Canada's World Championship Team Very Young

In Canadian eyes, the World Championships pale in comparison to the Stanley Cup playoffs and the Olympics. Nonetheless, great hockey will be played in Germany as Team Canada looks for double gold in 2010.

GM Mark Messier (assisted by Doug Risebrough, Michel Goulet and dad Doug Messier) and coach Craig MacTavish will finalize their roster in the coming couple of days. So far the team looks like this:


Goal: Chris Mason


Defense: Marc Staal, Brent Burns, Mark Giordano, Kris Russell, Francois Beauchemin (reports late Thursday night also had Michael Del Zotto and Tyler Myers named to the team)


Forwards: Steven Stamkos, Corey Perry, Evander Kane, Steve Ott, John Tavares, Ray Whitney, Rich Peverley, Rene Bourque, Steve Downie (reports late Thursday night also had Matt Duchene, Brooks Laich and "Captain Canada" Ryan Smyth named to the team)

What you immediately notice is with the exception of Ray Whitney, there will be very few veterans on this team. That is no surprise. Hockey Canada does not usually pressure veterans after a long season. While it may be nice to have Jarome Iginla, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Brad Richards, Eric Staal, and Rick Nash, they have all answered the call time and again for Canada and have nothing to prove to them. Canada tends to use the Worlds as a way of demanding loyalty from future Olympians.

It will be interesting to see if Canada approaches any of these veterans though:

• Martin Brodeur - Highly unlikely he'd play, but ideally Canada would take the top two Canadian goalies who were knocked out of the NHL's first round of the playoffs. Aside from Ottawa's Brian Elliot, Brodeur is about the only goalie to choose from in this category. Will the legend look to redeem his last start in international hockey?
• Ryan Smyth - Captain Canada. He can't say no when Team Canada asks. And you can bet old Oilers buddies MacTavish and Messier will ask. And Smitty might even enjoy another chance to wear the red and white. (Update: reports late Thursday night had Smyth named to the team)
• Drew Doughty - At 20 Doughty is hardly a veteran. But his place with all Team Canada's in the future, so he has nothing to prove here. Many argue Doughty is the best defenseman in the NHL already, so you can bet MacTavish and Messier desperately want the Olympian to commit to Germany. (Update: reports have Doughty turning down Team Canada due to a wrist injury)
• Dan Hamhuis - He's been a Team Canada regular at the WCs, but his status as probably the most sought after unrestricted free agent this summer will probably mean he'll sit this tournament out. A serious injury in Germany could cost him millions, so why risk it?
• Cam Ward - No secret here. He's having surgery later this summer to repair his herniated disc injury and  is not available. 

I do think there is a high chance we'll see more youngsters like Matt Duchene, Wayne Simmonds, Travis Zajac and Chris Stewart join the team.

Team Canada Memorabilia

I was browsing through the new Hockey Canada online store. In addition to the usual jerseys, hats, shirts, jackets and hoodies, and of course novelty items, I found some pretty amazing collectibles available:

This is a Bobby Orr hand signed 1976 Canada Cup framed photo. Despite playing with only one good leg, Orr was by far the best player on the ice in the famed 1976 Canada Cup. He was even named as the tournament's most valuable player. Asking price: $599.99

Or, you can have this replica Canada Cup jersey, also autographed by number four, Bobby Orr. This particular jersey is listed at $1049.99.

 

For $1349.99 you can get both the jersey and the photo, specially framed and autographed by Bobby Orr.

Perhaps you'd be more interested in this limited edition Mario Lemieux autographed framed photograph from 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. Asking price $449.99.

Also available is this framed and autographed photograph of Hayley Wickenheiser, the greatest player in the women's game. Asking price: $169.99.

1941 Stanley Cup: Boston Bruins

The year is 1941. The Boston Bruins are determined to finish the season as Stanley Cup champions. The Detroit Red Wings are the opposition. Despite keeping all the games within a goal, the Wings are swept 4 games to 0.

The Bruins iced essentially the same team that had won the title in 1939. With a better showing in 1940 this Bruins team may have been held in better esteem in the eyes of history. Even as it is they should rank among the best ever.

Milt Schmidt was easily the Bruins MVP in the spring of '41. The Bruins lost NHL scoring leader and MVP Bill Cowley to a knee injury in the very first game of the playoffs. Schmidt came through with his hard-checking, Bryan Trottier-like style, earning him mention as a game star in four of the semifinal games against Toronto. In the finals he registered points in all four games, registering 3 goals and 7 points in the final 4 games of the season. He led all playoff performers with 5-6-11 totals.

Here's how Milt Schmidt remembered the series:

"Winning that series in four straight was no surprise to us. We had a great hockey club at that stage, no doubt about it. It was a great hockey club at that stage, no doubt about it. It was a wide-open series against Detroit, and that favored us, because we had a good skating club and a good scoring club. We had guys like Bill Cowley and Roy Conacher and Herbie Cain and myself and Bobby Bauer on our line. If it had been a hitting series, a heavy body-checking series, it would have taken a little away from our greatest assets - skating and moving the puck around. But we had "Big Dit" (Clapper), and after 20 years Dit was well respected around the league. They used to say he could have been the heavy-weight champion of Canada if he'd wanted to. We had the muscle in Clapper - he was what they call a 'policeman' today - and I guess maybe that was the reason Detroit left us alone.

Missing from this Bruins team was the great Eddie Shore. Shore was traded to the New York Americans in exchange for forward Eddie Wiseman. Wiseman may be long forgotten in NHL history, but the trade paid off nicely in the spring of 1941. Wiseman led all NHL players with 6 goals in the playoffs, including 3 in the low scoring finals against Detroit.

Playoff Slap Shots: Another Disappointment For Ovechkin

Time to put the puck on the 'Net:

• World Junior Championships. Olympics. Stanley Cup playoffs, again. It seems Alexander Ovechkin's reputation in big games continues to take a beating. Greatness is defined by these big games, and Ovechkin continues to come up short time and time again. But hey, he did put on the funny glasses and hat at the All Star game.
• On top of the continued disappointment, I believe this season Ovechkin lost his billing as the world's top player, as arch rival Sidney Crosby surpassed him in my books. I'd also agree that Henrik Sedin emerged as a superior player this season. 
• Maybe it is unfair to criticize Ovechkin. After all, he is not the only Capital now facing big game questions. Alexander Semin only had 2 assists in the playoffs. Mike Green showed why Team Canada passed on him for the Olympics. There will even be quiet questions as to whether or not good time guy Bruce Boudreau is the right coach to take this team to the promise land.
• Jaroslav Halak has to be considered the MVP of the first round of the playoffs. In the final three games he stopped 131 of 134 shots, for a save percentage of .978. Unbelievable! Even more amazing, Washington attempted 256 shots on net in those three games. (thanks to @JKFischer)
• Of those 256 attempted shots, 84 were blocked, 31 by Hal Gill.
• Everyone picked Washington to beat Montreal, except maybe R. J. Umberger. David Shoalts of the Globe & Mail wonders if this was even the greatest upset in hockey history.
• I called for a Vancouver-Washington final, thinking the odds are highly against Pittsburgh making the Stanley Cup finals 3 years in a row. Right now it would appear Pittsburgh has a clear path through the Eastern Conference. 

Here are some interesting numbers from round one of the Stanley Cup playoffs:

• Road teams won 27 games (27-22), the most ever in the first round. Three series tied the NHL playoff record for most road wins (five, Montreal vs. Washington; Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa and Detroit vs. Phoenix). The Boston Bruins were the only of the eight advancing clubs to clinch the series on home ice. 
• The winning team in 24 of the 49 games trailed at some point in the contest. Five teams won after trailing by two or more goals. A club trailing in the third period came back to win nine times.
• Teams combined to score an average of 5.90 goals per game, the highest for an opening round since 1996 and a 36% increase over 2004 (4.34), the last playoff year before the adoption of several rule changes designed to limit obstruction. The first-round scoring average also topped that of the 2009-10 regular season (5.53), marking the first time that's happened since 1994-95.
• Twelve of the 49 games were decided in overtime, the most in opening-round play since 2001 (14). Seven of the eight series had at least one game extend to overtime.
• Scoring the game's first goal wasn't as much an advantage as advertised. The teams scoring first lost five of the six games in the Vancouver Canucks-Los Angeles Kings series (VAN 1-2, LA 0-3). The Buffalo Sabres opened the scoring five times against the Boston Bruins, but went 2-3 in those games.

Prediction Time

By the way, I was 4 for 4 on my predictions in the Western Conference. But I was just 1 for 4 on my predictions for the Eastern Conference. 5 for 8 for the first round - I've done worse!

