1918-19 NHL season

The 1918-19 NHL season was the 2nd regular season of the National Hockey League.

Contents

1 Regular Season 1.1 Standings 1.2 Leading Scorers 1.3 Leading Goltenders 2 Stanley Cup Playoffs 2.1 League Finals 2.2 Stanley Cup Championship 3 Related topics

Regular Season

The regular season proceeded with three teams and a twenty-game split-season schedule. However, the second half of the season was cut short to eight games when the Toronto Arenas suspended operations for the year following financial difficulties. Left with only two teams, the league had its first ever best-of-seven series to determine who would meet the Pacific Coast Hockey Association champions for the Stanley Cup.

Standings

First Half

Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Montreal Canadiens	10	7	3	0	57	50	14
Ottawa Senators	10	5	5	0	39	39	10
Toronto Arenas	10	3	7	0	42	49	6

Second Half

Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Ottawa Senators	8	7	1	0	32	14	14
Montreal Canadiens	8	3	5	0	31	28	6
Toronto Arenas	8	2	6	0	22	43	4

Leading Scorers

Player	Team	GP	G	A	PTS
Newsy Lalonde	Montreal	17	22	10	32
Odie Cleghorn	Montreal	17	22	6	28
Frank Nighbor	Ottawa	18	19	9	28
Cy Denneny	Ottawa	18	18	4	22
Didier Pitre	Montreal	17	14	5	19
Alf Skinner	Toronto	17	12	4	16
Harry Cameron	Toronto / Ottawa	14	11	3	14
Jack Darragh	Ottawa	14	11	3	14
Ken Randall	Toronto	15	8	6	14
Sprague Cleghorn	Montreal	18	7	6	13

Leading Goltenders

Player	Team	GP	MINS	GA	SO	AVG
Clint Benedict	Ottawa	18	1152	53	2	2.76
Georges Vezina	Montreal	18	1117	78	1	4.19
Bert Lindsay	Toronto	16	998	83	0	4.99

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against

Stanley Cup Playoffs

With the NHL reduced to two teams eighteen games into its 20-game season, a decision was made to have the two remaining teams, coincidentally the two teams leading each half of the playoffs, compete in a best-of-seven series to see which team would head west to battle against the Pacific Coast Hockey Association champions. Montreal would eventually win the series and face the Seattle Metropolitans for the Cup.

With the series tied after five games (with one tie), the sixth game was slated for April 1, 1919 when the Spanish Flu epidemic forced the cancellation of the series. Several players on both sides were sick because of it, and it would eventually claim the life of Canadiens star Joe Hall four days later. This was the first of two times in the NHL's history in which the Cup was not awarded. This would not happen again until the 2004-2005 season.

All dates in 1919

League Finals

Ottawa vs. Montreal

• February 22: Montreal 8-4 Ottawa
• February 27: Montreal 5-3 Ottawa
• March 1: Montreal 5-3 Ottawa
• March 3: Ottawa 6-3 Montreal
• March 6: Montreal 4-2 Ottawa

Montreal wins series 4-1

Stanley Cup Championship

Montreal vs. Seattle (PCHA)

• March 19: Seattle 7-0 Montreal
• March 22: Montreal 4-2 Seattle
• March 24: Seattle 7-2 Montreal
• March 26: Montreal 0-0 Seattle
• March 29: Montreal 4-3 Seattle

no winner awarded -- playoffs were curtailed due to the influenza epidemic

Related topics

• 1918 in sports
• 1919 in sports