# 1965–66 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1965–66 Detroit Red Wings season saw the Red Wings finish in fourth place in the National Hockey League (NHL) with a record of 31 wins, 27 losses, and 12 ties for 74 points. They defeated the Chicago Black Hawks in six games in the semifinals before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Finals, also in six games. The Red Wings would not appear in the Finals again until the 1995 Finals.

## Regular season
### Final standings

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 41 | 21 | 8 | 239 | 173 | +66 | 90 |
| 2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 37 | 25 | 8 | 240 | 187 | +53 | 82 |
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 34 | 25 | 11 | 208 | 187 | +21 | 79 |
| 4 | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 31 | 27 | 12 | 221 | 194 | +27 | 74 |
| 5 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 21 | 43 | 6 | 174 | 275 | −101 | 48 |
| 6 | New York Rangers | 70 | 18 | 41 | 11 | 195 | 261 | −66 | 47 |

### Record vs. opponents

1965–66 NHL Records :
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYR | TOR |
| Boston | — | 4–8–2 | 2–11–1 | 4–9–1 | 8–5–1 | 4–9–1 |
| Chicago | 8–4–2 | — | 11–1–2 | 4–8–2 | 9–4–1 | 5–8–1 |
| Detroit | 11–2–1 | 1–11–2 | — | 4–8–2 | 7–3–4 | 8–4–2 |
| Montreal | 9–4–1 | 8–4–2 | 8–4–2 | — | 12–2 | 5–7–2 |
| New York | 5–8–1 | 4–9–1 | 3–7–4 | 2–12 | — | 3–6–5 |
| Toronto | 9–4–1 | 8–5–1 | 4–8–2 | 7–5–2 | 6–3–5 | — |

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 23, 1965 | 1–8 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1965–66) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | W | October 24, 1965 | 3–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | L | October 28, 1965 | 1–5 | Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 1–2–0 |
| 4 | L | October 30, 1965 | 3–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 1–3–0 |
| 5 | T | October 31, 1965 | 2–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1965–66) | 1–3–1 |
| 6 | W | November 4, 1965 | 8–1 | Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 2–3–1 |
| 7 | L | November 7, 1965 | 2–3 | @ New York Rangers (1965–66) | 2–4–1 |
| 8 | L | November 10, 1965 | 2–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 2–5–1 |
| 9 | T | November 11, 1965 | 3–3 | New York Rangers (1965–66) | 2–5–2 |
| 10 | T | November 14, 1965 | 2–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1965–66) | 2–5–3 |
| 11 | W | November 20, 1965 | 4–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 3–5–3 |
| 12 | T | November 21, 1965 | 3–3 | @ New York Rangers (1965–66) | 3–5–4 |
| 13 | L | November 23, 1965 | 2–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 3–6–4 |
| 14 | L | November 25, 1965 | 1–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 3–7–4 |
| 15 | L | November 27, 1965 | 2–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1965–66) | 3–8–4 |
| 16 | W | November 28, 1965 | 5–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 4–8–4 |
| 17 | W | December 2, 1965 | 10–2 | Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 5–8–4 |
| 18 | W | December 4, 1965 | 5–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 6–8–4 |
| 19 | W | December 5, 1965 | 5–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 7–8–4 |
| 20 | W | December 9, 1965 | 7–3 | New York Rangers (1965–66) | 8–8–4 |
| 21 | W | December 11, 1965 | 4–2 | @ New York Rangers (1965–66) | 9–8–4 |
| 22 | W | December 12, 1965 | 5–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 10–8–4 |
| 23 | L | December 15, 1965 | 3–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 10–9–4 |
| 24 | W | December 16, 1965 | 2–0 | Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 11–9–4 |
| 25 | W | December 18, 1965 | 3–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 12–9–4 |
| 26 | L | December 19, 1965 | 4–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 12–10–4 |
| 27 | W | December 23, 1965 | 4–2 | New York Rangers (1965–66) | 13–10–4 |
| 28 | L | December 25, 1965 | 3–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1965–66) | 13–11–4 |
| 29 | W | December 26, 1965 | 1–0 | Montreal Canadiens (1965–66) | 14–11–4 |
| 30 | W | December 28, 1965 | 1–0 | @ Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 15–11–4 |
| 31 | L | December 31, 1965 | 1–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 15–12–4 |
| 32 | W | January 2, 1966 | 4–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 16–12–4 |
| 33 | W | January 6, 1966 | 5–3 | Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 17–12–4 |
| 34 | W | January 8, 1966 | 3–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 18–12–4 |
| 35 | W | January 9, 1966 | 4–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1965–66) | 19–12–4 |
| 36 | T | January 15, 1966 | 4–4 | New York Rangers (1965–66) | 19–12–5 |
| 37 | W | January 16, 1966 | 4–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 20–12–5 |
| 38 | W | January 20, 1966 | 5–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1965–66) | 21–12–5 |
| 39 | W | January 22, 1966 | 3–0 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1965–66) | 22–12–5 |
| 40 | W | January 23, 1966 | 5–1 | New York Rangers (1965–66) | 23–12–5 |
| 41 | L | January 26, 1966 | 3–4 | @ New York Rangers (1965–66) | 23–13–5 |
| 42 | T | January 29, 1966 | 4–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 23–13–6 |
| 43 | L | January 30, 1966 | 1–5 | Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 23–14–6 |
| 44 | W | February 3, 1966 | 4–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 24–14–6 |
| 45 | T | February 5, 1966 | 2–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1965–66) | 24–14–7 |
| 46 | T | February 6, 1966 | 3–3 | Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 24–14–8 |
| 47 | L | February 9, 1966 | 1–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 24–15–8 |
| 48 | W | February 10, 1966 | 6–2 | New York Rangers (1965–66) | 25–15–8 |
| 49 | T | February 12, 1966 | 3–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 25–15–9 |
| 50 | L | February 13, 1966 | 3–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1965–66) | 25–16–9 |
| 51 | L | February 16, 1966 | 4–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 25–17–9 |
| 52 | L | February 19, 1966 | 1–5 | Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 25–18–9 |
| 53 | W | February 20, 1966 | 4–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 26–18–9 |
| 54 | L | February 23, 1966 | 0–5 | @ New York Rangers (1965–66) | 26–19–9 |
| 55 | L | February 26, 1966 | 1–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 26–20–9 |
| 56 | L | February 27, 1966 | 3–5 | Montreal Canadiens (1965–66) | 26–21–9 |
| 57 | L | March 2, 1966 | 4–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 26–22–9 |
| 58 | L | March 5, 1966 | 2–7 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1965–66) | 26–23–9 |
| 59 | T | March 6, 1966 | 1–1 | @ New York Rangers (1965–66) | 26–23–10 |
| 60 | L | March 9, 1966 | 0–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 26–24–10 |
| 61 | L | March 12, 1966 | 1–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1965–66) | 26–25–10 |
| 62 | W | March 13, 1966 | 8–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 27–25–10 |
| 63 | L | March 16, 1966 | 1–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 27–26–10 |
| 64 | W | March 17, 1966 | 4–2 | Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 28–26–10 |
| 65 | W | March 20, 1966 | 6–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 29–26–10 |
| 66 | W | March 23, 1966 | 2–1 | @ New York Rangers (1965–66) | 30–26–10 |
| 67 | L | March 26, 1966 | 1–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 30–27–10 |
| 68 | T | March 27, 1966 | 1–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 30–27–11 |
| 69 | W | March 31, 1966 | 5–3 | New York Rangers (1965–66) | 31–27–11 |
| 70 | T | April 3, 1966 | 3–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 31–27–12 |

