1954–55 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1954–55 Montreal Canadiens season was the Canadiens' 46th season of play. The Canadiens finished in second place in the National Hockey League (NHL) with a record of 41 wins, 18 losses, and 11 ties for 93 points. In the playoffs, they defeated the Boston Bruins in five games in the semi-finals before falling to the Detroit Red Wings in seven games in the Stanley Cup Finals.

1954–55 Montreal Canadiens
League2nd NHL
1954–55 record41–18–11
Goals for228
Goals against157
Team information
General managerFrank J. Selke
CoachDick Irvin
CaptainButch Bouchard
Alternate captainsMaurice Richard
ArenaMontreal Forum
Team leaders
GoalsBernie Geoffrion and Maurice Richard (38)
AssistsBert Olmstead (48)
PointsBernie Geoffrion (75)
Penalty minutesMaurice Richard (125)
WinsJacques Plante (33)
Goals against averageJacques Plante (2.14)

This season was notable for the suspension of Maurice "Rocket" Richard, Montreal's star player, by NHL president Clarence Campbell after a vicious fight with Boston defenceman Hal Laycoe and Richard punching an on-ice official. The suspension sparked a riot by angry Canadiens fans on March 17, 1955, during a game against the Red Wings (see below).

Regular season

The Richard Riot
Further information: Richard Riot

On March 13, 1955, Canadiens star Maurice Richard was involved in a fighting incident in Boston. Boston's Hal Laycoe high-sticked Richard and cut him on the head, momentarily leaving Richard dazed and prone on the ice. Richard then got up off the ice and attacked Laycoe, breaking his stick on Laycoe. While linesman Cliff Thompson restrained Richard, Laycoe got up and punched Richard. Richard broke free and punched Thompson in the face. This was Richard's second incident with an official that season and a league disciplinary hearing was held. NHL president Clarence Campbell (who had previously been criticized publicly by Richard) then suspended Richard for the rest of the season and the playoffs; at the time, this was the longest suspension for an on-ice incident in NHL history. The Bruins' Laycoe received no fine or suspension for his actions. Public outrage from Montreal soon poured in, but Campbell stood firm, and moreover announced that he would be attending the Canadiens' next home game against the Red Wings on March 17.

Midway into the first period, Campbell arrived with his fiancée. Outraged Canadiens fans immediately began pelting them with eggs, vegetables, and various debris, with more being thrown at him each time the Red Wings scored, building up a 4–1 lead on Montreal. The continuous pelting of various objects stopped when a tear gas bomb was set off inside the Forum not far from where Campbell was sitting. The Forum was ordered evacuated and Campbell ruled the game forfeited to the Red Wings. That was the last straw, as a riot ensued outside the Forum, causing $500,000 in damage to the neighbourhood and the Forum itself. Hundreds of stores were looted and vandalized within a 15-block radius of the Forum. Twelve policemen and 25 civilians were injured. The riot continued well into the night, with police arresting people by the truckload. Local radio stations, which carried live coverage of the riot for over seven hours, had to be forced off the air. The riot was eventually over at 3 am, and left Montreal's Rue Ste-Catherine a mess.

Richard's suspension also cost him the Art Ross Trophy, the closest he ever came to winning it. When Richard's teammate Bernie Geoffrion passed him on the last day of the regular season, he was booed by Montreal faithful. Geoffrion, a right winger, was struggling to gain recognition of his considerable talents because the three leading right wingers of the 1950s were Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings, Andy Bathgate of the New York Rangers, and Richard, Geoffrion's own teammate.

The Canadiens lost the Cup Final to Detroit in seven games, but would win the Cup in the year after, fittingly over the Red Wings — and the next four years in a row after that. Richard retired in 1960 after the Canadiens' fifth straight Stanley Cup, a record that still stands.

Final standings
National Hockey League[1]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1Detroit Red Wings70421711204134+7095
2Montreal Canadiens70411811228157+7193
3Toronto Maple Leafs70242422147135+1270
4Boston Bruins70232621169188−1967
5New York Rangers70173518150210−6052
6Chicago Black Hawks70134017161235−7443

Record vs. opponents
1954–55 NHL Records
Team BOS CHI DET MON NYR TOR
Boston —7–4–33–7–44–7–35–4–54–4–6
Chicago 4–7–3—1–12–10–11–35–4–53–6–5
Detroit 7–3–412–1–1—7–79–2–37–4–3
Montreal 7–4–311–0–37–7—10–3–16–4–4
New York 4–5–54–5–52–9–33–10–1—4–6–4
Toronto 4–4–66–3–54–7–34–6–46–4–4—