Here's my predictions for round #2

• Detroit Red Wings over San Jose Sharks
• Vancouver Canucks over Chicago Blackhawks
• Pittsburgh Penguins over Montreal Canadiens
• Philadelphia Flyers over Boston Bruins

1940 Stanley Cup: New York Rangers

The year is 1940. And as all hockey fans know, the New York Rangers win the Stanley Cup.

The 1940 championship became legendary throughout hockey lore not so much great Rangers team that won the silver chalice, but for the ineptitude of the Rangers for more than half a century afterwards. The Rangers would not be crowned as Stanley Cup champs again for 54 years!

The 1940 Rangers a powerhouse team that went one 19 game stretch through the regular season without a loss. The team had Dave Kerr in nets, brothers Lynn and Muzz Patrick and Mac and Neil Colville, who played with Alex Shibicky on the team's top line. They were coached by first year bench boss Frank Boucher.

Bryan Hextall, who had a quiet beginning to the playoffs, was a goal scoring hero in the finals. He scored a hat trick in game two, and scored the overtime game winning goal in the decisive game 6 to give the Rangers the Cup.

Another key player for the Rangers was the feisty Phil Watson. Watson was brilliant in the semi-finals against Boston, checking the famed "Kraut Line," who finished 1-2-3 in NHL regular season scoring. Watson held them to just a lone goal in their six game series. Watson, meanwhile, scored twice, including the winner in game one. Watson would do a similar defensive job against Toronto, while adding a lead-tying 5 points in the finals.

1939 Stanley Cup: Boston Bruins

The year is 1939. The NHL introduces the best-of-seven playoff format. With the Montreal Maroons folding prior to the start of the season, the NHL devises a new playoff format whereby the top six of the remaining seven teams will compete in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The powerhouse Boston Bruins are the league's best team in the regular season, finishing ahead of the New York Rangers by 16 points. The Bruins are loaded with stars like Milt Schmidt, Eddie Shore, Dit Clapper, Bill Cowley and captain Cooney Weiland. They replaced the revered Tiny Thompson in net with American born Frank Brimsek. Brimsek was quickly dubbed as Mr. Zero as he shutout six of his first seven opponents in his career.

But they were all overshadowed by little known Mel Hill in the semi-final round.

The Bruins and New York Rangers went the distance in the qualifying round for the Stanley Cup finals. Not only did the teams go seven games, but 6 of the games went into overtime. By the end the teams played the equivalent of 9 games!

Game 7 went into triple overtime. Cue our hero, Mel Hill. Hill, on a beautiful set up by center Bill Cowley, would score a sudden-death goal 8 minutes into the third extra stanza, giving the Bruins a 2-1 win and a berth in the finals.

For Hill it was his third overtime winning goal of that BOS-NYR series! Needless to say, he would go down in history best known by his new nickname - Sudden Death Mel Hill.

Bill Cowley remembered that series with special fondness:

"That was the greatest series I ever played in. After that the finals were anti-climatic. The series made Mel Hill famous. He was very nervous. Of course, this was his first playoff. But I can recall him walking the streets half the night after a game, trying to calm down. The rest of us would go have a few beers."

Cowley was ultimately right. The final series against the Toronto Maple Leafs was anti-climatic and easy by comparison. The Bruins dumped the Leafs 4 games to 1. Hill's linemates were the scoring heroes against the Leafs. In the 5 game final series against Toronto Cowley had seven assists while Roy Conacher had 5 goals and 7 points, both records for rookies.

While the Bruins celebrated, it was another long summer in Toronto. The Leafs were a dominant regular season team for much of the 1930s, and made the Stanley Cup finals in six of the last eight years. They lost all but the 1932 championship, and would lose another in 1940.

Pearson Award Renamed After Ted Lindsay

According to a Globe And Mail report, the NHLPA will rename the Lester B. Pearson award after Ted Lindsay.

"The man they called Terrible Ted is getting a trophy named after him, and it’s about time.

The NHL Players’ Association has chosen to rename the Lester B. Pearson Award in Lindsay’s honour. The Pearson has been given annually to the NHL’s top player as voted on by his peers. The award was named after the former prime minister who used to coach the University of Toronto hockey team."

Here's the full story.

Playoff Slap Shots: PK! PK!

Putting the puck on the 'Net:

• There was something special in the air in Montreal last night. It started out with PK Subban, the most anticipated rookie in Montreal in years. He's called up for just his third NHL game, and in the early moments the crowd starts chanting "PK! PK!" I don't know if I've ever seen anything quite like that. The Subbanator's playoff debut was made all the more memorable by his assist on the second goal of the game. He played 14 shifts and 10 minutes.
• It didn't take long though for this night to be forever remembered as Jaroslav Halak's night. His 53 saves, many of them in spectacular fashion, was amazing. It ranked up there with Craig Anderson's 1-0 OT win over San Jose. 
• I don't think any of the hockey experts had Montreal taking Washington to seven games. The way Halak is playing they just might win this thing! It will be interesting to see how Washington handles the pressure, as it will all be on them for the final game.
• Should Washington with, round two will see WSH vs PHI and PIT vs BOS. Should Montreal win we'd see PIT vs MTL and PHI vs BOS. 
• Round two in the West is also set. Chicago will play Vancouver in a most anticipated rematch from last year. San Jose will play the winner of the Phoenix-Detroit series.

1938 Stanley Cup - Chicago Black Hawks

Guest writer Jennifer Conway takes a look at the 1938 Stanley Cup champions - the 14-25-9 Chicago Black Hawks. With their .385 winning percentage, the low flying Hawks were without doubt the biggest Cinderella team in NHL history.

Something magical happened in the Windy City that spring. The team was a rag tag cast of characters, including 8 American players in an era when finding top quality American talent was hard to do. And just think, Major McLaughlin wanted his team stacked with nothing but American players.

And once the Hawks found themselves in the finals against the Toronto Maple Leafs, star goalie Mike Karakas had a broken toe. The Hawks summoned Alfie Moore from a bar stool in downtown Toronto to play for them, and somehow they won!

Be sure to check out the full story.

Playoff Slap Shots

Putting the puck on the 'Net:

• Did you know Gordie Howe, Mark Messier and Mario Lemieux never scored a playoff goal in overtime?
• In the words of Jim Hughson: "Great save Luongo!"
• Roberto Luongo was the difference in game six, a great sign for Vancouver fans. The Kings outplayed the Canucks 5 on 5 for the first time in the series, but Luongo was there when needed. He's rounding into form.
• It's great to see guys like Steve Bernier, Mikael Samuelsson, Pavol Dimetra, Alex Edler and Kyle Wellwood take their games to a higher level. Successful playoff teams need that. More important to team success though is the fact that your best players have to be your best players. Luongo and the Sedins came through for Vancouver.
• Kudos to the Kings. I could easily be convinced that Drew Doughty is the best defenseman in the NHL, and he's only 20 years old. Wayne Simmonds is a heck of a player, too.
• Jacques Lemaire has announced his retirement this morning. I'm sure more will break on this story as the day goes on. New Jersey was easily the disappointment of the first round. I didn't get to watch that series closely enough, but how Philly, with all their injuries and a number three goaltender, could beat the Devils team many thought was good enough to win the Cup this year is beyond me.
• There's just something about being the number 2 seed in the playoffs. Historically there is a greater than 40% chance that the #2 seed will be upset by the #7 seed in the first round. I was wanting to lean towards Nashville upsetting Chicago on the west side, but I never saw Philly upsetting NJ.
• Speaking of Chicago, did you know that in game 5 Patrick Kane became the first player in the history of the NHL playoffs to score a short-handed goal to tie the score in the last minute of the third period? Me neither!

Those Were The Days: Clarence Campbell

Clarence Campbell is best know for his role in the whole Rocket Richard riots in 1955 when he was the president of the National Hockey League.

But did you know he got his NHL career started as a referee in 1933? Campbell remembered his first Stanley Cup game officiated in 1937.

"The first Stanley Cup game I ever saw, I worked in - as a referee. That was one of the games in the Detroit-Montreal semifinal. It was a strange kind of series - first Detroit seemed to have it won, then Montreal, and it went that way right down to the very end, in overtime of the last game. I remember during that overtime Montreal's Johnny Gagnon, they called him The Cat, came down the ice and had Norm Smith beat. He faked and there was Smith stretched out on the ice, helpless. All The Cat had to do was ram the puck by Smith. He could have scored easily and won the game. Gagnon was so sure he would score that he flipped it over Smith's body - but somehow Smith got a foot on the puck and kicked it away. And a little later Detroit scored to win the game and the series. Even when you're a good one like The Cat, you can never be too sure."

