1952-53 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1952–53 Montreal Canadiens season was the Canadiens' 44th season of play. The Canadiens placed second in the regular season, defeated the Chicago Black Hawks in the Semi-finals and the Boston Bruins in the 1953 Stanley Cup Finals to win the club's seventh Stanley Cup championship.
==Off-season==
==Regular Season==
On November 8, 14,562 fans were in attendance at the Montreal Forum when the Canadiens beat the Chicago Black Hawks 6-4. Elmer Lach scored his 200th career goal. Fifty seconds later, after Butch Bouchard fed him the puck, Rocket Richard rifled a puck past Al Rollins for his 325th goal, breaking Nels Stewart's unbeatable-record for career goals. "Old Poison" sent the following telegram: "Congratulations on breaking record. Hope you will hold it for many seasons. Best of luck to you and rest of team."
Butch Bouchard Night was held February 28 and he was presented with a car and a TV set. The Detroit Red Wings spoiled the night with a 4-3 victory.
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
No.	R	Date 	Score	Opponent 	Record
1 	L	October 9, 1952 	2–3 	Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) 	0–1–0
2 	W	October 11, 1952 	2–1 	Detroit Red Wings (1952–53) 	1–1–0
3 	T	October 12, 1952 	1–1 	@ Boston Bruins (1952–53) 	1–1–1
4 	W	October 16, 1952 	3–1 	New York Rangers (1952–53) 	2–1–1
5 	W	October 18, 1952 	2–1 	Boston Bruins (1952–53) 	3–1–1
6 	L	October 19, 1952 	1–6 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1952–53) 	3–2–1
7 	T	October 23, 1952 	2–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53)	3–2–2
8 	W	October 25, 1952 	9–0 	Detroit Red Wings (1952–53) 	4–2–2
9 	L	October 29, 1952 	5–7 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53)	4–3–2
10 	W	November 1, 1952 	4–1 	New York Rangers (1952–53) 	5–3–2
11 	T	November 2, 1952 	2–2 	@ New York Rangers (1952–53) 	5–3–3
12 	W	November 6, 1952 	3–1 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) 	6–3–3
13 	W	November 8, 1952 	6–4 	Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) 	7–3–3
14 	L	November 13, 1952	1–3 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) 	7–4–3
15 	W	November 15, 1952	2–0 	Boston Bruins (1952–53) 	8–4–3
16 	L	November 16, 1952	1–4 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53)	8–5–3
17 	T	November 22, 1952	2–2 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53)	8–5–4
18 	T	November 23, 1952	2–2 	@ New York Rangers (1952–53) 	8–5–5
19 	T	November 27, 1952	2–2 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1952–53) 	8–5–6
20 	T	November 29, 1952	1–1 	Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) 	8–5–7
21 	L	November 30, 1952	1–3 	@ Boston Bruins (1952–53) 	8–6–7
22 	L	December 4, 1952 	1–2 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) 	8–7–7
23 	L	December 6, 1952 	1–2 	Boston Bruins (1952–53) 	8–8–7
24 	T	December 7, 1952 	2–2 	@ New York Rangers (1952–53) 	8–8–8
25 	W	December 10, 1952	2–1 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53)	9–8–8
26 	W	December 11, 1952	3–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53)	10–8–8
27 	W	December 13, 1952	3–0 	Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) 	11–8–8
28 	T	December 14, 1952	0–0 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1952–53) 	11–8–9
29 	W	December 18, 1952	6–2 	New York Rangers (1952–53) 	12–8–9
30 	L	December 20, 1952	3–6 	Boston Bruins (1952–53) 	12–9–9
31 	W	December 21, 1952	4–3 	@ Boston Bruins (1952–53) 	13–9–9
32 	L	December 24, 1952	0–2 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53)	13–10–9
33 	T	December 27, 1952	2–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1952–53) 	13–10–10
34 	W	December 31, 1952	2–0 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1952–53) 	14–10–10
35 	T	January 1, 1953 	2–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53)	14–10–11
36 	L	January 3, 1953 	0–1 	Boston Bruins (1952–53) 	14–11–11
37 	T	January 8, 1953 	4–4 	New York Rangers (1952–53) 	14–11–12
38 	W	January 10, 1953 	5–2 	Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) 	15–11–12
39 	L	January 11, 1953 	0–7 	@ New York Rangers (1952–53) 	15–12–12
40 	W	January 15, 1953 	2–0 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53)	16–12–12
41 	T	January 17, 1953 	1–1 	Detroit Red Wings (1952–53) 	16–12–13
42 	W	January 18, 1953 	3–2 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1952–53) 	17–12–13
43 	W	January 21, 1953 	1–0 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53)	18–12–13
44 	W	January 22, 1953 	4–1 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) 	19–12–13
