# 1938–39 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1938–39 Detroit Red Wings season was the 13th season for the Detroit NHL franchise, seventh as the Red Wings.

## Regular season
### Final standings

National Hockey League :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Boston Bruins | 48 | 36 | 10 | 2 | 156 | 76 | 74 |
| New York Rangers | 48 | 26 | 16 | 6 | 149 | 105 | 58 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 19 | 20 | 9 | 114 | 107 | 47 |
| New York Americans | 48 | 17 | 21 | 10 | 119 | 157 | 44 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 18 | 24 | 6 | 107 | 128 | 42 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 15 | 24 | 9 | 115 | 146 | 39 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 12 | 28 | 8 | 91 | 132 | 32 |
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.

### Record vs. opponents

1938–39 NHL Records :
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYA | NYR | TOR |
| Boston | — | 8–0 | 7–1 | 6–2 | 5–2–1 | 5–3 | 5–2–1 |
| Chicago | 0–8 | — | 1–5–2 | 4–4 | 2–4–2 | 3–4–1 | 2–3–3 |
| Detroit | 1–7 | 5–1–2 | — | 4–3–1 | 3–3–2 | 2–6 | 3–4–1 |
| Montreal | 2–6 | 4–4 | 3–4–1 | — | 3–2–3 | 1–4–3 | 2–4–2 |
| N.Y. Americans | 2–5–1 | 4–2–2 | 3–3–2 | 2–3–3 | — | 2–5–1 | 4–3–1 |
| N.Y. Rangers | 3–5 | 4–3–1 | 6–2 | 4–1–3 | 5–2–1 | — | 4–3–1 |
| Toronto | 2–5–1 | 3–2–2 | 4–3–1 | 4–2–2 | 3–4–1 | 3–4–1 | — |

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | November 6, 1938 | 1–4 | Boston Bruins (1938–39) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | L | November 10, 1938 | 1–2 | New York Americans (1938–39) | 0–2–0 |
| 3 | L | November 13, 1938 | 3–4 | New York Rangers (1938–39) | 0–3–0 |
| 4 | L | November 15, 1938 | 0–2 | @ New York Rangers (1938–39) | 0–4–0 |
| 5 | W | November 17, 1938 | 7–1 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1938–39) | 1–4–0 |
| 6 | L | November 20, 1938 | 1–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1938–39) | 1–5–0 |
| 7 | W | November 24, 1938 | 4–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1938–39) | 2–5–0 |
| 8 | L | November 26, 1938 | 0–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1938–39) | 2–6–0 |
| 9 | L | November 27, 1938 | 2–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1938–39) | 2–7–0 |
| 10 | W | December 1, 1938 | 4–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1938–39) | 3–7–0 |
| 11 | W | December 4, 1938 | 1–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1938–39) | 4–7–0 |
| 12 | T | December 8, 1938 | 1–1 OT | New York Americans (1938–39) | 4–7–1 |
| 13 | L | December 11, 1938 | 2–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1938–39) | 4–8–1 |
| 14 | L | December 13, 1938 | 1–5 | @ New York Americans (1938–39) | 4–9–1 |
| 15 | L | December 18, 1938 | 0–2 | Boston Bruins (1938–39) | 4–10–1 |
| 16 | L | December 20, 1938 | 2–6 | @ New York Rangers (1938–39) | 4–11–1 |
| 17 | T | December 22, 1938 | 3–3 OT | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1938–39) | 4–11–2 |
| 18 | L | December 24, 1938 | 0–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1938–39) | 4–12–2 |
| 19 | W | December 25, 1938 | 4–1 | Montreal Canadiens (1938–39) | 5–12–2 |
| 20 | W | December 29, 1938 | 4–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1938–39) | 6–12–2 |
| 21 | L | January 1, 1939 | 1–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1938–39) | 6–13–2 |
| 22 | L | January 2, 1939 | 0–3 | @ New York Rangers (1938–39) | 6–14–2 |
| 23 | T | January 5, 1939 | 6–6 OT | @ New York Americans (1938–39) | 6–14–3 |
| 24 | T | January 8, 1939 | 1–1 OT | @ Montreal Canadiens (1938–39) | 6–14–4 |
| 25 | W | January 10, 1939 | 3–0 | Montreal Canadiens (1938–39) | 7–14–4 |
| 26 | W | January 15, 1939 | 1–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1938–39) | 8–14–4 |
| 27 | W | January 19, 1939 | 4–3 | New York Rangers (1938–39) | 9–14–4 |
| 28 | L | January 22, 1939 | 0–5 | Boston Bruins (1938–39) | 9–15–4 |
| 29 | W | January 26, 1939 | 1–0 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1938–39) | 10–15–4 |
| 30 | L | January 28, 1939 | 0–6 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1938–39) | 10–16–4 |
| 31 | T | January 29, 1939 | 2–2 OT | Toronto Maple Leafs (1938–39) | 10–16–5 |
| 32 | W | February 5, 1939 | 7–3 | New York Americans (1938–39) | 11–16–5 |
| 33 | L | February 9, 1939 | 2–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1938–39) | 11–17–5 |
| 34 | L | February 12, 1939 | 0–1 | @ New York Americans (1938–39) | 11–18–5 |
| 35 | L | February 14, 1939 | 1–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1938–39) | 11–19–5 |
| 36 | T | February 16, 1939 | 1–1 OT | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1938–39) | 11–19–6 |
| 37 | W | February 19, 1939 | 4–1 | Boston Bruins (1938–39) | 12–19–6 |
| 38 | L | February 21, 1939 | 3–7 | @ New York Rangers (1938–39) | 12–20–6 |
| 39 | L | February 23, 1939 | 2–4 | New York Rangers (1938–39) | 12–21–6 |
| 40 | W | February 26, 1939 | 5–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1938–39) | 13–21–6 |
| 41 | W | March 2, 1939 | 7–3 | New York Americans (1938–39) | 14–21–6 |
| 42 | W | March 5, 1939 | 4–2 | @ New York Americans (1938–39) | 15–21–6 |
| 43 | L | March 7, 1939 | 0–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1938–39) | 15–22–6 |
| 44 | L | March 9, 1939 | 2–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1938–39) | 15–23–6 |
| 45 | L | March 11, 1939 | 1–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1938–39) | 15–24–6 |
| 46 | W | March 12, 1939 | 2–1 | Montreal Canadiens (1938–39) | 16–24–6 |
| 47 | W | March 14, 1939 | 3–2 | New York Rangers (1938–39) | 17–24–6 |
| 48 | W | March 19, 1939 | 3–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1938–39) | 18–24–6 |