Campbell was a controversial referee in his day. Once he was sucker punched by Boston Bruins great Dit Clapper.

Outside of hockey Campbell was also a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, a World War II colonel and a prosecuting attorney against the Nazis post-war.

1937 Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings

The year is 1937. The Detroit Red Wings are attempting to defend their Stanley Cup championship against the New York Rangers.

There is only one problem. Star goalie Normie Smith badly injures his elbow, marking the downward spiral of his career. Smith, like for four of his teammates, is unable to continue in post-season activity. Enter rookie Earl Robertson, the unlikely hero of the 1937 Stanley Cup championship.

Robertson, a 10 year minor leaguer, was called up for his first taste of NHL action. Imagine that! It is your first game and you are in net for game one of the Stanley Cup finals. Talk about pressure!

But Robertson performed miraculously in leading the Wings to the Cup. He led Detroit to a three games to two victory. In the final two games he recorded consecutive shutouts, and stopped the second penalty shot in NHL playoff history.

Robertson owed a great deal of his success to the excellent play of defensemen Ebbie Goodfellow and Scotty Bowman (no, not that Scotty Bowman) before him.

Colville Targeted

The Rangers were severely hampered by a severe injury to their star centerman. High scoring Neil Colville continued to play despite a broken jaw, but the Red Wings targeted him.

"Hit Neil Colville hard. His jaw is busted. Give him his lumps early and he won't be so strong later on," advised Detroit coach Jack Adams.

It worked, as Colville and the Rangers could not hit the score board at all in the final two games of the series.

1936 Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings

The year is 1936. The Detroit Red Wings would knock of the Toronto Maple Leafs 3 games to 1 to win their first Stanley Cup championship.

The Wings featured some great players. Players like Syd Howe, Marty Barry, Herbie Lewis, Bucko McDonald and Ebbie Goodfellow.

But the man most synonymous with the 1936 Red Wings is a seldom used rookie nicknamed "Mud:" Modere "Mud" Bruneteau.

In the semifinals against the defending champion Montreal Maroons, Bruneteau ended the longest game in NHL history with a goal at the unthinkable time of 176:30. It was the only goal of the game. 9,500 spectators witnessed Bruneteau's heroics in the sixth overtime. The game ended at 2:25 am.

Goaltender Normie Smith also deserves mention. He stopped an incredible 92 shots that night. He was incredible every night, as Detroit was out-shot in every playoff game. Smith stole the opener against the Maroons blocking all 90 shots as his team won 1-0 after 117 minutes of overtime. He followed up with 36 saves in a 3-0 shutout and was solid in every game against Toronto as he stopped 95.7% of the 281 shots that he faced.

Here's what Smith had to say about his amazing streak:

"Well, gee whiz, naturally everyone was tired when we started that sixth overtime in the first game for the league championship. My stuff - underwear, pads, everything - was getting heavier all the time. They fed us sugar dipped in brandy to keep us going, even though our coach, Jack Adams, was one never to touch a drop. I never did see Bruneteau score the goal that won that 1-0 game for us. But I did see the red light flash on. Everybody was so stunned there was like a ten-second pause and then they all broke loose. I had 94, 95 stops in that game, something like that. Then there was the shutout the next game, so now I had almost four hours of goaltending without a goal being scored against me. It went over four hours and then Gus Marker picked up a long pass and he came in on me and beat me to the top right-hand corner. To be honest, I had really forgotten how long the streak had been going, and really you couldn't expect it to go on forever. "

Those Were The Days: King Clancy

King Clancy talked about the 1935 Stanley Cup finals, as well as sharing his impression on hockey in the 1970s, in the book The Stanley Cup by John Devaney and Burt Goldblatt:

"The two teams were pretty evenly matched in that 1935 series. The difference was in the goaltending. The star of the series was Alec Connell for the Maroons in the nets. He was sensational. I used to play with him when we won the Stanley Cup at Ottawa in 1927. The only thing about Connell, you could sometimes knock in a rebound against him. My job at Ottawa was to get that puck out of there, clear those rebounds, and I think that's how I scored my only goal of that series - on a rebound.

"In those days most goals were scored from close up. It was a positional game, and most every play ended up in front of the nets. In my Stanley Cup days I can't remember many of those long shots going in, as they do nowadays. You didn't see so many of those ricochet shots going in off somebody's skate. The scores were 1-0 and 2-1 affairs, none of these 5-4 and 7-6 things. Those ricochet shots make it tougher on the goalkeepers today.

"But the game today is much more exciting, gosh, yes! And don't let anybody tell you that the players of today aren't as good - they're probably better - than the hockey players of the old days. You wouldn't get a better checker than Bobby Clarke of that Philadelphia club. In those Stanley Cup finals in 1974, the Philadelphia club was the hardest working hockey club I have ever seen in my life - from goalkeeper on out.

"And I have never seen any hockey player the equal of the Bruins' Bobby Orr."

1935 Stanley Cup - Montreal Maroons

The year is 1935. Montreal's other NHL team, the Maroons, battled the Toronto Maple Leafs for the bragging rights of Stanley Cup champion.

The Leafs are led by their famous Kid Line - Busher Jackson, the Big Bomber Charlie Conacher, and Gentleman Joe Primeau - at the height of their careers. Though the Leafs had beaten the Maroons in five of six regular season matches, the Leafs would be no match for the Maroons this spring.

The Maroons would sweep the best of five series, three games to zero. The Maroons drew heavily on the experience of coach Tommy Gorman and defenseman Lionel Conacher, both of whom were big parts of the Chicago Black Hawks Stanley Cup championship team from a year prior. Gorman would become the only man to win successive Stanley Cup titles with two different teams.

Lawrence "Baldy" Northcott was the hero in the low scoring post season. He led all NHLers with 4 goals and 5 points. Three of his goals were game winners, including the Cup-clinching winner in game three, 4-1, against the Leafs.

2010 Hockey Books Look Promising

In all honesty, 2009 was not a banner year for hockey books. At least not in terms of depth. There were a few good titles but a lot of forgettable books in the grand scheme of things.

My first impression of the 2010 hockey books already listed at Amazon and Chapters gives me some hope for a strong rebound year. Over at HockeyBookReviews.com I take a sneak peek at the Hockey Books of 2010.

Those Were The Days: Mush March

In the 1970s Mush March gave an interview where he compared hockey then to hockey in his own era:

"I played in the National Hockey League from '28 to '45. I played with Doug and Max Bentley, Johnny Gottselig, Howie Morenz. They play the game a little differently today. Now everybody's up the ice, even the defensemen. If you have a great defense that can pass the puck today, that's half your battle. That's why Bobby Orr is so terrific. I remember one night our coach told the defensemen, 'You defensemen go over that blue line, it'll cost you fifty dollars.' Imagine that happening today. Today they'd say, 'You'd better be up there.' "

1934 Stanley Cup - Chicago Black Hawks

The year is 1934. The Chicago Black Hawks, the lowest scoring team in the NHL this season, surprise everyone in the playoffs with their smothering defensive play and a few timely goals. The Hawks defeated the Detroit Red Wings three games to one to win the Stanley Cup!

The Hawks greatest asset was goaltender Charlie Gardiner. "Bonnie Prince Charlie" would limit Detroit to just two goals in Chicago's three victories, including a shutout in the final game which went to double overtime. Sadly, it would prove to be Gardiner's last game as he would die of a brain hemorrhage after the season.

The aforementioned double overtime game's hero was Mush March. March had a reputation for scoring famous goals, but none bigger than on April 10th, 1934. He scored the winning goal at 10:05 of the second overtime period - the only goal of the game - clinching Chicago's first ever Stanley Cup final.

"They had a face-off in their end after 30 minutes of overtime had gone by. The puck came back to me from (Doc) Romnes on the face-off. I shot it and it went right through (Wilf) Cude's legs. Wilf Cude. He was a great goaltender. I didn't realize it right at the second, you know, that we'd won the Stanley Cup, but it was great. I rushed in and got the puck and then the fellows grabbed me and wheeled me on their shoulders all the way around the rink. It was nice to see my name on it for the first time. It's always nice to be a champion. It's always easy to be a loser."

Cude may have been a great goaltender, but he's most famous for how he retired. There's a few variations of this story, but here's Cude himself explaining how he decided it was time to retire.

"I was having my afternoon steak before a game. I poured a hell of a lot of ketchup on it. I'd just started to eat when my wife Beulah made some casual remark. For no good reason, I picked up my steak and threw it at her. She ducked and the steak hit the wall. The ketchup splattered and the steak hung there on the wall. Slowly it began to peel, and I stared at it. Between the time that the steak hit the wall and then hit the floor, I decided I'd been a touchy goalkeeper long enough. By the time it landed, I retired."

