# 1943–44 Chicago Black Hawks season

The 1943–44 Chicago Black Hawks season was the team's 18th season in the NHL, and they were coming off a 5th-place finish in 1942–43, failing to qualify for the playoffs.
The Black Hawks would once again finish just under .500, with a 22–23–5 record, good for 49 points, and 4th place in the NHL. The Hawks 178 goals would rank them just ahead of the New York Rangers for 5th in the league, while the 187 goals they let in ranked 4th. The team would qualify for the playoffs, as they would have 6 more points than the 5th place Boston Bruins.
Doug Bentley would have another huge season, breaking the Black Hawks record for points in a season, which he set in the 1942–43 season, by earning 77 points, along with a club record 38 goals, which led the NHL. Clint Smith, who the Black Hawks acquired from the Rangers in the off-season, would set a club record with 49 assists, and win the Lady Byng Trophy. Bill Mosienko would have a break out season with 32 goals and 70 points. Earl Seibert would anchor the defense, leading all defensemen with 33 points and had a team high 40 penalty minutes.
In goal, the Hawks would begin the season with Hec Highton in goal, however, after a 10–14–0 start, and a GAA of 4.50, the Hawks would trade him to the Providence Reds of the American Hockey League for former Hawks goaltender Mike Karakas. Karakas would put together a 12–9–5 record with a 3.04 GAA, helping Chicago clinch the final playoff spot.
The Black Hawks would have a first-round playoff date with the second place Detroit Red Wings, who finished 9 points better than Chicago in the regular season, in a best-of-seven series. The Hawks and Wings would split the opening two games in Detroit, and Chicago would take a 2–1 series lead by shutting out the Red Wings in game three. The Black Hawks would dominate game four, winning 7–1 and take a commanding 3–1 series lead. Chicago would then complete the upset in game five, defeating the Wings 5–2 in Detroit, and earn a spot in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1938. Their opponent would be the Montreal Canadiens, who dominated the NHL with 83 points, 34 points better than the Hawks in the regular season. Chicago would prove to be no match for the powerful Canadiens, as they would sweep the Black Hawks, including a Stanley Cup clinching win in overtime in the 4th game, to win the 1944 Stanley Cup.

## Season standings

National Hockey League vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 50 | 38 | 5 | 7 | 234 | 109 | +125 | 83 |
| 2 | Detroit Red Wings | 50 | 26 | 18 | 6 | 214 | 177 | +37 | 58 |
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 50 | 23 | 23 | 4 | 214 | 174 | +40 | 50 |
| 4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 50 | 22 | 23 | 5 | 178 | 187 | −9 | 49 |
| 5 | Boston Bruins | 50 | 19 | 26 | 5 | 223 | 268 | −45 | 43 |
| 6 | New York Rangers | 50 | 6 | 39 | 5 | 162 | 310 | −148 | 17 |

### Record vs. opponents

1943–44 NHL Records :
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYR | TOR |
| Boston | — | 5–5 | 1–7–2 | 3–5–2 | 7–2–1 | 3–7 |
| Chicago | 5–5 | — | 5–5 | 0–8–2 | 7–1–2 | 5–4–1 |
| Detroit | 7–1–2 | 5–5 | — | 0–9–1 | 8–1–1 | 6–2–2 |
| Montreal | 5–3–2 | 8–0–2 | 9–0–1 | — | 9–0–1 | 7–2–1 |
| New York | 2–7–1 | 1–7–2 | 1–8–1 | 0–9–1 | — | 2–8 |
| Toronto | 7–3 | 4–5–1 | 2–6–2 | 2–7–1 | 8–2 | — |