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Gordie Howe | RW | 70 | 29 | 46 | 75 | 83 | 7 | 0 | 3 |
| Norm Ullman | C | 70 | 31 | 41 | 72 | 35 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| Alex Delvecchio | C/LW | 70 | 31 | 38 | 69 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 6 |
| Floyd Smith | RW | 66 | 21 | 28 | 49 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Andy Bathgate | RW | 70 | 15 | 32 | 47 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Paul Henderson | RW | 69 | 22 | 24 | 46 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| Bruce MacGregor | C | 70 | 20 | 14 | 34 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Ab McDonald | LW | 43 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Barkley | D | 43 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 65 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Bergman | D | 61 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 96 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bert Marshall | D | 61 | 0 | 19 | 19 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Murphy | LW | 32 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Bill Gadsby | D | 58 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 72 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Parker MacDonald | C | 37 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dean Prentice | LW | 19 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Val Fonteyne | LW | 59 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Watson | D | 70 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 133 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Don McKenney | C | 24 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Harris | C | 24 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leo Boivin | D | 16 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Warren Godfrey | D | 26 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pit Martin | C | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jimmy Peters | C | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Wall | D | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pete Goegan | D | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob McCord | D | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pete Mahovlich | C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hank Bassen | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dwight Carruthers | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bart Crashley | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roger Crozier | G | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Doak | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Gardner | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Murray Hall | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Roberts | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Watson | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Roger Crozier | 3734 | 64 | 27 | 24 | 12 | 173 | 2.78 | 7 |
| Hank Bassen | 406 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 2.51 | 0 |
| George Gardner | 60 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 4200 | 70 | 31 | 27 | 12 | 191 | 2.73 | 7 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Norm Ullman | C | 12 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 12 |
| Alex Delvecchio | C/LW | 12 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 4 |
| Dean Prentice | LW | 12 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 4 |
| Gordie Howe | RW | 12 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 12 |
| Andy Bathgate | RW | 12 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 6 |
| Floyd Smith | RW | 12 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 4 |
| Paul Henderson | RW | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| Bruce MacGregor | C | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Ab McDonald | LW | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Bill Gadsby | D | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| Bert Marshall | D | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 16 |
| Gary Bergman | D | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 |
| Bryan Watson | D | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 30 |
| Val Fonteyne | LW | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Leo Boivin | D | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| Hank Bassen | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roger Crozier | G | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Warren Godfrey | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pete Goegan | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Murray Hall | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Parker MacDonald | C | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Irv Spencer | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bob Wall | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Roger Crozier | 668 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 26 | 2.34 | 1 |
| Hank Bassen | 54 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2.22 | 0 |
| Team: | 722 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 28 | 2.33 | 1 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;  MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;

## Draft picks

Detroit's draft picks at the 1965 NHL amateur draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 3 | George Forgie | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL) |
| 2 | 8 | Bob Birdsell | Canada | Stettler Midgets (MAAAMHL) |