DETROIT, MICH – Many of the pictures, both photographic and in the mind’s eye, are grainy black and white vestiges of yesteryear. Many more shine with brilliant colors, reminders of a not so distant past. Some of the names have long past through the memory while others stand as monuments to the legacy of one game shared between two blue collar cities.
As the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings battle for the Western Conference title, the images of players like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Johan Franzen, Dan Cleary and all of their teammates jump out and grab the imaginations of young and old alike. Long time fans, however, are reminded that this 2009 battle between the Windy City and Motown is just another page in a long, storied history book that continues to be written.
Dating back to the first time these two members of the NHL’s “Original Six” franchises met to fight for Lord Stanley’s Cup, the Blackhawks and Red Wings have met 14 times prior to this year’s edition. In those series, 69 games have been played with Chicago winning 38 of those to Detroit’s 31. Each team has defended its own home ice well (24-10 for the ‘Hawks in Chicago, 21-14 for the Red Wings in Detroit) and 20 goals separate the two – hardly noticeable when you look at the number of games.
Six times they have met in the semifinals with a chance to play for the Cup on the line. Since the first expansion in 1969, they have battled in the quarterfinals once, the division semifinals three times, a divisional final once and in the conference finals once – back in 1995 when the teams last met. On two occasions, Chicago and Detroit met on the grandest stage of all – The Stanley Cup finals – with the winner getting to hoist the holy grail of professional hockey in North America.
So as we look forward to what is to come, let’s take a look back at where we’ve been. In part one, we’ll look at the series from the 1930’s to the 1960’s…
1934 – The first meeting is for all the marbles.
The NHL looked a lot different than it does now. There were two divisions: the American division with Detroit, Chicago, the New York Rangers and Boston and the Canadian division with Toronto, the Montreal Canadiens and the Montreal Maroons, the Ottawa Senators (the original Senators) and the New York Americans.
In the playoffs, Detroit defeated Toronto in a best-of-five series while Chicago bested both Montreal squads in total-goal series to join the Red Wings in the finals. In Game 1, Paul Thompson scored 1:10 into the second overtime period to give the Blackhawks the 2-1 victory at the Olympia in Detroit. Game 2 also went the way of the visitors as Chicago took the game 4-1.
After Detroit won Game 3 by a score of 5-2 at the Chicago Stadium, the Blackhawks were eager to close the series out in Game 4. It took them until the 10:05 mark of the second overtime when Harold “Mush” March did the honors, beating Detroit net minder Wilf Cude to give Chicago a 1-0 victory and its first Stanley Cup. Goaltender Charlie (Chuck) Gardiner, who won his second Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie that year, was the first and only goalie to have his name engraved with the title “Captain” next to it. Sadly, it would be the only title for Gardiner, who died eight weeks after the championship series due to a brain hemorrhage. Chicago’s Johnny Gottselig was the first Russian-born player to have his name on the Cup, having moved to Canada with his family as a child.
The Players: Chicago – Paul Thompson; Johnny Gottselig; Elwyn “Doc” Romnes; Lionel Conacher; Harold “Mush” March; Tom Cook; Rosario “Lolo” Couture; Jack Leswick; Arthur Coulter; John Sheppard; Leroy Goldsworthy; Roger Jenkins; Louis Trudel; Don McFadyen; Bill Kendall; Clarence “Taffy” Abel; Tom Coulter; Joe Starke; L.S. “Duke” Dutkowski; Chuck Gardiner. Coach: Tommy Gorman.
The Players: Detroit – Larry Aurie; John Sorrell; Herbie Lewis; Ralph “Cooney” Weiland; Ebbie Goodfellow; Frank Carson; Gordon Pettinger; Leighton “Happy” Emms; Eddie Wiseman; Doug Young; Wilfie Starr; Walter Buswell; Lloyd Gross; Gus Marker; Teddy Graham; Burr Williams; Gene Carrigan; Ron Moffat; Wilf Cude. Coach: Jack Adams.
1941 – Semifinals
By this time, the NHL was down to a one-division league with Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Montreal, Toronto, New York Rangers and New York Americans as members. Boston, with former Red Wing Ralph “Cooney” Weiland behind the bench, was the regular season champion by five points over Toronto. Detroit finished third while Chicago placed fifth.
The Red Wings and Blackhawks met in the second round with a trip to the finals against Boston on the line. Unlike seven years earlier, Detroit had the better of the play, winning Game 1 by a 3-1 score at home. Three days later, the teams met at the Chicago Stadium. Tied at one, the squads headed to overtime where Roy “Gus” Giesebrecht beat Chicago Sam LoPresti at 9:15 of the first overtime to give Detroit a 2-1 victory and a two game sweep of the best-of-three series. The Red Wings would go on and be swept by the Bruins in the finals.
