1923 Stanley Cup Playoffs The 1923 Stanley Cup playoffs was the second year in which the National Hockey League ( NHL ) champions , the Pacific Coast Hockey Association ( PCHA ) champions , and the Western Canada Hockey League ( WCHL ) champions all competed for the Stanley Cup . The playoffs began on March 16 , 1924 , and concluded on March 31 when the NHL champion Ottawa Senators defeated the WCHL champion Edmonton Eskimos in the final series , two games to zero . Throughout these playoffs , injuries had thinned Ottawa ' s line - up . But after seeing the gritty show put on by the undermanned Senators , Frank Patrick , the head coach of the PCHA champion Vancouver Maroons , called Ottawa the greatest team he had ever seen . Background . Ottawa finished first overall in the 1922 – 23 NHL regular season standings with a 14 – 9 – 1 record . They then went on to defeat the 13 – 9 – 2 second place Montreal Canadiens in the two - game total goal NHL championship series , 3 goals to 2 , to win the NHL title . Cy Denneny scored the series - clinching goal in Game 2 for the Canadiens . The 1922 – 23 WCHL season ended with the 19 – 10 – 1 first place Eskimos defeating the 16 – 14 second place Regina Capitals in the WCHL championship series . Edmonton clinched the WCHL title after Duke Keats scored the series - winning overtime goal in Game 2 . Meanwhile , the Maroons finished the 1923 – 24 PCHA regular season in first place with a 17 – 12 – 1 record , and then went on to defeat the 16 – 14 second place Victoria Cougars in the PCHA championship series by a combined score of 5 – 3 . Cup Playoffs summary . Both rounds of the 1923 Stanley Cup playoffs were played at Denman Street Arena in Vancouver . The NHL and the PCHA champions played in the semifinal round , with the winner facing off against the WCHL champion in the Cup Final . Semi - final : Ottawa Senators defeat Vancouver Maroons , three games to one . The Ottawa - Vancouver best - of - five series marked the first time in Stanley Cup history that brothers faced each other . In fact , there were two sets of brothers : Cy and Corb Denneny , and George and Frank Boucher . Cy and George played for the Senators , while Corb and Frank skated for the Maroons . A third Boucher brother , Billy , was to have replaced Ottawa ' s Jack Darragh who was injured , but Frank Patrick , the PCHA president , disallowed Billy from joining the Senators . Ottawa won the first game 1 – 0 , with Punch Broadbent ' s winning goal in the third period . Vancouver , led by two goals by Duncan and two by Frank Boucher , took the second game 4 – 1 , which led to more injuries for the Senators . Benedict took a puck in the mouth , Gerard was injured due to a heavy check and Cy Denneny injured his elbow . The Senators again asked if Billy Boucher could join the team , but were again refused by Patrick . In the third game , the Senators lost Gerard to a dislocated shoulder , but won the game 3 – 2 . King Clancy took his place for the fourth game , and the Senators won it 5 – 1 , to win the series . Broadbent ended up leading Ottawa with five goals in the series . After watching the gritty show by the undermanned Senators , Patrick called them the greatest team he had ever seen . Final : Ottawa Senators defeat Edmonton Eskimos , 2 games to 0 . Ottawa swept Edmonton in the best - of - three final series , winning both games by one - goal margins . In the first game , Cy Denneny scored 2 : 08 into overtime to give the Senators a 2 – 1 win . Then Punch Broadbent scored the only goal in the second game to give Ottawa a 1 – 0 victory and the championship . Cup engravings . The Senators never did engrave their names on the Cup for their 1923 championship . It was only until the trophy was redesigned in 1948 that the words " 1923 Ottawa Senators " were put onto its then - new collar .