Another hero for the Hawks in 1934 was hard hitting defenseman Lionel Conacher. Johnny "Peanuts" O'Flaherty said "Conacher blocked more shots than Charlie Gardiner and was the definite difference in the finals". Conacher also was noted to have rushed the puck out of his own zone on many occassions, scoring two goals on these rushes. He was included as one of the game's three stars in six of the eight games in the post season.

Those Were The Days: Tony Esposito

Once again, the Stanley Cup playoffs are where heroes are made. Especially goaltending heroes. Look at Jonathan Quick and Tuukka Rask. And Colorado's Craig Anderson is stopping everything but global warming.

Back in 1972 Tony Esposito opined about what it is like to be a goalie in the playoffs.

"The pressure is unreal. Most of the goalkeepers, they feel the pressure. The only ones that don't worry are the ones too dumb to understand what's happening to them."

1933 Stanley Cup - New York Rangers

The year is 1933. The Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers face-off in a rematch of the 1932 Stanley Cup final.

The two teams remained basically the same. The Leafs had superstars like Busher Jackson, the Big Bomber Charlie Conacher, Gentleman Joe Primeau, King Clancy, Red Horner, Ace Bailey and Baldy Cotton. But they were battle-weary, surviving a lengthy earlier series against Boston which a six overtime game in the clincher

The Rangers loafed through an uninspiring regular season before clobbering Montreal and Detroit en route to the Finals showdown. They had arguably the best line in hockey - Frank Boucher centering brothers Bill Cook and Bun Cook. An area of concern was rookie goalie Andy Aitkenhead, who remains one of the least well known goaltenders to have ever backstopped his team to the Stanley Cup. He was dubbed "The Glasglow Gabber" because he chattered constantly during games, supposedly to calm his nerves.

But it was the Ranger's checker Cecil Dillon (pictured) who stole the show in this playoff. He had goals in his first five playoff games including the winner in the opener of the finals against Toronto, adding another in game 3. He was selected one of the games three stars in a 1-0 overtime winner for his work in holding the Primeau-Conacher-Jackson line to no goals in the final.

Dillon's fine efforts have been all but forgotten. It was Bill Cook who goes down as the Stanley Cup hero, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 overtime win in the clinching game. Although, as defenseman Ching Johnson remembered it, the goal came with a great deal of controversy:

"At the time they had a rule that you couldn't raise your hands above your shoulders. It was a silly rule - it was in effect for only one year. It meant you couldn't raise your hands to protect your face and stop a puck from hitting you. In the overtime of that fourth and final game, I threw up my hands to stop a puck and they put me in the penalty box. We raised hell, but there was nothing we could do about it. Anyway, while I was still in the penalty box, I guess the officials thought they had to return the compliment because they put King Clancy in the penalty box for doing the same thing. That made them shorthanded by two men, and Bill Cook scored to win the game, 1-0. Oh Lord, were those Maple Leafs sore at those officials!"

Cook's goal was the very first Stanley Cup winning goal scored in overtime.

It also proved to be a profitable goal for the Rangers. Coach Lester Patrick promised each of his players $100 if they won the Stanley Cup in game four so that he would not have to worry about a game five.

1932 Stanley Cup - Toronto Maple Leafs

The year is 1932. The Toronto Maple Leafs, comfortable in their new $1.5 million Maple Leaf Gardens, are challenging the New York Rangers for the Stanley Cup championship. Because the circus is in Madison Square Gardens, the Rangers second home game of the series (game 2) has to be played in Toronto.

The Leafs are led by nicknamed superstars like Busher Jackson, the Big Bomber Charlie Conacher, Gentleman Joe Primeau, King Clancy, Red Horner, Ace Bailey and Baldy Cotton.

The Rangers counter with the best line in hockey - Frank Boucher centering brothers Bill Cook and Bun Cook.

But the Kid Line of Primeau, Conacher and Jackson prove to be too much, sweeping the Rangers in three straight games. The Kid Line combined for 8 goals and 16 points, with the Big Bomber leading the way. Conacher finished the playoffs with 6 goals and 2 assists in seven games. Needless to say Murray Murdoch, who was assigned by the Rangers to shadow Conacher, had a long series.

Primeau, the elegant assist king at center ice, remembered being more relieved than elated when the Leafs hoisted their first Stanley Cup.

"To win the Stanley Cup, it's the top prize and the feeling you get is a little hard to describe. It's a great feeling but it's mixed with a feeling that you're so doggone glad it's over with. You have spent so much of yourself by this time, you're glad you don't have to spend any more. You have this combined feeling: You have this sense of accomplishment after reaching what you have been driving for so long, and you have this feeling of relief - like a load off your shoulders - that now you are going to be able to get some rest," said Primeau.

Leafs coach Dick Irvin was coaching in his second consecutive Stanley Cup finals, having taken Chicago on an unsuccessful Cup bid in 1931. However championship celebrations were non-existent for the coach, who had to rush back to western Canada where his infant son, future hockey broadcaster Dick Irvin, Jr., was seriously ill.

You can watch a rare video clip of the 1932 Stanley Cup playoffs here.

Roach Extermination

The series ended in controversy for the New York Rangers and their goaltender John Ross Roach. Described as something of a playboy, Roach's poor performance was coupled with his going AWOL during practice on the day before game one.

The Rangers had had enough, and coach Lester Patrick gravely announced "Roach is through for next season." Toronto's King Clancy added "If your goalkeeper had done that, I'd have kicked his head off."

Poor J. R. Roach was humiliated by the ordeal, yet he still had to play the series. Trying to restore his battered reputation was not easy, though. With his pride showing he tried as hard as ye could, but the Leafs' potent offense triggered an avalanche of goals

Interesting Website

I accidentally stumbled upon the interesting though apparently defunct website Hometown Hockey today. I don't know who is behind it and there have been no new posts in nearly two years, but for hockey history fanatics it is worth a look.

The website kind of mirrors what I'm trying to do here at GreatestHockeyLegends.com, only instead of looking at NHL players, this site concentrates on players who never played in the NHL. No NHL superstars here, yet there is no shortage of fascinating reads about junior, college international and minor pro players who are very much hockey legends if only on a smaller scale.

Check out Hometown Hockey today.

Playoff Slap Shots: Kick In The Pants

Putting the puck on the 'Net:

• After watching the Canucks game I spent 30 minutes doing hockey stops on laminate floor, with my girlfriend rolling ball at my feet. It is impossible make a distinct kicking motion while stopping. Daniel Sedin must be superhuman. Terrible call by Mike Murphy and NHL tonight.
• Where was Mike Murphy and this fuzzy logic in 1989 when Joel Otto kicked the puck the in the net against Kirk McLean?
• I can not get over the growing amount of people who seem to really believe there is a NHL conspiracy against the Canucks. Paranoid much? Geez! It was terrible call by the NHL replay gods, and the referees have been wildly inconsistent all series, but there is no malicious intentions towards the Canucks. That is just stupid.
• While I don't necessarily blame Canucks fans for loudly voicing their displeasure with the refereeing, I think they should be more worried about their team's specialty teams play.
  

For more thoughts on playoff hockey join me on Twitter @HockeyLegends.

1931 Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens

The year in 1931. The Montreal Canadiens are defending Stanley Cup champions and are flying higher than ever. They are heavy favorites to repeat as title holders, facing the Chicago Black Hawks, who entered their first Stanley Cup finals.

The Canadiens were loaded, with the likes of Howie Morenz (who was suffering from a shoulder injury that spring), Aurel Joliat and Sylvio Mantha, but it is Johnny "Black Cat" Gagnon who would be the scoring hero this spring. In ten games he had 6 goals, 4 of which were important first goals, and 4 of which were power play goals. Gagnon stepped it up in the finals, scoring four goals in the last three games against Chicago including the Stanley Cup game winner in game five.

Chicago was a big underdog in the series. But coach Dick Irvin rolled out "a series of speedy lines that dizzied opponents with the slickness of their skating and stickhandling." Their best player was probably Johnny Gottselig, who was actually born in Russia.

Goalie George Hainsworth was back in net for Montreal, but he would play the final series in the shadow of the goalie at the other end of the rink.

Chicago goalie Charlie Gardiner surprised many when he was able to force the Canadiens to go the distance and play in the decisive game five. But in essence Gardiner faced the Canadiens high scorers for more than 5 games, as his two finals victories came in long overtimes.

The first came in game 2 in Chicago, in front of a NHL record 18,000 fans. The Hawks, who also featured Johnny Gottselig, Mush March, and Taffy Abel, tied the series at 1-1 with a 3-2 double overtime victory.

