1919 - 20 NHL season The 1919 - 20 NHL season was the third season of the National Hockey League . Four teams each played 24 games . The NHL ' s Ottawa Senators won the Stanley Cup by defeating the PCHA ' s Seattle Metropolitans three games to two in a best - of - five series . League Business . A group was found to buy the dormant Toronto franchise a day before the regular season was slated to begin , and they named the club the Toronto St . Patricks . The group paid $ 5 , 000 to the NHL for the franchise . The Quebec Athletic Club , which did not ice teams in the first two seasons of the NHL due to financial concerns , finally iced a team , although they were not successful . Regular season . Highlights . The Montreal Canadiens had their home opener January 10 in brand new Mount Royal Arena and Newsy Lalonde used the occasion to celebrate with six goals in a 14 - 7 drubbing of the Toronto St . Patricks . Jack Darragh of Ottawa had a chance to play in goal when Toronto defeated Ottawa 5 - 3 on January 24th . He took over when Clint Benedict was penalized . He did not surrender any goals during the two minutes . Despite a dismal record of 2 - 10 in both halves of the season , the Bulldogs ' Joe Malone scored seven goals in one game on January 31 , 1920 , a mark that still stands today . He nearly equalled the record on March 10 when he scored six goals in a 10 - 4 win over the Ottawa Senators . He led the league in goals with 39 . But by surrendering 7 . 18 goals against per game , a record that stands today , Quebec finished dead last . With the war now over , players came home and fans were now coming in larger numbers to see games . On February 21 , 1920 , a record crowd of 8 , 500 fans came to see Ottawa play Toronto at the Arena Gardens ( also known as Mutual Street Arena ) . On March 3 , the Montreal Canadiens pummeled the Quebec Bulldogs 16 - 3 , setting an all - time record for goals by one team . Final Standings . " GP = Games Played , W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , Pts = Points , GF = Goals For , GA = Goals Against " < br > " Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold " Scoring leaders . " GP = Games Played , G = Goals , A = Assists , Pts = Points , PIM = Penalties In Minutes " Leading Goaltenders . " GP = Games Played , TOI = Time On Ice ( minutes ) , GA = Goals Against , SO = Shutout s , GAA = Goals Against Average " Stanley Cup playoffs . " All dates in 1920 " Since the Ottawa Senators won both halves of the split regular season , there was no need for an NHL playoffs and the Senators were given the O ' Brien Trophy and were assured a spot in the Stanley Cup Championship series . Representing the Pacific Coast Hockey Association this year was the Seattle Metropolitans , who battled in a very tight PCHA , where two wins separated its three teams . A problem arose as Seattle ' s green , red , and white uniforms looked almost alike to Ottawa ' s black , red , and white uniforms . The Senators agreed to play in white sweaters . The previous year saw the championship played out west . This year , it was played in Ottawa , but with unseasonably warm weather , the final two games were played in Toronto ' s Arena Gardens . Finals . Seattle Metropolitans vs . Ottawa Senators " Ottawa wins best - of - five series 3 games to 2 to win the Stanley Cup " NHL playoff scoring leaders . " GP = Games Played , G = Goals , A = Assists , Pts = Points " Debuts . The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1919 - 20 ( listed with their first team , asterisk ( * ) marks debut in playoffs ) : Last games . The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1919 - 20 ( listed with their last team ) :