1930–31 NHL season

The 1930–31 NHL season was the 14th season of the National Hockey League. Ten teams played 44 games each. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Black Hawks three games to two in a best-of-five Stanley Cup final for their second consecutive Cup win.
==League business==
Art Ross bitterly complained about the Stanley Cup final setup. His team had been vanquished in two consecutive games by the Montreal Canadiens in 1929–30. As a result, the Board of Governors decided to make the final a best-of-five series.
The Great Depression was starting to take its toll on the NHL. In attempts to solve financial problems, the Pittsburgh Pirates moved to Philadelphia and became the Philadelphia Quakers, but there was nothing about the team to win games or fans. It was intended that the team stay in Philadelphia only until a new arena was built in Pittsburgh. The arena was never built, and the team folded after only one season in the new city. The state of Pennsylvania would be without an NHL team until the league doubled in size 36 years later.
The Ottawa Senators were in a similar financial boat but instead of relocating, they sold a star asset and future Hall of Famer, King Clancy, to the Toronto Maple Leafs for $35,000 and two players. Even after the sale of Clancy, the Senators' owners put the team up for sale for $200,000, although no bids approached anywhere near that figure. The team would suspend operations before the start of the next season.Kitchen(2008), pp. 306–309
The Detroit Cougars changed the team name to the Detroit Falcons.
 
==Regular season==
Howie Morenz led the league in scoring.
Dick Irvin started his career in coaching with Chicago and they finished second in the American Division. He resigned at season's end after having taken the Black Hawks to the finals.
===Final standings===
GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
Canadian Division 	GP	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA 	PIM
Montreal Canadiens 	44	26	10	8 	60 	129	89 	602
Toronto Maple Leafs	44	22	13	9 	53 	118	99 	540
Montreal Maroons 	44	20	18	6 	46 	105	106	568
New York Americans 	44	18	16	10	46 	76 	74 	495
Ottawa Senators 	44	10	30	4 	24 	91 	142	486
American Division 	GP	W 	L 	T	Pts	GF 	GA 	PIM
Boston Bruins 	44	28	10	6	62 	143	90 	403
Chicago Black Hawks 	44	24	17	3	51 	108	78 	416
New York Rangers 	44	19	16	9	47 	106	87 	514
Detroit Falcons 	44	16	21	7	39 	102	105	429
Philadelphia Quakers	44	4 	36	4	12 	76 	184	477
==Playoffs==
On 26 March, during the second game of the best-of-five series between the Bruins and Canadiens, coach-GM Art Ross of Boston pulled his goalie for an extra attacker while down 1–0 with 40 seconds left in the final period. The attempt was unsuccessful. This marked the first time in Stanley Cup play that a goalie was pulled for an extra attacker.McFarlane, p. 28
=== First round ===
{| class="wikitable" 	Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins 	Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins 	Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins 	Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins 	Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins 	Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins 	Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins
Date 	Away Team 	Away Team 	Home Team 	Home Team 	Notes 	 	
March 24 	Mtl. Canadiens 	4 	5 	Boston 	OT 	 	
March 26 	Mtl. Canadiens 	1 	0 	Boston 	 	 	
March 28 	Boston 	3 	4 	Mtl. Canadiens 	OT 	 	
March 30 	Boston 	3 	1 	Mtl. Canadiens 	 	 	
April 1 	Boston 	2 	3 	Mtl. Canadiens 	OT 	 	
Montreal won 3-2 and advanced to the finals.	Montreal won 3-2 and advanced to the finals.	Montreal won 3-2 and advanced to the finals.	Montreal won 3-2 and advanced to the finals.	Montreal won 3-2 and advanced to the finals.	Montreal won 3-2 and advanced to the finals.	Montreal won 3-2 and advanced to the finals.	
{| class="wikitable" 	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Chicago Blackhawks	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Chicago Blackhawks	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Chicago Blackhawks	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Chicago Blackhawks	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Chicago Blackhawks	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Chicago Blackhawks	Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Date 	Away Team 	Away Team 	Home Team 	Home Team 	Notes 	 	
March 24 	Chicago 	2 	2 	Toronto 	 	 	
March 26 	Toronto 	1 	2 	Chicago 	OT 	 	
Chicago won series 4-3 on total goals.	Chicago won series 4-3 on total goals. 	Chicago won series 4-3 on total goals. 	Chicago won series 4-3 on total goals. 	Chicago won series 4-3 on total goals. 	Chicago won series 4-3 on total goals. 	Chicago won series 4-3 on total goals. 	
