| 1956–57 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 11, 1956 – April 16, 1957 |
| Number of games | 70 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| TV partner(s) | CBC, SRC (Canada) CBS (United States) |
| Regular season | |
| Season champion | Detroit Red Wings |
| Season MVP | Gordie Howe (Red Wings) |
| Top scorer | Gordie Howe (Red Wings) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Montreal Canadiens |
| Runners-up | Boston Bruins |
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.
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.
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 5, the Rangers and the Black Hawks 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
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 finished. The reason for this was because the Montreal Canadiens were so dominant on the power play, 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.
Final standings
| 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 |
Record vs. opponents
| 1956–57 NHL Records [2] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYR | TOR | ||||||
| Boston | — | 8–5–1 | 7–4–3 | 7–4–3 | 5–8–1 | 7–3–4 | ||||||
| Chicago | 5–8–1 | — | 2–10–2 | 3–8–3 | 1–7–6 | 5–6–3 | ||||||
| Detroit | 4–7–3 | 10–2–2 | — | 4–6–4 | 10–3–1 | 10–2–2 | ||||||
| Montreal | 4–7–3 | 8–3–3 | 6–4–4 | — | 8–5–1 | 9–4–1 | ||||||
| New York | 8–5–1 | 7–1–6 | 3–10–1 | 5–8–1 | — | 3–6–5 | ||||||
| Toronto | 3–7–4 | 6–5–3 | 2–10–2 | 4–9–1 | 6–3–5 | — | ||||||
Playoffs
Playoff bracket
| Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 1 | |||||||
| 3 | Boston | 4 | |||||||
| 3 | Boston | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||
| 2 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||
| 4 | New York | 1 | |||||||
Semifinals
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (3) Boston Bruins
| 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 | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Don Simmons | ||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Don Simmons | ||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| Boston won series 4–1 | |
(2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) New York Rangers
| 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) – 19:21 Jean Beliveau (1) – 19:30 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jacques Plante | Goalie stats | Gump Worsley | ||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Gump Worsley | ||||||
| March 30 | New York Rangers | 3–8 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | 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 | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| April 2 | New York Rangers | 1–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | 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 | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| April 4 | New York Rangers | 3–4 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | 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 | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–1 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
| April 6 | Boston Bruins | 1–5 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | 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 | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| April 9 | Boston Bruins | 0–1 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:27 – Jean Beliveau (6) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Don Simmons | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Don Simmons | ||||||
| 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 – Fleming MacKell (5) | ||||||
| Jacques Plante | Goalie stats | Don Simmons | ||||||
| April 16 | Boston Bruins | 1–5 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | 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 | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–1 | |
Awards
| 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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 | 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 |
| Lorne Worsley | New York Rangers | 68 | 4080 | 217 | 3.24 | 26 | 28 | 14 | 3 |
Coaches
- Boston Bruins: Milt Schmidt
- Chicago Black Hawks: Tommy Ivan
- Detroit Red Wings: Jimmy Skinner
- Montreal Canadiens: Toe Blake
- New York Rangers: Phil Watson
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Howie Meeker
Debuts
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):
- Larry Regan, Boston Bruins
- Moose Vasko, Chicago Black Hawks
- Ralph Backstrom, Montreal Canadiens
- Phil Goyette, Montreal Canadiens
- Frank Mahovlich, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Bob Pulford, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Bob Baun, Toronto Maple Leafs
Last games
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):
- Cal Gardner, Boston Bruins
- Harry Watson, Chicago Black Hawks
- Marty Pavelich, Detroit Red Wings
- Gerry McNeil, Montreal Canadiens
- Ted Kennedy, Toronto Maple Leafs
Broadcasting
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
References
- Coleman, Charles L. (1976), Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol III, Sherbrooke, QC: 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, NY: 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, MA: 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, IL: 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, NY: Pagurian Press. ISBN 0-684-13424-1.
- Notes
- ↑ "1956–1957 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
- ↑ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
- ↑ Dinger 2011, p. 149.