1954–55 NHL season

League business

Art Ross announced at the league governors meeting that his connection with Boston would terminate at the end of September. As this would be his last appearance at a league meeting, he took the opportunity to thank the governors and others associated with the league during the 30 years of his being officer of the Boston club for the kindness, courtesy and cooperation he had received, and extended his good wishes for the continued success of the league. Conn Smythe and Frank Selke voiced the good wishes of all present to Ross on his retirement.

Prior to the season, Red Wings head coach Tommy Ivan left Detroit to become general manager of the Chicago Black Hawks, and Jimmy Skinner replaced him behind the bench in the Motor City. One of the first things Ivan did at Chicago was to establish an extensive farm system, something the Black Hawks never had.

Regular season

On December 18, 1954, Maurice Richard scored his 400th career goal against Chicago netminder Al Rollins in a 4–1 Canadiens victory over the Black Hawks. Montreal and Toronto played to a 1–1 tie on December 29, at Maple Leaf Gardens. Maurice Richard got a standing ovation when he scored his 401st goal late in the first period.

In a scoreless tie at the Montreal Forum on March 10, a new ice cleaner and resurfacer called a Zamboni was used for the first time. The fans were not appreciative of Toronto's defensive style in this game and threw garbage, including pig's feet, on the ice.

The Richard Riot took place on March 17, 1955. Maurice Richard had been suspended by league president Clarence Campbell after an incident in a game against Boston where Richard punched the referee. Richard was suspended for the rest of the season and the playoffs. Campbell's subsequent appearance at a Canadiens' game at the Montreal Forum incited a group of protesters and led to violence in the Forum and in downtown Montreal.

Final standings

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

The top four teams in the league qualified for the playoffs. In the semifinals, the first-place team played the third-place team, while the second-place team faced the fourth-place team, with the winners advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. In both rounds, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series).

| RD1-seed1=1 | RD1-team1=Detroit | RD1-score1=4 | RD1-seed2=3 | RD1-team2=Toronto | RD1-score2=0 | RD1-seed3=2 | RD1-team3=Montreal | RD1-score3=4 | RD1-seed4=4 | RD1-team4=Boston | RD1-score4=1 | RD2-seed1=1 | RD2-team1=Detroit | RD2-score1=4 | RD2-seed2=2 | RD2-team2=Montreal | RD2-score2=3

Semifinals

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs

|1-1-1 =Brian Cullen (1) – pp – 07:00 George Armstrong (1) – 13:01 |1-1-2 =11:54 – Vic Stasiuk (1) 19:06 – Dutch Reibel (1) |1-2-1 =No scoring |1-2-2 =01:36 – Glen Skov (1) 09:48 – pp – Dutch Reibel (2) |1-3-1 =Sid Smith (1) – 02:53 Ted Kennedy (1) – pp – 12:38 |1-3-2 =03:54 – Gordie Howe (1) 07:40 – pp – Gordie Howe (2) 15:07 – pp – Ted Lindsay (1) |goalie1-1 =Harry Lumley |goalie1-2 =Terry Sawchuck

|2-1-1 =Sid Smith (2) – 00:17 |2-1-2 =08:09 – pp – Gordie Howe (3) 08:54 – pp – Alex Delvecchio (1) |2-2-1 =No scoring |2-2-2 =No scoring |2-3-1 =No scoring |2-3-2 =No scoring |goalie2-1 =Harry Lumley |goalie2-2 =Terry Sawchuck

|3-1-1 =07:29 – pp – Sid Smith (3) |3-1-2 =Ted Lindsay (2) – pp – 01:36 Dutch Reibel (3) – 11:46 |3-2-1 =No scoring |3-2-2 =No scoring |3-3-1 =No scoring |3-3-2 =No scoring |goalie3-1 =Harry Lumley |goalie3-2 =Terry Sawchuck

|4-1-1 =No scoring |4-1-2 =No scoring |4-2-1 =No scoring |4-2-2 =Vic Stasiuk (2) – 05:38 Gordie Howe (4) – 09:20 |4-3-1 =No scoring |4-3-2 =Tony Leswick (1) – en – 19:33 |goalie4-1 =Harry Lumley |goalie4-2 =Terry Sawchuck

