1954 NHL Playoffs
Detroit vs Chicago
Jean Beliveau is indeed healthy and in the lineup for the first place
Blackhawks, but it didn’t matter.
Gordie Howe had 3 points, and
Marcel Pelletier made 23 saves for a 5-0 shutout win.
Pelletier hurts his groin in the game, and is listed as day-to-day. Game two sees
Chicago again get 23 shots, and again,
Dick Bittner stops every single one of them. Yes, that’s right.
Pelletier can’t go, but
Detroit turns to
Dick Bittner, who played most of the season in
Edmonton of the
AHL, rather then
Johnny Bower, who has a .922 save percentage in 30 games. 2-0
Wings win though to take a 2-0 lead in the series heading home.
Bittner takes over in Detroit's net.
Bert Olmstead finally gets
Chicago on the board in the middle of the second, but they trailed 3-0 when he did it.
Detroit would add another, and win it easily 4-1! This is rather impressive by
Detroit. Game 4 sees
Doug Bentley get
Chicago on the board first, but
Detroit does tie it up. The game needs overtime, and in OT,
Fred Hucul, with 1 NHL goal in 25 career games, is the hero for
Chicago. It might not mean anything in the long run, but the
Blackhawks avoid elimination with a 2-1 win.
Hucul keeps Chicago alive.
With a little bit of momentum, and on home ice,
Chicago grabs a 2-0 lead.
Gordie Howe would score twice to tie it, but
Floyd Curry, already with a goal, scored twice in the third, for a hat trick and a 4-2
Chicago win.
Detroit will stick with
Dick Bittner for game six. Tied at ones heading into the third,
Gordie Howe assists on three straight
Detroit goals.
Chicago has no answer.
Detroit holds
Jean Beliveau and
Bert Olmstead to combined 1g and 3 assists in the series. 5-1
Detroit. Series over!
Boston vs Montreal
Without
Lindsay and
Kelly,
Montreal struggles to score in game 1. They fall down 2-0 after a period, and can only get one goal back late in the third.
Boston wins 2-1. In the second game, the
Bruins again lead 2-0, but
Claude Provost, and
Dick Gamble score for
Montreal, tying it at two, forcing overtime. In the extra frame,
Dick Gamble gets his 2nd goal of the game to tie the series for the
Habs.
Gamble's two goal effort helps win game 2!
George Armstrong gives
Montreal the lead early in the second, but
Jim Thomson ties it early in the third. Another overtime was needed to decide this, and it’s
Montreal’s Tom Johnson is the hero! 2-1
Habs win to take the lead in the series.
Al Rollins makes 19 saves in game 4, shutting out the
Bruins.
Claude Provost and
Fred Glover score to give
Montreal the 2-0 win. The
Habs aren’t scoring, but they aren’t allowing goals either.
Rollins has allowed 5 goals in the first 4 games!
With the series on the line in game 5, the teams skated to a 1-1 draw after regulation. 16 minutes into overtime,
Fred Glover’s 2nd of the series is the clincher.
Montreal outscores
Boston 10-6 in the 5 game series to win it 4 games to 1.
