1951-52
When teams looked at the Red Wings lineup heading into the 1951-52 season teams looked up and down their lineup with admiration and fear. Lets be honest in the day and age of the 6 team league most teams were fairly loaded because there were very few NHL teams. But the Wings were a different type of beast, they'd been hovering at the top of the league and fighting for the Cup for quite a while, but their road usually went through the Leafs.
This year thought the Wings were loaded. With Terry Sawchuk in goal, and
Red Kelly on defence things were bad enough, but what struck fear into every other team in the league when they looked down the ice at the Wings was one of the if not the greatest line in NHL history in the Production Line.
A line that combined nasty physical play with offensive Savvy the trio of Gordie Howe, "Terrible" Ted Lindsay and Sid Abel terrorized the league.
The Wings had finished first four straight times but this years team was the one where everything finally really came together.
Sid Abel was mean, but he was also supremely skilled wracking up goals and assists, Gordie was Gordie and unstoppable and remorseless hockey machine, and Lindsay was one of the toughest and most uncompromising players in NHL history with a list of 760 stitches over his career to testify to that.
But Howe was the heart beat, the unquestioned toughest man in the league in what at the time was a gigantic 6'1 200 lb frame (Lindsay we 5'7) Howe had an uncanny shot, owned the front of the net, was one of the only players in the NHL that could shoot right or left handed and would switch mid rush.
The Production line reached its peak in 1951-52 and they lead the Wings to a 1st place finish with a 44-14-12 season. Howe lead the league in goals with 47 and points with 86 as he walked away with the Hart Trophy. Lindsay finished second in the league with 67 and Abel finished 8 with 53 points.
The Wings finished 22 points ahead of the second place Habs and marched into the playoffs, and steam rolled the Leafs in a 4-0 laugher in round one, and then left skate treads up the back of the Canadians sweeping them as well going 8-0 in the playoffs the Cup.
This was a fitting end to this version of the Wings as in the offseason, Adams sold Abel to the Chicago Black Hawks and talented young Alex Delvecchio stepped into his stop to create a just as dominant new Production line.
Trivia
- The NHL rules that visiting teams will ward white jerseys while home teams wear dark jersey's
- The crease is expanded to 4x8 feet and the face off circles are expanded to 15 foot radius.
- Guy Lafleur is born on Sept 20 in Thurso, Quebec. upon being born, Guy calmly lit a cigarette and looked cool for the next 18 years.
- Detroit scores the most goals in the NHL with 215 and allows the least on the way to a dominant 100 point season.
- The feud between Howe and Richard is suspended as Richard suffers through a injury riddled season.
- On March 23 Chicago's Bill Mosienko sets and NHL record scoring 3 goals in 21 seconds against New York.
- Bernie "Boom Boom "Geoffrion scores 20 goals in his first full NHL season.
- The Canadians add Dickie Moore the line of Richard and Elmer Lach and it instantly becomes dominant.
- The Bruins replace Jack Gelineau in net with Sugar Jim Henry who returns to the NHL after a 2 year hiatus.
- Terry Sawchuck wins 44 games and leads the league in gaa with a 1.90 gaa.
- Toronto goalie Turk Broda only plays one game in his last NHL season as Al Rollins cements himself as the Leaf's starter.
- Boston and Montreal engage in a battle of wills as the Habs outscore the Bruins 9-1 in game 1 and game 2 before the Bruins roar back to win in a row. The Habs win game 6 in double OT.
- In game 7 Maurice Richard in knocked unconscious in the first period. But still dazed he breaks a 1-1 tie late in the game skating through the entire Bruins team to score the greatest goal that he doesn't remember to this day.
- The Wings destroy the Leafs in 4 straight games without breaking a sweat and sit back for 9 days while they wait for the finals.
- In the finals the Wings romp over the exhausted and battered Habs 4-0. Terry Sawchuk allows 2 goals over the whole series and ends the playoffs with 4 shutouts and a .63 gaa.
- Terry Sawchuck takes the Vezina home.
- Gordie Howe takes the first of his 6 Hart Trophies.
- Sid Smith of the Leafs wins the Lady Byng.
- Bernie Geoffrion of the Habs wins the Calder.
- Canada wins the Olympic Gold Medal in Oslo, they won't win another Gold Medal until 2002 (IGGY).
- Michigan wins its 2nd straight NCAA Hockey Title with a 4-1 win over Colorado College.
Debuts
Last games