(2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) Boston Bruins

|1-1-1 =No scoring |1-1-2 =No scoring |1-2-1 =No scoring |1-2-2 =06:23 – pp – Bernie Geoffrion (1) 12:35 – pp – Jean Beliveau (1) |1-3-1 =No scoring |1-3-2 =No scoring |goalie1-1 =Jim Henry |goalie1-2 =Jacques Plante, Charlie Hodge

|2-1-1 =No scoring |2-1-2 =No scoring |2-2-1 =Real Chevrefils (1) – 16:43 |2-2-2 =01:31 – Floyd Curry (1) 11:08 – Calum MacKay (1) 13:43 – Jean Beliveau (2) |2-3-1 =No scoring |2-3-2 =No scoring |goalie2-1 =Jim Henry |goalie2-2 =Jacques Plante, Charlie Hodge

|3-1-1 =13:53 – Leo Labine (1) 18:25 – Fern Flaman (1) 18:45 – Real Chevrefils (2) |3-1-2 =No scoring |3-2-1 =18:47 – Hal Laycoe (1) |3-2-2 =No scoring |3-3-1 =No scoring |3-3-2 =Ken Mosdell (1) – 00:30 Jack LeClair (1) – sh – 18:46 |goalie3-1 =Jim Henry |goalie3-2 =Jacques Plante, Charlie Hodge

|4-1-1 =No scoring |4-1-2 =No scoring |4-2-1 =06:15 – pp – Don McKenney (1) 09:55 – Leo Labine (2) |4-2-2 =Tom Johnson (1) – 03:51 Floyd Curry (2) – pp – 12:43 |4-3-1 =08:52 – Ed Sandford (1) |4-3-2 =Bernie Geoffrion (2) – 12:40 |4-4-1 =No scoring |4-4-2 =Don Marshall (1) – sh – 03:05 |goalie4-1 =Jim Henry |goalie4-2 =Jacques Plante, Charlie Hodge

|5-1-1 =No scoring |5-1-2 =03:43 – Jack LeClair (2) 14:43 – pp – Dickie Moore (1) |5-2-1 =Lorne Ferguson (1) – pp – 15:52 |5-2-2 =07:55 – Floyd Curry (3) 11:18 – Jack LeClair (3) |5-3-1 =No scoring |5-3-2 =08:14 – Jean Beliveau (3) |goalie5-1 =Jim Henry |goalie5-2 =Jacques Plante

Stanley Cup Finals

Main article: 1955 Stanley Cup Finals

|1-1-1 =No scoring |1-1-2 =No scoring |1-2-1 =Floyd Curry (4) – 05:09 |1-2-2 =14:00 – pp – Alex Delvecchio (2) |1-3-1 =Floyd Curry (5) – 08:57 |1-3-2 =13:05 – Vic Stasiuk (3) 17:07 – sh – Marty Pavelich (1) 19:42 – en – Ted Lindsay (3) |goalie1-1 =Jacques Plante |goalie1-2 =Terry Sawchuck

|2-1-1 =No scoring |2-1-2 =02:15 – sh – Marcel Pronovost (1) 09:57 – Ted Lindsay (4) 16:00 – Alex Delvecchio (3) 17:11 – Gordie Howe (5) |2-2-1 =No scoring |2-2-2 =08:10 – Ted Lindsay (5) 15:48 – pp – Ted Lindsay (6) 19:37 – Ted Lindsay (7) |2-3-1 =Ken Mosdell (2) – 12:32 |2-3-2 =No scoring |goalie2-1 =Jacques Plante, Charlie Hodge |goalie2-2 =Terry Sawchuck

|3-1-1 =08:30 – pp – Bernie Geoffrion (3) 08:42 – pp – Bernie Geoffrion (4) |3-1-2 =Red Kelly (1) – pp – 18:13 |3-2-1 =14:23 – Bernie Geoffrion (5) |3-2-2 =Vic Stasiuk (4) – 16:16 |3-3-1 =07:50 – Jack LeClair (4) |3-3-2 =No scoring |goalie3-1 =Jacques Plante |goalie3-2 =Terry Sawchuck

