1941–42 NHL season facts for kids
The 1941–42 NHL season was the 25th season for the National Hockey League. Seven teams played 48 games each. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup this year. They beat the Detroit Red Wings in an amazing comeback. The Maple Leafs lost the first three games of the best-of-seven series. Then, they won four games in a row! This was a very rare achievement in NHL history.
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Regular Season Fun Facts
The regular season is when all the teams play against each other. They want to earn enough points to make it to the playoffs.
Final Standings
Here's how the teams finished in the regular season:
| National Hockey League | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Rangers | 48 | 29 | 17 | 2 | 60 | 177 | 143 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 57 | 158 | 136 |
| Boston Bruins | 48 | 25 | 17 | 6 | 56 | 160 | 118 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 22 | 23 | 3 | 47 | 145 | 155 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 19 | 25 | 4 | 42 | 140 | 147 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 18 | 27 | 3 | 39 | 134 | 173 |
| Brooklyn Americans | 48 | 16 | 29 | 3 | 35 | 133 | 175 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
- Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
Top Scorers
These players scored the most points during the season. Points are given for goals and assists. Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| PLAYER | TEAM | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Hextall | New York Rangers | 48 | 24 | 32 | 56 | 30 |
| Lynn Patrick | New York Rangers | 47 | 32 | 22 | 54 | 18 |
| Don Grosso | Detroit Red Wings | 45 | 23 | 30 | 53 | 13 |
| Phil Watson | New York Rangers | 48 | 15 | 37 | 52 | 58 |
| Sid Abel | Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 18 | 31 | 49 | 45 |
| Toe Blake | Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 29 |
| Bill Thoms | Chicago Black Hawks | 47 | 15 | 30 | 45 | 8 |
| Gordie Drillon | Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 23 | 18 | 41 | 6 |
| Syl Apps | Toronto Maple Leafs | 38 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 0 |
| Tommy Anderson | Brooklyn Americans | 48 | 12 | 29 | 41 | 64 |
Best Goaltenders
These goalies were the best at stopping pucks from going into their net. A lower Goals Against Average (GAA) means they let in fewer goals per game. Note: GP = Games played; Min - Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
| Player | Team | GP | MIN | GA | GAA | W | L | T | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Brimsek | Boston Bruins | 47 | 2930 | 115 | 2.35 | 24 | 17 | 6 | 3 |
| Turk Broda | Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 2960 | 136 | 2.76 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 6 |
| Jim Henry | New York Rangers | 48 | 2960 | 143 | 2.90 | 29 | 17 | 2 | 1 |
| Johnny Mowers | Detroit Red Wings | 47 | 2880 | 144 | 3.00 | 19 | 25 | 3 | 5 |
| Sam LoPresti | Chicago Black Hawks | 47 | 2860 | 152 | 3.19 | 21 | 23 | 3 | 3 |
| Paul Bibeault | Montreal Canadiens | 38 | 2380 | 131 | 3.30 | 17 | 19 | 2 | 1 |
| Chuck Rayner | N.Y. Americans | 36 | 2380 | 129 | 3.47 | 13 | 21 | 2 | 1 |
| Earl Robertson | N.Y. Americans | 12 | 750 | 46 | 3.68 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| Bert Gardiner | Montreal Canadiens | 10 | 620 | 42 | 4.06 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
Playoffs: The Road to the Cup
The playoffs are exciting knockout rounds after the regular season. Teams play a series of games, and the first team to win a certain number of games moves on. All these games happened in 1942.
Playoff Bracket
This chart shows how the teams moved through the playoffs:
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Stanley Cup Final | |||||||||||
| 1 | New York Rangers | 2 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 3 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 2 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 0 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 2 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 2 | |||||||||||
| 6 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | |||||||||||
Quarter-finals
The first round of the playoffs. Teams played a best-of-three series.
Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Black Hawks The Boston Bruins won this series 2 games to 1.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 22 | Boston | 2 | Chicago | 1 | OT |
| March 24 | Chicago | 4 | Boston | 0 | |
| March 26 | Chicago | 2 | Boston | 3 |
Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Canadiens The Detroit Red Wings won this series 2 games to 1.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 22 | Montreal | 1 | Detroit | 2 | |
| March 24 | Detroit | 0 | Montreal | 5 | |
| March 26 | Montreal | 2 | Detroit | 6 |
Semi-finals
The next round of the playoffs.
New York Rangers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs won this series 4 games to 2.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 21 | New York | 1 | Toronto | 3 | |
| March 22 | Toronto | 4 | New York | 2 | |
| March 24 | Toronto | 0 | New York | 3 | |
| March 28 | New York | 1 | Toronto | 2 | |
| March 29 | Toronto | 1 | New York | 3 | |
| March 31 | New York | 2 | Toronto | 3 |
Boston Bruins vs. Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings won this series 2 games to 0.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 29 | Detroit | 6 | Boston | 4 | |
| March 31 | Boston | 1 | Detroit | 3 |
The Stanley Cup Final
This was the championship series! The Toronto Maple Leafs played the Detroit Red Wings.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup by beating the Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 3. They made an incredible comeback after losing the first three games!
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 4 | Detroit | 3 | Toronto | 2 | |
| April 7 | Detroit | 4 | Toronto | 2 | |
| April 9 | Toronto | 2 | Detroit | 5 | |
| April 12 | Toronto | 4 | Detroit | 3 | |
| April 14 | Detroit | 3 | Toronto | 9 | |
| April 16 | Toronto | 3 | Detroit | 0 | |
| April 18 | Detroit | 1 | Toronto | 3 |
NHL Awards
At the end of the season, special awards are given to players and teams for their great performance.
| Calder Trophy: | Grant Warwick, New York Rangers |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: | Tommy Anderson, Brooklyn Americans |
| Lady Byng Trophy: | Syl Apps, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| O'Brien Cup: | Detroit Red Wings |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: | New York Rangers |
| Vezina Trophy: | Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins |
All-Star Teams
The All-Star teams are like dream teams made up of the best players at each position from the whole league.
| First team | Position | Second team |
|---|---|---|
| Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins | G | Turk Broda, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Earl Seibert, Chicago Black Hawks | D | Pat Egan, Brooklyn Americans |
| Tommy Anderson, Brooklyn Americans | D | Bucko McDonald, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Syl Apps, Toronto Maple Leafs | C | Phil Watson, New York Rangers |
| Bryan Hextall, New York Rangers | RW | Gordie Drillon, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Lynn Patrick, New York Rangers | LW | Sid Abel, Detroit Red Wings |
| Frank Boucher, New York Rangers | Coach | Paul Thompson, Chicago Black Hawks |
