| 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
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa Senators | 44 | 30 | 10 | 4 | 64 | 86 | 69 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 44 | 28 | 14 | 2 | 58 | 99 | 67 |
| Montreal Maroons | 44 | 20 | 20 | 4 | 44 | 71 | 68 |
| New York Americans | 44 | 17 | 25 | 2 | 36 | 82 | 91 |
| Toronto St.Patricks | 44 | 15 | 24 | 5 | 35 | 79 | 94 |
| # | 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
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Howie Morenz | 44 | 25 | 7 | 32 |
| 4 | Aurèle Joliat | 43 | 14 | 4 | 18 |
| 9 | Alfred Lepine | 44 | 16 | 1 | 17 |
| 6 | Art Gagné | 44 | 14 | 3 | 17 |
| 2 | Sylvio Mantha | 43 | 10 | 5 | 15 |
| # | #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 | George Hainsworth | 44 | 28-14-2 | 14 | 1.47 |
| DATE | AWAY | HOME |
|---|
THE REGULAR SEASON
The 1926-27 Canadiens played in a very different NHL than had existed a few years earlier. The league’s expansion coincided with the demise of the Western Hockey League, bringing three new teams into the NHL. The end of the WHL also meant that the Stanley Cup would be awarded exclusively to NHL teams from that season on.
The New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Cougars swelled the league to 10 teams, introducing divisional play. The American Division featured all the US-based teams except the New York Americans, who skated in the Canadian Division.
Cecil Hart’s team had a new mailing address, The Forum, now home to both Montreal franchises. It also had some new faces.
Goalie George Hainsworth proved to be a worthy successor to Georges Vezina. His 14 shutouts led the league and he allowed only 67 regular season goals. He also became the inaugural recipient of the Vezina Trophy, donated by the Canadiens and awarded to the NHL’s top netminder.
The defensive corps was strengthened with the arrival of veteran Herb Gardiner. Now 35, he surpassed all expectations, becoming both the first Canadien and the first NHL defenseman to win the Hart Trophy.
Morenz continued his stellar play, third in the league in both categories with 25 goals and 32 points. Offense came various sources, as Pit Lepine potted 16 goals and Joliat and newcomer, Art Gagnon, each managed 14. Defenseman Sylvio Mantha, named team captain at the age of 24, also notched double digits.
In a streaky year, the Canadiens repeatedly reeled off three or four wins only to drop the same number of games in the following match ups. They won eleven of their last twelve games and finished second in the Canadian Division.
Towards the end of the season, veteran Billy Boucher was loaned to the Boston Bruins. After being recalled in the spring, he was subsequently dealt to the New York Americans.
THE PLAYOFFS
The Canadiens second-place finish meant there’d be no travel involved in the first round of the postseason since their adversaries, the third-place Maroons, also called The Forum home.
Entering the Canadian Division playoffs after having put 28 more goals onto the scoresheet than the Maroons had, the Habs well-balanced offense was expected to dominate the two-game total point series. It didn’t turn out to be the walk in the park that many had anticipated.
Maroons goaltender, Clint Benedict, had enjoyed as much regular season success as Hainsworth, posting a league-leading 1.42 goals-against average, appearing in all but one of his team’s regular season games.
Each goaltender allowed a single puck past them in the opening match, nominally an away game for the Habs, and set the stage for the second, one where everything was on the line. The second game remained scoreless after three periods of play.
Twelve minutes into the extra frame, a Howie Morenz marker ended the Maroons’ season, and sent the Canadiens into the Stanley Cup semifinals against the powerful Ottawa Senators.
The Senators solved Hainsworth, shutting the Canadiens out 4-0 at The Forum and making the second game almost a formality. It ended in a 1-1 tie, giving Ottawa a 5-1 overall scoring edge and a ticket to the finals where they would go on to defeat the American Division champion Boston Bruins 3-1 in a best-of five Stanley Cup Final.
| Quarter-finals - Montreal Maroons | ||||
| Date | AWAY | HOME | ||
| March 29th, 1927 | MTL 1 | MAR 1 | ||
| March 31st, 1927 | MAR 0 | MTL 1 | ||
| Canadiens won total-goals series 3-2 | ||||
| Semi-finals - Ottawa Senators | ||||
| Date | AWAY | HOME | ||
| April 2nd, 1927 | OTT 4 | MTL 0 | ||
| April 4th, 1927 | MTL 1 | OTT 1 | ||
| Ottawa won total-goals series 5-1 | ||||
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