1955–56 NHL season

The 1955–56 NHL season was the 39th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 70 games. The Montreal Canadiens were the Stanley Cup champions as they beat the Detroit Red Wings four games to one in the best-of-seven final series.
==League business==
At a governors' meeting in December, a discussion took place concerning the uniforms worn by officials. It was contended that the present orange and black uniforms were confusing to players and fans, particularly when red uniforms are worn by either of the participating teams. Furthermore, it was pointed out that the existing uniforms showed up black on television. It was unanimously agreed that officials' uniforms should be changed to black and white vertical stripes. The black and white uniforms were first worn on December 29, 1955.
With Montreal frequently racking up two or three goals on any one power play, NHL President Clarence Campbell said he'd like the penalty rule revised to a penalized player returning to the ice when a power play goal is scored on a minor penalty. The Canadiens were the lone club to vote against the new legislation.
==Regular season==
The streak of seven straight seasons at the top of the NHL held by the Detroit Red Wings' dynasty came to an end as the Montreal Canadiens were tops. The Canadiens set a new record for wins in a season with 45. The Canadiens had a new coach, their one-time great former All-Star left-winger, Hector "Toe" Blake.
Dick Irvin, formerly the coach in Montreal, whom Habs' GM Frank Selke Sr. found a little truculent, took over as coach in Chicago, but could not get them out of the cellar, though they did improve. It was sort of a homecoming for Irvin as he started his coaching career with Chicago in 1930. 
===Highlights===
When the Hawks went to the Montreal Forum on October 22, Irvin was presented with a set of silver flatware by William Northey, representing the Canadian Arena Company. In the game itself, rookie Henri Richard scored two goals as Montreal shut out Chicago 6-0.
On November 5, Jean Beliveau scored three goals in 44 seconds as Montreal beat Boston 4-3. The record for fastest hat trick still was held by Bill Mosienko with three goals in 21 seconds.
On January 11, a crowd of 15,570 delighted fans at Madison Square Garden watched the Rangers trounce the Canadiens 6-1. Pete Conacher was a star for the Rangers with two goals. Lou Fontinato and Maurice Richard had a gala fight and Fontinato knocked out Richard with a punch that required several stitches above Richard's eye.
Montreal routed the Rangers 9-4 on February 18 as Beliveau had the hat trick and Richard two. The Rocket was incensed when referee Louis Maschio gave his brother a misconduct penalty and his teammates had to cool him off.
Beliveau set a record for goals by a center when he scored his 45th goal on March 15. Maurice Richard was hurt in this game when he fell over Hawk defenceman Pierre Pilote's skate and went headlong into the goal. He required stitches and was taken to hospital for X-rays. The Rocket was back in the lineup on St. Patrick's Day as the Canadiens trounced the Rangers 7-2 and Richard had the hat trick.
Rookie Glenn Hall had a fabulous year with 12 shutouts and a 2.11 goals against average for the ever-powerful Detroit Red Wings. He received the Calder Memorial Trophy over Henri "Pocket Rocket" Richard. 
===Final standings===
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
National Hockey League	GP	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA 	PIM
Montreal Canadiens 	70	45	15	10	100	222	131	977
Detroit Red Wings 	70	30	24	16	76 	183	148	794
New York Rangers 	70	32	28	10	74 	204	203	911
Toronto Maple Leafs 	70	24	33	13	61 	153	181	1051
Boston Bruins 	70	23	34	13	59 	147	185	929
Chicago Black Hawks 	70	19	39	12	50 	155	216	826
==Playoffs==
===Playoff bracket===
===Semifinals===
{| class="wikitable" 	Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers	Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers	Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers	Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers	Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers	Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers
Date 	Away Team 	Away Team 	Home Team 	Home Team 	 	
20. March 	NY Rangers 	1 	7 	Montreal 	 	
22. March 	NY Rangers 	4 	2 	Montreal 	 	
24. March 	Montreal 	3 	1 	NY Rangers 	 	
25. March 	Montreal 	5 	3 	NY Rangers 	 	
27. March 	NY Rangers 	0 	7 	Montreal 	 	
Montreal won series 4:1.	Montreal won series 4:1. 	Montreal won series 4:1. 	Montreal won series 4:1. 	Montreal won series 4:1. 	Montreal won series 4:1. 	
