The 1943–44

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

season was the club's 35th

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

, 27th in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). The team would win the

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 ...

for the fifth time. Bill Durnan would join the club as its new goaltender and he won the

Vezina Trophy The Vezina Trophy ( ) is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the thirty-two List of NHL general managers, NHL general managers vote to dete ...

in his rookie season.

Offseason

At the Habs' training camp in 1943, Canadiens manager Tommy Gorman settled on Bill Durnan as his goalie. Durnan stated that he was happy as an amateur and happy with less money if it meant avoiding the stress of the professional game. On opening night, Durnan was not yet signed. Ten minutes before the first faceoff, he spoke with Gorman and reached a deal. Durnan signed the contract and played in the game. The result was a 2–2 draw with 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 ...

. The rookie netminder was a few months shy of his 27th birthday.

Regular season

Some of Durnan's teammates included the "Punch Line" of

Elmer Lach Elmer James Lach ( , January 22, 1918 – April 4, 2015) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 14 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). A Centre (ice hockey), centre, he was a member of the Pun ...

, Rocket Richard and

Toe Blake Joseph Hector "Toe" Blake (August 21, 1912 – May 17, 1995) was a Canadian ice hockey Player (game), player and Coach (ice hockey), coach in the National Hockey League (NHL). Blake played in the NHL from 1935 to 1948 with the Montreal Maroons a ...

. Durnan was a key element that took Montreal back to the

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 ...

after 13 years of frustration. Durnan led the league in games played, wins and goals-against average in the regular season.

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

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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 ...

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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 ...

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( 1943–44) , , 3–0–1 , - , 5, , W, , November 13, 1943, , 4–1 , , align="left",

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 ...

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( 1943–44) , , 5–0–1 , - , 7, , T, , November 16, 1943, , 2–2 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 5–0–2 , - , 8, , W, , November 18, 1943, , 5–2 , , align="left",

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 ...

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( 1943–44) , , 7–0–2 , - , 10, , W, , November 21, 1943, , 13–4 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 8–0–2 , - , 11, , W, , November 27, 1943, , 6–3 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 9–0–2 , - , 12, , T, , November 28, 1943, , 2–2 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 9–0–3 , - , - , 13, , W, , December 2, 1943, , 6–2 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 10–0–3 , - , 14, , W, , December 4, 1943, , 8–2 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 11–0–3 , - , 15, , L, , December 5, 1943, , 4–5 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 11–1–3 , - , 16, , L, , December 11, 1943, , 2–4 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 11–2–3 , - , 17, , W, , December 12, 1943, , 5–1 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 12–2–3 , - , 18, , W, , December 19, 1943, , 3–1 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 13–2–3 , - , 19, , W, , December 25, 1943, , 5–1 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 14–2–3 , - , 20, , W, , December 30, 1943, , 8–3 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 15–2–3 , - , - , 21, , W, , January 1, 1944, , 4–0 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 16–2–3 , - , 22, , W, , January 2, 1944, , 5–2 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 17–2–3 , - , 23, , W, , January 4, 1944, , 6–3 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 18–2–3 , - , 24, , W, , January 8, 1944, , 8–2 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 19–2–3 , - , 25, , W, , January 9, 1944, , 6–5 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 20–2–3 , - , 26, , L, , January 11, 1944, , 0–5 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 20–3–3 , - , 27, , T, , January 13, 1944, , 2–2 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 20–3–4 , - , 28, , T, , January 16, 1944, , 1–1 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 20–3–5 , - , 29, , W, , January 22, 1944, , 6–2 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 21–3–5 , - , 30, , W, , January 23, 1944, , 4–1 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 22–3–5 , - , 31, , T, , January 27, 1944, , 2–2 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 22–3–6 , - , 32, , W, , January 30, 1944, , 5–3 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 23–3–6 , - , - , 33, , W, , February 5, 1944, , 6–1 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 24–3–6 , - , 34, , L, , February 8, 1944, , 0–3 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 24–4–6 , - , 35, , W, , February 12, 1944, , 3–2 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 25–4–6 , - , 36, , T, , February 13, 1944, , 2–2 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 25–4–7 , - , 37, , W, , February 17, 1944, , 3–2 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 26–4–7 , - , 38, , W, , February 19, 1944, , 5–2 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 27–4–7 , - , 39, , W, , February 20, 1944, , 7–2 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 28–4–7 , - , 40, , W, , February 24, 1944, , 3–1 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 29–4–7 , - , 41, , W, , February 26, 1944, , 10–2 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 30–4–7 , - , 42, , W, , February 27, 1944, , 5–1 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 31–4–7 , - , - , 43, , W, , March 4, 1944, , 5–2 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 32–4–7 , - , 44, , W, , March 5, 1944, , 8–3 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 33–4–7 , - , 45, , W, , March 9, 1944, , 3–2 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 34–4–7 , - , 46, , W, , March 11, 1944, , 4–3 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 35–4–7 , - , 47, , L, , March 12, 1944, , 5–6 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 35–5–7 , - , 48, , W, , March 16, 1944, , 3–2 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 36–5–7 , - , 49, , W, , March 18, 1944, , 11–2 , , align="left",

( 1943–44) , , 37–5–7 , - , 50, , W, , March 19, 1944, , 6–1 , , align="left", @

( 1943–44) , , 38–5–7 , - , - , ''Legend'':

Playoffs

In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Durnan allowed only 1.53 goals per game as the Canadiens skated to the title. At season's end, Durnan was awarded the Vezina Trophy, the first rookie to win the award, and was selected to the league's First All-Star Team.

Semi-final: Montreal vs. Toronto

Rocket Richard scored seven goals in the series, including all five for Montreal in game two. After giving up the first game at home to Toronto, Montreal took over, winning the next four, finishing the series with an 11–0 shellacking in game five.

Stanley Cup Finals: Montreal vs. Chicago

Maurice 'Rocket' Richard made his Stanley Cup debut with a five-goal performance in the series, including a hat-trick in game two. The Punch Line of Richard, Elmer Lach and Toe Blake scored 10 of the Canadiens 16 goals. Blake scored the Cup winner in overtime. In the same overtime, Bill Durnan stopped the first penalty shot awarded in the finals, awarded to Virgil Johnson. Montreal won the best-of-seven series 4–0.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Goaltending

Playoffs

Scoring

Goaltending

Awards and records

* Bill Durnan,

*Bill Durnan, NHL First Team All-Star * Emile "Butch" Bouchard, Defence, NHL Second Team All-Star *

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, NHL Second Team All-Star *

Maurice Richard Joseph Henri Maurice "Rocket" Richard ( , ; August 4, 1921 – May 27, 2000) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens. He was the first player in NHL his ...

Right wing Right-wing politics is the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position b ...

, NHL Second Team All-Star * Dick Irvin, Coach, NHL First Team All-Star

Citations

References

Canadiens on Hockey Database
* {{DEFAULTSORT:1943-44 Montreal Canadiens Season Stanley Cup championship seasons Montreal Canadiens seasons

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Semi-final: Montreal vs. Toronto

Stanley Cup Finals: Montreal vs. Chicago

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Goaltending

Playoffs

Scoring

Goaltending

Awards and records

See also

Citations

References