1966 Stanley Cup playoffs

The 1965–66 NHL season was the 49th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 70 games. The Montreal Canadiens won their second consecutive Stanley Cup as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings four games to two in the final series. 
==League business==
A new trophy was introduced for this season. Jack Adams won the first Lester Patrick Trophy for his contribution to hockey in the United States.
February saw the momentous announcement that six conditional franchises had been awarded to Los Angeles, San Francisco, St. Louis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, all to begin play in 1967. The St. Louis franchise was surprising, as no formal application from the city had been tendered. It was awarded to fulfill the wishes of James D. Norris and Arthur Wirtz, owners of the Chicago Black Hawks, who also owned the St. Louis Arena, which they wanted to sell.
On the debit side, a strong bid from Vancouver was rejected, much to the anger of many Canadians and the protest of their Prime Minister Lester Pearson. A rumor was widely spread — fuelled by a corroborating statement from Leafs' general manager Punch Imlach that the Toronto and Montreal owners had vetoed the bid out of a dislike for sharing the proceeds from television broadcasts of the games. Vancouver would eventually get an NHL franchise in 1970.
===Rule changes===
The only significant rule change for this season was a requirement that the teams suit up two goaltenders for each game.
==Regular season==
Among notable players to debut during this season were Ed Giacomin for the Rangers, Bill Goldsworthy for the Bruins, Ken Hodge for Chicago and Mike Walton for Toronto. In the meantime, however, the career of future Hockey Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay was over, as his request for reinstatement as an active player was vetoed by the Toronto ownership.
Gordie Howe scored his 600th NHL goal in Montreal on November 27 in a 3–2 loss to the Canadiens to the cheers of the local fans. Among lesser milestones in the season were Frank Mahovlich's 250th goal and Johnny Bucyk's and Claude Provost's 200th.
In an unusual incident, the Red Wings' jerseys were stolen from the visitors' dressing room in Montreal the night before a January game, and Detroit was compelled to play in the uniforms of their junior farm team in Hamilton, which were express shipped to Montreal in time for the match.
James D. Norris, owner of the Chicago Black Hawks, died of a heart attack in late February.
===Final standings===
==Playoffs==
===Playoff bracket===
===Semifinals===
The second game of the semifinal series between Detroit and Chicago on April 10, was nationally televised in the United States."Red Wings Jar Black Hawks, 7–0." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 1966 Apr 11.
For the fourth straight year, it was Montreal vs. Toronto and Detroit vs. Chicago in the first round. The Canadiens were victorious over the Leafs in four straight games, while the Wings beat the Hawks in six.
====(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs====
====(2) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (4) Detroit Red Wings====
Chicago held a record of 11–1–2 versus Detroit in the regular season.
===Stanley Cup Finals===
Behind the skilled goaltending of Roger Crozier, who had missed parts of the regular season with illness, the Red Wings won the first two games of the Finals. However, Crozier was injured in the fourth game and the Canadiens won the Cup four games to two. Roger Crozier won the Conn Smythe Trophy as a member of the losing team.
==Awards==
Bobby Hull set a new record for goals in a season with 54 and a new record for points in a season with 97, earning him the Art Ross Trophy and his second straight Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player. No left-winger would pace the NHL in points again until Alexander Ovechkin in 2007–08. Jacques Laperriere of Montreal won the Norris Trophy as best defenceman. 
