1947–48 Toronto Maple Leafs season

The 1947–48 Toronto Maple Leafs season was Toronto's 31st season in the NHL. The Maple Leafs finished 1st in the league and won the 1948 Stanley Cup Finals over the Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 0.
==Regular Season==
===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 	T 	October 18, 1947 	2–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1947–48) 	0–0–1
2 	L 	October 19 	0–2 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1947–48) 	0–1–1
3 	W 	October 22 	3–1 	New York Rangers (1947–48) 	1–1–1
4 	W 	October 25 	5–1 	Chicago Black Hawks (1947–48) 	2–1–1
5 	W 	October 29 	3–1 	Montreal Canadiens (1947–48) 	3–1–1
6 	T 	November 1 	1–1 	Boston Bruins (1947–48) 	3–1–2
7 	L 	November 2 	4–7 	@ New York Rangers (1947–48) 	3–2–2
8 	L 	November 6 	0–3 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1947–48) 	3–3–2
9 	W 	November 8 	7–2 	New York Rangers (1947–48) 	4–3–2
10 	W 	November 9 	6–0 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1947–48) 	5–3–2
11 	L 	November 12 	4–5 	Chicago Black Hawks (1947–48) 	5–4–2
12 	W 	November 15 	5–3 	Detroit Red Wings (1947–48) 	6–4–2
13 	W 	November 16 	5–4 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1947–48)	7–4–2
14 	L 	November 19 	2–7 	@ Boston Bruins (1947–48) 	7–5–2
15 	W 	November 22 	4–3 	Boston Bruins (1947–48) 	8–5–2
16 	L 	November 27 	0–2 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1947–48) 	8–6–2
17 	W 	November 29 	3–1 	Montreal Canadiens (1947–48) 	9–6–2
18 	T 	November 30 	0–0 	@ Boston Bruins (1947–48) 	9–6–3
19 	W 	December 3 	4–1 	@ New York Rangers (1947–48) 	10–6–3
20 	W 	December 6 	12–5 	Chicago Black Hawks (1947–48) 	11–6–3
21 	W 	December 7 	3–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1947–48)	12–6–3
22 	T 	December 10 	2–2 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1947–48) 	12–6–4
23 	L 	December 13 	1–4 	New York Rangers (1947–48) 	12–7–4
24 	T 	December 14 	1–1 	@ Boston Bruins (1947–48) 	12–7–5
25 	T 	December 20 	4–4 	Detroit Red Wings (1947–48) 	12–7–6
26 	W 	December 21 	3–1 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1947–48)	13–7–6
27 	W 	December 25 	3–0 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1947–48) 	14–7–6
28 	W 	December 27 	2–1 	Boston Bruins (1947–48) 	15–7–6
29 	T 	December 28 	1–1 	@ New York Rangers (1947–48) 	15–7–7
30 	W 	January 1, 1948 	2–1 	Montreal Canadiens (1947–48) 	16–7–7
31 	T 	January 3 	5–5 	New York Rangers (1947–48) 	16–7–8
32 	W 	January 10 	6–4 	Chicago Black Hawks (1947–48) 	17–7–8
33 	T 	January 11 	2–2 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1947–48) 	17–7–9
34 	L 	January 15 	4–8 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1947–48) 	17–8–9
35 	W 	January 17 	4–1 	Boston Bruins (1947–48) 	18–8–9
36 	T 	January 18 	2–2 	@ New York Rangers (1947–48) 	18–8–10
37 	L 	January 21 	1–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1947–48) 	18–9–10
38 	W 	January 24 	2–1 	Chicago Black Hawks (1947–48) 	19–9–10
39 	T 	January 25 	4–4 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1947–48)	19–9–11
40 	T 	January 28 	3–3 	Montreal Canadiens (1947–48) 	19–9–12
41 	W 	January 31 	3–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1947–48) 	20–9–12
42 	L 	February 1 	0–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1947–48) 	20–10–12
43 	W 	February 4 	4–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1947–48) 	21–10–12
44 	W 	February 7 	3–0 	New York Rangers (1947–48) 	22–10–12
45 	W 	February 14 	4–2 	Montreal Canadiens (1947–48) 	23–10–12
46 	T 	February 16 	4–4 	@ New York Rangers (1947–48) 	23–10–13
47 	L 	February 19 	1–3 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1947–48) 	23–11–13
48 	W 	February 21 	3–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1947–48) 	24–11–13
49 	W 	February 22 	3–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1947–48)	25–11–13
50 	W 	February 25 	4–2 	Boston Bruins (1947–48) 	26–11–13
51 	W 	February 28 	4–3 	Chicago Black Hawks (1947–48) 	27–11–13
52 	L 	March 2 	0–1 	@ New York Rangers (1947–48) 	27–12–13
53 	L 	March 3 	2–3 	Montreal Canadiens (1947–48) 	27–13–13
54 	W 	March 6 	2–1 	New York Rangers (1947–48) 	28–13–13
55 	L 	March 7 	1–3 	@ Boston Bruins (1947–48) 	28–14–13
56 	L 	March 11 	1–3 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1947–48) 	28–15–13
57 	W 	March 13 	5–2 	Boston Bruins (1947–48) 	29–15–13
58 	W 	March 14 	3–0 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1947–48)	30–15–13
59 	W 	March 20 	5–3 	Detroit Red Wings (1947–48) 	31–15–13
60 	W 	March 21 	5–2 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1947–48) 	32–15–13
==Playoffs==
===Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Boston Bruins 1===
Having last met in the 1941 Stanley Cup Semi-finals where the Bruins defeated the Leafs 4 games to 3 on their way to their third Stanley Cup, the Leafs defeated the Bruins in a tight five game series where three games were decided by one goal, including an overtime game. Six goals by Ted Kennedy led the Leafs.