The next game saw the Hawks take a stranglehold on the series, taking a 2-1 lead thanks to a triple overtime victory in Montreal! Cy Wentworth scored the goal.

Led by Gagnon's goal scoring heroics, the Canadiens came back and took the series in 5 games.

Collapse of Dynamo Moscow

One of the great Russian hockey clubs will cease operations in 2010. It has been announced that Dynamo Moscow, the oldest hockey club in Russia, will fold due to financial failure.

This is huge news, especially in Russia where this is akin to one of the NHL losing one of it's treasured Original Six franchises.

The team's players and assets will be merged with another Moscow based team, HK MVD, who are currently competing for the KHL championship. It is currently unclear how much if any of the Dynamo brand will be incorporated by MVD. Could it be possible the new franchise will retain the history-filled Dynamo name and colors?

Dynamo Moscow alumni include Alexander Maltsev, Alexei Kovalev, Alexei Yashin and Alexander Ovechkin. The club was established in 1946 and were originally sponsored by the KGB. Nine times they won the Russian/Soviet league titles, and twice they won the Spengler Cup.

Special thanks to @dchesnokov

1930 Stanley Cup - Montreal Canadiens

The year is 1930. The Montreal Canadiens shock the hockey world, and they do so while playing with "Dynamite."

The defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins are about to establish themselves as a hockey dynasty. With the likes of Tiny Thompson in net, Eddie Shore on defense and the Dynamite Line - Cooney Weiland, Dit Clapper and Dutch Gainor - up front, no one expected anyone to stop the powerhouse Bruins. The Bruins coasted through the regular season with a 38-5-1 record, the best winning percentage in NHL history at .875.

Yet they would collapse in the playoffs, shocked by Montreal in the opening game of the best of three Stanley Cup finals. The great goalie George Hainsworth posts a 3-0 shutout in Boston, sending the Bruins reeling.

The series went to Montreal for game 2, setting the early stage for the magic of Montreal Forum to haunt the Bruins. Howie Morenz attacked in waves of end-to-end rushes, leading Les Habitants to a 4-3 win and the Stanley Cup championship.

Hainsworth was the key player of the post season. He led all performers with a brilliant 0.75 average and three shutouts in six games.

Eddie Shore on Howie Morenz

Howie Morenz was the most dazzling player of his generation. Boston's great defenseman Eddie Shore knew "The Stratford Streak" was as good a player who had ever skated in hockey:

"I was as fast as any man in hockey except Morenz," marveled Shore, who was noted for his belligerent play. "He was that little extra bit faster."

How fast was Morenz?

"Nobody ever knew how much speed Morenz might have generated if he had ever had to turn it on for one full stretch of 60 minutes," Shore offered. "He used to have to spot Aurel Joliat 30 feet before he even started skate. I've seen him give away as much as 50 feet to fast skaters and catch them before they got to the end of the rink."

One time Shore and partner Lionel Hitchman did catch Morenz with a big check, but they could not believe his ability to dust it off.

"I steered Howie into a pocket and Hitch took care of the rest. At least we thought he was taking care of the rest. The first time Morenz fairly flew into Hitch, and bounced straight back as though he'd run into a brick wall. Hitch and I exchanged looks of regret over the body, mentally dusted it off our hands and prepared for an evening of relative peace and quiet."

Five minutes later Morenz was back, and at full speed.

"If I hadn't known better I'd have sworn it was a mirage," Shore said. "But I moved up again and drove him over into the same pocket. Hitchman did the clean up job even more ernestly this time. I'm still wondering why the rink didn't fall in right there.

"Five minutes after that, here he came again. If he'd been travelling on an express schedule before, he was carrying a special delivery tag this trip. We were lucky enough to steer him over to Hitchman's beat again. Hitch caught him square . Howie gasped like the air going out of a punctured tire, did a reverse jackknife and landed on the back of his neck several yards from the scene of the accident.

"Hitchman and I skated sorrowfully over to see if there was any point in carry him away. Howie's right eye opened slowly. He peered at us in silence for a moment, and then shook his head and said:

'Say, don't you guys ever get tired?' "

His skating, puck skills and desire made Morenz the greatest player of his generaton. He was something to behold.

“(Morenz) had a heart that was unsurpassed in athletic history and no one ever came close to him in the colour department," said Shore. "After you watched Howie you wanted to see him often, and as much as I liked to play hockey, I often thought I would have counted it a full evening had I been able to sit in the stands and watch the Morenz maneuvers. Such an inclination never occurred to me about other stars."

Morenz Was No Bobby Orr - Weiland

Although history tends to forget about him, Cooney Weiland was one heck of a player in the 1930s. In fact, his 43 goals and 73 points in 44 games in 1929-30 shattered previous NHL marks.

Weiland's Bruins were supposed to repeat as Stanley Cup champions in the spring of 1930. But they were upset by Howie Morenz and the Montreal Canadiens.

"It was a terrific shock to all of us," offered Weiland years later. "It seemed we got most of the penalties, especially in the second game. The Bruins always felt they were outmaneuvered. Imagine, of 44 (regular season) games, losing only five at home and away. And there were no soft touches in those days. Whether we were over confident or not, I don't know."

Weiland had many great things to say about Montreal's great forward Howie Morenz. In an interview in the early 1970s Weiland compared Morenz to Bobby Orr, the best player of another generation.

"Morenz was a great player, unquestionably the fastest skater of his time, no doubt about it. I usually tried to cut him off at his net, before he got started. If he got to center ice without being checked, he'd fly right by you. And he had a terrific shot. With his speed, naturally, it added momentum to his shot.

"But you can't compare him to Bobby Orr. Morenz wasn't a stop and start fellow or as good a stickhandler as Orr is."

Weiland Great Player, Too

Weiland was a great player in his own right. Perhaps history tends to dismiss his record breaking accomplishments because of the changes to the off-side rules that season.

"That was the year I led the league. You could cross the blue line ahead of the puck, but the guy carrying the puck had to carry it across the blue line. He couldn't pass it across to you. So you needed a great stick-handler to stick-handle the puck in, and our Dutch Gainor was an amazing stickhandler. Dit Clapper and I would bust in, across the line, taking a chance because we left the wings open, but Gainor would manage to hold onto the puck and get it across the line, then pass it to us.

"You can see what the new rule did to the defensemen. They didn't know whether to go for the puckhandler or cover the wingmen busting in, and they were all confused.

"But too many guys abused the rule. Some never came out of the zone. They stayed there, just like basket-hangers in basketball, exactly. And half-way through the season they cut out the rule and went back to the old way. But I scored as many goals in the last half of the season as I did when it was in effect. I thought it was a good rule. It sure opened up the game."

Playoff Slapshots: Where Are The Hockey Gods?

Putting the puck on the 'Net

• The frantic pace of many of the first round games is, if not clinically textbook, immensely entertaining. The emotions are so high, causing frenzied play which may have coaches feeling helpless but have fans feeling wowed. Some of these games are as exciting as the Olympic games were.
• That being said, the teams that can keep their emotions in check the best will be rewarded and likely advance to round two.
• Dan Carcillo was the overtime hero as the Flyers downed the Devils to take a 2-1 series lead. Earlier in the game Carcillo was a villain, with his fraudulent and dramatic dive that embarrasses the game. The hockey gods did not deliver proper justice there.
• With inconsistency being the only constant, refereeing is always a controversial topic, and is greatly magnified. Fans and often media of the losing team often blame the refs. It would be refreshing to to hear cries to play more disciplined game. The officials can be frustrating, but the more disciplined team usually wins a series.
• I really liked Joel Quenneville's move to keep Antti Niemi in Chicago's net for game 2. He was shaky in the game 1 loss, but he had to stay with him. He all but appointed the rookie as his man and couldn't afford to chance losing his confidence. If you can lose game two you can better justify switching to the veteran Cristobal Huet in game 3 if need be. But giving Niemi another chance is a great message for the whole team.
• That being said, I still think Nashville is capable of the upset. I think Chicago will win, but I always liked this as a potential upset.
• What an amazing ending to the San Jose/Colorado game. Craig Anderson stood on his head, but the highlight of the night for me was his undying smile after the game.
  
• I've always said no team with Todd Bertuzzi will ever win a championship.
  

1929 Stanley Cup - Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins and New York Rangers met in the 1929 Stanley Cup finals. It was the first time two American teams faced off for the Stanley Cup - a trophy originally designated for the top Canadian amateur team.

