NHL Historical Replay

[George_Bell]

After a bit of a break, the Habs look very rusty in game 1. Detroit dominates despite possibly being tired from playing their game 7 the day before. Gordie Howe gets 2 goals and an assist, while Milt Schmidt gets three apples of his own. Detroit wins game one, 5-1! Gordie would score twice in the opening period of game 2, but Montreal is able to respond this time. Red Kelly and Claude Provost both score, and before we know it, we have overtime. In OT, Pierre Pilote is able to get a point shot to the back of the net on the power play, giving the Wings a 4-3 win and a 2-0 series lead.


Pilote wins game 2 in OT!

Facing a lot of pressure, Montreal responds with a great first period. Ted Lindsay gets his first goal of the series, and the Habs add 2 more to go up 3-0. It’s 4-0 before Detroit gets on the board, and by that time, it’s too late. 4-2 Montreal wins to get back in the series. Al Rollins makes his first statement of the series, turning aside 29 shots. Wally Hergesheimer scores the winning goal late in the third as Montreal ties the series with a 2-1 win.


Ted Lindsay gets his first goal in game three.

Rollins stole game 4, but Pelletier is the man in game 5. In a very defensive game, Marcel is perfect, while Gordie Howe scored the only 2 goals. 2-0 Detroit wins, putting them a win away from repeating. Trailing 2-1 halfway through the third period, Montreal’s Tom Johnson gets the puck passed Pelletier to tie this elimination game. The game goes to overtime, and in the extra frame, a sort of Déjà vu occurs.

In real life, Toronto defenseman Bill Barilko scored a famous overtime, Stanley cup winning goal in 1951. Barilko ended up dying that summer, and his body wasn’t found for 11 years. A period when Toronto did not win a Stanley cup. The year his body was discovered, Toronto of course won the Stanley Cup….


Barilko scoring the cup winning goal in real life

Bill Barilko, playing for Detroit in our world, yep, you guessed it, scores a power play goal halfway through overtime, which is the game winning, and cup winning goal!!! Detroit wins the Stanley Cup! Bill Barilko is again a HERO. This time, lets hope he plays a long career in the NHL!

[George_Bell]

1953 NHL Offseason News and Notes

Ted Lindsay was held to 2 goals and 2 assists in the final, while Red Kelly had just a goal and an assist. Gotta say I was finally right about something!! Pelletier won that battle and the Stanley cup cuz of it!!

Here are the top 10 regular season scorers



Here are the top 10 playoff scorers



Here are the award winners



Al Rollins did have a great season, but he's an upset winner of Marcel Pelletier. Ted Lindsay setting the single season scoring record, had a much better year then Gordie Howe, but Howe takes the Hart anyway.



The NHL will introduce a new award this coming season. The Norris Trophy will be awarded to the defenseman who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position.



The trophy is named in honour of Jame E. Norris, owner of the Red Wings from 1932 to 1952. I might rename it at some point, or maybe before the season even starts. The Shore Award? Maybe? I don’t know if that sounds very good…

This years entry draft is a improvement talent wise on last year, but it still didn't feature alot of talent. Johnny Bucyk goes 2nd overall, but only has 3 star potential. That's a bit surprising to me.



Norm Ullman is the first pick, going to Boston. He looks like he can be a good two way player one day. Borderline 1st/2nd line player.



No logo or uniform changes, and no trading this offseason. Let's get ready for 1953-54!

[George_Bell]

Whoops, looks like i completely forgot to post the Detroit winning banner and stats. Well, here it is, out of order!

[George_Bell]

1953-54 NHL Season Preview



I pressed the wrong button when screen shoting the player poll, and deleted it. OOPS. I remember Boom Boom Geoffrian was named best skater, and Terry Sawchuk is the hardest goalie to beat….

Top Player



Ted Lindsay remains the leagues most talented player. Jean Beliveau and Gordie Howe are right behind him, while Doug Harvey and Maurice Richard are the other 5 star skaters in the league.

