1953–54 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1953–54 Detroit Red Wings season was the Red Wings' 28th season. The Red Wings finished 1st in the league and defeated the Montreal Canadiens in the 1954 Stanley Cup Finals 4 games to 3.
==Regular Season==
In October, 1953, Dave Gatherum was called up by the Detroit Red Wings to replace the injured Terry Sawchuk in goal. In his first game, Gatherum shut out the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0 on October 11, 1953. He then held the Chicago Black Hawks scoreless until early in the third period of the 2-2 tie game on October 16. He ended up with a 2-0-1 record in three games but was never recalled to the NHL. His name was put on the Stanley Cup as the Wings won it in 1953-54. Gatherum held the record for longest shutout streak to start an NHL career (100.21 minutes) until the 2011–12 NHL season when it was surpassed by Matt Hackett.
===Detroit Red Wings Prison Game===
On February 2, 1954 the Red Wings played an exhibition game outdoors at the Marquette Branch Prison. Invited by the warden, they played a team of convicts called the "Marquette Prison Pirates." It was the first ever outdoor game played by the Detroit Red Wings. After the first period the Red Wings were winning 18–0, and the scores for the remainder of the match were not kept. To make things interesting, the Wings swapped a few players, trading goalie Terry Sawchuk, among others, and exchanged one set of defensemen. Ted Lindsay, skated on the opposite wing as Gordie Howe with an inmate as their centerman. Howe then skated the second half of the game with the prisoners, wearing a #16 Pirates jersey. Jack Adams presented a "trophy" (a bucket) at the end of the game.
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results 	Regular Season Results
No. 	R 	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	W 	October 8, 1953 	4–1 	New York Rangers (1953–54) 	1–0–0
2 	L 	October 10, 1953 	1–4 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1953–54) 	1–1–0
3 	W 	October 11, 1953 	4–0 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 	2–1–0
4 	T 	October 16, 1953 	2–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54)	2–1–1
5 	W 	October 17, 1953 	2–1 	Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 	3–1–1
6 	W 	October 18, 1953 	4–0 	Montreal Canadiens (1953–54) 	4–1–1
7 	T 	October 21, 1953 	1–1 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54)	4–1–2
8 	L 	October 24, 1953 	0–1 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1953–54) 	4–2–2
9 	W 	October 25, 1953 	2–0 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 	5–2–2
10 	L 	October 31, 1953 	1–3 	Boston Bruins (1953–54) 	5–3–2
11 	W 	November 1, 1953 	5–1 	Montreal Canadiens (1953–54) 	6–3–2
12 	T 	November 7, 1953 	2–2 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54)	6–3–3
13 	T 	November 8, 1953 	2–2 	New York Rangers (1953–54) 	6–3–4
14 	T 	November 11, 1953 	2–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1953–54) 	6–3–5
15 	W 	November 14, 1953 	3–2 	@ New York Rangers (1953–54) 	7–3–5
16 	W 	November 15, 1953 	4–1 	New York Rangers (1953–54) 	8–3–5
17 	W 	November 19, 1953 	3–2 	Boston Bruins (1953–54) 	9–3–5
18 	L 	November 21, 1953 	0–1 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1953–54) 	9–4–5
19 	W 	November 22, 1953 	3–2 	@ New York Rangers (1953–54) 	10–4–5
20 	W 	November 26, 1953 	2–0 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 	11–4–5
21 	W 	November 28, 1953 	9–0 	Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 	12–4–5
22 	W 	November 29, 1953 	9–4 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54)	13–4–5
23 	W 	December 3, 1953 	4–0 	New York Rangers (1953–54) 	14–4–5
24 	L 	December 5, 1953 	0–3 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54)	14–5–5
