1941–42 NHL season
The 1941–42 NHL season was the 25th season of the National Hockey League. Seven teams played 48 games each. The Toronto Maple Leafs would win the Stanley Cup defeating the Detroit Red Wings winning four straight after losing the first three in a best-of-seven series, a feat only repeated twice in NHL history as of the 2010 season.
Regular season
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Rangers | 48 | 29 | 17 | 2 | 60 | 177 | 143 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 57 | 158 | 136 |
| Boston Bruins | 48 | 25 | 17 | 6 | 56 | 160 | 118 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 22 | 23 | 3 | 47 | 145 | 155 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 19 | 25 | 4 | 42 | 140 | 147 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 18 | 27 | 3 | 39 | 134 | 173 |
| Brooklyn Americans | 48 | 16 | 29 | 3 | 35 | 133 | 175 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| PLAYER | TEAM | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Hextall | New York Rangers | 48 | 24 | 32 | 56 | 30 |
| Lynn Patrick | New York Rangers | 47 | 32 | 22 | 54 | 18 |
| Don Grosso | Detroit Red Wings | 45 | 23 | 30 | 53 | 13 |
| Phil Watson | New York Rangers | 48 | 15 | 37 | 52 | 58 |
| Sid Abel | Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 18 | 31 | 49 | 45 |
| Toe Blake | Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 29 |
| Bill Thoms | Chicago Black Hawks | 47 | 15 | 30 | 45 | 8 |
| Gordie Drillon | Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 23 | 18 | 41 | 6 |
| Syl Apps | Toronto Maple Leafs | 38 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 0 |
| Tommy Anderson | Brooklyn Americans | 48 | 12 | 29 | 41 | 64 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Brimsek | Boston Bruins | 47 | 2930 | 115 | 2.35 | 24 | 17 | 6 | 3 |
| Turk Broda | Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 2960 | 136 | 2.76 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 6 |
| Jim Henry | New York Rangers | 48 | 2960 | 143 | 2.90 | 29 | 17 | 2 | 1 |
| Johnny Mowers | Detroit Red Wings | 47 | 2880 | 144 | 3.00 | 19 | 25 | 3 | 5 |
| Sam LoPresti | Chicago Black Hawks | 47 | 2860 | 152 | 3.19 | 21 | 23 | 3 | 3 |
| Paul Bibeault | Montreal Canadiens | 38 | 2380 | 131 | 3.30 | 17 | 19 | 2 | 1 |
| Chuck Rayner | N.Y. Americans | 36 | 2380 | 129 | 3.47 | 13 | 21 | 2 | 1 |
| Earl Robertson | N.Y. Americans | 12 | 750 | 46 | 3.68 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| Bert Gardiner | Montreal Canadiens | 10 | 620 | 42 | 4.06 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
Playoffs
Note: all dates in 1942
Playoff bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Stanley Cup Final | |||||||||||
| 1 | New York Rangers | 2 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 3 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 2 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 0 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 2 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 2 | |||||||||||
| 6 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | |||||||||||
Quarter-finals
Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Black Hawks
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 22 | Boston | 2 | Chicago | 1 | OT |
| March 24 | Chicago | 4 | Boston | 0 | |
| March 26 | Chicago | 2 | Boston | 3 |
Boston wins best-of-three series 2–1
Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Canadiens
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 22 | Montreal | 1 | Detroit | 2 | |
| March 24 | Detroit | 0 | Montreal | 5 | |
| March 26 | Montreal | 2 | Detroit | 6 |
Detroit wins best-of-three series 2–1
Semi-finals
New York Rangers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 21 | New York | 1 | Toronto | 3 | |
| March 22 | Toronto | 4 | New York | 2 | |
| March 24 | Toronto | 0 | New York | 3 | |
| March 28 | New York | 1 | Toronto | 2 | |
| March 29 | Toronto | 1 | New York | 3 | |
| March 31 | New York | 2 | Toronto | 3 |
Toronto wins best-of-seven series 4–2
Boston Bruins vs. Detroit Red Wings
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 29 | Detroit | 6 | Boston | 4 | |
| March 31 | Boston | 1 | Detroit | 3 |
Detroit wins best-of-three series 2–0
Final
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 4 | Detroit | 3 | Toronto | 2 | |
| April 7 | Detroit | 4 | Toronto | 2 | |
| April 9 | Toronto | 2 | Detroit | 5 | |
| April 12 | Toronto | 4 | Detroit | 3 | |
| April 14 | Detroit | 3 | Toronto | 9 | |
| April 16 | Toronto | 3 | Detroit | 0 | |
| April 18 | Detroit | 1 | Toronto | 3 |
Toronto wins best-of-seven series 4–3
NHL awards
| Calder Trophy: | Grant Warwick, New York Rangers |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: | Tommy Anderson, Brooklyn Americans |
| Lady Byng Trophy: | Syl Apps, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| O'Brien Cup: | Detroit Red Wings |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: | New York Rangers |
| Vezina Trophy: | Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins |
All-Star teams
| First team | Position | Second team |
|---|---|---|
| Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins | G | Turk Broda, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Earl Seibert, Chicago Black Hawks | D | Pat Egan, Brooklyn Americans |
| Tommy Anderson, Brooklyn Americans | D | Bucko McDonald, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Syl Apps, Toronto Maple Leafs | C | Phil Watson, New York Rangers |
| Bryan Hextall, New York Rangers | RW | Gordie Drillon, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Lynn Patrick, New York Rangers | LW | Sid Abel, Detroit Red Wings |
| Frank Boucher, New York Rangers | Coach | Paul Thompson, Chicago Black Hawks |
References
- Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.