|4-1-1 =00:40 – Calum MacKay (2) |4-1-2 =Dutch Reibel (4) – 12:38 |4-2-1 =03:41 – Bernie Geoffrion (6) 08:25 – Jean Beliveau (4) 09:07 – Tom Johnson (2) |4-2-2 =No scoring |4-3-1 =02:33 – Floyd Curry (6) |4-3-2 =Dutch Reibel (5) – 03:40 Jim Hay (1) – 12:000 |goalie4-1 =Jacques Plante |goalie4-2 =Terry Sawchuck

|5-1-1 =Jean Beliveau (5) – pp – 08:01 |5-1-2 =12:59 – Glen Skov (2) 18:59 – Gordie Howe (6) |5-2-1 =No scoring |5-2-2 =12:29 – pp – Gordie Howe (7) 16:20 – pp – Gordie Howe (8) |5-3-1 =No scoring |5-3-2 =02:09 – Vic Stasiuk (5) |goalie5-1 =Jacques Plante |goalie5-2 =Terry Sawchuck

|6-1-1 =07:30 – Jean Beliveau (6) |6-1-2 =Alex Delvecchio (4) – 13:36 |6-2-1 =03:45 – pp – Jack LeClair (5) 05:21 – pp – Bernie Geoffrion (7) 18:18 – Bernie Geoffrion (8) |6-2-2 =Alex Delvecchio (5) – pp – 15:54 |6-3-1 =00:19 – Floyd Curry (7) 18:55 – Calum MacKay (3) |6-3-2 =Red Kelly (2) – 16:23 |goalie6-1 =Jacques Plante |goalie6-2 =Terry Sawchuck

|7-1-1 =No scoring |7-1-2 =No scoring |7-2-1 =No scoring |7-2-2 =07:12 – Alex Delvecchio (6) 19:49 – Gordie Howe (9) |7-3-1 =Floyd Curry (8) – pp – 14:35 |7-3-2 =02:59 – Alex Delvecchio (7) |goalie7-1 =Jacques Plante |goalie7-2 =Terry Sawchuck

Awards

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

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

Source: NHL

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts

Coaches

• Boston Bruins: Milt Schmidt
• Chicago Black Hawks: Frank Eddolls
• Detroit Red Wings: Jimmy Skinner
• Montreal Canadiens: Dick Irvin
• New York Rangers: Muzz Patrick
• Toronto Maple Leafs: King Clancy

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1954–55 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Don McKenney, Boston Bruins
• Don Cherry*, Boston Bruins (only NHL game of career)
• Charlie Hodge, Montreal Canadiens
• Jean-Guy Talbot, Montreal Canadiens
• Lou Fontinato, New York Rangers
• Dick Duff, Toronto Maple Leafs

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1954–55 (listed with their last team):

• Gus Bodnar, Boston Bruins
• Milt Schmidt, Boston Bruins
• Jim Henry, Boston Bruins
• Bill Mosienko, Chicago Black Hawks
• Paul Ronty, Montreal Canadiens
• Edgar Laprade, New York Rangers
• Bill Ezinicki, New York Rangers
• Don Cherry, Boston Bruins (Only NHL game of his career)

Broadcasting

This was the third season of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television. Coverage included selected Stanley Cup playoff games. Both regular season and playoff games were not broadcast in their entirety until the 1968–69 season, and were typically joined in progress, while the radio version of HNIC aired games in their entirety.

References

• {{Citation|last=Coleman|first=Charles L.|year=1976
• {{cite book |title=Years of glory, 1942–1967: the National Hockey League's official book of the six-team era
• {{cite book|title=Total Hockey |editor=Diamond, Dan |publisher=Total Sports |year=2000 |isbn=1-892129-85-X
• {{cite book |editor-last=Dryden |editor-first=Steve |title=Century of hockey |publisher=McClelland & Stewart Ltd.
• {{Citation|last1=Duplacey |first1=James|year=2008
• {{cite book |last1=Fischler |first1=Stan |last2=Fischler |first2=Shirley
• {{Citation|last=McFarlane|first=Brian|year=1969|title=50 Years Of Hockey

;Notes