1926-27 NHL season facts for kids
The 1926–27 NHL season was a super exciting time for ice hockey! It was the tenth season for the National Hockey League (NHL). This year was special because it was the first time only NHL teams competed for the Stanley Cup. Before this, teams from other leagues also played for the Cup. The season featured 10 teams, split into two groups: the Canadian Division and the American Division.
Contents
Regular Season Highlights
The regular season is where teams play many games to see who is the best. Teams earn points for winning or tying games. The best teams then get to go to the playoffs!
Team Standings: Who Made the Playoffs?
Here's how the teams finished in their divisions. The teams in bold made it to the playoffs!
Canadian Division Teams
| Team Name | GP | W | L | T | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa Senators | 44 | 30 | 10 | 4 | 64 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 44 | 28 | 14 | 2 | 58 |
| Montreal Maroons | 44 | 20 | 20 | 4 | 44 |
| New York Americans | 44 | 17 | 25 | 2 | 36 |
| Toronto St. Patricks | 44 | 15 | 24 | 5 | 35 |
- GP means Games Played.
- W means Wins.
- L means Losses.
- T means Ties (when a game ends with both teams having the same score).
- Pts means Points (2 points for a win, 1 for a tie).
American Division Teams
| Team Name | GP | W | L | T | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Rangers | 44 | 25 | 13 | 6 | 56 |
| Boston Bruins | 44 | 21 | 20 | 3 | 45 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 44 | 19 | 22 | 3 | 41 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 44 | 15 | 26 | 3 | 33 |
| Detroit Cougars | 44 | 12 | 28 | 4 | 28 |
Top Scorers: Who Scored the Most Goals?
These players were the best at scoring points during the regular season.
- G means Goals.
- A means Assists (helping a teammate score a goal).
- Pts means Points (Goals + Assists).
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Cook | New York Rangers | 44 | 33 | 4 | 37 |
| Dick Irvin | Chicago Black Hawks | 43 | 18 | 18 | 36 |
| Howie Morenz | Montreal Canadiens | 44 | 25 | 7 | 32 |
| Frank Fredrickson | Detroit Cougars / Boston Bruins | 44 | 18 | 13 | 31 |
| Babe Dye | Chicago Black Hawks | 41 | 25 | 5 | 30 |
Best Goalies: Who Let in the Fewest Goals?
Goalies are super important! These players were the best at stopping pucks from going into their net.
- GA means Goals Against (how many goals were scored on them).
- SO means Shutouts (when a goalie doesn't let any goals in during a whole game).
- AVG means Goals Against Average (how many goals they let in per game on average).
| Player | Team | GP | GA | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clint Benedict | Montreal Maroons | 43 | 65 | 13 | 1.42 |
| Lorne Chabot | New York Rangers | 36 | 56 | 10 | 1.46 |
| George Hainsworth | Montreal Canadiens | 44 | 67 | 14 | 1.47 |
| Alex Connell | Ottawa Senators | 44 | 69 | 13 | 1.49 |
| Hal Winkler | New York Rangers / Boston Bruins | 31 | 56 | 6 | 1.72 |
Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Road to the Championship
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are where the top teams from the regular season battle it out. They play a series of games, and the team that wins the most games (or scores the most goals in early rounds) moves on. The final winner gets to lift the famous Stanley Cup!
Playoff Journey
This bracket shows how the teams played against each other to reach the finals.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||
| C1 | Ottawa Senators | 5G | |||||||||||
| Canadian Division | |||||||||||||
| C2 | Montreal Canadiens | 1G | |||||||||||
| C2 | Montreal Canadiens | 2G | |||||||||||
| C3 | Montreal Maroons | 1G | |||||||||||
| C1 | Ottawa Senators | 2 | |||||||||||
| A2 | Boston Bruins | 0 | |||||||||||
| A1 | New York Rangers | 1G | |||||||||||
| American Division | |||||||||||||
| A2 | Boston Bruins | 3G | |||||||||||
| A2 | Boston Bruins | 10G | |||||||||||
| A3 | Chicago Black Hawks | 5G | |||||||||||
All playoff games happened in 1927.
