1919-20 NHL season
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
The 1919-20 NHL season was the third season of the National Hockey League. The Toronto Arenas reorganized, with J. P. Bickell and N. L. Nathanson now included in the ownership, and the team would now be known as the Toronto St. Patricks. The Quebec Bulldogs also decided to operate this year.
Percy Quinn had put down a downpayment on the Quebec Bulldogs the previous year but had not operated the team. As a result, Mike Quinn again was the team's owner.
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Regular Season
On December 27th, playing in his second NHL game, Babe Dye scored his first NHL goal as the Toronto St. Patricks defeated the Quebec Bulldogs 7-4.
The Montreal Canadiens had their home opener January 10 in brand new Mount Royal Arena and Newsy Lalonde used the occasion to celebrate with six goals in a 14-7 drubbing of the Toronto St. Patricks. A column buckled without threat of collapse in the arena and police prevented fans from occupying the section, but no one was hurt.
Jack Darragh of Ottawa had a chance to play in goal when Toronto defeated Ottawa 5-3 on January 24th. He took over when Clint Benedict was penalized. He did not surrender any goals during the two minutes.
Despite a dismal record of 2-10 in both halves of the season, the Bulldogs' Joe Malone scored seven goals in one game on January 31, 1920, a mark that still stands today. He nearly equalled the record on March 10 when he scored six goals in a 10-4 win over the Ottawa Senators in which Harry Mummery played in goal for Quebec. Malone led the league in goals with 39. But by surrendering 7.18 goals against per game, a record that stands today, Quebec finished dead last.
With the war now over, players came home and fans were now coming in larger numbers to see games. On February 21, 1920, a record crowd of 8,500 fans came to see Ottawa defeat Toronto 5-3 at the Arena Gardens (also known as Mutual Street Arena).
On March 3, the Montreal Canadiens pummeled the Quebec Bulldogs 16-3, setting an all-time record for goals by one team in one game.
On March 6th, the Toronto St. Patricks loaned goaltender Howard "Holes" Lockhart to the Quebec Bulldogs and then whipped the Bulldogs 11-2 as Mickey Roach scored five goals for the St. Pats.
Standings
First Half:
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa Senators | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 59 | 23 | 18 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 62 | 51 | 16 |
| Toronto St. Patricks | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 52 | 62 | 10 |
| Quebec Bulldogs | 12 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 44 | 81 | 4 |
Second Half:
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa Senators | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 62 | 41 | 20 |
| Toronto St. Patricks | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 67 | 44 | 14 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 67 | 62 | 10 |
| Quebec Bulldogs | 12 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 47 | 96 | 4 |
Leading Scorers
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Malone | Quebec | 24 | 39 | 10 | 49 |
| Newsy Lalonde | Montreal | 23 | 37 | 9 | 46 |
| Frank Nighbor | Ottawa | 23 | 26 | 15 | 41 |
| Corbett Denneny | Toronto | 24 | 24 | 12 | 36 |
| Jack Darragh | Ottawa | 23 | 22 | 14 | 36 |
| Reg Noble | Toronto | 24 | 24 | 9 | 33 |
| Amos Arbour | Montreal | 22 | 14 | 12 | 26 |
| Cully Wilson | Toronto | 23 | 20 | 6 | 26 |
| Didier Pitre | Montreal | 22 | 14 | 12 | 26 |
| Punch Broadbent | Ottawa | 21 | 19 | 6 | 25 |
Leading Goaltenders
| Player | Team | GP | MINS | GA | SO | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clint Benedict | Ottawa | 24 | 1443 | 64 | 5 | 2.66 |
| Ivan Mitchell | Toronto | 16 | 830 | 60 | 0 | 4.34 |
| Georges Vezina | Montreal | 24 | 1456 | 113 | 0 | 4.66 |
| Frank Brophy | Quebec | 21 | 1249 | 148 | 0 | 7.11 |
Stanley Cup Playoffs
As the Senators won both halves of the split regular season, the Senators were assured a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals. Representing the Pacific Coast Hockey Association this year was the Seattle Metropolitans, who battled in a very tight PCHA, where two wins separated its three teams. With the Stanley Cup Finals being in Ottawa instead of out west, the warm weather in Ottawa forced the final two games to be played in Toronto's Arena Gardens.
When the Seattle team arrived, there was a problem: with newspaper photographers wanting to cover the series and color film not yet invented, the two teams uniforms looked similar in photographs. The Ottawa Senators graciously agreed to wear white sweaters.
All dates are in 1920.
Stanley Cup Finals
Seattle(PCHA) vs. Ottawa (NHL), Dey's Arena, Ottawa--- Mutual Street Arena, Toronto
- March 22 - Seattle 2 Ottawa 3: Frank Foyston of Seattle and Frank
Nighbor of Ottawa each had two goals, but Jack Darragh won the game for the Senators when he broke in alone on Hap Holmes and scored.
- March 24 - Seattle 0 Ottawa 3: Clint Benedict racked up a shutout
as Ottawa won a game played on poor ice.
- March 27 - Seattle 3 Ottawa 1 : On a slushy ice surface, Seattle got
two goals by Frank Foyston to win game three
- March 30 - Seattle 5 Ottawa 2 (in Toronto): It was decided to move the
series to Mutual Street Arena in Toronto which had artificial ice, and Seattle evened the series as Frank Foyston had a pair of goals.
- April 1 - Seattle 1 Ottawa 6 (in Toronto): Ottawa came out storming
and Jack Darragh had the hat trick as Ottawa walloped Seattle. Sprague Cleghorn and Eddie Gerard were impregnable on the Senators defence.
Ottawa wins best-of-five series 3 games to 2
Related topics
| Preceded by: 1918-19 NHL season | NHL seasons | Succeeded by: 1920-21 NHL season |