Game 1 at Maple Leaf Gardens was a cleanly played game in which the teams constantly traded goals. The Bruins Murray Henderson scored early in the first period but the Leafs Bill Ezinicki tied it up. In the second, Ed Harrison put the Bruins up 2-1 but Max Bentley evened the score. In the third period, Jimmy Peters blocked a Gus Mortson point shot, passed to Milt Schmidt who fed Pat Egan for a one-timer that made it 3-2 Bruins. Syl Apps evened the score and at 8:38, Kenny Smith put the Bruins ahead. A point shot by Jimmy Thomson at 15:34 sent the game into overtime. Late in the first OT, Nick Metz potted the winner from the edge of the crease and the Leafs took a 1-0 series lead.
 
Game 2 in Toronto was decided by power plays and the Leafs Ted Kennedy. An early penalty to the Bruins Fern Flaman saw Kennedy score his first on a backhand from in front of the net on the PP. A slash by the Leafs Howie Meeker resulted in the Bruins Johnny Peirson scoring his first career playoff goal on the PP to tie it up. At 18:24, the Bruins Clare Martin took a tripping penalty and Kennedy scored his second on the PP. A minute into the second period, Meeker took another slashing penalty and Pete Babando tied it at 2-2 on the PP. Showing he didn't need a man advantage to score, Kennedy potted his third and then fourth goal of the game and the Leafs took a 4-2 lead into the third. Max Bentley put the Leafs up 5-2 before Milt Schmidt made it 5-3. The Leafs headed to Boston up 2-0 in the series.
Game 3 at the Boston Garden saw the Leafs dominate the Bruins throughout the game. By the end of the second period, the Bruins had only 5 shots on goal. Leafs goals by Meeker, Bill Barilko and Kennedy was responded to by Milt Schmidt on a rebound and the Leafs led 3-1. The third period got out of hand once Garth Boesch added another goal for the Leafs and a scrap broke out. A late goal by Nick Metz had the hometown crowd fuming and a fight occurred between Bruin fans and the Leafs Wally Stanowski. Stanowski's teammates came to his aid and the Leafs beat a hasty retreat to their dressing room with a 5-1 win and 3-0 stranglehold on the series.
Game 4 at Boston saw nearly 70 policemen posted to prevent a re-occurrence of Game 3's altercation with the fans. The game was cleanly played with the Bruins Ed Sandford scoring the only goal of the first period. Bill Ezinicki tied it up in the second before Johnny Peirson put the Bruins ahead again. At 13:24 of the third, Peirson scored again which would hold up as the winner when Apps scored with 4:52 left. The Leafs held a 3-1 series lead.
Game 5 in Toronto was a tight checking affair with the Bruins Jimmy Peters opening the scoring on the power play 5:20 into the game. Leafs third liners Vic Lynn and Murray Costello responded and the Leafs led 2-1 at the end of the first period. The Bruins Kenny Smith tied the game at 12:08 of the second. Both teams attempts to break the deadlock were stunted by Turk Broda and Frank Brimsek until Kennedy took a Meeker pass and picked the top corner over Brimsek's shoulder at 5:52 of the third. The Bruins couldn't counter and the Leafs took the series 4-1.
#	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	Record
1	March 24	Boston Bruins 	4-5 (OT)	Toronto Maple Leafs	0-1
2	March 27	Boston Bruins 	3-5 	Toronto Maple Leafs	0-2
3	March 30	Toronto Maple Leafs	5-1 	Boston Bruins 	3-0
4	April 1 	Toronto Maple Leafs	2-3 	Boston Bruins 	3-1
5	April 3 	Boston Bruins 	2-3 	Toronto Maple Leafs	1-4
===Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Detroit Red Wings 0===
This was the debut series for Detroit's Gordie Howe, and the last for Toronto's Syl Apps who retired after the series.