The Players: Chicago – Bill Thoms; George Allen; Doug Bentley; Carl “Cully” Dahlstrom; John Chad; Phil “Nip” Hergesheimer; Bill Carse; Earl Seibert; Harold “Mush” March; Max Bentley; Joe Cooper; Art Wiebe; John Mariucci; Joe Papike; David McKay; Sam LoPresti. Coach: Paul Thompson.
The Players: Detroit – Syd Howe; Sid Abel; Modere “Mud” Bruneteau; Eddie Wares; Alex Motter; Roy “Gus” Giesebrecht; Ebbie Goodfellow; Carl Liscombe; Don Grosso; Joe Fisher; Jimmy Orlando; Jack Stewart; Bill Jennings; Connie Brown; Ken Kilrea; Ed Bruneteau; Bob Whitelaw; Harold Jackson; Johnny Mowers. Coach: Jack Adams.
1944 – Semifinals
The NHL was in its second season of what everyone knows as the “Original Six” with Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York Rangers and Toronto making up the league. Many of the circuit’s best players were serving in the military but those who stayed behind were outstanding in their own right. Chicago’s Doug Bentley led the league in goals (38) while teammate Clint Smith led in assists (49). Detroit finished the regular season in second place while Chicago finished in fourth.
Once again, Detroit and Chicago met in the semifinals. Game 1 in Detroit was a close, tight-checking game that the Blackhawks won 2-1. The Red Wings avenged that loss with a solid 4-1 victory in Game 2. The tide turned in Game 3 in Chicago as Blackhawks’ net minder Mike Karakas was brilliant in posting a 2-0 shutout to put the ‘Hawks in front. They followed that with a resounding 7-1 win in Game 4 to take a three games to one lead back to Motown. With their backs against the wall, Detroit put up only a mild struggle as Chicago finished the series with a 5-2 victory. It would be the last bit of good news for the Blackhawks as they were swept in the finals by Montreal.
The Players: Chicago – Doug Bentley; Clint Smith; Bill Mosienko; Carl “Cully” Dahlstrom; George Allen; Harold “Mush” March; Earl Seibert; Johnny Gottselig; Cliff “Fido” Purpur; Virgil Johnson; Art Weibe; Jack Toupin; George Grigor; Joe Cooper; Johnny Harms; Mike Karakas. Coach: Paul Thompson.
The Players: Detroit – Carl Liscombe; Syd Howe; Joe Carveth; Modere “Mud” Bruneteau; Don Grosso; Adam Brown; Murray Armstrong; Harold Jackson; William “Flash” Hollett; Bill Quackenbush; Bill Jennings; John “Cully” Simon; Bill Thompson; Ken Kilrea; Connie Dion. Coach: Jack Adams.
1961 – The Finals (again)
Detroit was coming off of a decade with four Stanley Cup titles while Chicago was retooling its lineup. As the regular season ended, the Blackhawks, led by youngsters named Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Reg Flemming and others, finished third while the veteran Red Wings with the likes of Alex Delvecchio, Norm Ullman and Gordie Howe, finished fourth.
After dispatching the two Canadian teams (Chicago ousted Montreal and Detroit took out Toronto), the Blackhawks and Red Wings met in the finals. Hull scored twice in Game 1 to propel Chicago to a 3-2 win at the Chicago Stadium. More significantly, Detroit goaltender Terry Sawchuk was injured in the first period and replaced by Hank Bassen.
Detroit evened the series with a 3-1 victory in Game 2 only to fall 3-1 in Game 3 at home in the Olympia. The Red Wings once again regrouped, winning Game 4 2-1 and tying the series at two. In Game 4, Mikita scored a pair of goals and added an assist while teammate Pierre Pilote pitched in with a goal and two helpers as Chicago won 6-3.
Facing the end of the series, Detroit took a lead in the first period of Game 6 when Parker MacDonald scored on Blackhawks’ goalie Glenn Hall with the assists going to Howe and Delvecchio. The tide turned in the second when during a penalty kill, Chicago’s Fleming stole the puck, raced to the opposite end of the ice and beat Bassen to tie the score. Later in the second, Ab McDonald scored the eventual game-winning goal, converting the rebound of a shot by Hull. Eric Nesterenko, Tex Evans and Ken Wharram all scored in the third as the Blackhawks won 5-1 to take the series and the Cup.
The Players: Chicago – Al Arbour; Stan Mikita; Bobby Hull; Ab McDonald; Bill Hay; Ken Wharram; Ron Murphy; Murray Balfour; Wayne Hicks; Eric Nesterenko; Pierre Pilote; Ron “Chico” Maki; Dollard St. Laurent; Reg Fleming; Elmer Vasko; Wayne Hillman; Jack “Tex” Evans; Tod Sloan; Ron Ingram; Murray Hall; Ed Litzenberger; Earl Balfour; Glenn Hall. Coach Rudy Pilous.