Quarterfinals: First Round of Playoff Action
In the quarterfinals, teams played "total-goals series." This means the team that scored more goals over two games won the series.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Montreal Maroons
The Canadiens won this exciting series!
| Date | Away Team | Score | Home Team | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 29 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | Montreal Maroons | 1 | |
| March 31 | Montreal Maroons | 0 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | (Overtime) |
The Montreal Canadiens won the series by scoring 2 goals to the Maroons' 1 goal.
Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Black Hawks
The Bruins showed their strength in this round!
| Date | Away Team | Score | Home Team | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 29 | Boston Bruins | 6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1 | Played in New York |
| March 31 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4 | Boston Bruins | 4 |
The Boston Bruins won the series by scoring 10 goals to the Black Hawks' 5 goals.
Semifinals: Getting Closer to the Cup!
The winners from the quarterfinals moved on to the semifinals. These were also total-goals series.
Ottawa Senators vs. Montreal Canadiens
The Senators proved to be too strong for the Canadiens.
| Date | Away Team | Score | Home Team | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2 | Ottawa Senators | 4 | Montreal Canadiens | 0 | |
| April 4 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | Ottawa Senators | 1 |
The Ottawa Senators won the series by scoring 5 goals to the Canadiens' 1 goal.
New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins
The Bruins continued their winning streak!
| Date | Away Team | Score | Home Team | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2 | New York Rangers | 0 | Boston Bruins | 0 | |
| April 4 | Boston Bruins | 3 | New York Rangers | 1 |
The Boston Bruins won the series by scoring 3 goals to the Rangers' 1 goal.
Finals: The Stanley Cup Showdown!
The two best teams faced off for the Stanley Cup! This was a "best-of-five" series, meaning the first team to win 3 games would be the champion.
Boston Bruins vs. Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators won the Stanley Cup!
| Date | Away Team | Score | Home Team | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 7 | Ottawa Senators | 0 | Boston Bruins | 0 | (Overtime) |
| April 9 | Ottawa Senators | 3 | Boston Bruins | 1 | |
| April 11 | Boston Bruins | 1 | Ottawa Senators | 1 | (Overtime) |
| April 13 | Boston Bruins | 1 | Ottawa Senators | 3 |
The Ottawa Senators won the series 2 games to 0, with 2 ties, to become the Stanley Cup Champions!
Top Playoff Scorers
These players scored the most points during the exciting playoff games.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Oliver | Boston Bruins | 8 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Percy Galbraith | Boston Bruins | 8 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
NHL Awards: Recognizing Greatness
At the end of the season, special awards are given to players and teams for their amazing achievements.
| 1926–27 NHL Awards | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Wales Trophy: | Ottawa Senators |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: | Herb Gardiner, Montreal Canadiens |
| Lady Byng Trophy: | Billy Burch, New York Americans |
| Vezina Trophy: | George Hainsworth, Montreal Canadiens |
- The Prince of Wales Trophy goes to the champion of the American Division.
- The Hart Memorial Trophy is for the most valuable player to his team.
- The Lady Byng Trophy is for the player who shows the best sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.
- The Vezina Trophy is for the best goalie.
New Faces in the NHL
Many talented players played their very first NHL game during the 1926–27 season. Here are some of them:
- Percy Galbraith, Boston Bruins
- Eddie Shore, Boston Bruins
- Harry Oliver, Boston Bruins
- Duke Keats, Boston Bruins
- George Hay, Chicago Black Hawks
- Mickey MacKay, Chicago Black Hawks
- Dick Irvin, Chicago Black Hawks
- Frank Foyston, Detroit Cougars
- Jack Walker, Detroit Cougars
- Frank Fredrickson, Detroit Cougars
- George Hainsworth, Montreal Canadiens
- Art Gagne, Montreal Canadiens
- Herb Gardiner, Montreal Canadiens
- Hap Emms, Montreal Maroons
- Red Dutton, Montreal Maroons
- Norman Himes, New York Americans
- Paul Thompson, New York Rangers
- Bill Cook, New York Rangers
- Bun Cook, New York Rangers
- Murray Murdoch, New York Rangers
- Lorne Chabot, New York Rangers
- Clarence Abel, New York Rangers
- Ching Johnson, New York Rangers
- Ace Bailey, Toronto St. Patricks
- Butch Keeling, Toronto St. Patricks
- Carl Voss, Toronto St. Patricks
