1927-28 NHL season

The 1927-28 NHL season was the eleventh season of the National Hockey League. Ten teams played 44 games each. The New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup beating the Montreal Maroons becoming the first United States based team since the formation of the NHL to win it and first since the Seattle Metropolitans won in 1917. This season saw the reintroduction of the O'Brien Trophy, which used to go to the NHL league champion. It was originally retired in favour of the Prince of Wales Trophy. The reintroduced O'Brien Trophy went to the winner of the Canadian Division while the Prince of Wales Trophy went to the winner of the American division.

Regular season

The Ottawa Senators, by far the smallest market in the league,were affected by franchises in the U.S. and, thus, escalating salaries, and were in financial trouble as a result and requested a bigger road receipt from the other teams. They also sold their star right wing Hooley Smith to the Montreal Maroons for $22,500 plus the return of right wing Punch Broadbent, followed by the sale of defenceman Ed Gorman to Toronto. Part of the problem was that fans in Ottawa tended to only attend games with Canadian opponents.

Howie Morenz, the NHL's top drawing card, dominated the scoring race and was runaway winner of the Hart Trophy. He scored 33 goals and led the league in assists as well. Despite Ottawa's financial difficulties, Alex Connell, Ottawa goalkeeper, set an all-time record with six consecutive shutouts or a period of 460 minutes and 59 seconds without being scored on.

Thanks to the great play of Eddie Shore and goaltender Hal Winkler, who tied with Connell for the leader in shutouts with 15, the Boston Bruins finished first for the first time in the American Division, while the Canadiens, who were running away with the Canadian Division at mid-season, slumped after an injury to Pit Lepine but managed to hold onto first place at season's end.

Final standings

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold

Canadian Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Montreal Canadiens	44	26	11	7	59	116	48	496
Montreal Maroons	44	24	14	6	54	96	77	549
Ottawa Senators	44	20	14	10	50	78	57	483
Toronto Maple Leafs	44	18	18	8	44	89	88	436
New York Americans	44	11	27	6	28	63	128	563

American Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Boston Bruins	44	20	13	11	51	77	70	558
New York Rangers	44	19	16	9	47	94	79	462
Pittsburgh Pirates	44	19	17	8	46	67	76	395
Detroit Cougars	44	19	19	6	44	79	44	395
Chicago Black Hawks	44	7	34	3	17	68	134	375

Leading Scorers

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Howie Morenz	Montreal Canadiens	43	33	18	51
Aurel Joliat	Montreal Canadiens	44	28	11	39
Frank Boucher	New York Rangers	44	23	12	35
George Hay	Detroit Cougars	42	22	13	35
Nels Stewart	Montreal Maroons	41	27	7	34
Art Gagne	Montreal Canadiens	44	20	10	30
Bun Cook	New York Rangers	44	14	14	28
Bill Carson	Toronto Maple Leafs	32	20	6	26
Frank Finnigan	Ottawa Senators	38	20	5	25
Bill Cook	New York Rangers	43	18	6	24
Duke Keats	Detroit/Chicago	38	14	10	24

Leading Goaltenders

Stanley Cup playoffs

In the Canadian Division,the Montreal Maroons beat the Ottawa Senators and then went to the pulsating limit against the Canadiens before Russell Oatman put the Maroons into the finals with a goal in overtime.

In the American Division, the New York Rangers knocked off the Pittsburgh Pirates in a rough series, and then beat Boston to go to the finals against the Montreal Maroons. The circus knocked the Rangers out of Madison Square Garden, and all games would be played in the Montreal Forum. The Maroons won game one 2-0, with Nels Stewart and goaltender Clint Benedict the stars. Drama took over in game two when Nels Stewart fired a hard shot that struck New York goaltender Lorne Chabot in the eye. He could not continue, and the Rangers needed a goaltender. However, when coach Eddie Gerard refused to let the Rangers use Alex Connell or minor league goaltender Hugh McCormick, Lester Patrick, Ranger coach, in anger, decided to don the pads himself. The Rangers then body-blasted any Maroon who got near Patrick. Bill Cook scored, putting the Rangers ahead 1-0, but Nels Stewart was not to be denied and scored,tying the game. In overtime, Frank Boucher got the winner for the Rangers and they carried Patrick, tears streaming down his eyes, off the ice. Joe "Red Light" Miller, New York Americans goalie, was allowed to take Chabot's place in goal and he played well in a 2-0 loss in game three. However, Frank Boucher starred as the Rangers took the next two games, and the Stanley Cup. Drama almost took place in the final game when Miller was badly cut on a shot, but he was able to continue. The crowd became unruly at times and referee Mike Rodden took abuse for disallowed goals by Maroon players. Even NHL president Frank Calder was a target of some fans for not intervening. The Rangers became the second American team to win the Cup and the first NHL American team to do so.

Playoff bracket

NHL awards

O'Brien Trophy:	Montreal Canadiens
Prince of Wales Trophy:	Boston Bruins
Hart Memorial Trophy:	Howie Morenz, Montreal Canadiens
Lady Byng Trophy:	Frank Boucher, New York Rangers
Vezina Trophy:	George Hainsworth, Montreal Canadiens

References

NHL 1927/28

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