1928–29 NHL season

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1928–29 NHL season
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationNovember 15, 1928 – March 29, 1929
Number of games44
Number of teams10
Regular season
Season championsMontreal Canadiens
Season MVPRoy Worters (Americans)
Top scorerAce Bailey (Maple Leafs)
Canadian Division championsMontreal Canadiens
American Division championsBoston Bruins
Stanley Cup
ChampionsBoston Bruins
  Runners-upNew York Rangers
NHL seasons

The 1928–29 NHL season was the 12th season of the National Hockey League. Ten teams played 44 games each. This was the first Stanley Cup Finals that saw two United States-based teams compete for the cup. The Boston Bruins defeated the New York Rangers two games to none in the best-of-three final.

League business[edit]

Notable rule changes[edit]

Forward passing was permitted from the neutral zone across the blue line into the attacking zone, as long as no offensive player preceded the puck into the attacking zone; forward passing within the attacking zone was still forbidden. Regular season overtime was changed to a 10-minute, non-sudden-death format, to be played in its entirety.

During this season, the NHL office started tabulating defensive statistics, such as shots stopped, saves made and save percentage.[1]

The league was determined to increase scoring. In the final game of the season between the Rangers and Pittsburgh, forward passing in the attacking zone was allowed; kicking of the puck was allowed; and goalies were prohibited from holding the puck more than three seconds. The experiment was considered a success, and the changes were a part of the rules for the 1928–29 season.[1]

Regular season[edit]

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Canadian Division American Division

Ottawa continued in financial trouble and sold Punch Broadbent to the New York Americans. They continued to erode, and at one point, rumour had it that they would be sold to a Chicago group. Frank Ahearn, the Senators owner, denied this, but admitted that the team was for sale to the highest bidder.

The New York Americans, last place finishers in 1927–28, surprised everyone by occupying first place for much of the season in the Canadian Division. They were held up by the great play of defenceman Lionel Conacher and goaltender Roy Worters. However, the Montreal Canadiens dislodged the Americans and finished first. Boston, led by rookie Tiny Thompson in goal, led the American Division.

Bruins' player George Owen was the first NHL player to regularly wear headgear for protective purposes. Prior to this, the only time protective headgear was worn was to temporarily protect injuries. Fifty-one years later the NHL mandated the use of helmets. Craig MacTavish was the last NHL player to not wear a helmet, retiring in 1997.

The Chicago Black Hawks set records for goal scoring futility, scoring on average less than one goal per game (33), while giving up a league worst 85 goals against. In one stretch from February 7 through February 28, the Hawks were shut out in eight consecutive games.[2] Forward Vic Ripley was the Hawks' leading goal scorer with only 11 goals and 2 assists for 13 points for the entire 44-game season.[3]

The season produced a record 120 shutouts in the 220 games played. George Hainsworth, Canadiens goaltender, set an NHL record that remains unmatched through the 2015–16 season of 22 shutouts and a 0.92 goals against average. Seven other goaltenders hit double digits in shutouts.[2]

Final standings[edit]

Canadian Division
GP W L T GF GA PIM Pts
Montreal Canadiens 44 22 7 15 71 43 465 59
New York Americans 44 19 13 12 53 53 486 50
Toronto Maple Leafs 44 21 18 5 85 69 541 47
Ottawa Senators 44 14 17 13 54 67 461 41
Montreal Maroons 44 15 20 9 67 65 638 39
American Division
GP W L T GF GA PIM Pts
Boston Bruins 44 26 13 5 89 52 472 57
New York Rangers 44 21 13 10 72 65 384 52
Detroit Cougars 44 19 16 9 72 63 381 47
Pittsburgh Pirates 44 9 27 8 46 80 324 26
Chicago Black Hawks 44 7 29 8 33 85 363 22

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold

Playoffs[edit]

The playoff format was revised to match the divisional first-place teams in a best-of-five semifinal. The divisional second-place teams and third-place teams played off in a two-game total-goals series to determine the participants for the other best-of-three semifinal. The semifinal winners then played off in a best-of-three series for the Cup.

Playoff bracket[edit]

First roundSemifinalsFinal
C1Mtl Canadiens0
A1Boston3
A1Boston2
C2NY Americans0G
A2NY Rangers0
A2NY Rangers1G
A2NY Rangers2
C3Toronto0
C3Toronto7G
A3Detroit2G

Quarterfinals[edit]

(A2) New York Rangers vs. (C2) New York Americans[edit]

March 19 New York Rangers 0–0 New York Americans Madison Square Garden III Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
John Ross Roach Goalie stats Roy Worters
March 21 New York Americans 0–1 2OT New York Rangers Madison Square Garden III Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
No scoring Second overtime period 19:50 – Butch Keeling (1)
Roy Worters Goalie stats John Ross Roach
New York Rangers won series on total goals 1–0


(C3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (A3) Detroit Cougars[edit]

March 19 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–1 Detroit Cougars Olympia Stadium Recap  
Andy Blair (1) – 01:35
Art Smith (1) – 18:35 		First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 16:35 – George Hay (1)
Andy Blair (2) – 18:07 Third period No scoring
Lorne Chabot Goalie stats Dolly Dolson
March 21 Detroit Cougars 1–4 Toronto Maple Leafs Arena Gardens Recap  
No scoring First period 06:45 – Hap Day (1)
08:30 – Eric Pettinger (1)
No scoring Second period 18:00 – Red Horner (1)
Larry Aurie (1) – 18:50 Third period 19:59 – Ace Bailey (1)
Dolly Dolson Goalie stats Lorne Chabot
Toronto won the series on total goals 7–2