Top Goalie

[George_Bell]

1953-54 NHL Regular Season

Maurice Richard got injured early this year. 10 games in, he strains his posterior cruciate ligament that will sideline him for a month. The 32 year old had a goal and 2 assists. On December 1st, without realistically any contributions from their best player, the Rangers sit 2-19-1. BLOW IT UP!

Wow, the Leafs are stupid!!



This is a terrible deal for Toronto. I don’t get it. They traded Tim Horton, a legit #1 for Pronovost. They developed Pronovost, who right now, is upto a 3.5/4 player, and is doing well. Now they trade him to Boston for a 35 year old Sid Abel who is coming off his worst season and has had age catch up on him. Horrendous deal. Boston now has Harvey, Horton and Pronovost on defense. If they can score at all, they gonna beat you. This Toronto team has made some franchise destroying trades since winning the cup a few years ago.

The Bruins have 39 goals for in their first 21 games. So no, they still can’t score, and unless they can figure out some competence on offense, they can’t beat teams with Ted Lindsay, Jean Beliveau and Gordie Howe.


Boom Boom Geoffrion is the only Bruin scoring at all!

At new years, scoring is at a 25 year low. Teams are scoring just 4.25 goals per game this season. That’s down almost a full goal from two season’s ago. Jean Beliveau currently has 52 points in 37 games. In this environment, where scoring is at a premium, that’s incredible!



Huge blow to the Blackhawks. 2 weeks into the new year, Jean Beliveau breaks his pelvis. He will be sidelined somewhere around 2 months, which means he’s out for the rest of the regular season. The Playoffs are scheduled to begin 2 months to the day of this injury…..A week later, Montreal loses Red Kelly after he suffers radial nerve compression. He’s gone for four months. The leagues two best teams just lost 2 great players!


Kelly is out for the year, could Beliveau return though?

Amazing. Ted Lindsay tore a back muscle on the final day of February. His season is now over. Montreal will go into the playoffs without Lindsay and Red Kelly now. I’m not sure if any team is capable of winning a series losing players of that caliber.


Lindsay sidelined for the playoffs

Final Standings



Boston ends up scoring enough goals to make the playoffs. With the injuries late in the year, I feel like they have a great chance to win their 2nd cup.

Toronto's horrible season is their own fault. They have destroyed what could have been a dynasty. The Rangers held onto hopes of extending a dynasty way to long, and now are bottom feeders.



Jean Beliveau returned to play the final game of the season for Chicago, he gets a point, and despite missing 2 months, is 2nd in league scoring. His teammate Bert Olmstead takes his first scoring title.

Gump Worsley’s amazing performance took the starting job from Terry Sawchuk. Worsley is a good goalie, and needs to play, but I can’t see him holding onto that starting job. The game sometimes is a little too extreme in letting hot goalies play. Sawchuk should not be sitting.

With a league leading 40 assists, Doug Harvey looks like the favourite to win the first Norris trophy later this year…

[George_Bell]

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.

[George_Bell]

Montreal gets back to the finals on the strength of goaltending and defense. They didn’t let the low scoring Bruins to anything in their series, and won despite scoring just 10 goals in 5 games plus another 2 periods of overtime. Since 1941, Montreal has played in 7 Stanley Cups, and has lost 6 of them. They are pretty much viewed as perennial choke artists in this world. Without Red Kelly and Ted Lindsay, they are huge underdogs.

Detroit has won 2 titles in a row, and seem to play their best hockey come playoff time. Gordie Howe has become a beast in the post season. He had 8 points in the 6 game series this year, and has 59 career points in 51 games. Marcel Pelletier is still listed as day to day, and probably won’t start the series in net. Dick Bittner played against Chicago, but Johnny Bower is easily the better goalie. I have no clue who will be playing for the Wings.

[shelrik]

That was a very enjoyable read....must take a long time to play this out...

I can't seem to find how to select commissioners mode but I did not take on a job as coach for now...

Also...were did you find the old Arenas, Wanderers and Senators Jersey's??? I've got everything but those....

Rick

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by shelrik

That was a very enjoyable read....must take a long time to play this out...

I can't seem to find how to select commissioners mode but I did not take on a job as coach for now...

