1945 Stanley Cup Finals

The 1945 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven series between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs won the series by 4 games to 3.

Paths to the final

For the first time, two rookie goalies met in a Stanley Cup last round. 18-year-old Harry Lumley was in net for the Wings and the Leafs had 26-year-old Frank McCool replacing Turk Broda, who was doing army service.

McCool, whose surname belied his jumpy demeanor, had been discharged from the army himself with stomach ulcers, but despite his medical condition, he would win the Calder Trophy. And he did not allow second-place Detroit, who'd gone 8–1–1 against third-place Toronto that season, a goal until just past the two-minute mark of the fourth game. His three-in-a-row zeroes were a postseason record that would not be repeated for 58 years, and the Leafs sat on the brink of a four-game outbroom.

The series

Game three

After game three, Motown veteran Mud Bruneteau said:

“The Leafs can’t be that good, we’ll have to win four straight.^[1]”

They almost did — despite a hat trick by 19-year-old Leaf face-off man Ted Kennedy, Detroit won game four. In a bizarre near-reversal of 1942, the Wings also won the next two games, both on Lumley shutouts, to force a Game seven at the Detroit Olympia. Toronto had not been able to take the Cup at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Game seven

The Maple Leafs won the Cup in game seven against the Red Wings by a final score of 2–1, but after the game, the Detroit crowd chanted, "We want Lumley!" and the dejected goalie was brought back to the ice from the dressing room while Toronto celebrated. Lumley would go on to a Hockey Hall of Fame career and McCool would play just 22 more games in the NHL, as January 1946 brought Broda back.

This was the first time in the history of game seven of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals that the home team did not win. The home team did not lose a game seven final again until Montreal beat Chicago in 1971 final. This did not happen again until Pittsburgh beat Detroit in 2009 and then again in 2011 when Boston defeated Vancouver.

Hap Day almost had to eat his words of a few years back when he said of the Leafs' 1942 comeback from being down 3–0 in games "There will never be another experience like this." But Babe Pratt scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory that saved the Maple Leafs from being victim of a great comeback win by the Red Wings.

Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto wins best-of-seven series 4–3.

Toronto Maple Leafs 1945 Stanley Cup Champions

Roster

See also

• 1944–45 NHL season

Notes

References and notes

• Diamond, Dan (2000). Total Stanley Cup. Toronto: Total Sports Canada. ISBN 978-1-892129-07-9. 

• Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Bolton, Ont.: Fenn Pub. pp 12, 50. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7

Stanley Cup Finals Stanley Cup awarded on a challenge basis between 1893–1914; sole NHL championship since 1927 1890s–1900s 1890 · 1891 · 1892 · 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910s–1920s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930s–1940s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950s–1960s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970s–1980s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990s–2000s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010s–2020s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 · 2015 · 2016 · 2017 · 2018 · 2019 · 2020 · 2021 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · 2026 · 2027 · 2028 · 2029 See also Stanley Cup Stanley Cup ring Champions Challenge games Conference Finals Championship seasons Engravings Traditions and anecdotes Conn Smythe Trophy Broadcasters Television ratings Overtime winners Game seven Book:Stanley Cup Finals Category:Stanley Cup Championship Finals Portal:Ice hockey