The Bruins were definitely the favorites entering the series. They owned the Rangers in the regular season, winning five of six matches. The Bruins were powered by a new line - Cooney Weiland with Dit Clapper and Dutch Gainor on the wings. The explosive line would later be nicknamed the Dynamite Line. The Bruins had also had the rambunctious Eddie Shore providing the surprise offense from the rear; and Tiny Thompson in nets, allowing just a miniscule 1.15 goals against per game on average.

The Rangers, the defending champions, returned with mostly the same team from their championship year, with Frank Boucher and brothers Bill and Bun Cook wowing audiences everywhere. The most notable change was in net. Gone was Lorne Chabot, who was injured for most of the previous Stanley Cup finals anyways. In was John Ross Roach, described as "something of a playboy," but very stingy between the pipes. In the four previous playoff games Roach allowed only one goal!

The final series was reduced to a best of three, while the previous round was upped to a best of five. This was designed to theoretically reduce the chance of upsets.

Game one was at the new Boston Garden, where a reported 18,000 fans, many blaring trumpets, watched a Clapper and Gainor score 2nd period goals and witnessed a perfect game from goalie Thompson in a 2-0 victory.

Game two moved to Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, but the Bruins could not be stopped. Harry Oliver scored the opening goal and assisted on Bill Carson's winner with just 118 seconds left in the game, giving Boston it's first Stanley Cup championship.

Harry Oliver recalled the winning goal, which surprisingly did not send the Bruins players into an instant euphoria:

"I was going down the right side. I saw Bill Carson loose on the left side. I passed him the puck and wingo! It was in on the left side.

"Today they make a big fuss about a goal, hugging each other . . . jumping up and down. We just gave a tap on the shoulder, nice going, and that was all. Today they're more emotional after a goal.

The Cup didn't have all those bands at the bottom. It had just one or two bands. We had a team dinner in Boston the next night and went home. The Bruins gave use each a bonus of five hundred dollars in twenty dollar gold pieces. And the Stanley Cup playoff money was around a thousand dollars.

1928 Stanley Cup - New York Rangers

When recollecting the 1928 Stanley Cup finals between the New York Rangers and Montreal Maroons, it is impossible not to mention the amazing feat of The Silver Fox.

Lester Patrick had long been heralded as one of the most influential hockey men ever. Now he was coaching in the NHL, guiding the New York Rangers all the way to the 1928 Stanley Cup. With his graying hair he was dubbed The Silver Fox.

En route to New York's first Stanley Cup, Patrick immortalized himself almost to his own detriment. Few have ever had as big an impact on hockey than Patrick, but he is almost universally known for his feat in the 1928 Stanley Cup finals.

Goaltender Lorne Chabot was struck in the eye by a Nels Stewart shot in game 2. The wound was so bad that Chabot was unable to continue. Back in those days teams didn't carry back up netminders, forcing Patrick to scramble for a replacement.

Patrick wanted to use Ottawa's puckstopping ace Alec Connell, who was in attendance that night. But the Maroons refused to agree to that. In fact, Maroons coach Eddie Gerard's response included "why the hell doesn't Lester play?"

"I will, by God, I will."

Patrick, a former defenseman who hadn't participated in a game in two years, donned Chabot's sweaty sweater and stormed on to the ice. He surrendered only one goal (to Nels Stewart) and won the game in overtime!

Murray Murdoch, a forward with that Rangers team, recalled the night in John Devaney and Burt Goldblatt's book The Stanley Cup:

"We were all standing around trying to decide what to do. Lester was looking around at us to see who could play goal, and I said to him, 'Not me, Lester, not me.' The Maroons coach sent over a note saying, 'If you need a goalkeeper, why the hell doesn't Lester play?' Lester said, 'I will, by God, I will.'

"He put on the pads and out he went. Well, we made sure they didn't get too close to him. We went out to the blue line and made them shoot from way out. The officials were kind to us; we have held them a little bit to keep them out. Anyway, Lester stayed low on the ice, on his hands and knees, and they got only that one by him, and after Boucher's goal, we really did mob him.

As amazing as that story was, there was no way Patrick wanted a sequel in the following game. He went out a signed an infamous minor league goalie who also deserves great credit for the 1928 Stanley Cup championship, but never gets it.

For the remainder of the series Patrick signed Joe Miller, a former New York Americans goaltender who let in so many goals he was nicknamed Red Light Miller. Miller proved to be very capable between the pipes, winning games 4 and 5, while surrendering just three goals in three games. He even registered a shutout in game 4.

Despite his key role in the Stanley Cup championship, Miller refused to stay in New York for the victory party.

"Lorne Chabot and I are pals," he said. "I don't want to take any glory from him."

For more info on the 1928 Stanley Cup finals, check out Third String Goalie.

Playoff Slap Shots: Shooting Blanks

Putting the puck on the 'Net:

• Washington had 47 shots on net in game one against Montreal, but none off of the stick of Alexander Ovechkin. It is only the third time in his career (396 regular season games, 21 playoff games) that Ovechkin failed to register a shot on goal.
• Credit Jaroslav Spacek for a fine game of defending against Ovechkin, although the whole team did a good job on him. During the season Montreal held Ovechkin without a goal in 4 out of 5 games they played against him. They held him pointless in 3 of those games.
  
• Speaking of big performances by second tier defensemen, Vancouver's Alexander Edler was fantastic in game one against Los Angeles. I was worried that Vancouver might not have a player who can emerge and play better than they already have for the playoffs. If Edler can be that guy, that is excellent news for the Canucks.
• You gotta love Vancouver's Green Men.
  
• Did you know Brian Boucher's game one win was his first postseason win since May 20, 2000. Only two goaltenders in NHL history have gone longer between playoff wins than Boucher (9 years, 329 days): Sugar Jim Henry (10 years, 1 day, 1942-52) and Sean Burke (9 years, 347 days, 1988-98).
• Derek Morris' goal in game one was his first playoff goal in his long career. He's played 869 regular season games. Only two players have ever played more before scoring their first post-season goals - Mattias Norstrom (903) and Viktor Kozlov (897)
• Blackhawks vs. Predators is the only series not yet underway. The Preds have been waiting in Chicago, sharing the same hotel as AC/DC.
  

1927 Stanley Cup - Ottawa Senators

With the NHL winning the financial war over leagues and teams from western Canada, the western leagues collapsed. The best players moved to the NHL, as did full control of the Stanley Cup. From now on the NHL champion would be Stanley Cup champion.

The Ottawa Senators, led by slim Alec Connell in net, knocked off the Montreal Canadiens for the right to play the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup finals. The Bruins knocked off the New York Rangers. Yes, the Boston-New York rivalry was already heated way back then.

The best of five Stanley Cup final pitted the high scoring Bruins against the tight checking Senators. Given the poor ice conditions, this would favor the boys from the Canadian capital city.

The first game in Boston saw no goals scored at all. The game was scoreless through almost 2 full overtime periods. Finally NHL president Frank Calder had to declare the game a tie with 1 minute left in the 2nd OT as the ice was too rough to continue. The NHL was forced to brainstorm on how a tie game would affect the Stanley Cup championship. It was decided that the team with the best record in the 5 game series (2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie) would win the Stanley Cup.

Ottawa took game 2 by a score of 3-1, thanks to undisciplined play of the Bruins. The great defenseman Eddie Shore was especially exuberant, earning 5 trips to the penalty box for various assaults.

Game three again ended in a tie, 1-1. Even though the series had relocated north to Ottawa, the game was again called due to bad ice, this time in the first overtime period.

Ottawa won game 4 handily, 3-1. Because they now had 6 points compared to Boston's 2, the 5th game was not needed. The Senators were Stanley Cup champions! It was their 6th Stanley Cup championship, the most of any team in history. But it would also be their last.

The snarly Bruins proved to be quite sore losers. Noted on-ice roughian Billy Coutu took his act off the ice, sucker punching referee Jerry Laflamme after the game. Frank Calder proceeded to suspend Coutu from the league for life.

GHL's Stanley Cup MVP - Alec Connell -The Ottawa goaltender only allowed 3 goals in 4 games plus three overtime periods, for a 0.75 GAA. He also shutdown the high scoring Montreal Canadiens, allowing only 1 goal, to get Ottawa to the Cup finals.

Upsetting Night

Four opening night games. Four wins for the four respective underdogs. Hmm . . . must be night one of the Stanley Cup playoffs. This happens every year folks, and it'll probably happen again on Thursday night when the other four series begin.

For whatever reason, it just seems like a given that the lower seed has an advantage in game one. Is it because they've often had to play "playoff hockey" to squeak into the playoffs? Is it because they are on the road and have fewer distractions? Is it because the favored team really did underestimate them?

I don't know the answer but I do know we see this seemingly every year and it does not necessarily mean much.

