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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 won the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive season, defeating the Boston Bruins four games to one in the best-of-seven final series. The final game was won with a clutch goal from Montreal defenceman Tom Johnson that clinched the Stanley Cup championship for the Canadiens 3–2.

1956–57 NHL season
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationOctober 11, 1956 – April 16, 1957
Number of games70
Number of teams6
TV partner(s)CBC, SRC (Canada)
CBS (United States)
Regular season
Season championDetroit Red Wings
Season MVPGordie Howe (Red Wings)
Top scorerGordie Howe (Red Wings)
Stanley Cup
ChampionsMontreal Canadiens
  Runners-upBoston Bruins
NHL seasons

Regular season

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On October 1, it was announced that Dick Irvin had resigned as coach of the Chicago Black Hawks 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. General manager 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.

Ted Lindsay, the star left winger of the Detroit Red Wings, 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 5, the Black Hawks and New York Rangers played an afternoon game at Madison Square Garden where the Rangers beat the Black 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 on 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 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. Dick Duff scored the tying goal, and Richard went berserk and commenced a heated argument with Udvari, banging his stick on the ice. He might have attacked Udvari if his teammates had not 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 six 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 previous 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 and was a candidate for the Hart 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 was not as good as the previous season, but led the Detroit Red Wings to first place. Hall had played only two games prior to 1955–56, but had shown such promise Sawchuk was sent off.

Rule changes

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At the start of this season, the NHL changed the way power plays work. Prior to this season, a team could score as many goals as they were able to in a two-minute power play with the penalized player remaining in the penalty box. The NHL changed it so that when a goal is scored on a two-minute power play, the power play is finished. The reason for this was because the Montreal Canadiens were so dominant on the power play, that the NHL needed a way of ensuring parity. The previous season saw the Canadiens score 26% of all the league's power-play goals. Oddly enough, the number of power-play goals league-wide actually increased from 251 to 265 after the rule changed. Montreal, though, scored 10 fewer power-play goals.[1][2]

Final standings

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National Hockey League[3]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Detroit Red Wings 70 38 20 12 198 157 +41 88
2 Montreal Canadiens 70 35 23 12 210 155 +55 82
3 Boston Bruins 70 34 24 12 195 174 +21 80
4 New York Rangers 70 26 30 14 184 227 −43 66
5 Toronto Maple Leafs 70 21 34 15 174 192 −18 57
6 Chicago Black Hawks 70 16 39 15 169 225 −56 47

Playoffs

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Playoff bracket

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Semifinals Stanley Cup Finals
      
1 Detroit 1
3 Boston 4
3 Boston 1
2 Montreal 4
2 Montreal 4
4 New York 1

Semifinals

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(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (3) Boston Bruins

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March 26 Boston Bruins 3–1 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
Jack Caffery (1) – 18:42 First period 00:50 – Ted Lindsay (1)
Doug Mohns (1) – pp – 00:38 Second period No scoring
Real Chevrefils (1) – 00:49 Third period No scoring
Don Simmons 20 saves / 21 shots Goalie stats Glenn Hall 26 saves / 29 shots
March 28 Boston Bruins 2–7 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
No scoring First period 06:57 – Red Kelly (1)
11:32 – Gordie Howe (1)
13:14 – sh – Metro Prystai (1)
No scoring Second period 03:50 – pp – Alex Delvecchio (1)
10:27 – pp – Billy Dea (1)
Fleming MacKell (1) – 01:59
Leo Boivin (1) – 17:52 		Third period 00:33 – pp – Lorne Ferguson (1)
03:39 – Norm Ullman (1)
Don Simmons 25 saves / 32 shots Goalie stats Glenn Hall 30 saves / 32 shots
March 31 Detroit Red Wings 3–4 Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
Alex Delvecchio (2) – pp – 15:16 First period 08:11 – Vic Stasiuk (1)
12:00 – Leo Boivin (2)
No scoring Second period 18:26 – Leo Labine (1)
Gordie Howe (2) – 01:32
Billy Dea (2) – 03:11 		Third period 13:28 – Cal Gardner (1)
Glenn Hall 22 saves / 26 shots Goalie stats Don Simmons 24 saves / 27 shots
April 2 Detroit Red Wings 0–2 Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
No scoring First period 06:00 – Real Chevrefils (2)
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 05:43 – Vic Stasiuk (2)
Glenn Hall 25 saves / 27 shots Goalie stats Don Simmons 20 saves / 20 shots
April 4 Boston Bruins 4–3 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium Recap  
No scoring First period 09:52 – Alex Delvecchio (3)
Buddy Boone (1) – 12:10 Second period No scoring
Leo Labine (2) – 06:18
Doug Mohns (2) – 10:21
Cal Gardner (2) – 15:16 		Third period 00:36 – Ted Lindsay (2)
17:59 – Metro Prystai (2)
Don Simmons 23 saves / 26 shots Goalie stats Glenn Hall 11 saves / 15 shots
Boston won series 4–1