25 	L 	December 6, 1953 	0–5 	Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 	14–6–5
26 	T 	December 9, 1953 	3–3 	@ New York Rangers (1953–54) 	14–6–6
27 	L 	December 10, 1953 	3–6 	@ Boston Bruins (1953–54) 	14–7–6
28 	W 	December 12, 1953 	7–1 	Boston Bruins (1953–54) 	15–7–6
29 	W 	December 13, 1953 	4–3 	Montreal Canadiens (1953–54) 	16–7–6
30 	W 	December 17, 1953 	5–1 	Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 	17–7–6
31 	W 	December 18, 1953 	3–1 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54)	18–7–6
32 	W 	December 20, 1953 	4–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1953–54) 	19–7–6
33 	L 	December 23, 1953 	1–2 	@ New York Rangers (1953–54) 	19–8–6
34 	L 	December 26, 1953 	2–4 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54)	19–9–6
35 	W 	December 27, 1953 	2–1 	Boston Bruins (1953–54) 	20–9–6
36 	T 	December 31, 1953 	2–2 	Montreal Canadiens (1953–54) 	20–9–7
37 	L 	January 1, 1954 	2–4 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54)	20–10–7
38 	T 	January 3, 1954 	0–0 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 	20–10–8
39 	W 	January 7, 1954 	3–1 	Boston Bruins (1953–54) 	21–10–8
40 	W 	January 10, 1954 	2–1 	Montreal Canadiens (1953–54) 	22–10–8
41 	W 	January 13, 1954 	3–1 	@ New York Rangers (1953–54) 	23–10–8
42 	W 	January 14, 1954 	2–1 	@ Boston Bruins (1953–54) 	24–10–8
43 	L 	January 17, 1954 	2–3 	New York Rangers (1953–54) 	24–11–8
44 	W 	January 21, 1954 	1–0 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1953–54) 	25–11–8
45 	L 	January 23, 1954 	1–4 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54)	25–12–8
46 	W 	January 24, 1954 	2–0 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 	26–12–8
47 	T 	January 28, 1954 	3–3 	New York Rangers (1953–54) 	26–12–9
48 	W 	January 30, 1954 	4–2 	Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 	27–12–9
49 	W 	January 31, 1954 	5–1 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54)	28–12–9
50 	W 	February 4, 1954 	5–0 	Boston Bruins (1953–54) 	29–12–9
51 	W 	February 6, 1954 	4–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1953–54) 	30–12–9
52 	T 	February 7, 1954 	1–1 	@ Boston Bruins (1953–54) 	30–12–10
53 	L 	February 10, 1954 	2–3 	@ New York Rangers (1953–54) 	30–13–10
54 	W 	February 14, 1954 	5–0 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54)	31–13–10
55 	W 	February 15, 1954 	3–2 	Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 	32–13–10
56 	T 	February 17, 1954 	0–0 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54)	32–13–11
57 	L 	February 18, 1954 	2–4 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1953–54) 	32–14–11
58 	L 	February 20, 1954 	0–2 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1953–54) 	32–15–11
59 	W 	February 22, 1954 	3–0 	Montreal Canadiens (1953–54) 	33–15–11
60 	W 	February 25, 1954 	3–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54)	34–15–11
61 	T 	March 4, 1954 	3–3 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 	34–15–12
62 	W 	March 6, 1954 	3–1 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54)	35–15–12
63 	T 	March 7, 1954 	2–2 	Montreal Canadiens (1953–54) 	35–15–13
64 	W 	March 11, 1954 	6–2 	Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 	36–15–13
65 	L 	March 13, 1954 	2–5 	New York Rangers (1953–54) 	36–16–13
66 	L 	March 14, 1954 	0–2 	@ New York Rangers (1953–54) 	36–17–13
67 	L 	March 16, 1954 	2–4 	@ Boston Bruins (1953–54) 	36–18–13
68 	T 	March 18, 1954 	3–3 	Boston Bruins (1953–54) 	36–18–14
69 	L 	March 20, 1954 	1–6 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1953–54) 	36–19–14
70 	W 	March 21, 1954 	6–1 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 	37–19–14
==Playoffs==
===Detroit Red Wings 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 1===
Ted Lindsay scored the series winning goal in overtime in Game 5.