===Final===
The Canadiens, down 4–2 after two periods, scored four unanswered goals, in a 5:29 span, in the third period to win Game One 6–4 at the Forum. Jacques Plante held the Red Wings to just ten goals in the five games. This was the first finals for Henri Richard and former Habs player Toe Blake's first finals as coach.
Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Canadiens
Date 	Away 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
March 31	Detroit 	4 	Montreal	6 	
April 3 	Detroit 	1 	Montreal	5 	
April 5 	Montreal	1 	Detroit 	3 	
April 8 	Montreal	3 	Detroit 	0 	
April 10	Detroit 	1 	Montreal	3 	
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1
==Awards==
===First Half Winners===
*Calder Memorial Trophy: 	Glenn Hall, Detroit Red Wings
*Hart Memorial Trophy: 	Gump Worsley, New York Rangers
*James Norris Memorial Trophy: 	Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens
*Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: 	Earl Reibel, Detroit Red Wings
===Winners===
*Prince of Wales Trophy: 	Montreal Canadiens
*Art Ross Memorial Trophy: 	Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens
*Calder Memorial Trophy: 	Glenn Hall, Detroit Red Wings
*Hart Memorial Trophy: 	Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens
*James Norris Memorial Trophy: 	Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens
*Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: 	Earl Reibel, Detroit Red Wings
*Vezina Trophy: 	Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens
===All-Star teams===
First team 	  Position  	Second team
Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens 	G 	Glenn Hall, Detroit Red Wings
Doug Harvey, Montreal Canadiens 	D 	Red Kelly, Detroit Red Wings
Bill Gadsby, New York Rangers 	D 	Tom Johnson, Montreal Canadiens
Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens 	C 	Tod Sloan, Toronto Maple Leafs
Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens	RW 	Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings
Ted Lindsay, Detroit Red Wings 	LW 	Bert Olmstead, Montreal Canadiens
==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
Jean Beliveau 	Montreal Canadiens 	70	47	41	88 	143
Gordie Howe 	Detroit Red Wings 	70	38	41	79 	100
Maurice Richard 	Montreal Canadiens 	70	38	33	71 	89
Bert Olmstead 	Montreal Canadiens 	70	14	56	70 	94
Tod Sloan 	Toronto Maple Leafs	70	37	29	66 	100
Andy Bathgate 	New York Rangers 	70	19	47	66 	59
Bernie Geoffrion	Montreal Canadiens 	59	29	33	62 	66
Earl Reibel 	Detroit Red Wings 	68	17	39	56 	10
Alex Delvecchio 	Detroit Red Wings 	70	25	36	51 	24
Dave Creighton 	New York Rangers 	70	20	31	51 	43
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
Jacques Plant	Montreal Canadiens 	64	3840	119	1.86	42	12	10	7
Glenn Hall 	Detroit Red Wings 	70	4200	147	2.10	30	24	16	12
Terry Sawchuk	Boston Bruins 	68	4080	177	2.60	22	33	13	9
Harry Lumley 	Toronto Maple Leafs	59	3527	159	2.70	21	28	10	3
Lorne Worsley	New York Rangers 	70	4200	199	2.84	32	28	10	4
Al Rollins 	Chicago Black Hawks	58	3480	172	2.97	17	30	11	3
==Team Photos==
55-56BosBru.jpg|Boston Bruins
55-56ChiBH.jpg|Chicago Black Hawks
55-56DetRW.jpg|Detroit Red Wings
55-56MtlCdn.jpg|Montreal Canadiens
55-56NYR.jpg|New York Rangers
55-56TorML.jpg|Toronto Maple Leafs
==References==
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==External links==
*Hockey Database
*NHL.com
Category:1955 in ice hockey
Category:1956 in ice hockey