(2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) New York Rangers

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March 26 Montreal Canadiens 4–1 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden III Recap  
Bernie Geoffrion (1) – 15:07 First period 17:01 – Camille Henry (1)
No scoring Second period No scoring
Maurice Richard (1) – pp – 07:02
Bernie Geoffrion (2) – en – 19:21
Jean Beliveau (1) – 19:30 		Third period No scoring
Jacques Plante 25 saves / 26 shots Goalie stats Gump Worsley 24 saves / 27 shots
March 28 Montreal Canadiens 3–4 OT New York Rangers Madison Square Garden III Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Henri Richard (1) – 02:12
Maurice Richard (2) – 14:11 		Second period 01:35 – pp – Camille Henry (2)
04:32 – Dave Creighton (1)
Bernie Geoffrion (3) – pp – 14:58 Third period 04:58 – pp – Bill Gadsby (1)
No scoring First overtime period 13:38 – Andy Hebenton (1)
Jacques Plante 34 saves / 38 shots Goalie stats Gump Worsley 44 saves / 47 shots
March 30 New York Rangers 3–8 Montreal Canadiens Forum de Montréal Recap  
Andy Bathgate (1) – 18:59 First period 07:27 – pp – Maurice Richard (3)
14:56 – Jean Beliveau (2)
Dave Creighton (2) – 10:51
Andy Bathgate (2) – 15:31 		Second period 00:42 – Bernie Geoffrion (4)
14:23 – Bernie Geoffrion (5)
15:04 – Dickie Moore (1)
No scoring Third period 10:55 – Jean Beliveau (3)
14:20 – Bernie Geoffrion (6)
19:14 – Dickie Moore (2)
Gump Worsley 38 saves / 46 shots Goalie stats Jacques Plante 19 saves / 22 shots
April 2 New York Rangers 1–3 Montreal Canadiens Forum de Montréal Recap  
Andy Hebenton (2) – 06:42 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 09:22 – Bernie Geoffrion (7)
11:28 – Henri Richard (2)
13:08 – Phil Goyette (1)
Gump Worsley 37 saves / 40 shots Goalie stats Jacques Plante 30 saves / 31 shots
April 4 New York Rangers 3–4 OT Montreal Canadiens Forum de Montréal Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 16:41 – pp – Jean Beliveau (4)
17:53 – sh – Floyd Curry (1)
19:40 – Jean Beliveau
Parker MacDonald (1) – 05:28
Red Sullivan (1) – 12:21
Harry Howell (1) 		Third period No scoring
No scoring First overtime period 01:11 – Maurice Richard (4)
Gump Worsley 32 saves / 36 shots Goalie stats Jacques Plante 18 saves / 21 shots
Montreal won series 4–1


Stanley Cup Finals

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Main article: 1957 Stanley Cup Finals


