1941-1942 Toronto Maple Leafs: Historic Comeback

1941-1942 Toronto Maple Leafs: Historic Comeback

1941-1942 Toronto Maple Leafs: Historic Comeback

The 25th year of the Toronto Maple Leafs marked the development of hockey that wasn’t just good, but also resilient in more ways than one. For one stretch of the NHL postseason in the 1941-1942 campaign things looked bleak for the Maple Leafs. However, the talent came together at the right time to complete what would end up being a historic comeback.

In the 1941-1942 NHL season the Toronto Maple Leafs went 17-18-3, finishing in 2nd place out of 7 teams in the NHL. The Leafs went 18-6 at their home arena called the Maple Leaf Gardens and they went 9-12-3 on the road. In head-to-head play the Leafs went 6-2 against the Brooklyn Americans, 5-2-1 against the Detroit Red Wings, 5-3 against the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3-1 against the New York Rangers, and 4-4 against the Chicago Blackhawks. The only below .500 record the Leafs had in head-to-head play was a 3-4-1 record against the Boston Bruins.

Right winger Gordie Drillon had 23 goals and 18 assists for 41 points. Left winger Sweeney Schriner had 20 goals and 16 assists for 36 points. Center Syl Apps was the Captain of the Maple Leafs and he had 18 goals and 23 assists for 41 points. Apps was the only offensive player on the team to record 0 penalty minutes. Right winger Lorne Carr had 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points. Right winger John McCreedy had 15 goals and 8 assists for 23 points. Center Billy Taylor had 12 goals and 26 assists for 38 points. Left winger Hank Goldup had 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points. Left winger Nick Metz had 11 goals and 9 assists for 20 points. Center Pete Langelle finally made the Maple Leafs main roster after being a part-time player the past few seasons, and he had 10 goals and 22 assists for 32 points.

Goaltender Walter Edward “Turk” Broda was the only goaltender Toronto needed throughout the season. Broda went 27-18-3, allowing 136 goals in 2960 minutes, recording a 2.76 goals against average and 6 shutouts.

The NHL Playoffs began with the Toronto Maple Leafs taking on the New York Rangers in the NHL Semifinals. The Maple leafs ended up eliminating the Rangers 4 games to 2. In Game 1 on March 21 at the Maple Leaf Gardens the Leafs beat the Rangers 3-1. In Game 2 on March 22 at Madison Square Garden the Leafs beat the Rangers 4-2. In Game 3 on March 24 the Rangers would shut out the Leafs 3-0. In Game 4 on March 28 at the Maple Leaf Gardens the Leafs beat the Rangers 2-1. In Game 5 om\n March 29 at Madison Square Garden the Rangers beat the Leafs 3-1. Back at the Maple Leaf Gardens for Game 6 on March 31, the Leafs out the Rangers away with a 3-2 victory.

The 1942 Stanley Cup Finals was historic for 2 key reasons. The first reason was that these Finals were the first to go the distance and have all 7 games be played. The Toronto Maple Leafs took on a team that had found its identity in the 1930’s, the Detroit Red Wings.

In Game 1 on April 4 at the Maple Leaf Gardens the Red Wings struck first by beating the Leafs 3-2. Center Don Grosso scored the first goal for Detroit 2:00 into the 1st period, though John McCreedy would tie the game up for Toronto later on. Detroit center Sid Abel scored a goal to put the Red Wings back up 2-1, and then Sweeney Schriner tied the game again with a goal. At the 14:11 mark in the 2nd period Grosso scored another goal to give Detroit the win.

In Game 2 on April 7 the Red Wings beat the Maple Leafs again by the score of 4-2. In the 1st period Grosso and right winger Modere “Mud” Bruneteau both scored goals. In the 2nd period Schriner scored a goal for Toronto. However, Grosso would score his 2nd goal in the 3rd period, and he would be followed by a goal scored by Gerry Brown. In the 15th minute defenseman Wally Stanowski scored a goal for Toronto, but it would be too little too late.

In Game 3 on April 8 at Detroit Olympia the Red Wings beat the Maple Leafs to take a commanding 3 games to none series lead. Toronto scored twice thanks to 2 goals by Lorne Carr, but Detroit snatched the game away as Brown and right winger Joe Carveth scored goals to tie the game in the 1st period, and then in the 2nd period center Pat McReavy and left winger Syd Howe scored goals. In the 3rd period Eddie Bush scored a goal.

There was another reason why the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals went 7 games deep, and that would be because the Toronto Maple Leafs executed what many hockey fans call a historic comeback. Needing to win in Game 4 on April 12 the Leafs did just that as they beat the Red Wings 4-3. In the 2nd period Burneteau and Abel scored goals for Detroit, but then left winger Bob Davidson and Carr scored goals for Toronto to even the score. 5:00 into the 3rd period Detroit left winger Carl Liscombe scored a goal, but just 2 minutes later Syl Apps scored a goal to tie the game again, and then with 7:00 remaining Nick Metz scored the game-winning goal.

In Game 5 on April 14 at the Maple Leaf Gardens the Leafs crushed the Red Wings 9-3. Metz played a key role in Toronto’s dominating win as he had 3 goals and 2 assists. In Game 6 on April 16 at Detroit Olympia the Leafs shut out the Red Wings 3-0. 14 seconds after the 2nd period began Metz scored a goal for the Maple Leafs, and then Hank Goldup and Billy Taylor scored goals that were just 32 seconds apart. Turk Broda put on an amazing performance protecting the net.

Game 7 on April 18 at the Maple Leaf Gardens would decide it all, and it would be the Toronto Maple Leafs completing their historic comeback by defeating the Detroit Red Wings 3-1. Detroit struck first with a goal by Howe in the 2nd period, but then everything changed once Schriner scored a goal for Toronto. From that point forward Toronto overwhelmed Detroit in the shots department 16-7. Langelle scored the game-winning goal and Schriner would add another goal to seal the victory.

The Maple Leafs won their 4th NHL Championship and their 2nd Stanley Cup in franchise history. Little did anyone know at the time that their historic win in the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals marked the beginning of a dynasty in the 1940’s as they would win the Stanley Cup 4 more times in that decade.