| TEAM |
GP
Games played - Number of games the team has played
|
W
Wins - Games the team has won, either in regulation or in overtime
|
L
Losses - Games the team has lost in regulation
|
T
Ties - Games that have ended in a tie
|
PTS
Points - Team points, calculated from W, L, T, OTL and SOL; used to determine standings
|
GF
Goals for - Number of goals the team has scored
|
GA
Goals against - Number of goals scored against the team
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Tigers | 30 | 19 | 10 | 1 | 39 | 90 | 60 |
| Toronto St.Patricks | 30 | 19 | 11 | 0 | 38 | 90 | 84 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 30 | 17 | 11 | 2 | 36 | 93 | 56 |
| Ottawa Senators | 30 | 17 | 12 | 1 | 35 | 83 | 66 |
| Montreal Maroons | 30 | 9 | 19 | 2 | 20 | 45 | 65 |
| Boston Bruins | 30 | 6 | 24 | 0 | 12 | 49 | 119 |
| # | SKATERS |
GP
Games played - Number of games the player has set foot on the ice
|
G
Goals - Number of goals the player has scored
|
A
Assists - Number of goals the player has assisted in
|
PTS
Points - Scoring points, calculated as the sum of G and A
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Aurèle Joliat | 25 | 30 | 11 | 41 |
| 7 | Howie Morenz | 30 | 28 | 11 | 39 |
| 5 | Billy Boucher | 30 | 17 | 13 | 30 |
| 2 | Sprague Cleghorn | 27 | 8 | 10 | 18 |
| 6 | Odie Cleghorn | 30 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| # | #1 GOALIE |
GP
Games played - Number of games the player has set foot on the ice
|
RECORD
Record - Goalie record (W-L-T)
|
SO
Shutouts - Number of games where the goaltender has not allowed a goal
|
GAA
Goals against average - Mean goals-per-game scored on the goaltender
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georges Vézina | 30 | 17-11-2 | 5 | 1.81 |
| DATE | AWAY | HOME |
|---|
THE REGULAR SEASON
A revamped Montreal Canadiens team took to the ice to start the 1924-25 season. Their personnel was largely unchanged but, emblematic of the Habs global supremacy, the team’s sweaters now sported a map of the world where the familiar CH had been.
The NHL also had a new look, growing to six teams. New additions to the league were the Boston Bruins, the league’s first American entry, and a cross-town rival for the Canadiens, the Montreal Maroons, who would play out of a new rink called The Forum.
Up front, Howie Morenz, Billy Boucher and Aurele Joliat continued to baffle opponents with their speed, shifty moves and precise passing. As was the case a year before, they handled the bulk of the offense with Morenz and Joliat accounting for 58 of the team’s 93 goals.
Between the pipes, Georges Vezina improved on his exceptional play from the previous year. He posted five shutouts and allowed a measly 1.81 goals against per game, once again finishing as the stingiest netminder in the NHL.
Weak expansion teams allowed all of the established franchises to finish the year with winning records. Montreal’s 17-11-3 performance placed them third but the Hamilton Tigers were the surprise of the season. Doormats for the past four seasons, they went from worst to first, earning a bye for the first round of postseason play.
Second place Toronto was scheduled to face the Canadiens to determine Hamilton’s opponent for the NHL title but plans went awry with the league’s first labor dispute.
THE PLAYOFFS
The 1925 NHL playoffs got underway uneventfully enough, with the Canadiens and St. Pats meeting in a two-game total goal series. Montreal won both games, taking the first at home with a 3-2 win and extending their lead with a 2-0 shutout in Toronto, earning the right to challenge Hamilton for NHL supremacy.
Upset that six games had been added to the regular schedule but their pay cheques had not been increased to reflect the longer season, Hamilton’s players declared the first strike in NHL history, demanding payment for postseason play.
Suspended for their effrontery, the Hamilton Tigers soon ceased operations. The Montreal Canadiens were declared NHL champions and climbed on a westbound train to defend their Stanley Cup title in a best-of-five affair against the host Victoria Cougars.
Coached and managed by Lester Patrick and augmented by a number of imports from Seattle’s WCHL formation, the Cougars opened the series with a decisive 5-2 victory over the visiting Canadiens and took the second game, played in Vancouver by a 2-1 score before Montreal got one back, winning game three 4-2.
The ice tilted back in Victoria’s favor in the fourth and final match as they swamped the Canadiens 6-1, won the series 3-1, and became the last team from outside the NHL to hoist the Stanley Cup.
It was also the last game that either Cleghorn brother played in a Canadiens uniform.
| NHL Semifinals - Toronto Maple Leafs | ||||
| Date | AWAY | HOME | ||
| March 11th, 1925 | TOR 2 | MTL 3 | ||
| March 13th, 1925 | MTL 2 | TOR 0 | ||
| Canadiens won total-goals series 5-2 | ||||
| NHL Finals - Hamilton Tigers | ||||
| Canadiens declared NHL champions due to Hamilton players' strike |
| Stanley Cup Finals - Victoria Cougars | ||||
| Date | AWAY | HOME | ||
| March 21st, 1925 | MTL 2 | VIC 5 | ||
| March 23rd, 1925 | MTL 1 | VIC 3 | ||
| March 27th, 1925 | MTL 4 | VIC 2 | ||
| March 30th, 1925 | MTL 1 | VIC 6 | ||
| Victoria won best-of-five series 3-1 | ||||
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