April 6 Boston Bruins 1–5 Montreal Canadiens Forum de Montréal Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Fleming MacKell (2) – pp – 07:27 Second period 10:39 – Maurice Richard (5)
13:29 – pp – Maurice Richard (6)
15:35 – pp – Bernie Geoffrion (8)
17:00 – Maurice Richard (7)
No scoring Third period 18:17 – Maurice Richard (8)
Don Simmons 34 saves / 39 shots Goalie stats Jacques Plante 22 saves / 23 shots
April 9 Boston Bruins 0–1 Montreal Canadiens Forum de Montréal Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 02:27 – Jean Beliveau (6)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Don Simmons 22 saves / 23 shots Goalie stats Jacques Plante 24 saves / 24 shots
April 11 Montreal Canadiens 4–2 Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
Bernie Geoffrion (9) – 01:30
Floyd Curry (2) – 14:39
Bernie Geoffrion (10) – pp – 19:54 		First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 06:16 – Don McKenney (1)
Phil Goyette (2) – 07:31 Third period 19:16 – Fleming MacKell (3)
Jacques Plante 25 saves / 27 shots Goalie stats Don Simmons 21 saves / 25 shots
April 14 Montreal Canadiens 0–2 Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
No scoring First period 02:56 – pp – Fleming MacKell (4)
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 19:40 – en – Fleming MacKell (5)
Jacques Plante 27 saves / 28 shots Goalie stats Don Simmons 21 saves / 21 shots
April 16 Boston Bruins 1–5 Montreal Canadiens Forum de Montréal Recap  
No scoring First period 18:11 – Andre Pronovost (1)
No scoring Second period 00:14 – pp – Dickie Moore (3)
15:12 – Bernie Geoffrion (11)
Leo Labine (3) – 13:43 Third period 17:39 – Donnie Marshall (1)
18:31 – Floyd Curry (3)
Don Simmons 29 saves / 34 shots Goalie stats Jacques Plante 26 saves / 27 shots
Montreal won series 4–1


Awards

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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)		 Larry Regan, Boston Bruins
Hart Trophy:
(Most valuable player)		 Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
James Norris Memorial Trophy:
(Best defenceman)		 Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:
(Excellence and sportsmanship)		 Andy Hebenton, New York Rangers
Vezina Trophy:
(Goaltender of team with the best goals-against average)		 Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens

All-Star teams

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First team   Position   Second team
Glenn Hall, Detroit Red Wings G Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens
Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens D Fern Flaman, Boston Bruins
Red Kelly, Detroit Red Wings D Bill Gadsby, New York Rangers
Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens C Ed Litzenberger, Chicago Black Hawks
Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings RW Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens
Ted Lindsay, Detroit Red Wings LW Real Chevrefils, Boston Bruins

Player statistics

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Scoring leaders

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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
Maurice Richard Montreal Canadiens 63 33 29 62 74
Don McKenney Boston Bruins 69 21 39 60 31
Dickie Moore Montreal Canadiens 70 29 29 58 56
Henri Richard Montreal Canadiens 63 18 36 54 71
Norm Ullman Detroit Red Wings 64 16 36 52 47

[4]

Leading goaltenders

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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 61 3660 122 2.00 31 18 12 9
Glenn Hall Detroit Red Wings 70 4200 156 2.23 38 20 12 4
Terry Sawchuk Boston Bruins 34 2040 81 2.38 18 10 6 2
Don Simmons Boston Bruins 26 1560 63 2.42 13 9 4 4
Ed Chadwick Toronto Maple Leafs 70 4200 186 2.66 21 34 15 5
Al Rollins Chicago Black Hawks 70 4080 222 3.17 16 39 15 3
Gump Worsley New York Rangers 68 4080 217 3.24 26 28 14 3

Coaches

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Debuts

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The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1956–57 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

Last games

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The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1956–57 (listed with their last team):

Broadcasting

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Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and selected Stanley Cup playoff games. 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.

In the U.S., CBS signed a four-year deal to televise Saturday afternoon games from January to March.

See also

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References

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  • Coleman, Charles L. (1976), Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol III, Sherbrooke, Quebec: Progressive Publications
  • Diamond, Dan, ed. (1994). Years of glory, 1942–1967: the National Hockey League's official book of the six-team era. Toronto, ON: McClelland and Stewart. ISBN 0-7710-2817-2.
  • Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, New York: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
  • Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
  • Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
  • Duplacey, James (2008), Hockey's Book of Firsts, North Dighton, Massachusetts: JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9
  • Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
  • McFarlane, Brian (1969), 50 Years Of Hockey, Winnipeg, MAN: Greywood Publishing, ASIN B000GW45S0
  • McFarlane, Brian (1973). The Story of the National Hockey League. New York: Pagurian Press. ISBN 0-684-13424-1.
Notes
  1. ^ Stubbs, Dave (June 6, 2020). "Canadiens felt 1956 rule change doused their potent power play | NHL.com". www.nhl.com. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  2. ^ Anderson, Dave (June 4, 2007). "Canadiens of the 1950s Are Still the Kings of the Cup". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  3. ^ "1956–1957 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  4. ^ Dinger 2011, p. 149.
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