1955 Stanley Cup Final
The 1955 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's 1954–55 season, and the culmination of the 1955 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Montreal Canadiens, appearing in their fifth of ten straight Finals, and the defending champion [1954–55 1954–55 Detroit Red Wings season|Detroit Red Wings season|Detroit Red Wings], in the third Detroit-Montreal Finals series of the 1950s and the second consecutively. The Red Wings once again defeated the Canadiens in seven games for their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship, fourth in six seasons, and seventh overall. The Red Wings would not win the Stanley Cup again until, and as of, remains the last time they won Game 7 of the Finals. It also marked the last time that a U.S.-based team defeated a Canada-based team in the championship round until.
As of, 1955 remains the only year in which the Stanley Cup Final, NBA Finals, and World Series all went the full seven games.
Paths to the Finals
Montreal defeated the Boston Bruins in five games to reach the Finals. Detroit defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in four games to reach the Finals.Game summaries
Prior to the playoffs, Montreal's Maurice Richard was suspended and would be missed by the Canadiens.In the second game, Ted Lindsay scored four goals to set an NHL record for most goals in one game in a Finals series.
Gordie Howe set two NHL records, amassing 12 points in this round, and surpassing former Canadiens player Toe Blake's point mark for the playoffs with 20 points in 11 games.
This was also the first Finals in which the home team won all seven games of the series, a feat that would be repeated only twice in the next 50 years, in and .
Stanley Cup engraving
The 1955 Stanley Cup was presented to Red Wings captain Ted Lindsay by NHL President Clarence Campbell following the Red Wings' 3–1 win over the Canadiens in game seven.The following Red Wings players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup:
'''1954–55 Detroit Red Wings'''
Members of Detroit Red Wings Dynasty 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955
Gordie Howe, Red Kelly, Ted Lindsay, Marty Pavelich, Marcel Pronovost, John Wilson, Jack Adams, Carl Mattson, Fred Hubert Jr..Aftermath
The next year, the Red Wings again met the Canadiens in the Finals in the hopes of a three-peat, but Montreal would get revenge on Detroit, winning the Cup in five games. The Canadiens then started a dynasty, winning the Stanley Cup the next four years, in 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1960.The loss marked the end of the Red Wings’ dynasty. The Red Wings would return to the Finals in 1961, 1963, 1964, and 1966, but they would lose each one. They then entered a near 20 year slump known as the "Dead Wings" era, in which they would only make the playoffs twice between 1967 and 1983. The Red Wings would not win the Stanley Cup again until 1997, in which they swept the Philadelphia Flyers, starting another dynasty.