Schedule and results
Regular season results
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1WOctober 7, 19544–2Chicago Black Hawks (1954–55)1–0–0
2WOctober 9, 19544–1Boston Bruins (1954–55)2–0–0
3TOctober 11, 19542–2@ Boston Bruins (1954–55)2–0–1
4LOctober 13, 19542–3Detroit Red Wings (1954–55)2–1–1
5WOctober 15, 19543–0@ Chicago Black Hawks (1954–55)3–1–1
6WOctober 16, 19543–1@ Detroit Red Wings (1954–55)4–1–1
7LOctober 21, 19541–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1954–55)4–2–1
8WOctober 23, 19547–1New York Rangers (1954–55)5–2–1
9LOctober 24, 19542–4@ New York Rangers (1954–55)5–3–1
10WOctober 27, 19543–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1954–55)6–3–1
11WOctober 30, 19545–1Chicago Black Hawks (1954–55)7–3–1
12WNovember 6, 19544–1Detroit Red Wings (1954–55)8–3–1
13WNovember 7, 19544–3@ Boston Bruins (1954–55)9–3–1
14WNovember 11, 19547–4Chicago Black Hawks (1954–55)10–3–1
15WNovember 13, 19542–1Boston Bruins (1954–55)11–3–1
16LNovember 14, 19541–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1954–55)11–4–1
17LNovember 17, 19542–5@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1954–55)11–5–1
18WNovember 18, 19545–4Toronto Maple Leafs (1954–55)12–5–1
19WNovember 20, 19544–1New York Rangers (1954–55)13–5–1
20LNovember 21, 19540–2@ Boston Bruins (1954–55)13–6–1
21TNovember 23, 19544–4@ Chicago Black Hawks (1954–55)13–6–2
22WNovember 25, 19543–2@ Chicago Black Hawks (1954–55)14–6–2
23WNovember 27, 19544–1Detroit Red Wings (1954–55)15–6–2
24LNovember 28, 19541–4@ New York Rangers (1954–55)15–7–2
25TNovember 30, 19543–3@ Chicago Black Hawks (1954–55)15–7–3
26WDecember 2, 19544–1@ Detroit Red Wings (1954–55)16–7–3
27TDecember 5, 19543–3@ New York Rangers (1954–55)16–7–4
28LDecember 8, 19541–3@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1954–55)16–8–4
29WDecember 9, 19542–0Toronto Maple Leafs (1954–55)17–8–4
30LDecember 11, 19540–3Boston Bruins (1954–55)17–9–4
31TDecember 12, 19542–2@ Boston Bruins (1954–55)17–9–5
32WDecember 16, 19545–1New York Rangers (1954–55)18–9–5
33WDecember 18, 19544–2@ Chicago Black Hawks (1954–55)19–9–5
34WDecember 19, 19545–0@ Detroit Red Wings (1954–55)20–9–5
35WDecember 25, 19544–1New York Rangers (1954–55)21–9–5
36TDecember 29, 19541–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1954–55)21–9–6
37WDecember 30, 19547–4Chicago Black Hawks (1954–55)22–9–6
38WJanuary 1, 19554–1Detroit Red Wings (1954–55)23–9–6
39LJanuary 2, 19552–3@ Detroit Red Wings (1954–55)23–10–6
40WJanuary 6, 19556–0Chicago Black Hawks (1954–55)24–10–6
41TJanuary 8, 19551–1Boston Bruins (1954–55)24–10–7
42WJanuary 9, 19557–1@ New York Rangers (1954–55)25–10–7
43LJanuary 15, 19553–4Detroit Red Wings (1954–55)25–11–7
44LJanuary 16, 19550–6@ Boston Bruins (1954–55)25–12–7
45WJanuary 20, 19556–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1954–55)26–12–7
46WJanuary 22, 19555–3Chicago Black Hawks (1954–55)27–12–7
47WJanuary 23, 19555–3@ Chicago Black Hawks (1954–55)28–12–7
48TJanuary 26, 19551–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1954–55)28–12–8
49WJanuary 29, 19554–0Boston Bruins (1954–55)29–12–8
50LJanuary 30, 19551–7@ Detroit Red Wings (1954–55)29–13–8
51WFebruary 3, 19553–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1954–55)30–13–8
52WFebruary 5, 19553–1New York Rangers (1954–55)31–13–8
53WFebruary 6, 19557–3@ New York Rangers (1954–55)32–13–8
54LFebruary 9, 19551–3@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1954–55)32–14–8
55LFebruary 13, 19551–4@ New York Rangers (1954–55)32–15–8
56WFebruary 17, 19554–2Detroit Red Wings (1954–55)33–15–8
57WFebruary 19, 195510–2New York Rangers (1954–55)34–15–8
58TFebruary 24, 19551–1Toronto Maple Leafs (1954–55)34–15–9
59WFebruary 26, 19554–1Boston Bruins (1954–55)35–15–9
60WFebruary 27, 19557–1@ New York Rangers (1954–55)36–15–9
61WMarch 2, 19553–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1954–55)37–15–9
62WMarch 3, 19554–1@ Boston Bruins (1954–55)38–15–9
63TMarch 5, 19554–4Chicago Black Hawks (1954–55)38–15–10
64WMarch 6, 19554–2@ Chicago Black Hawks (1954–55)39–15–10
65TMarch 10, 19550–0Toronto Maple Leafs (1954–55)39–15–11
66WMarch 12, 19552–1Boston Bruins (1954–55)40–15–11
67LMarch 13, 19552–4@ Boston Bruins (1954–55)40–16–11
68‡LMarch 17, 19551–4Detroit Red Wings (1954–55)40–17–11
69WMarch 19, 19554–2New York Rangers (1954–55)41–17–11
70LMarch 20, 19550–6@ Detroit Red Wings (1954–55)41–18–11

