1947–48 NHL season

The 1947–48 NHL season was the 31st season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 60 games. The Toronto Maple Leafs were the Stanley Cup winners. They defeated the Detroit Red Wings four games to none. This season saw the introduction of a new trophy – Art Ross Trophy – that would be handed out to the player who scored the most points during the regular season.

Regular season

Final standings

GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold

National Hockey League GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Toronto Maple Leafs 60 32 15 13 77 182 143 758
Detroit Red Wings 60 30 18 12 72 187 148 593
Boston Bruins 60 23 24 13 59 167 168 515
New York Rangers 60 21 26 13 55 176 201 480
Montreal Canadiens 60 20 29 11 51 147 169 724
Chicago Black Hawks 60 20 34 6 46 195 225 572

Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Elmer Lach Montreal Canadiens 60 30 31 61
Buddy O'Connor New York Rangers 60 24 36 60
Doug Bentley Chicago Black Hawks 60 20 37 57
Gaye Stewart Toronto Maple Leafs / Chicago Black Hawks 61 27 29 56
Max Bentley Black Hawks / Toronto Maple Leafs 59 26 28 54
Bud Poile Toronto Maple Leafs / Chicago Black Hawks 58 25 29 54
Maurice Richard Montreal Canadiens 53 28 25 53
Syl Apps Toronto Maple Leafs 55 26 27 53
Ted Lindsay Detroit Red Wings 60 33 19 52
Roy Conacher Chicago Black Hawks 52 22 27 49

Leading goaltenders

GP = Games Played, TOI = Time On Ice (minutes), GA = Goals Against, SO = Shutouts, GAA = Goals Against Average

Player Team GP TOI GA SO GAA
Turk Broda Toronto Maple Leafs 60 3600 143 5 2.38
Harry Lumley Detroit Red Wings 60 3592 147 7 2.46
Bill Durnan Montreal Canadiens 59 3505 162 5 2.77
Frank Brimsek Boston Bruins 60 3600 168 3 2.80
Jim Henry New York Rangers 48 2800 153 2 3.19
Emile Francis Chicago Black Hawks 54 3240 183 1 3.39

Stanley Cup playoffs

All dates in 1948

Playoff bracket

Semifinals Finals
      
1 Toronto Maple Leafs 4
3 Boston Bruins 1
1 Toronto Maple Leafs 4
2 Detroit Red Wings 0
2 Detroit Red Wings 4
4 New York Rangers 2

Semifinals

Toronto vs. Boston

Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Date Away Score Home Score Notes
March 24 Boston Bruins 4 Toronto Maple Leafs 5 (OT)
March 27 Boston Bruins 3 Toronto Maple Leafs 5
March 30 Toronto Maple Leafs 5 Boston Bruins 1
April 1 Toronto Maple Leafs 2 Boston Bruins 3
April 3 Boston Bruins 2 Toronto Maple Leafs 3

Toronto wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1

NY Rangers vs. Detroit

New York Rangers vs. Detroit Red Wings

Date Away Score Home Score Notes
March 24 New York Rangers 1 Detroit Red Wings 2
March 26 New York Rangers 2 Detroit Red Wings 5
March 28 Detroit Red Wings 2 New York Rangers 3
March 30 Detroit Red Wings 1 New York Rangers 3
April 1 New York Rangers 1 Detroit Red Wings 3
April 4 Detroit Red Wings 4 New York Rangers 2

Detroit wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 2

Finals

Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Date Away Score Home Score Notes
April 7 Detroit 3 Toronto 5
April 10 Detroit 2 Toronto 4
April 11 Toronto 2 Detroit 0
April 14 Toronto 7 Detroit 2

Toronto wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 0

Playoff scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts
Ted Kennedy Toronto Maple Leafs 9 8 6 14

NHL awards

O'Brien Trophy: Detroit Red Wings
Prince of Wales Trophy: Toronto Maple Leafs
Art Ross Memorial Trophy: Elmer Lach, Montreal Canadiens
Calder Memorial Trophy: Jim McFadden, Detroit Red Wings
Hart Memorial Trophy: Bud O'Connor, New York Rangers
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Bud O'Connor, New York Rangers
Vezina Trophy: Turk Broda, Toronto Maple Leafs

All-Star teams

First team   Position   Second team
Turk Broda, Toronto Maple Leafs G Frank Brimsek, Boston Bruins
Bill Quackenbush, Detroit Red Wings D Ken Reardon, Montreal Canadiens
Jack Stewart, Detroit Red Wings D Neil Colville, New York Rangers
Elmer Lach, Montreal Canadiens C Buddy O'Connor, New York Rangers
Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadiens RW Bud Poile, Chicago Black Hawks
Ted Lindsay, Detroit Red Wings LW Gaye Stewart, Chicago Black Hawks

References