The 1940 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven series between the

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

and 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. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

. New York would win the series 4–2 to win their third

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () 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, and the International Ic ...

. The Rangers would not win another for 54 years, a circumstance termed the

Curse of 1940 The Curse of 1940, also called Dutton's Curse, was a superstitious explanation for why the National Hockey League's (NHL) New York Rangers did not win the league's championship trophy, the Stanley Cup, from 1940 through 1994. Popular theories ...

Paths to the Finals

New York 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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

in a best-of-seven 4–2 to advance to the Finals. The Maple Leafs had to play two best-of three series; winning 2–0 against the

Chicago Black Hawks Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and 2–0 against the

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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

to advance to the Finals.

Game summaries

The Final series between the Rangers and the Maple Leafs was an exciting one that went back and forth with three

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

games. The Rangers took the first two at home and the Leafs took the next two in Toronto. The circus forced the Rangers to vacate

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

after the first two games. The Rangers would score three game-winning goals in overtime including the Cup winner. Lynn and Murray Patrick played for the Rangers to become the third and fourth members of the Patrick family to win the Stanley Cup.

Stanley Cup engraving

The 1940 Stanley Cup was presented to Rangers captain Art Coulter by NHL President

Frank Calder Frank Sellick Calder (November 17, 1877 – February 4, 1943) was a British-born Canadian ice hockey executive, journalist, and athlete. Calder was the first president of the National Hockey League (NHL), from 1917 until his death in 1943. He ...

following the Rangers 3–2 overtime win over the Maple Leafs in game six. The following Rangers players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup 1939–40 New York Rangers

References and notes

Notes

References

* * {{1939–40 NHL season by team Stanley Cup Finals″ Stanley Cup Finals New York Rangers games Toronto Maple Leafs games

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...