## Playoffs
### (5) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens vs Detroit Red Wings :
| Date | Visitors | Score | Home | Score |
| Mar 21 | Detroit | 0 | Montreal C. | 2 |
| Mar 23 | Montreal C. | 3 | Detroit | 7 |
| Mar 26 | Montreal C. | 0 | Detroit | 1 (OT) |
Detroit wins best-of-three series 2–1.

### (3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings vs Toronto Maple Leafs :
| Date | Visitors | Score | Home | Score |
| Mar 28 | Detroit | 1 | Toronto | 4 |
| Mar 30 | Toronto | 1 | Detroit | 3 |
| Apr 1 | Detroit | 4 | Toronto | 5 (OT) |
Toronto wins best-of-three series 2–1.

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Marty Barry | C | 48 | 13 | 28 | 41 | 4 |
| Syd Howe | C/LW | 48 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 11 |
| Carl Liscombe | LW | 41 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 13 |
| Charlie Conacher | RW | 40 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 39 |
| Gus Giesebrecht | C | 28 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 2 |
| Hec Kilrea | LW | 48 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 8 |
| Ebbie Goodfellow | C/D | 48 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 36 |
| Eddie Wares | D/RW | 28 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 10 |
| Herbie Lewis | LW | 42 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 8 |
| Alex Motter | C | 44 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 17 |
| Pete Kelly | RW | 32 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 4 |
| Mud Bruneteau | RW | 20 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| Doug Young | D | 42 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| Ralph Bowman | D | 43 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 26 |
| Don Deacon | LW | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Sid Abel | C/LW | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Don Grosso | LW/C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Dave Trottier | LW | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| Larry Aurie | RW | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Connie Brown | C | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jack Keating | LW | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Phil Besler | RW | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Buck Jones | D | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Charley Mason | RW | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jack Stewart | D | 32 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| Eddie Bush | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Kilrea | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bucko McDonald | D | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| John Sherf | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Normie Smith | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harvey Teno | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tiny Thompson | G | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Thomson | C/RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Tiny Thompson | 2397 | 39 | 16 | 17 | 6 | 101 | 2.53 | 4 |
| Harvey Teno | 300 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 3.00 | 0 |
| Charlie Conacher | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Normie Smith | 240 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 3.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 2940 | 48 | 18 | 24 | 6 | 128 | 2.61 | 4 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Charlie Conacher | RW | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| Marty Barry | C | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Syd Howe | C/LW | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Don Deacon | LW | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Don Grosso | LW/C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Hec Kilrea | LW | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Herbie Lewis | LW | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Sid Abel | C/LW | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Ken Kilrea | LW | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Gus Giesebrecht | C | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Doug Young | D | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Eddie Wares | D/RW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Buck Jones | D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Alex Motter | C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Ralph Bowman | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mud Bruneteau | RW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ebbie Goodfellow | C/D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Pete Kelly | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carl Liscombe | LW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| John Sherf | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tiny Thompson | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Tiny Thompson | 374 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 2.41 | 1 |
| Team: | 374 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 2.41 | 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;