The 1951 Stanley Cup Finals was contested by the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

and the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. The Maple Leafs won the series 4–1, with all five games going into overtime. It was the Toronto franchise's ninth Stanley Cup win and the last in a series of six wins starting in

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...

. It was the first appearance in a string of ten consecutive appearances by the Canadiens.

Paths to the Finals

Toronto defeated the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

4–1 to reach the Finals. Montreal defeated the defending champion Detroit Red Wings 4–2 to reach the Finals.

Game summaries

Every game went into overtime in this series.

Bill Barilko William "Bashin' Bill" Barilko (March 25, 1927 – ) was a Canadian ice hockey player who played his entire National Hockey League career for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Over five seasons, Barilko won the Stanley Cup four times in 1947, 1948, 1949, a ...

scored the Cup-winning goal, his last goal in the NHL as he would die in a plane crash during the summer.

Stanley Cup engraving

The 1951 Stanley Cup was presented to Maple Leafs captain Ted Kennedy by NHL President

Clarence Campbell Clarence Sutherland Campbell, (July 9, 1905 – June 24, 1984) was a Canadian ice hockey executive, referee, and soldier. He refereed in the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 1930s, served in the Canadian Army during World War II, th ...

following the Maple Leafs 3–2 overtime win over the Canadiens in game five. The following Maple Leafs players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup 1950–51 Toronto Maple Leafs

Engraving mistakes

Several mistakes happened in the engraving of the names: * Gus Mortson's last name was misspelled WORTSON with a "W" instead a "M". * Danny Lewicki's last name was misspelled LEWESKI, with a "S" instead of a "C". * Ted Kennedy's name was misspelled KENNEDYY with an extra "Y". His position as Captain was also left off the Stanley Cup. * William A. H. MacBrien's last name was misspelled as McBrien, missing an "A" * Elwin "Al" Rollins' first name was misspelled ELVIN with a "V" instead a "W". The Rollins mistake was not corrected on the Replica Cup created in 1992–93. The other 4 mistakes were corrected on the Replica Cup.

Members of Toronto Maple Leafs that won 4 cups in 5 years 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951 dynasty

Bill Barilko, Turk Broda, Ted Kennedy†, Joe Klukay, Howie Meeker, Gus Mortson, Jimmy Thomson, Harry Watson (8 players), Ed Bickle†, John Bickell†, Conn Smythe†, John Mordoch†, William MacBrien†, Hap Day†, Tim Daly†, George Walker, Ed Finkin, Horance McIntre (10 non-players). † also won the Stanley Cup in 1945.

Notes

References

* * * {{Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup Stanley Cup Finals Stanley Cup Finals Sports competitions in Toronto Sports competitions in Montreal Stanley Cup Finals 1950s in Montreal 1951 in Quebec 1950s in Toronto