Semifinals[edit]

(C1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (A1) Boston Bruins[edit]

March 19 Montreal Canadiens 0–1 Boston Bruins Boston Madison Square Garden Recap  
No scoring First period 04:00 – Cooney Weiland (1)
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
George Hainsworth Goalie stats Tiny Thompson
March 21 Montreal Canadiens 0–1 Boston Bruins Boston Madison Square Garden Recap  
No scoring First period 06:13 – Cooney Weiland (2)
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
George Hainsworth Goalie stats Tiny Thompson
March 23 Boston Bruins 3–2 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
No scoring First period 09:27 – Albert Leduc (1)
09:36 – Aurele Joliat (1)
Bill Carson (1) – 09:36
Dutch Gainor (1) – 13:58
Eddie Shore (1) – 14:49 		Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Tiny Thompson Goalie stats George Hainsworth
Boston won series 3–0


(A2) New York Rangers vs. (C3) Toronto Maple Leafs[edit]

March 24 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–1 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden III Recap  
No scoring First period 07:33 – Butch Keeling (2)
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Lorne Chabot Goalie stats John Ross Roach
March 26 New York Rangers 2–1 OT Toronto Maple Leafs Arena Gardens Recap  
Bun Cook (1) – 04:35 First period 03:05 – Andy Blair (3)
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Frank Boucher (1) – 02:05 First overtime period No scoring
John Ross Roach Goalie stats Lorne Chabot
New York won series 2–0


Stanley Cup Finals[edit]

Main article: 1929 Stanley Cup Finals

The Bruins won their first Stanley Cup defeating the Rangers. In the process, Boston became one of the few Cup winners in history to not lose a single game in the playoffs, and the last team until 1952 to go undefeated in the playoffs.


March 28 New York Rangers 0–2 Boston Bruins Boston Madison Square Garden Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 02:00 – Dit Clapper (1)
10:00 – Dutch Gainor (2)
No scoring Third period No scoring
John Ross Roach Goalie stats Tiny Thompson
March 29 Boston Bruins 2–1 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden III Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Harry Oliver (1) – 14:01 Second period No scoring
Bill Carson (2) – 18:02 Third period 06:48 – Butch Keeling (3)
Tiny Thompson Goalie stats John Ross Roach
Boston won series 2–0


Awards[edit]

Frank Boucher won his second consecutive Lady Byng award and George Hainsworth won his third consecutive Vezina Trophy.

1928–29 NHL awards
O'Brien Cup:
(Canadian Division champion)		 Montreal Canadiens
Prince of Wales Trophy:
(American Division champion)		 Boston Bruins
Hart Trophy:
(Most valuable player)		 Roy Worters, New York Americans
Lady Byng Trophy:
(Excellence and sportsmanship)		 Frank Boucher, New York Rangers
Vezina Trophy:
(Fewest goals allowed)		 George Hainsworth, Montreal Canadiens

Player statistics[edit]

Scoring leaders[edit]

Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes

PLAYER TEAM GP G A PTS PIM
Ace Bailey Toronto Maple Leafs 44 22 10 32 78
Nels Stewart Montreal Maroons 44 21 8 29 74
Carson Cooper Detroit Cougars 43 18 9 27 14
Howie Morenz Montreal Canadiens 42 17 10 27 47
Andy Blair Toronto Maple Leafs 44 12 15 27 41
Frank Boucher New York Rangers 44 10 16 26 8
Harry Oliver Boston Bruins 43 17 6 23 24
Bill Cook New York Rangers 43 15 8 23 41
Jimmy Ward Montreal Maroons 44 14 8 22 46
Frank Finnigan Ottawa Senators 44 15 4 19 71

Source: NHL.[4]

Leading goaltenders[edit]

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
George Hainsworth Montreal Canadiens 44 22 7 15 2800 43 22 0.92
Tiny Thompson Boston Bruins 44 26 13 5 2710 52 12 1.15
Roy Worters New York Americans 44 16 12 10 2390 46 13 1.15
Dolly Dolson Detroit Cougars 38 19 16 9 2750 63 10 1.37
John Ross Roach New York Rangers 44 21 13 10 2760 65 13 1.41

Source: hockey-reference.com[5]

Coaches[edit]

American Division[edit]

Canadian Division[edit]

Debuts[edit]

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1928–29 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

Last games[edit]

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1928–29 (listed with their last team):

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  • Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
  • Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
  • Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
  • Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
  • McFarlane, Brian (1973). The Story of the National Hockey League. New York: Pagurian Press. ISBN 0-684-13424-1.
  • Ross, J. Andrew (2015). Joining the Clubs: The Business of the National Hockey League to 1945. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-3383-9.
Notes
  1. ^ a b Ross 2015, p. 170.
  2. ^ a b Dryden 2000, p. 31.
  3. ^ McFarlane, Brian. "Worst NHL Team Ever". ithappenedinhockey.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  4. ^ Dinger 2011, p. 146.
  5. ^ "1928–29 NHL Season Goalie Statistics". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved January 5, 2011.

External links[edit]

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