## Game log
### Regular season

| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record | Pts |
| 1 | October 31 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4–1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 0–1–0 | 0 |
| 2 | November 4 | Montreal Canadiens | 5–3 | Chicago Black Hawks | 0–2–0 | 0 |
| 3 | November 6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–3 | New York Rangers | 1–2–0 | 2 |
| 4 | November 7 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–5 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–3–0 | 2 |
| 5 | November 11 | Boston Bruins | 4–6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–3–0 | 4 |
| 6 | November 13 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–3–0 | 6 |
| 7 | November 14 | New York Rangers | 5–10 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–3–0 | 8 |
| 8 | November 18 | Boston Bruins | 3–7 | Chicago Black Hawks | 5–3–0 | 10 |
| 9 | November 21 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–5 | Detroit Red Wings | 5–4–0 | 10 |
| 10 | November 25 | Detroit Red Wings | 3–4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 6–4–0 | 12 |
| 11 | November 28 | Boston Bruins | 4–5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 7–4–0 | 14 |
| 12 | November 30 | Chicago Black Hawks | 5–6 | Boston Bruins | 7–5–0 | 14 |
| 13 | December 2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–6 | Montreal Canadiens | 7–6–0 | 14 |
| 14 | December 5 | New York Rangers | 6–7 | Chicago Black Hawks | 8–6–0 | 16 |
| 15 | December 12 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–3 | Chicago Black Hawks | 9–6–0 | 18 |
| 16 | December 14 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–4 | Boston Bruins | 9–7–0 | 18 |
| 17 | December 18 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–8 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 9–8–0 | 18 |
| 18 | December 19 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 5–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 9–9–0 | 18 |
| 19 | December 22 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–7 | Chicago Black Hawks | 10–9–0 | 20 |
| 20 | December 25 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–5 | Montreal Canadiens | 10–10–0 | 20 |
| 21 | December 26 | Chicago Black Hawks | 6–7 | New York Rangers | 10–11–0 | 20 |
| 22 | January 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–0 | Chicago Black Hawks | 10–12–0 | 20 |
| 23 | January 4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–6 | Boston Bruins | 10–13–0 | 20 |
| 24 | January 6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 10–14–0 | 20 |
| 25 | January 9 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–4 | Detroit Red Wings | 10–15–0 | 20 |
| 26 | January 13 | Chicago Black Hawks | 5–2 | New York Rangers | 11–15–0 | 22 |
| 27 | January 16 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 11–15–1 | 23 |
| 28 | January 20 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–4 | Detroit Red Wings | 11–16–1 | 23 |
| 29 | January 23 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 12–16–1 | 25 |
| 30 | January 27 | New York Rangers | 4–6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 13–16–1 | 27 |
| 31 | January 29 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 14–16–1 | 29 |
| 32 | January 30 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–3 | Chicago Black Hawks | 15–16–1 | 31 |
| 33 | February 1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–0 | Boston Bruins | 16–16–1 | 33 |
| 34 | February 5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–5 | Montreal Canadiens | 16–17–1 | 33 |
| 35 | February 6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–4 | New York Rangers | 16–17–2 | 34 |
| 36 | February 10 | Boston Bruins | 5–4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 16–18–2 | 34 |
| 37 | February 13 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 16–18–3 | 35 |
| 38 | February 20 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 0–0 | Chicago Black Hawks | 16–18–4 | 36 |
| 39 | February 22 | Chicago Black Hawks | 8–4 | New York Rangers | 17–18–4 | 38 |
| 40 | February 26 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 18–18–4 | 40 |
| 41 | February 27 | New York Rangers | 2–4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 19–18–4 | 42 |
| 42 | March 2 | Boston Bruins | 2–4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 20–18–4 | 44 |
| 43 | March 4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–6 | Detroit Red Wings | 20–19–4 | 44 |
| 44 | March 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 21–19–4 | 46 |
| 45 | March 9 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 21–20–4 | 46 |
| 46 | March 12 | New York Rangers | 4–4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 21–20–5 | 47 |
| 47 | March 14 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–6 | Boston Bruins | 21–21–5 | 47 |
| 48 | March 16 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–3 | Montreal Canadiens | 21–22–5 | 47 |
| 49 | March 18 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–6 | Detroit Red Wings | 21–23–5 | 47 |
| 50 | March 19 | Detroit Red Wings | 0–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 22–23–5 | 49 |

## Playoffs
### Black Hawks 4, Red Wings 1
#### NHL semi-finals
##### (2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Chicago Black Hawks

* Chicago wins series 4 – 1

### Canadiens 4, Black Hawks 0
#### Stanley Cup finals
##### (1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) Chicago Black Hawks

* Montreal wins series 4 – 0

## Season stats
### Scoring leaders

| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Doug Bentley | 50 | 38 | 39 | 77 | 22 |
| Clint Smith | 50 | 23 | 49 | 72 | 4 |
| Bill Mosienko | 50 | 32 | 38 | 70 | 10 |
| Cully Dahlstrom | 50 | 20 | 22 | 42 | 8 |
| George Allen | 45 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 36 |

### Goaltending

| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | SO | GAA |
| Mike Karakas | 26 | 1560 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 79 | 3 | 3.04 |
| Hec Highton | 24 | 1440 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 108 | 0 | 4.50 |

## Playoff stats
### Scoring leaders

| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Doug Bentley | 9 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 4 |
| Clint Smith | 9 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 0 |
| George Allen | 9 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 8 |
| Bill Mosienko | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Cully Dahlstrom | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 |

### Goaltending

| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | GAA |
| Mike Karakas | 9 | 549 | 4 | 5 | 24 | 1 | 2.62 |