According to the website WhoWins.com, NHL teams who win game one on the road (like Colorado, Ottawa and Philadelphia) historically go on to win the series 50.7% of the time. They win game two just 33.8% of the time.

The news is quite a bit better for Phoenix, the only home team to win on Wednesday. Historical numbers favor the hometown preliminary round game one winner to win the series 73.3% of the time. They are also 62.9% more likely to win game 2.

Stanley Cup History: East vs. West 1913-1926

In 1913 an agreement was struck between hockey's two major professional leagues - the Eastern-base National Hockey Association (forerunner to the NHL) and the western-based Pacific Coast Hockey Association. The winner of each league would face-off in the Stanley Cup finals starting in 1914, effectively ending the Stanley Cup's challenge era. The arrangement stated that the series would be played alternately in the east and west, and that the different rules of the two leagues would alternate game by game.

Here's a look at the days of East vs West series:

1913-14 - Toronto Blueshirts - The Stanley Cup made it's first journey to Toronto in 1914. Although the outbreak of war overshadowed the event, Toronto had to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 6-2 in a total goals playoff series before being crowned champions. Toronto then successfully defeated Victoria, winning 3 straight games in a best of five series.

GHL's MVP - Frank Foyston

1914-15 - Vancouver Millionaires - While the Ottawa Senators were able to defeat the Montreal Wanderers for the NHA championship, they would not win the Stanley Cup. The PCHA Vancouver Millionaires convincingly defeated the NHAers, winning 3 straight games and outscoring Ottawa 26 to 8. The series was played in Vancouver, upon artificial ice.

GHL's MVP - Cyclone Taylor

1915-16 - Montreal Canadiens - The Montreal Canadiens would win their first of many Stanley Cup championships, and their only title outside of the NHL. Montreal, backstopped by the great Georges Vezina, then had an unusual opponent for the Stanley Cup - an American team. The Portland (Oregon) Rosebuds (formerly the New Westminster Royals) challenged the Canadiens in a tough, 5 game series.

GHL's MVP - Goldie Prodgers

1916-17 - Seattle Metropolitans - The inevitable happened in 1917, as an American team won the Stanley Cup. Seattle, the PCHA champs, defeated the defending Stanley Cup champions Montreal Canadiens in four games.

GHL's MVP - Bernie Morris

1917-18 - Toronto Arenas - The NHA collapsed because league owners wanted Toronto owner Eddie Livingstone out. They formed a new league, the NHL, without Livingstone. The NHL included a new team in Toronto, the Arenas, who defeated the PCHA champion Vancouver Millionaires 3-2 in a best of 5 series.

GHL's MVP - Alf Skinner

1918-19 - No Decision - The PCHA champions Seattle Metropolitans met the NHL champions Montreal Canadiens in the 1919 Stanley Cup finals, but no winner would be decided. With the series tied 2-2-1, the series was cancelled due to the influenza epidemic that had swept North America. Montreal could no longer continue, with 5 players and manager George Kennedy admitted to hospital with the deadly flue. Five days later the great Bad Joe Hall, future Hockey Hall of Famer, died. Montreal offered to forfeit the series, but Seattle opted not to claim victory under such dark circumstances.

GHL's MVP - Hap Holmes

1919-20 - Ottawa Seantors - Seattle would return to the Stanley Cup finals in 1920, but they could not defeat the NHL champion Ottawa Senators. The series was actually completed in Toronto, as warm weather turned Ottawa's outdoor ice to slush, and Toronto had the only indoor rink in all of Eastern Canada.

GHL's MVP - Jack Darragh

1920-21 - Ottawa Senators - The Ottawa Senators knocked off the Toronto St. Pats to capture the NHL championship and the right to defend their Stanley Cup title. The Vancouver Millionaires represented the west. The tight series was played at Vancouver's Denman Arena, but the Senators pulled out the win thanks to Jack Darragh's tying and winning goals in the final game.

GHL's MVP - Jack Darragh

1921-22 - Toronto St. Pats - The Vancouver Millionaires repeated as PCHA champs and travelled East to compete in the Stanley Cup finals. But they would not get a chance to meet Ottawa again, as the Sens lost 5-4 in a tough, 2-game, total goals series to the Toronto St. Pats. After a tightly played first three games, Toronto's offense blew away the westerners to win the Stanley Cup in 5 games.

GHL's MVP - Babe Dye

1922-23 - Ottawa Senators - The Ottawa Senators returned to the Stanley Cup finals after beating the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in the 2 game, total goals playoff. Out west the PCHA broke apart, and a second western power, the Western Canadian Hockey League was added to the Stanley Cup mix. Ottawa had to travel out west to Vancouver where they defeated the renamed Maroons 3 games to 1 for the right to play the WCHL Edmonton Eskimos for the Stanley Cup. The Sens edged the Esks in a tight two game series to win the Stanley Cup.

GHL's MVP - Punch Broadbent

1923-24 - Montreal Canadiens - After winning the NHL title, Montreal hosted the Vancouver Maroons, winning 2 games in the best of 3 final. Montreal then hosted the WCHL Calgary Tigers in the Stanley Cup final, although the final game was played in Ottawa due to poor ice conditions in Montreal. Montreal face little competition from the Calgarians, winning two games in relative ease. After winning, the players took the Cup to manager Leo Dandurand's home for a party. They had to fix a flat tire on the way, only to find out that they had left the Stanley Cup sitting on the curb when they had arrived at Dandurand's house!

GHL's MVP - Georges Vezina

1924-25 - Victoria Cougars - 1925 saw the last non-NHL team win the Stanley Cup. The Victoria Cougars (who would become the Detroit Red Wings a couple of years later) defeated the Saskatoon Crescents and Calgary Tigers to earn the right to play the NHL champs Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup finals. With games played in Victoria, the Cougars used home ice advantage to knock off the Habs 3 games to 1. Montreal was a bit lucky to be in the finals, given that the NHL's best team, the Hamilton Tigers, went on strike to protest their salaries. Montreal replaced the Tigers.

GHL's MVP - Jack Walker

1925-26 - Montreal Maroons - The Victoria Cougars returned to the Stanley Cup finals in 1926 in what would mark the last time a non-NHL team would compete for the Stanley Cup. But the Cougars were no match for the Montreal Maroons, Montreal's "English team." The Maroons won the series 3 games to 1, winning each game with a shutout. But it was rookie Nels Stewart who really stole the show. The star scoring center played the series on defense and still scored 6 goals in 4 games.

GHL's MVP - Nels Stewart

2010 Stanley Cup Predictions

As the Hockey History Blogger I like to say I do not have to make a fool of myself by making predictions, because I deal with the past and not with the future.

Regardless, I will do so and jinx my own team in the process. The 2010 Stanley Cup finals will be contested by the Washington Capitals and Vancouver Canucks.

I am even less confident of my Vancouver proclamation since TSN's "expert" Keith Jones was the only one picking Vancouver in the TSN Fantasy Draft special.

But I will stick with it. For the first time in the Canucks 40 years I actually enter these playoffs believing they can win the Stanley Cup. I've never felt this before. In 1994 I gained this feeling as the playoffs went on, but every other year, most notably through the Naslund/Bertuzzi era, I never really felt they could pull it off. For the first time ever, I believe in my own team, and it is a wonderful feeling.

Here's my first round predictions:

Eastern Conference:
Washington over Montreal
New Jersey over Philadelphia
Buffalo over Boston
Pittsburgh over Ottawa

Western Conference:
San Jose over Colorado
Chicago over Nashville
Vancouver over Los Angeles
Detroit over Phoenix

And I predict New Jersey's Travis Zajac will win my John Druce Award for an unexpected breakout playoff performance.

Stanley Cup History: The Challenge Cup Years 1893-1913

In 1892 Lord Stanley of Preston, Queen Victoria's appointed Governor General of Canada, donated a silver punch bowl worth about $50 that would be called the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup. The trophy, soon and forever dubbed The Stanley Cup, was to be awarded to the top amateur hockey team in Canada, with challenge matches determining the champions.

Obviously a lot has changed over the years. We will get into that in good time, but for now I want to focus on "the Challenge Cup era."

Because there was so many different leagues in the late 1800s, and no dominant league, the only way to have a national champion was to have Stanley Cup trustees (originally Sheriff John Sweetland and Philip D. Ross of Ottawa were appointed) determine the worthy challenger against the reigning champion. It was also possible for a team in the same league as the Stanley Cup champion to become champion by winning the league title against the Cup champs. They would then have to defend their new title in the challenge match.

Let's take a look at the Stanley Cup's challenge era year-by-year history.

