The 1956 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

's (NHL) 1955–56 season, and the culmination of the

1956 Stanley Cup playoffs Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

. It was contested between 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 ...

and the two-time defending champion

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and are ...

in the fourth Detroit-Montreal series in the 1950s, the two teams having met in the previous two years as well as in ; Detroit won all three. The Canadiens were appearing in their sixth consecutive Finals, the Red Wings their third. The Canadiens won the series, four games to one.

Paths to the Finals

Montreal defeated the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

4–1 to reach the final. Detroit defeated 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 ...

4–1 to reach the final.

Game summaries

The Canadiens, down 4–2 after two periods, scored four unanswered goals, in a 5:29 span, in the third period to win game one 6–4 at the Forum.

Jacques Plante Joseph Jacques Omer Plante (; January 17, 1929 – February 27, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947 to 1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey. He played ...

held the Red Wings to just ten goals in the five games. This was the first Final for

Henri Richard Joseph Henri Richard (February 29, 1936 – March 6, 2020) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played centre with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1955 to 1975. He was nicknamed "Pocket Rocket" aft ...

and former Habs player Toe Blake's first Final as coach.

Stanley Cup engraving

The 1956 Stanley Cup was presented to Canadiens captain Emile Bouchard 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 Canadiens 3–1 win over the Red Wings in game five. The following Canadiens players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup 1955–56 Montreal Canadiens

Stanley Cup engraving

* Emile "Butch" Bouchard was engraved on the Stanley Cup in 1944, 1946 and 1953 as EMILE BOUCHARD. He was then engraved on the Stanley Cup as BUTCH BOUCHARD in 1956. * In a mistake, Bob Turner is listed as Trainer when the Stanley Cup was redone in 1957–58, but he played defence. Hector Dubois and Gaston Bettez were the trainers, but no position was listed. These mistakes were not corrected on the Replica Cup created in 1992–93. * In a mistake, Claude Provost's name was misspelt C. PREVOST with an "E" instead of an "O". Provost spelling mistake was also not corrected on the Replica Cup created in 1992–93. * In a mistake, Gaston Bettez was spelt wrong as G BETTEX when the Cup was redone in 1957–58 with an "X" instead of "Z", and the mistake was repeated on the Replica Cup. His name was spelt correctly on the original ring as G. BETTEZ. * Hector "Toe" Blake was the ninth rookie coach to win the Stanley Cup. * The 1956 Montreal Canadiens filled the last spot on the Stanley Cup. (See

1958 Stanley Cup Finals The 1958 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1957–58 season, and the culmination of the 1958 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the two-time defending champion Montreal Canadiens a ...

change)

Notes

References

* * Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). ''Lord Stanley's Cup''. Bolton, Ont.: Fenn Pub. pp 12, 50. * {{Navboxes , list1= {{Stanley Cup Finals {{1955–56 NHL season by team {{Detroit Red Wings {{Montreal Canadiens {{Hockey Night in Canada

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

Stanley Cup Finals Detroit Red Wings games Montreal Canadiens games Sports competitions in Montreal Sports competitions in Detroit March 1956 sports events in North America April 1956 sports events in North America 1950s in Montreal 1956 in Quebec

1956 in Detroit

Paths to the Finals

Game summaries

Stanley Cup engraving

Stanley Cup engraving

See also

Notes

References