Date 	Away 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
April 7 	Detroit	3 	Toronto	5 	
April 10	Detroit	2 	Toronto	4 	
April 11	Toronto	2 	Detroit	0 	
April 14	Toronto	7 	Detroit	2 	
==Player Stats==
===Regular Season===
;Scoring
Player	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
 	55	26	27	53 	12
 	53	23	25	48 	10
 	60	25	21	46 	32
 	57	21	20	41 	16
 	58	14	20	34 	62
 	60	12	22	34 	53
 	60	11	20	31 	97
 	59	15	15	30 	28
 	59	0 	29	29 	82
 	58	7 	11	18 	118
 	31	7 	10	17 	10
 	57	5 	9 	14 	147
 	54	2 	11	13 	12
 	60	4 	8 	12 	8
 	26	4 	6 	10 	2
 	45	2 	7 	9 	52
 	8 	1 	2 	3 	4
 	4 	2 	0 	2 	0
 	7 	1 	0 	1 	0
 	3 	0 	1 	1 	0
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	3 	0 	0 	0 	2
 	60	0 	0 	0 	2
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SA	SV	SV%	SO
 	3600	60	32	15	13	143	2.38	 	 	 	5
Team: 	3600	60	32	15	13	143	2.38	 	 	 	5
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
 	9 	8	6	14 	0
 	9 	4	7	11 	0
 	9 	4	4	8 	0
 	9 	5	2	7 	9
 	9 	2	5	7 	20
 	9 	2	4	6 	15
 	9 	3	1	4 	6
 	5 	2	2	4 	2
 	8 	2	1	3 	2
 	5 	1	2	3 	2
 	9 	2	0	2 	2
 	9 	1	1	2 	2
 	9 	1	1	2 	9
 	9 	0	2	2 	2
 	9 	1	0	1 	17
 	5 	0	1	1 	2
 	2 	0	0	0 	2
 	2 	0	0	0 	0
 	9 	0	0	0 	10
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA 	SA	SV	SV%	SO
 	557	9 	8	1	 	20	2.15	 	 	 	1
Team: 	557	9 	8	1	 	20	2.15	 	 	 	1
==1948 Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup Champions==
Turk Broda, Garth Boesch, Gus Mortson, Jimmy Thomson, Wally Stanowski, Bill Barilko, Harry Watson, Phil Samis, Ted Kennedy, Syl Apps (captain), Don Metz, Nick Metz, Bill Ezinicki, Vic Lynn, Howie Meeker, Max Bentley, Joe Klukay, Les Costello, Sid Smith, Conn Smythe (manager), Hap Day (coach), Tim Daly (trainer)
==Awards and Records==
* Prince of Wales Trophy: Toronto Maple Leafs
* Vezina Trophy: Turk Broda
* Turk Broda, Goalie, NHL First Team All-Star
==Trivia==
*Leafs who recorded a hat trick this season include:
**Ted Kennedy had four goals during the 5-3 win over the Boston Bruins, Game 2 of the Semi-finals, March 27, 1948.
==Gallery==
1947-Nov22-Wilson goal.gif|Pete Babando ties the game 3-3, November 22, 1947.
1948-Feb25-Sandford goal.gif|Ed Sandford from Jimmy Peters, February 25, 1948.
24Mar1948-Brimsek_stops_Apps.jpg|Frank Brimsek stops Apps while #18 Ken Smith, #20 Paul Ronty, #23 Johnny Peirson and helmeted #6 Jack Crawford look on. Game 1 of the Semi-finals, March 24, 1948.
27March1948-Toronto-Boston-playoff.jpg|Action from Game 2 of the Semi-finals, March 27, 1948.
47-48NHLTorontoGameAd.jpg|Home opener
47-48NHLPOTorontoGameAd.jpg|Playoffs
==Video==
Over 14 minutes of clips (in reverse image) from the December 27, 1947 Bruins-Leafs game won 2-1 by Toronto. The first 2 minutes are in colour. Goals by Sid Smith, Vic Lynn and Pete Babando are shown.
1947 Leafs vs Boston silent first 2 min in colour
Highlights of the February 28, 1948 game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Black Hawks at Maple Leaf Gardens. Goals by Gus Bodnar on Turk Broda as well as Max Bentley and Joe Klukay on Emile Francis are shown in the Leafs 4-3 victory.
Ice Hockey (1948)
==References==
*Maple Leafs on Hockey Database
*Maple Leafs on Database Hockey
Category:Stanley Cup championship seasons
Category:Toronto Maple Leafs seasons
Toronto Maple Leafs season, 1947–48
Toronto Maple Leafs season, 1947–48