Also...were did you find the old Arenas, Wanderers and Senators Jersey's??? I've got everything but those....

Rick

The commissioners is basically just not taking a job. You can enter commish mode in the manager/manager options heading.

I don't remember what jerseys are included in the download from the mods section and what jerseys i've made myself, but here are those jerseys that i used. Just click the links which are thumbnails and save the pictures to your cpu.

[George_Bell]

Dick Bittner starts for Detroit. Montreal jumps out to a 3-0 lead, and Detroit scores 3 straight to tie it. Before this heads to overtime though, George Armstrong gets his 2nd of the game, giving Montreal the 4-3 win. In game 2, locked at one heading into the third, its Detroit’s Reg Sincair who breaks the draw on the pp, giving Detroit the 2-1 win to tie the series.


Armstrong is the first star of game one!

Holy offense Batman!! Claude Provost gets the hatrick, Dean Prentice scores twice, and Dickie Moore adds one more as the Habs win game three 6-3!! Bittner is in net for all 6 goals. Johnny Bower watched the whole thing, and he will continue to watch. Marcel Pelletier returns to the lineup for game 4, but with the momentum, Montreal jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Ron Stewart took that momentum away though, scoring twice in the 2nd period to tie it. In the third, it was Gordie Howe who scored the eventual winning goal. 3-2 Wings, series tied at 2.


Provost with the hatty in game three!

Ron Stewart gets his 6th playoff goal to open the scoring of game 5. His second of the game in the third is the eventual winning goal. Marcel Pelletier is back, and he’s on. 2-1 Detroit wins, putting them 1 game away. Detroit’s Billy Reay gets them on the board with a short handed marker in game six. That goal holds up until Dickie Moore ties it midway through the third. 37 seconds later, old man Elmer Lach gets his 4th on the PP, which turns out to be the Stanley Cup winning goal. 2-1 Detroit wins!! Three cups in a row!

[George_Bell]

[George_Bell]

1954 NHL Offseason News and Notes

Here are the top 10 regular season scorers



and the top 10 playoff scorers



Gordie Howe again wins the Hart trophy. It's his 4th in a row! Glen Hall wins his first Gardiner award, and Bill Gadsby, the standout defender in Montreal is the first ever winner of the Norris trophy. I expected Doug Harvery to take it, but Gadsby did have a great year. I overlooked him. He scored 24 goals, which is excellent alone for a dman, but considering the level of offense last year!!





Detroit’s Elmer Lach has decided to retire before beginning his age 36 season. Lach played 958 games. That’s now the most in NHL history. It will be passed next year, but in those 958 games, he finished with 659 assists, and 964 points. Both are the best in history as well. I suspect Milt Schmidt will retake the points lead this year, but at the time of his retirement, Elmer Lach holds the record. LEGEND!! Here is a look at his career stats.


click to enlarge

Widely considered to be the best prospect available, Henri Richard, the younger brother of Maurice, is passed over as the top pick in the draft, by his brother’s team! Dick Duff goes to New York at #1 overall.



It’s a surprising move by the Rangers, as Richard looks ready to play right now, while Duff will need some seasoning. Here is a look at top pick Dick Duff.



No hall of fame inductions, jersey retirings, interesting trades, or logo changes. Lets play some games!

[enf91]

The Great Gadsby!

[George_Bell]

1954-55 NHL Season Preview





Top Player



Ted Lindsay continues to be the best rated player in hockey. He’s not as good as Beliveau or Howe on offense, but his defensive game is miles ahead of them, and his mental attributes are still special.

Top Goalie



Terry Sawchuk remains hockey’s best rated goal by the thinnest of margins. Jacques Plante is right there behind him, and Glen Hall is also a 5 star goalie.

[George_Bell]

1954-55 NHL Regular Season

In early November, the great Maurice Richard reached a milestone. He becomes the first player to score 400 goals in the NHL. Richard is 33 years old now. His 5 star rating has dipped to 4.5. His Rangers have been terrible lately, but are off to their best start in years, and Richard is on pace to surpass his his 1953 injury depleted stats by December. Can The Rocket get to 500?! Here is a updated look at the all time goal scoring leaders in NHL history.