45 	L	January 24, 1953 	1–5 	Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) 	19–13–13
46 	T	January 25, 1953 	3–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1952–53) 	19–13–14
47 	W	January 28, 1953 	2–1 	@ New York Rangers (1952–53) 	20–13–14
48 	W	January 29, 1953 	5–2 	New York Rangers (1952–53) 	21–13–14
49 	T	January 31, 1953 	0–0 	Boston Bruins (1952–53) 	21–13–15
50 	L	February 1, 1953 	3–4 	@ Boston Bruins (1952–53) 	21–14–15
51 	W	February 5, 1953 	2–0 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) 	22–14–15
52 	L	February 7, 1953 	1–3 	Detroit Red Wings (1952–53) 	22–15–15
53 	T	February 8, 1953 	1–1 	@ New York Rangers (1952–53) 	22–15–16
54 	W	February 12, 1953	3–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53)	23–15–16
55 	T	February 14, 1953	2–2 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53)	23–15–17
56 	L	February 15, 1953	0–1 	@ Boston Bruins (1952–53) 	23–16–17
57 	L	February 19, 1953	1–4 	Detroit Red Wings (1952–53) 	23–17–17
58 	W	February 21, 1953	4–1 	New York Rangers (1952–53) 	24–17–17
59 	W	February 25, 1953	2–1 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53)	25–17–17
60 	W	February 26, 1953	4–1 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) 	26–17–17
61 	L	February 28, 1953	3–4 	Detroit Red Wings (1952–53) 	26–18–17
62 	L	March 5, 1953 	0–5 	@ Boston Bruins (1952–53) 	26–19–17
63 	W	March 7, 1953 	1–0 	Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53) 	27–19–17
64 	L	March 8, 1953 	3–4 	@ New York Rangers (1952–53) 	27–20–17
65 	T	March 12, 1953 	2–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1952–53)	27–20–18
66 	W	March 14, 1953 	3–2 	New York Rangers (1952–53) 	28–20–18
67 	L	March 15, 1953 	1–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1952–53) 	28–21–18
68 	L	March 19, 1953 	1–4 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1952–53) 	28–22–18
69 	L	March 21, 1953 	1–2 	Boston Bruins (1952–53) 	28–23–18
70 	T	March 22, 1953 	1–1 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1952–53) 	28–23–19
==Playoffs==
===Montreal Canadiens 4, Chicago Black Hawks 3===
===Montreal Canadiens 4, Boston Bruins 1===
The teams met the previous year in the 1952 Semi-finals where Montreal prevailed 4 games to 3. Both teams played without their starting goalies during the series but once Gerry McNeil returned in game 3 to replace rookie Jacques Plante he outplayed Boston's backup Gord Henry and notched 2 shutouts for the series win.
Game 1 at the Montreal Forum saw the Canadiens Jacques Plante start in net. Boston was without captain Milt Schmidt, still recovering from an injury suffered in the Semi-finals. An early penalty to Montreal's Ken Mosdell saw the Bruins Bob Armstrong score his first career playoff goal on a give and go with Fleming Mackell that he slapped into the low left corner. Minutes later, Plante was shaken up on a shot by Hal Laycoe and the game stopped while he received treatment. Dickie Moore tied it up when his shot from behind the net went in off the skate of Bruins goalie Jim Henry. In the second period, Modell scored early on a rebound to make it 2-1. Late in the period during a goalmouth scramble, Floyd Curry smacked in it for a 3-1 lead. During the third period with Doug Harvey off for holding, Johnny Peirson (playing with a bandaged head) made it close when he banged in Mackell's pass across goal. But a minute later, Maurice Richard split Laycoe and Armstrong and scored on a breakaway for a 4-2 Montreal win and a 1-0 series lead.
Game 2 in Montreal had Schmidt back in the line-up and the Bruins were bolstered by his play. An early goal by Leo Labine, who deked Doug Harvey and fired a low shot to the left corner, put the Bruins up 1-0. Late in the period, Ed Sandford put in a 5 footer off a pass by Joe Klukay to make it 2-0. Jim Henry twisted his ankle near the end of the first period, forcing Gord Henry to fill in for him. Bert Olmstead scored an early second period goal on a 2 on 1 but Sandford responded with his second of the game on a rebound. In the third period, Schmidt and Woody Dumart showed they still had some of the old magic left as Dumart's pass put Schmidt in the clear and he deked Plante to the ice and slipped in a backhand for a 4-1 Bruins win.
Game 3 at the Boston Garden had Gerry McNeil back in the net for the Canadiens. Tom Johnson took a left wing pass from Mosdell and beat Henry to the far side for a 1-0 lead. In the second period, Paul Masnick's pass from behind the net hit Hal Laycoe's skate and bounced in to make it 2-0. In the third period, Henry couldn't control a blast from the point and Mosdell backhanded in the rebound for a 3-0 Montreal win and a 2-1 lead in the series.