1892-93: Montreal AAA - The Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (also known as Montreal HC) were awarded the first Stanley Cup championship based on their first place finish in the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada. They had a 7-1 record, with their only serious competition coming from the high scoring Ottawa Generals at 6-2. Interestingly, Montreal HC wanted to be recognized as the Stanley Cup winner, and not the parent Montreal AAA. They even threatened to return the Cup.

GHL's MVP - Tom Paton

1893-94: Montreal AAA - The second season of play saw the AAA, Ottawa Capitals, Montreal Victorias and Quebec Hockey Club all tie with identical 5-3 records, forcing officials to come up with a playoff system to break the tie. Quebec withdrew, and as the only non-Montreal team Ottawa was given a bye into the Cup finals game. The AAA beat the Victorias 3-2 in the semi-final, then bested Ottawa 3-1 in the first ever Stanley Cup final.

GHL's MVP - Herbert Collins

1894-95: Montreal Victorias - The Stanley Cup stayed in Montreal in 1895, but it was Victorias who won as they posted a better record than the AAA. Yet they almost lost the title as Cup trustees had already accepted a challenge from Queen's University to play the AAA for the Stanley Cup. It was decided that if Queen's won, they would be named Stanley Cup champions, but if the AAA won, the Vics would keep the Cup. The AAA defeated Queen's 5-1 at Montreal's Victoria Rink on March 9th, 1895. Queen's had three disallowed goals due to confusion over the differing provincial off-side rules.

GHL's MVP - Mike Grant

1895-96: Winnipeg Victorias/Montreal Victorias: In a confusing set of challenge series, two teams nicknamed the Victorias traded the Stanley Cup back and forth. The Winnipeg Victorias successfully challenged the Montreal Victorias in February, 1896, winning 2-0 on Valentine's Day. Montreal won their league championship and the right to challenge Winnipeg in a rematch played on December 30th, 1896. Montreal edged Winnipeg in a wild 6-5 game.

GHL's MVPs - Whitey Merritt (Winnipeg), Mike Grant (Montreal)

1896-97: Montreal Victorias - The Vics were easily the class of hockey in 1897. They easily won their league title with a 7-1 record, they then humiliated Ottawa in the Stanley Cup challenge game 15-2. The challenge was intended to be a best of three showdown, but they cancelled the rest of the series after the lopsided win.

GHL's MVP - Mike Grant

1897-98 - Montreal Victorias - By 1898 the Victorias were so good that they coasted through the regular season with a perfect 8-0 record and no team in the country bothered to issue a challenge against them!

GHL's MVP - Cam Davidson

1898-99 - Montreal Shamrocks - The Stanley Cup challenge season opened with the Montreal Victorias successfully defending their title against their old namesakes from Winnipeg. Later in the year, though, the Vics surrendered the Cup to the cross-town Shamrocks who posted a better league record, thanks to a 1-0 win over the Vics before 8,000 fans. The Shamrocks later defended the Cup title against a challenging Queen's University team.

GHL's MVP - Jim McKenna

1899-90: Montreal Shamrocks - The Montrealers downed the challengers from Winnipeg 2 games to 1. The Victorias were alleged to have been offering financial incentives to their players, further highlighting the growing professionalism of hockey. Montreal also defeated a challenge from Halifax this season.

GHL's MVP - Harry Trihey

1900-01 - Winnipeg Victorias - Revenge was sought in the rematch as the Winnipegers knocked off the defending champions from Montreal with 2 straight wins, the second of which was incredibly exciting. Winnipeg also defeated the Toronto Wellingtons in another challenge that season. Interestingly though, hockey observers of the day did not consider Winnipeg or Montreal to be the best team in hockey that season. Instead they were impressed with the undefeated Ottawa Silver Seven, but they never issued a challenge for the Stanley Cup.

GHL's MVP - Tony Gingras

1901-02 - Montreal AAA - The Winnipeg Victorias, described as "rugged westerners," lost the Stanley Cup to Montreal in 1902, but not to the Shamrocks. The AAA, nicknamed the Winged Wheelers, won 2 games to 1. Interestingly, game 2, played on a Saturday night, had to be halted as midnight was struck. Hockey was not yet the official religion of Quebec, so the game was stopped to observe the day of rest.

GHL's MVP - Archie Hooper

1902-03 - Ottawa Silver Seven - The Montreal AAA never got to defend their title. As winners of the Canadian Amateur Hockey League Ottawa was selected to play for the Cup title against the challenging team from Rat Portage (now known as Kenora). Warm weather made the playing surface a real slush-fest.

GHL's MVP - Frank McGee

1903-04 - Ottawa Silver Seven - Ottawa embarked on a hockey dynasty after winning the Cup over Rat Portage. In total they would win 9 consecutive Stanley Cup challenges through December 1906. In the 1903-04 season they defeated Rat Portage again, the Montreal Victorias and a team from Brandon, Manitoba. Montreal issued another challenge, but the series never materialized as the teams could not agree where to play the games.

GHL's MVP - Frank McGee

1904-05 - Ottawa Silver Seven - Perhaps the most famous Stanley Cup challenge series came in 1905 when the unlikely challenge was granted to a team from Dawson City, Yukon. The Klondikers travelled by foot, bicycle, dogsled, train and steamship to get to Ottawa. After the long voyage the exhausted gold rushers were terribly outclassed, losing 9-2 and, amazingly, 23-2.

GHL's MVP - Frank McGee

1905-06 - Ottawa Silver Sevens - Two months after the Dawson City challenge, Rat Portage challenged Ottawa early in 1905. The Silver Seven punished the Thistles physically. Rat Portage player Bill McGimsie was so exhausted he collapsed in front of the goal and received a five minute penalty for obstructing the net.

GHL's MVP - Harry Smith

1906-07 - Montreal Wanderers/Kenora Thistles - The Wanderers of Montreal ended Ottawa's Stanley Cup reign, thanks to emergence of Lester Patrick as a hockey star. Two months later Montreal lost the Cup in a challenge by the Kenora Thistles, the newly renamed Rat Portage team. Montreal regained the championship in a rematch, and later defended their title again a team from New Glasgow. It was a busy year for the Wanderers.

GHL's MVP - Ernie Russell (Montreal), Tommy Phillips (Kenora)

1907-08 - Montreal Wanderers - Another busy but successful year ensued for Montreal. The Wanderers defeated challengers from Ottawa, Winnipeg and Toronto, who had a young Newsy Lalonde included on their team. The Wanderers faced one more challenge that year, defeating a controversial team from Edmonton. Controversy ensued because Edmonton only used one player from their actual club team. Instead they tried buying players for the challenge.

GHL's MVP - Art Ross

1908-09 - Ottawa Senators - A rule change saw the Stanley Cup awarded to the winners of the Eastern Canada Hockey Association. Ottawa's 10-2 record was better than Montreal's 9-3 record. Ottawa later played Galt in what was officially termed an exhibition. Edmonton challenged unsuccessful, while another western challenge, from Winnipeg, could not be arranged in time.

GHL's MVP - Hod Stuart

1909-10 - Montreal Wanderers - This was the first season of the NHA, National Hockey Association, the forerunner of the NHL. Since professionalism, be it admitted or poorly disguised, in hockey was undeniable, trustees decided to allow professional teams to openly play for the Stanley Cup. The NHA regular season champion would be awarded the Stanley Cup, with the Wanderers posting a better record than the defending champs from Ottawa. Montreal then successfully defended the Cup against Ontario champion Berlin (later renamed Kitchener).

GHL's MVP - Ernie Russell

1910-11 - Ottawa Senators - The Sens returned to win the NHA regular season with it the Stanley Cup. They defended their title first against Galt of the Ontario Professional Hockey League and then Port Arthur of the New Ontario League. Of note, this year saw the game change from two halves to three periods, so that the ice could be better cared for.

GHL's MVP - Marty Walsh

1911-12 - Quebec Bulldogs - Quebec won the NHA season, and for it not only were awarded the Stanley Cup but the newly minted O'Brien Cup. The O'Brien Cup, named after Ambrose O'Brien, was for the NHA championship, as the Stanley Cup could still be won by a rival league's team. Quebec defended the Stanley Cup against the Moncton Victorias in two games.

GHL's MVP - Jack MacDonald

1912-13 - Quebec Bulldogs - Quebec again took the NHA title, led by Phantom Joe Malone's 43 goals in 20 games. Sydney, Nova Scotia challenged for the Cup, but Malone exploded again for 9 goals in the first game. Quebec won the two game series by a combined score of 20-5. Quebec would lose a 3 game series against Victoria of the Patrick brother's newly formed western circuit Pacific Coast Hockey Association. But the Stanley Cup remained in Quebec as it was an exhibition series, not an official challenge.

GHL's MVP - Joe Malone