And Maurice gets hurt again a few weeks later. A broken hamate bone will sideline the star for 2 months. He won’t be hitting 500 if he can’t stay healthy at this point in his career!



Montreal trades their FORMER starting goalie to the Rangers.



Al Rollins, who has been the Habs goalie for the last 5 years, heads to the Rangers for a draft pick. Rollins was actually playing in the AHL at the time of the trade, as Montreal acquired former Bruins goalie Sugar Jim Henry in the offseason. A move I kind of ignored as i though Henry was washed up. Henry has been excellent this year. I'm wrong again!

1954 Art Ross trophy winner Bert Olmstead is leaving the Blackhawks.


thats the way a trade looks when you accidentally delete the news item about it and take the screenshot from the player history tab. Oops.

The New York Rangers make the surprising move to acquire the 28 year old. New York has been down for a while, but with a legitimate shot at the playoffs, they are being aggressive. Olmstead had 26 points with Chicago this year. New York gives up former first overall pick Don McKenney. He’s just 21, and had done a good job as a checking line center. McKenney looks like a strong 2nd liner in the making.


The reigning Art Ross trophy winner is now a Ranger.

Final Standings



The addition of Olmstead doesn’t help at all, as the Rangers go on a losing streak, and don’t even come close to making the playoffs. Still, they far exceeded the Leafs. I keep going back to the trades made after they won the cup a few years ago. It destroyed the franchise.

Montreal has a dominant season. They finish 24 points ahead of 2nd place. The team that’s now known for losing when it matters most, has to be considered the huge favourite to hoist the cup this year.



Gordie Howe wins the scoring race, and i'm betting a 5th straight Hart trophy after the playoffs. Jean Beliveau is the only player to record over 30 goals.

Johnny Bower and Marcel Pelletier split time in net this season and both record GAA’s under 2, which most of the league did. Sugar Jim Henry, displaced by Jacques Plante, has found a new home, and it worked out really well!

Milt Schmidt does pass Elmer Lach for the all-time scoring lead. He finishes the season with 967 points, 3 more then the retired Lach. Schmidt only played 26 games after cutting his face and hurting his groin. Tough season for the hall of famer.

[George_Bell]

1955 NHL Playoffs


Montreal vs Boston

George Armstrong scores the first goal of the playoffs, and he gets the 2nd one as well. Those two are enough to hold off the Bruins. Montreal wins game one, 2-1. Armstrong gets his third to open up game two, then adds an assist on the winning goal, a 3-1 Montreal win.


Armstong with a great start to this years playoffs!

All the goals scored in game three occur in the first period, unfortunately for Boston, they only scored one of them. 2-1 win for Montreal to go up 3-0. The Bruins, facing elimination came to play in game 4. They jump out 3-0 and keep the onslaught coming the whole game. Ed Litzenberger finishes with 4 points, while Doug Harvey had 3 assists. Boston stays alive with the 7-1 win.


Litzenberger does his best to keep the Bruins alive!

Boston, blew their load in game four, as they had nothing left in game five. Sugar Jim Henry made 24 saves against his former team, while Tom Johnson scored twice. Montreal eliminates Boston with the 4-0 win.



Detroit vs Chicago

The Blackhawks explode to open the series, scoring 3 goals in the first 7 minutes of the game. Detroit is forced to play catchup, and while they get the next goal, that’s all they can do. 3-1 Chicago. With Johnny Bower in net, the Wings offer no fight back. The Wings get 18 shots on net, while Chicago gets 34. Don McKenney gets 2 goals and an assist as Chicago wins 5-1. The Wings look completely overmatched.


recently acquired McKenney making an immediate playoff impact!

Detroit is much more competitive in game 3. They take their first lead of the series in the first, but give it up, and find themselves trailing after two. It’s 4-1 before the Wings fight back, and they score twice late in the third to cut the lead to 1. The lead was too big though, and Chicago wins again 4-3. Gordie Howe finally gets a goal in the opening period of game four, but the Wings still trail 3-2 after a period. This back and forth game found itself tied at 4 after regulation. In overtime, Pat Lundy deflects an Allan Stanley point shot behind Johnny Bower to end the series. 5-4 Chicago. They sweep Detroit. The Red Wings run of 3 straight cups is over.