[2]

‡ Forfeited to Detroit after one period. Goals and assists for the game still counted as official.

Playoffs

Montreal defeated the Boston Bruins 4–1 to reach the finals.

Stanley Cup Final
Further information: 1955 Stanley Cup Finals

Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Canadiens

Date Away Score Home Score Notes
April 3Montreal2Detroit4
April 5Montreal1Detroit7
April 7Detroit2Montreal6
April 9Detroit3Montreal5
April 10Montreal1Detroit5
April 12Detroit3Montreal6
April 14Montreal1Detroit3

Detroit wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 3.

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Bernie GeoffrionRW7038377557
Maurice RichardRW67383674125
Jean BeliveauC7037367358
Bert OlmsteadLW70104858103
Ken MosdellC7022325482
Doug HarveyD706434958
Dickie MooreLW6716203632
Calum MacKayLW5014213539
Jack LeClairC5911223312
Tom JohnsonD706192574
Floyd CurryRW6811102136
Dollard St. LaurentD583141724
Emile BouchardD702151781
Ed LitzenbergerC/RW29741112
Bud MacPhersonD3018955
Don MarshallLW395389
Eddie MazurD/LW2515621
Paul MegerLW130446
Paul MasnickC190110
Guy RousseauLW20110
Jean-Guy TalbotD30110
Jim BartlettLW20004
Andre BinetteG10000
Garry BlaineRW10000
Claude EvansG40000
Charlie HodgeG140000
Jean LamirandeLW/D10000
Jacques PlanteG520002
Paul RontyC40002
Orval TessierC40000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Jacques Plante308052331271102.145
Charlie Hodge82014644312.271
Andre Binette60110044.000
Claude Evans2004120123.600
Team:4160704118111572.266

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Bernie GeoffrionRW1285138
Jean BeliveauC12671318
Floyd CurryRW1284124
Calum MacKayLW1238118
Ken MosdellC122798
Doug HarveyD120886
Dickie MooreLW1215622
Jack LeClairC125052
Dollard St. LaurentD1205512
Bert OlmsteadLW1204421
Tom JohnsonD1220222
Don MarshallLW121122
Emile BouchardD1201137
Jim BartlettLW20000
Dick GambleLW20002
Charlie HodgeG40000
George McAvoyD40000
Jacques PlanteG120000
Paul RontyC50002
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Jacques Plante6391263302.820
Charlie Hodge8441264.290
Team:7231275362.990

[3]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Roster
1954-55 Montreal Canadiens roster

Forwards

4 – Beliveau • 5 – Geoffrion • 6 – Curry • 8 – LeClair • 9 – Richard • 11 – MacKay • 12 – Moore • 14 – Ronty • 15 – Olmstead • 17 – Litzenberger • 17 – Blaine • 18 – Mosdell • 20 – Meger • 20 – Bartlett • 22 – Tessier • 22 – Marshall • 23 – Mazur • 23 – Lamirande • 24 – Rousseau 

Defenseman

2 – Harvey • 3 – Bouchard • 10 – Johnson • 19 – St. Laurent • 21 – MacPherson • 23 – Talbot 

Goalies

1 – Binette • 1 – Plante • 29 – Hodge • 30 – Evans 

General Manager: Frank J. Selke •  Coach: Dick Irvin

[4]

See also

References
  1. "1954–1955 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  2. "1954–55 Montreal Canadiens Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
  3. "1954-55 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  4. Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-May-03.
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