Game 4 in Boston saw Montreal dominate. Henry couldn't stop 40 footers from Lorne Davis, Richard and Dickie Moore which saw the Habs go up 3-0. Dave Creighton backhanded in a Dumart pass to make it 3-1 at the end of the period. Play was close in the second period until Laycoe fell while killing a penalty, resulting in Bernie Geoffrion taking the puck and scoring with a spinning shot at 18:58. At 5:33 of the third, Richard shifted around the Bruins defense and fired a shot top corner. Milt Schmidt responded two minutes later with a backhand goal while speeding down the right wing. With four minutes left, Creighton picked off a Billy Reay clearing pass and drew two defenders to him. Jack McIntyre picked up the loose puck and fired it past McNeil to cut the lead to 5-3. The Bruins pulled the goalie but Schmidt's pass was intercepted by Calum MacKay who killed the rally, making it 6-3. Thirty seconds later, Richard scored on a breakaway for a 7-3 Canadiens win and a 3-1 stranglehold in the series.
Game 5 in Montreal saw only one penalty called during the game. After two sub-par games, Gord Henry played well with both he and Montreal's McNeil stopping numerous scoring chances. The game went into overtime where Elmer Lach picked off Schmidt's clearing pass on the right wing and fired a quick spinning shot past Henry for the Cup winning goal. Ed Sandford led all playoff scorers with 11 points.
#	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	Record
1	April 9 	Boston Bruins 	2-4 	Montreal Canadiens	0-1
2	April 11	Boston Bruins 	4-1 	Montreal Canadiens	1-1
3	April 12	Montreal Canadiens	3-0 	Boston Bruins 	2-1
4	April 14	Montreal Canadiens	7-3 	Boston Bruins 	3-1
5	April 16	Boston Bruins 	0-1 (OT)	Montreal Canadiens	1-4
==Player Stats==
===Forwards===
Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points
Player 	GP	G 	AST	PTS	PIM
Maurice Richard 	70	28	33 	61 	112
Bert Olmstead 	69	17	28 	45 	83
Elmer Lach 	53	16	25 	41 	56
Bernie Geoffrion	65	22	17 	39 	37
Paul Meger 	69	9 	17 	26 	38
Dick Gamble 	69	11	13 	24 	26
Floyd Curry 	68	16	6 	22 	10
Ken Mosdell 	63	5 	14 	19 	27
Billy Reay 	56	4 	15 	19 	26
Paul Masnick 	53	5 	7 	12 	44
John McCormack 	59	1 	9 	10 	9
Dickie Moore 	18	2 	6 	8 	19
===Defencemen===
Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points
Player 	GP	G	AST	PTS	PIM
Doug Harvey 	69	4	30 	34 	67
Tom Johnson 	70	3	8 	11 	63
Emile Bouchard 	58	2	8 	10 	55
Dollard St. Laurent	54	2	6 	8 	34
Jim MacPherson 	59	2	3 	5 	67
===Goaltending===
Note: GP= Games played; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against
Player	GP	W	L	T	SO	GAA
 	 	 	 	 	 	
==Awards and Records==
*Doug Harvey: Defense, NHL First Team All-Star
*Maurice Richard, Right Wing, NHL Second Team All-Star
*Bert Olmstead, Left Wing, NHL Second Team All-Star
*Gerry McNeil, Goalie, NHL Second Team All-Star
==Gallery==
52-53NHLExhMonCanShawgnGameAd.jpg|Pre-season @ Shawinigan
52-53NHLMontrealGameAd.jpg|Opening game
52-53MonCanSCup.jpg|Canadiens celebrate.
==Video==
Highlights of the December 21, 1952 game between the Bruins and the Habs. This was the third game of a tryout for Jean Beliveau (who wears #12) and he scores twice in Montreal's 4-3 win. A first period fight between Jack McIntyre and Bernie Geoffrion (in response to McIntyre breaking Billy Reay's cheek), a dust-up between Milt Schmidt and Maurice Richard as well as goals by Dave Creighton and Beliveau are shown. The end has highlights of the December 7, 1952 Toronto Maple Leafs versus Chicago Blackhawks game including a goal by George Armstrong.
NHL 52-53 First Beliveau's game for Habs
A fascinating video of hockey at all levels in 1953 featuring Jean Béliveau playing for the Quebec Aces and at the 6:45 mark, three minutes of excellent footage of the January 17, 1953 Canadiens-Red Wings game. Gordie Howe's game tying goal at 18:53 of the third period is shown.
Here's Hockey!
==References==
*Canadiens on Hockey Database
*Canadiens on NHL Reference
Category:1953 in hockey
Category:Montreal Canadiens
Category:Stanley Cup championship seasons