===Detroit Red Wings 4, Montreal Canadiens 3===
Tony Leswick scored the Cup winning goal in overtime in Game 7.
Date 	Away 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
April 4 	Montreal	1 	Detroit 	3 	
April 6 	Montreal	3 	Detroit 	1 	
April 8 	Detroit 	5 	Montreal	2 	
April 10	Detroit 	2 	Montreal	0 	
April 11	Montreal	1 	Detroit 	0 	OT
April 13	Detroit 	1 	Montreal	4 	
April 16	Montreal	1 	Detroit 	2 	OT
==Player Stats==
===Regular Season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
 	RW 	70	33	48	81 	109
 	LW 	70	26	36	62 	110
 	D/C 	62	16	33	49 	18
 	C 	69	15	33	48 	18
 	LW 	70	17	17	34 	22
 	C/LW	69	11	18	29 	34
 	LW 	65	9 	20	29 	57
 	C/LW	70	17	10	27 	95
 	C 	70	12	15	27 	26
 	RW 	70	17	8 	25 	34
 	W 	70	6 	18	24 	90
 	D 	57	6 	12	18 	50
 	D 	69	1 	15	16 	50
 	LW 	42	5 	2 	7 	4
 	D 	10	0 	4 	4 	2
 	RW 	25	0 	4 	4 	10
 	RW/D	70	0 	2 	2 	38
 	D 	36	0 	1 	1 	18
 	G 	67	0 	1 	1 	31
 	W 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	1 	0 	0 	0 	2
 	D 	12	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO
 	4004	67	35	19	13	129	1.93	12
 	180 	3 	2 	0 	1 	3 	1.00	1
 	16 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0.00	0
Team: 	4200	70	37	19	14	132	1.89	13
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
 	RW 	12	4	5	9 	31
 	C/LW	12	2	7	9 	7
 	LW 	12	4	4	8 	14
 	D/C 	12	5	1	6 	0
 	D 	12	2	3	5 	12
 	C 	12	2	3	5 	0
 	W 	12	3	1	4 	18
 	LW 	12	2	2	4 	4
 	C 	9 	1	3	4 	0
 	LW 	12	3	0	3 	0
 	C/LW	12	1	2	3 	16
 	D 	12	0	2	2 	2
 	RW/D	12	0	1	1 	8
 	LW 	2 	0	0	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	0	0 	0
 	RW 	10	0	0	0 	0
 	RW 	12	0	0	0 	2
 	G 	12	0	0	0 	2
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA 	SO
 	751	12	8	4	20	1.60	2
Team: 	751	12	8	4	20	1.60	2
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; 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 
==Detroit Red Wings 1954 Stanley Cup Champions==
==Awards and Records==
*Prince of Wales Trophy: Detroit Red Wings
*Art Ross Memorial Trophy: Gordie Howe
*James Norris Memorial Trophy: Red Kelly
*Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Red Kelly
*Ted Lindsay, Left Wing, NHL First Team All-Star
*Gordie Howe, Right Wing, NHL First Team All-Star
*Red Kelly, Defence, NHL First Team All-Star
*Terry Sawchuk, Goaltender, NHL Second Team All-Star
==Gallery==
1954 Prison game trophy.jpg|Jack Adams presents the trophy, Marquette Prison game, February 2, 1954.
1954-Mar21-Howe-Storey-Kennedy.jpg|Gordie Howe and Ted Kennedy are separated by Red Storey during Howe's second Gordie Howe hat trick game, March 21, 1954.
==Video==
Nearly 25 minutes of highlights featuring all goals and many penalties from all seven games of the 1954 Finals.
1954 Stanley Cup Finals
Narrated highlights of all seven games of the 1954 Finals featuring nearly all goals.
1954 NHL STANLEY CUP WINNERS ARE THE DETROIT RED WINGS DEFEATING THE MONTREAL CANADIENS
==References==
* Red Wings on Hockey Database
Detroit Red Wings season, 1953–54
Detroit Red Wings season, 1953–54
Category:Detroit Red Wings seasons
Category:Stanley Cup championship seasons