| 1955–56 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 6, 1955 – April 10, 1956 |
| Number of games | 70 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| TV partner(s) | CBC,SRC (Canada) None (United States) |
| Regular season | |
| Season champion | Montreal Canadiens |
| SeasonMVP | Jean Beliveau (Canadiens) |
| Top scorer | Jean Beliveau (Canadiens) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Montreal Canadiens |
| Runners-up | Detroit Red Wings |
| NHL seasons | |
The1955–56 NHL season was the39thseason of theNational Hockey League. Six teams played 70 games each. TheMontreal Canadiens were theStanley Cup champions as they beat theDetroit Red Wings four games to one in thebest-of-seven final series.
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 PresidentClarence 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]
The streak of seven straight seasons at the top of the NHL held by theDetroit Red Wings' dynasty came to an end as theMontreal 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.
Dick Irvin, formerly the coach in Montreal, whom Habs' GMFrank 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.
When the Hawks went to theMontreal Forum on October 22, Irvin was presented with a set of silver flatware byWilliam Northey, representing theCanadian Arena Company. In the game itself,rookieHenri Richard scored two goals asMontreal shut outChicago 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.[3]
On January 11, a crowd of 15,570 delighted fans atMadison Square Garden watched the Rangers trounce the Canadiens 6–1. Pete Conacher was a star for the Rangers with two goals.Lou Fontinato andMaurice 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 thehat trick and Richard two. The Rocket was incensed when referee Louis Maschio gavehis 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 HawkdefencemanPierre Pilote's skate and went headlong into the goal. He required stitches and was taken to hospital forX-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.
RookieGlenn Hall had a fabulous year with 12 shutouts and a 2.11 goals-against average for the ever-powerfulDetroit Red Wings. He received theCalder Memorial Trophy overHenri "Pocket Rocket" Richard.
| 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 |
| Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||
| 3 | New York | 1 | |||||||
| 1 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||
| 2 | Detroit | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||
| 4 | Toronto | 1 | |||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| 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) – 19:48 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jacques Plante | Goalie stats | Gump Worsley | ||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Gump Worsley | ||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–1 | |
| 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 | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Harry Lumley | ||||||
| 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 –Ted Lindsay (4) | ||||||
| Harry Lumley | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| Detroit won series 4–1 | |
| 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 | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Glenn Hall | ||||||
| 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 | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–1 | |
| 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 |
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[5]
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 |
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):
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):
This was the fourth season ofHockey Night in Canada onCBC Television. Coverage included selected Stanley Cup playoff games. Both regular season and playoff games were not broadcast in their entirety until the1968–69 season, and were typically joined in progress, while the radio version ofHNIC aired games in their entirety.