn Hall 39 saves / 43 shots | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley 33 saves / 38 shots | ||||||
| March 27 | Detroit Red Wings | 0–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 10:58 – Billy Harris (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 03:15 – Sid Smith (1) | ||||||
| Glenn Hall 30 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley 33 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| March 29 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Dick Duff (1) – pp – 05:34 | First period | 08:38 – pp – Alex Delvecchio (3) 14:49 – Alex Delvecchio (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 19:35 – en – Ted Lindsay (4) | ||||||
| Harry Lumley 28 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall 22 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| Detroit won series 4–1 | |
Stanley Cup Final
| March 31 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–6 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Alex Delvecchio (5) – pp – 08:17 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bill Dineen (1) – 03:45 Ted Lindsay (5) – 08:11 Alex Delvecchio (6) – pp – 11:20 |
Second period | 03:00 – pp – Jean Beliveau (6) 06:40 – Henri Richard (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:20 – Jack LeClair (1) 06:20 – Bernie Geoffrion (3) 07:31 – Jean Beliveau (7) 10:49 – Claude Provost (3) | ||||||
| Glenn Hall 38 saves / 44 shots | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante 23 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| April 3 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–5 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 07:23 – pp – Donnie Marshall (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 11:37 – Henri Richard (4) 14:38 – Bernie Geoffrion (4) | ||||||
| Norm Ullman (1) – 00:31 | Third period | 02:48 – Jean Beliveau (8) 19:21 – Maurice Richard (4) | ||||||
| Glenn Hall 30 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante 19 saves / 20 shots | ||||||
| April 5 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Jean Beliveau (9) – 19:20 | First period | 14:27 – pp – Red Kelly (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 11:36 – Ted Lindsay (6) 18:12 – Gordie Howe (3) | ||||||
| Jacques Plante 22 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall 20 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| April 8 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–0 | Detroit Red Wings | Olympia Stadium | Recap | |||
| Jean Beliveau (10) – 15:52 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jean Beliveau (11) – 11:39 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Floyd Curry (1) – 11:34 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jacques Plante 24 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall 27 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| April 10 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:16 – pp – Jean Beliveau (12) 15:08 – pp – Maurice Richard (5) | ||||||
| Alex Delvecchio (7) – 00:35 | Third period | 00:13 – Bernie Geoffrion (5) | ||||||
| Glenn Hall 27 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante 25 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–1 | |
Awards
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (Regular season champion) | Montreal Canadiens |
| Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer) | Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: (Best first-year player) | Glenn Hall, Detroit Red Wings |
| Hart Trophy: (Most valuable player) | Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: (Best defenceman) | Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Earl Reibel, Detroit Red Wings |
| Vezina Trophy: (Goaltender of team with the best goals-against average) | Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens |
All-Star teams
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jean Beliveau | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 47 | 41 | 88 | 143 |
| Gordie Howe | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 38 | 41 | 79 | 100 |
| Maurice Richard | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 38 | 33 | 71 | 89 |
| Bert Olmstead | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 14 | 56 | 70 | 94 |
| Tod Sloan | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 37 | 29 | 66 | 100 |
| Andy Bathgate | New York Rangers | 70 | 19 | 47 | 66 | 59 |
| Bernie Geoffrion | Montreal Canadiens | 59 | 29 | 33 | 62 | 66 |
| Earl Reibel | Detroit Red Wings | 68 | 17 | 39 | 56 | 10 |
| Alex Delvecchio | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 25 | 26 | 51 | 24 |
| Dave Creighton | New York Rangers | 70 | 20 | 31 | 51 | 43 |
Source: NHL[6]
Leading goaltenders
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacques Plante | Montreal Canadiens | 64 | 3840 | 119 | 1.86 | 42 | 12 | 10 | 7 |
| Glenn Hall | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 4200 | 147 | 2.10 | 30 | 24 | 16 | 12 |
| Terry Sawchuk | Boston Bruins | 68 | 4080 | 177 | 2.60 | 22 | 33 | 13 | 9 |
| Harry Lumley | Toronto Maple Leafs | 59 | 3527 | 159 | 2.70 | 21 | 28 | 10 | 3 |
| Lorne Worsley | New York Rangers | 70 | 4200 | 199 | 2.84 | 32 | 28 | 10 | 4 |
| Al Rollins | Chicago Black Hawks | 58 | 3480 | 172 | 2.97 | 17 | 30 | 11 | 3 |
Coaches
- Boston Bruins: Milt Schmidt
- Chicago Black Hawks: Dick Irvin
- Detroit Red Wings: Jimmy Skinner
- Montreal Canadiens: Toe Blake
- New York Rangers: Phil Watson
- Toronto Maple Leafs: King Clancy
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1955–56 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Pierre Pilote, Chicago Black Hawks
- Norm Ullman, Detroit Red Wings
- Henri Richard, Montreal Canadiens
- Claude Provost, Montreal Canadiens
- Bob Turner, Montreal Canadiens
- Bronco Horvath, New York Rangers
- Andy Hebenton, New York Rangers
- Jean-Guy Gendron, New York Rangers
- Billy Harris, Toronto Maple Leafs
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1955–56 (listed with their last team):
- Bill Quackenbush, Boston Bruins
- Ed Sandford, Chicago Black Hawks
- Bob Goldham, Detroit Red Wings
- Emile "Butch" Bouchard, Montreal Canadiens
- Don Raleigh, New York Rangers
- Joe Klukay, Toronto Maple Leafs
Broadcasting
This was the fourth season of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television. Coverage included selected Stanley Cup playoff games. Both regular season and playoff games were not broadcast in their entirety until the 1968–69 season, and were typically joined in progress, while the radio version of HNIC aired games in their entirety.