1967 Stanley Cup playoffs
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 6 – May 2, 1967 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Runner-up | Montreal Canadiens |
The 1967 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) was the conclusion of the 1966–67 NHL season, and the final playoffs before the expansion from six to twelve teams. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the defending champion Montreal Canadiens in six games to win the Stanley Cup. The Leafs squad was the oldest ever to win a Cup final; the average age of the team was well more than 30, and four players were more than 40. Toronto has not won the Cup or been to the Finals since.
Format
In the semi-finals, the Chicago Black Hawks who finished in first place played the third-place Toronto Maple Leafs. The second-place Montreal Canadiens played the fourth-place New York Rangers. The winner of the semi-finals series would play for the championship and Stanley Cup.
Series
Playoff bracket
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Toronto | 4 | |||||||
| 3 | Toronto | 4 | |||||||
| 2 | Montreal | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||
| 4 | New York | 0 | |||||||
Semifinals
(1) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs
The Chicago Black Hawks was the best regular season team with 94 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs earned the third seed with 75 points. This was the sixth playoff series between these two teams, with Toronto winning three of their five previous series. Their most recent series had come in the 1962 Stanley Cup Finals, which Toronto won in six games. Chicago earned eighteen of twenty-eight points in this year's regular season series.
Despite Chicago's impressive regular season marks, the third seed Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Black Hawks in the first round of the playoffs.
| April 6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–5 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Frank Mahovlich (1) - pp - 7:12 | First period | 5:21 - pp - Kenny Wharram (1) 11:49 - Pierre Pilote (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 1:57 - pp - Bobby Hull (1) 13:44 - Stan Mikita (1) | ||||||
| Jim Pappin (1) - pp - 19:52 | Third period | 9:41 - Lou Angotti (1) | ||||||
| Terry Sawchuk | Goalie stats | Denis DeJordy | ||||||
| April 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–1 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Pete Stemkowski (1) - 8:07 Dave Keon (1) - sh - 18:33 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| George Armstrong (1) - pp - 8:24 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 8:45 - Stan Mikita (2) | ||||||
| Terry Sawchuk | Goalie stats | Denis DeJordy | ||||||
| April 11 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 11:10 - Ron Ellis (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 10:22 - pp - Frank Mahovlich (2) 19:15 - Jim Pappin (2) | ||||||
| Bobby Hull (2) - pp - 16:30 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Glenn Hall | Goalie stats | Terry Sawchuk | ||||||
| April 13 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Kenny Wharram (2) - 00:09 Pierre Pilote (2) - 8:32 |
First period | 3:42 - Dave Keon (2) 10:14 - pp - Tim Horton (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Walton (1) - 17:37 | Third period | 2:31 - Eric Nesterenko (1) 8:42 - Bobby Hull (3) | ||||||
| Glenn Hall, Denis DeJordy | Goalie stats | Terry Sawchuk | ||||||
| April 15 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Mike Walton (2) - pp - 6:16 Frank Mahovlich (3) - pp - 14:14 |
First period | 9:31 - Lou Angotti (2) 11:01 - Bobby Hull (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Pete Stemkowski (2) - 2:11 Jim Pappin (3) - 17:14 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Terry Sawchuk, Johnny Bower | Goalie stats | Denis DeJordy | ||||||
| April 18 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Pat Stapleton (1) - sh - 14:38 | First period | 5:06 - Brian Conacher (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 4:47 - Brian Conacher (2) 13:06 - Pete Stemkowski (3) | ||||||
| Glenn Hall | Goalie stats | Terry Sawchuk | ||||||
| Toronto won series 4–2 | |
(2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) New York Rangers
Montreal earned the second seed with 77 points. New York earned the fourth seed with 72 points. This was the eighth playoff series between these two teams, with New York winning four of their seven previous series. Their most recent series had come in the 1957 semifinals, where Montreal defeated New York in five games. Montreal earned sixteen out of twenty-eight points in this year's regular season series.
Montreal defeated the Rangers in a four-game sweep.