1965–66 NHL awards 	1965–66 NHL awards
Prince of Wales Trophy:(Regular season champion) 	Montreal Canadiens
Art Ross Trophy:(Top scorer) 	Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks
Calder Memorial Trophy:(Best first-year player) 	Brit Selby, Toronto Maple Leafs
Conn Smythe Trophy:(Most valuable player, playoffs) 	Roger Crozier, Detroit Red Wings
Hart Trophy:(Most valuable player, season) 	Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks
James Norris Memorial Trophy:(Best defenceman) 	Jacques Laperriere, Montreal Canadiens
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:(Excellence and sportsmanship) 	Alex Delvecchio, Detroit Red Wings
Vezina Trophy:(Goaltender(s) of team with the best goals-against average)	Gump Worsley & Charlie Hodge, Montreal Canadiens
Lester Patrick Trophy:(Outstanding service to U.S. hockey) 	J. J. "Jack" Adams
===All-Star teams===
First team 	  Position  	Second team
Glenn Hall, Chicago Black Hawks 	G 	Gump Worsley, Montreal Canadiens
Jacques Laperriere, Montreal Canadiens	D 	Allan Stanley, Toronto Maple Leafs
Pierre Pilote, Chicago Black Hawks 	D 	Pat Stapleton, Chicago Black Hawks
Stan Mikita, Chicago Black Hawks 	C 	Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens
Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings 	RW 	Bobby Rousseau, Montreal Canadiens
Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks 	LW 	Frank Mahovlich, Toronto Maple Leafs
==Player statistics==
===Scoring leaders===
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Bobby Hull 	Chicago Black Hawks	65	54	43	97 	70
Stan Mikita 	Chicago Black Hawks	68	30	48	78 	56
Bobby Rousseau 	Montreal Canadiens 	70	30	48	78 	20
Jean Beliveau 	Montreal Canadiens 	67	29	48	77 	50
Gordie Howe 	Detroit Red Wings 	70	29	46	75 	83
Norm Ullman 	Detroit Red Wings 	70	31	41	72 	35
Alex Delvecchio	Detroit Red Wings 	70	31	38	69 	16
Bob Nevin 	New York Rangers 	69	29	33	62 	10
Henri Richard 	Montreal Canadiens 	62	22	39	61 	47
Murray Oliver 	Boston Bruins 	70	18	42	60 	30
Source: NHL.
===Leading goaltenders===
Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
Player 	Team 	GP	MIN 	GA 	GAA 	W 	L 	T 	SO
Johnny Bower 	Toronto Maple Leafs	35	1998	75 	2.25	18	10	5 	3
Lorne Worsley 	Montreal Canadiens 	51	2899	114	2.36	29	14	6 	2
Charlie Hodge 	Montreal Canadiens 	26	1301	56 	2.58	12	7 	2 	1
Glenn Hall 	Chicago Black Hawks	64	3747	164	2.63	34	21	7 	4
Roger Crozier 	Detroit Red Wings 	64	3734	173	2.78	27	24	12	7
Dave Dryden 	Chicago Black Hawks	11	453 	23 	3.05	3 	4 	1 	0
Terry Sawchuk 	Toronto Maple Leafs	27	1521	80 	3.16	10	11	3 	1
Cesare Maniago	N.Y. Rangers 	28	1613	94 	3.50	9 	16	3 	2
Ed Giacomin 	N.Y. Rangers 	36	2096	128	3.66	8 	19	7 	0
Bernie Parent 	Boston Bruins 	39	2083	128	3.69	11	20	3 	1
Eddie Johnston	Boston Bruins 	33	1744	108	3.72	10	19	2 	1
==Coaches==
*Boston Bruins: Milt Schmidt
*Chicago Black Hawks: Billy Reay
*Detroit Red Wings: Sid Abel
*Montreal Canadiens: Toe Blake
*New York Rangers: Emile Francis
*Toronto Maple Leafs: Punch Imlach
==Debuts==
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1965–66 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
*J. P. Parise, Boston Bruins
*Derek Sanderson, Boston Bruins
*Bernie Parent, Boston Bruins
*Barry Ashbee, Boston Bruins
*Pete Mahovlich, Detroit Red Wings
*Danny Grant, Montreal Canadiens
*Ed Giacomin, New York Rangers
==Last games==
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1965–66 (listed with their last team):
*Bill Gadsby, Detroit Red Wings
== See also ==
* List of Stanley Cup champions
* 1965 NHL Amateur Draft
* National Hockey League All-Star Game
* 1965 in sports
* 1966 in sports
== References ==
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;Notes
* Hockey Database
* NHL.com
 
Category:Stanley Cup Playoffs