The Players: Detroit – Gordie Howe; Norm Ullman; Alex Delvecchio; Al Johnson; Pete Goegan; Howie Glover; Parker MacDonald; Gerry Melnyk; Vic Stasiuk; Warren Godfrey; Len Lunde; Val Fonteyne; Marcel Pronovost; Leo Labine; Howie Young; Gerry Odrowski; Bruce MacGregor; Hank Bassen; Terry Sawchuk. Coach: Sid Abel.
1963-1966 – So we meet again…
From 1963-1966, Detroit and Chicago became an annual event in the playoffs. All four were semifinal series and each time, the winner moved on to the Stanley Cup finals where they were beaten (Detroit lost twice to Toronto and once to Montreal while Chicago’s lone trip ended in a loss to Montreal).
The 1963 series started with Chicago at home and winning Games 1 and 2 by the scores of 5-4 and 5-2. After that, it was Detroit’s series as they won four straight. The final game was a 7-4 shootout at the Olympia in Game 6. For the series, the Red Wings outscored the Blackhawks 25-19.
The next year when the two teams met, it was a knock-down, drag-out seven game series. Chicago took Game 1 by a count of 4-1 but Detroit came right back in Game 2 as Norm Ullman had a hat trick to pace the ‘Wings 5-4 victory. Goalie Terry Sawchuk was the story in Game as he and his Detroit teammates blanked Chicago 3-0. The ‘Hawks responded in Game 4 with an overtime victory on Murray Balfour’s OT winner at 8:21 of the first extra period. Following another Chicago win in Game 5, Detroit came right back in Game 6 as Ullman notched his second hat trick of the series in a 7-2 pounding of the ‘Hawks. The ‘Wings then stood up to the pressure of Game 7 in Chicago and came away with a 4-2 win to take the series.
1965 was yet another seven game war. Detroit took the first two games at home and Chicago followed suit by winning Games 3 & 4 on its home ice. In Game 5, Ullman again scored three goals against the ‘Hawks as the Red Wings won 4-2. Chicago answered back in Game 6 as Glenn Hall pitched a 4-0 shutout to tie the series. The Blackhawks then turned the tables on the ‘Wings, going into the Olympia in Detroit and winning Game 7 by a score of 4-2, the same score and road circumstance that Detroit had posted a year earlier.
In 1966, the first four games of the series were split with Chicago winning Games 1 and 3 while Detroit took Games 2 and 4. Game 2 belonged to goalie Roger Crozier who shut down the Chicago offense on the way to a 7-0 win. The ‘Wings went into Chicago Stadium for Game 5 and came away with a 5-3 victory and then sealed the series in Game 6 by beating the ‘Hawks 3-2.
The Players: Chicago – Stan Mikita; Bobby Hull; Ab McDonald; Bill Hay; Ken Wharram; Ron Murphy; Murray Balfour; Len Lunde; Eric Nesterenko; Pierre Pilote; Ron “Chico” Maki; Al MacNeil; Reg Fleming; Elmer Vasko; Wayne Hillman; Jack “Tex” Evans; Bob Turner; Ron Ingram; Murray Hall; Glenn Hall; Denis DeJordy; Doug Robinson; Phil Esposito; John McKenzie; Doug Mohns; Matt Ravlich; Fred Stanfield; Doug Jarrett; Dennis Hull; Camille Henry; Gerry Melnyk; Pat Stapleton; Ken Hodge; Lou Angotti; John Miszuk; Jack Stanfield. Coach: Rudy Pilous (1963); Billy Reay (1964-1966).
The Players: Detroit – Gordie Howe; Alex Delvecchio; Parker MacDonald; Norm Ullman; Bill Gadsby; Doug Barkley; Bloyd Smith; Bruce MacGregor; Alex Faulkner; Val Fonteyne; Andre Pronovost; Vic Stasiuk; Larry Jeffry; Marcel Pronovost; Eddie Joyal; Howie Young; Pete Goegan; Lowell MacDonald; Bob Dillabough; Gerry Odrowski; Terry Sawchuk; Hubert “Pit” Martin; Albert Langlois; Paul Henderson; Irv Spencer; John MacMillan; John Miszuk; Bob Champoux; Roger Crozier; Ted Lindsay; Gary Bergman; Murray Hall; Bob Wall; Warren Godfrey; Hank Bassen; Leo Boivin; Bryan Watson; Dean Prentice; Bert Marshall; Andy Bathgate. Coach: Sid Abel.
Up next…Post-expansion series
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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