| April 6 | New York Rangers | 4–6 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bernie Geoffrion (1) - pp - 3:46 Rod Gilbert (1) - pp - 16:06 |
Second period | 9:34 - Ralph Backstrom (1) | ||||||
| Rod Gilbert (2) - pp - 1:49 Vic Hadfield (1) - 5:18 |
Third period | 9:12 - Claude Provost (1) 9:34 - J.C. Tremblay (1) 11:03 - John Ferguson (1) 14:55 - Ralph Backstrom (2) 18:07 - Jean Beliveau (1) | ||||||
| Ed Giacomin | Goalie stats | Rogie Vachon | ||||||
| April 8 | New York Rangers | 1–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 8:55 - pp - Dick Duff (1) | ||||||
| Bernie Geoffrion (2) - pp - 12:03 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 7:46 - pp - John Ferguson (2) 13:25 - Ralph Backstrom (3) | ||||||
| Ed Giacomin | Goalie stats | Rogie Vachon | ||||||
| April 11 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–2 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | |||
| Claude Larose (1) - 00:13 Jean Beliveau (2) - 3:09 |
First period | 15:51 - pp - Jim Neilson (1) | ||||||
| Bobby Rousseau (1) - pp - 2:05 | Second period | 4:34 - Earl Ingarfield (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Rogie Vachon | Goalie stats | Ed Giacomin | ||||||
| April 13 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–1 | OT | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden III | Recap | ||
| J.C. Tremblay (2) - 10:46 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 17:56 - pp - Phil Goyette (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| John Ferguson (3) - 6:28 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Rogie Vachon | Goalie stats | Ed Giacomin | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–0 | |
Finals
The Montreal Canadiens were the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. In the 1966 Stanley Cup Finals, Montreal defeated Detroit in six games. This was their 24th Stanley Cup Finals overall, having won the championship fourteen times previously. This was the Toronto Maple Leafs' twenty-first and most recent Stanley Cup Finals, having won twelve championships previously. This was the thirteenth playoff series between these two teams, and they split their twelve previous series. Their most recent series came in the 1966 semifinals, where Montreal won in a four-game sweep. These teams split their fourteen-game regular season series.
After splitting the first four games, the Maple Leafs won games five and six to win the series.
| April 20 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–6 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Larry Hillman (1) - 6:40 | First period | 6:25 - pp - Yvan Cournoyer (1) 11:19 - Henri Richard (1) | ||||||
| Jim Pappin (4) - pp - 12:59 | Second period | 5:03 - pp - Yvan Cournoyer (2) 6:36 - Jean Beliveau (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 4:53 - Henri Richard (2) 8:21 - Henri Richard (3) | ||||||
| Terry Sawchuk, Johnny Bower | Goalie stats | Rogie Vachon | ||||||
| April 22 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–0 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Pete Stemkowski (4) - pp - 12:14 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Walton (3) - pp - 9:12 Tim Horton (2) - 16:57 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Johnny Bower | Goalie stats | Rogie Vachon | ||||||
| April 25 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–3 | 2OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| Jean Beliveau (4) - pp - 2:27 | First period | 8:39 - pp - Pete Stemkowski (5) | ||||||
| John Ferguson (4) - 19:10 | Second period | 10:34 - Jim Pappin (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second overtime period | 8:26 - Bob Pulford (1) | ||||||
| Rogie Vachon | Goalie stats | Johnny Bower | ||||||
| April 27 | Montreal Canadiens | 6–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Ralph Backstrom (4) - 12:25 Jean Beliveau (5) - pp - 13:08 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Henri Richard (4) - 2:26 Jean Beliveau (6) - 13:41 Ralph Backstrom (5) - 15:58 |
Second period | 2:09 - pp - Mike Walton (4) 12:16 - Tim Horton (3) | ||||||
| Jimmy Roberts (1) - 15:17 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Rogie Vachon | Goalie stats | Terry Sawchuk | ||||||
| April 29 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4–1 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Jim Pappin (6) - pp - 15:06 | First period | 6:03 - Leon Rochefort (1) | ||||||
| Brian Conacher (3) - 3:07 Marcel Pronovost (1) - sh - 12:02 Dave Keon (3) - 19:27 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Terry Sawchuk | Goalie stats | Rogie Vachon, Gump Worsley | ||||||
| May 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 6:25 - Ron Ellis (2) 19:24 - Jim Pappin (7) | ||||||
| Dick Duff (2) - 5:28 | Third period | 19:13 - George Armstrong (2) | ||||||
| Gump Worsley | Goalie stats | Terry Sawchuk | ||||||
| Toronto won series 4–2 | |
Statistical leaders
Leading scorers
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Pappin | Toronto | 12 | 7 | 8 | 15 |
| Pete Stemkowski | Toronto | 12 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| Jean Beliveau | Montreal | 10 | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| Bob Pulford | Toronto | 12 | 1 | 10 | 11 |
| Henri Richard | Montreal | 10 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| Frank Mahovlich | Toronto | 12 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
Leading goaltenders
| Player | Team | GP | GA | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Sawchuk | Toronto | 10 | 25 | 2.65 |
| Rogatien Vachon | Montreal | 9 | 22 | 2.38 |
Awards and records
- Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) – Dave Keon, Toronto Maple Leafs
See also
References
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Stanley Cup. Toronto, Ontario: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-07-8.
- Diamond, Dan; Duplacey, James; Zweig, Eric (2003). The Ultimate Prize: The Stanley Cup. Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews McNeel Publishing. ISBN 0-7407-3830-5.
- Falla, Jack (2001). Quest for the Cup : a history of the Stanley Cup finals, 1893–2000. Key Porter Books. ISBN 1-55263-343-8.