=== Second round ===
{| class="wikitable" 	Chicago Blackhawks vs. New York Rangers	Chicago Blackhawks vs. New York Rangers	Chicago Blackhawks vs. New York Rangers	Chicago Blackhawks vs. New York Rangers	Chicago Blackhawks vs. New York Rangers	Chicago Blackhawks vs. New York Rangers
Date 	Away Team 	Away Team 	Home Team 	Home Team 	 	
March 29 	NY Rangers 	0 	2 	Chicago 	 	
March 31 	Chicago 	1 	0 	NY Rangers 	 	
Chicago won series 3-0 on total goals.	Chicago won series 3-0 on total goals. 	Chicago won series 3-0 on total goals. 	Chicago won series 3-0 on total goals. 	Chicago won series 3-0 on total goals. 	Chicago won series 3-0 on total goals. 	
===Stanley Cup Final===
In the final series, the Chicago Black Hawks took an early two games to one lead in the newly expanded best-of-five Stanley Cup finals but the Montreal Canadiens came back and won the series three games to two for their second consecutive Stanley Cup win.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Date 	Away 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
April 3 	Montreal Canadiens	2 	Chicago Blackhawks	1 	
April 5 	Montreal Canadiens	1 	Chicago Blackhawks	2 	2OT
April 9 	Chicago Blackhawks	3 	Montreal Canadiens	2 	3OT
April 11	Chicago Blackhawks	1 	Montreal Canadiens	2 	
April 14	Chicago Blackhawks	1 	Montreal Canadiens	2 	
Montreal wins best-of-five series three games to two.
==Awards==
1930–31 NHL awards 	1930–31 NHL awards
O'Brien Cup:(Canadian Division champion) 	Montreal Canadiens
Prince of Wales Trophy:(American Division champion)	Boston Bruins
Hart Trophy:(Most valuable player) 	Howie Morenz, Montreal Canadiens
Lady Byng Trophy:(Excellence and sportsmanship) 	Frank Boucher, New York Rangers
Vezina Trophy:(Fewest goals allowed) 	Roy Worters, New York Americans
==Player statistics==
===Scoring leaders===
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Howie Morenz 	Montreal Canadiens 	39	28	23	51 	49
Ebbie Goodfellow	Detroit Red Wings 	44	25	23	48 	32
Charlie Conacher	Toronto Maple Leafs	37	31	12	43 	78
Bill Cook 	New York Rangers 	43	30	12	42 	39
Ace Bailey 	Toronto Maple Leafs	40	23	19	42 	46
Joe Primeau 	Toronto Maple Leafs	38	9 	32	41 	18
Nels Stewart 	Montreal Maroons 	42	25	14	39 	75
Frank Boucher 	New York Rangers 	44	12	27	39 	20
Cooney Weiland 	Boston Bruins 	44	25	13	38 	14
Bun Cook 	New York Rangers 	44	18	17	35 	72
Aurel Joliat 	Montreal Canadiens 	43	13	22	35 	73
Source: NHL.
===Leading goaltenders===
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
Player 	Team 	GP	W 	L 	T 	Mins	GA	SO	GAA
Roy Worters 	New York Americans 	44	18	16	10	2760	74	8 	1.61
Charlie Gardiner 	Chicago Black Hawks	44	24	17	3 	2710	78	12	1.73
John Ross Roach 	New York Rangers 	44	19	16	9 	2760	87	7 	1.89
George Hainsworth	Montreal Canadiens 	44	26	10	8 	2740	89	8 	1.95
Tiny Thompson 	Boston Bruins 	44	28	10	6 	2730	90	3 	1.98
Lorne Chabot 	Toronto Maple Leafs	37	21	8 	8 	2300	80	6 	2.09
Source: NHL.
==Team Photos==
30-31BosBru.jpg|Boston Bruins
30-31Chibh.jpg|Chicago Black Hawks
30-31DetFal.jpg|Detroit Falcons
30-31MtlCdn.jpg|Montreal Canadiens
30-31NYA.jpg|New York Americans
30-31NYR.jpg|New York Rangers
30-31OttSen.jpg|Ottawa Senators
Philqkrs.jpg|Philadelphia Quakers
30-31TorML.jpg|Toronto Maple Leafs
==References==
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;Notes
==External links==
*Hockey Database
*NHL.com
Category:1930 in ice hockey
Category:1931 in ice hockey