[George_Bell]

Chicago is a one man, or one line offense. Jean Beliveau is great, and contributes more then anyone. After him though, it’s tough sledding. So the game plan, easier said then done, is shutting down Beliveau.

Montreal on the other hand, is the opposite. They have a lot of scoring depth. Three guys with 60+ points, 8 with 30+ points. Montreal is the clear favourite, but can they shake the loser label?

[George_Bell]

Chicago jumps out to a 2-1 lead in the first, behind 2 Jean Beliveau assists. Tom Johnson scores with just 3 minutes remaining to force a 3-3 tie, which means OT! In overtime, Dick Gamble is the hero, scoring on the PP to give the Habs the 4-3 win. Montreal can’t keep Jean Beliveau from hitting the score sheet in game 2, but they can keep everyone else off it. Jim Morrison and Dickie Moore get goals for Montreal, leading them to a 2-1 win.


Beliveau with 3 points in the first 2 games, but Chicago still loses both!

In game three, Glenn Hall stops 28 shots, while Jim Henry stopped 26. Al Arbour is the only man to get a goal in the Habs 1-0 victory. It’s now 3 games to zero. Jean Beliveau comes out and gets a goal and an assist in the first period of game 4. That ends up being enough to hold up. Chicago wins it 3-1 to stay alive.


Arbour wins game three!

Glen Hall is great again in game 5. He stops 30 shots, while his team only gets 17. The Blackhawks get 3 goals on those 17 shots, enough to help Hall steal another 3-1 win, putting them back in the series. Game 6 is all Montreal. They outshoot 41-25. Glenn Hall is on his game though. He stops 39 shots, and Jean Beliveau gets 3 points to help the Hawks edge out a series tying 3-2 win. Game 7 is needed.

Glenn Hall has given Chicago a chance to win!

Game 7

Montreal controls the play early, which is whats been happening all series. Red Kelly gets his first goal of the playoffs to open the scoring. Dick Gamble follows 2 minutes later to give the Habs a 2-0 lead after a period. Red Kelly widens the lead to 3-0 to the delight of the Forum crowd.


It took tell game 7 for Kelly to get on the board!

Floyd Curry gives the Blackhawks some life with a goal in the opening minute of the third. Jean Beliveau then scores halfway through the period to make it 3-2. Down 3-0 in the series, and 3-0 in this game, can the Blackhawks complete the ultimate comeback…. No, no they couldn’t. Montreal holds on to win it 3-2. The Canadiens win the Stanley Cup!

[George_Bell]

[George_Bell]

1955 NHL Offseason News and Notes

Here are the top 10 scoring leaders from the regular season



Here are the top 10 playoff scorers



Gordie Howe does win his 5th straight Hart Trophy! That’s a record. 5 straight. Pretty incredible accomplishment for the 27 year old. Jacques Plante has won his first Gardiner award as best goalie in hockey. The goaltending around the league is ridiculously good, so this is a real honor! Tom Johnson wins the Norris which makes Montreal the only team with 2 Norris winners on their roster.





It isn’t the best year to have the top pick in the draft, but I suspect the Leafs will get another chance a year from now. They take Johnny McKenzie first, but in reality, there isn’t a big difference between McKenzie, and Eddie Shack picked 9th. Hell, even Howie Young, picked 16th, isn't too far away in talent. This is a depth draft. Everyone gets something similar.





2 very worthy inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame this year. Lets welcome Toe Blake and Syl Apps!



I noticed that when these two retired, the game and their teams didn't retire their numbers. That's just weird. I mean, i get it's a game, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Both players spent their whole careers with the same franchise. They are the ideal guys who should see their numbers in the rafters. So, even though their numbers won't be retired, and i can't do anything about that in game, they deserved to be honored. So, Syl Apps' 10 and Toe Blake's 6 will go up into their arena's rafters, to remember and honor them!