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1941–42 Toronto Maple Leafs season

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Further information: List of teams to overcome 3–0 series deficits

1941–42 Toronto Maple Leafs
Stanley Cup champions
Division2nd
1941–42 record27–18–3
Home record18–6–0
Road record9–12–3
Goals for158
Goals against136
Team information
General managerConn Smythe
CoachHap Day
CaptainSyl Apps
ArenaMaple Leaf Gardens
Team leaders
GoalsGordie Drillon (23)
AssistsBilly Taylor (26)
PointsGordie Drillon and Syl Apps (41)
Penalty minutesRudolph Kampman (67)
WinsTurk Broda (27)
Goals against averageTurk Broda (2.76)

The 1941–42 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the club's 25th season in the NHL. The Maple Leafs came off a very solid season in 1940–41, finishing with their second highest point total in club history, as they had a 28–14–6 record, earning 62 points, which was two fewer than the 1934–35 team accumulated; however, they lost to the Boston Bruins in the semi-finals, extending their Stanley Cup drought to nine seasons.

That drought was broken, however, when the Maple Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings in the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals, coming back after losing the first three games to win the Stanley Cup in seven games. They were the first team to come back from an 0–3 deficit to win a playoff series 4–3, and although it has happened in several playoff series since then, this remains the only time it has happened in a championship round.

Off-season

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Before Smythe left to take up training with his 30th Battery, he signed up three rookies to the Maple Leafs: Bob Goldham, Ernie Dickens and John McCreedy. Lorne Carr's contract was purchased from the New York Americans. The final addition to the team was Pete Langelle, who made the team after playing part-time in previous seasons.[1]

Regular season

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Toronto got off to a quick start, winning 14 of their first 19 games, battling with the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers for top spot in the NHL. A 4–7–3 slump in their next 14 games saw Toronto fall behind the Bruins and Rangers, however, the Leafs followed up their slump by posting a 7–1–0 record in their next 8 games, before dropping 5 of final 7 games to end the season. Toronto finished the year with a record of 27–18–3, recording 57 points, and finishing in second place in the NHL, three points behind the first place New York Rangers.

The Leafs offense was led by Syl Apps, who despite missing 10 games to injuries, finished tied for the club lead in points with 41. Gordie Drillon also finished with 41 points, and he scored a team best 23 goals, while Billy Taylor had a club high 26 assists. Sweeney Schriner managed to join Drillon in the 20 goal club, as he managed to get 20 goals and earned 36 points. Bucko McDonald led the Leafs blueline, recording 21 points, while Rudolph Kampman provided the team toughness, getting 67 penalty minutes.

In goal, Turk Broda got all the action, winning 27 games and posting a 2.76 GAA, along with earning 6 shutouts.

The Maple Leafs would open the playoffs against the best team in the league, the New York Rangers in a best of seven semi-final series. The Leafs opened the series with a victory at Maple Leaf Gardens with a solid 3–1 win, then managed to go up two games by defeating the Rangers 4–2 at Madison Square Garden. New York managed to take the third game, shutting out Toronto 3–0, however, the Leafs would go up 3–1 in the series, winning the fourth game 2–1 at home. New York staved off elimination in the fifth game, holding off Toronto for a 3–1 win, however, the Leafs ended the series in the sixth game, hanging on for a 3–2 victory, and a spot in the Stanley Cup finals.

Toronto's opponent in the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals was the Detroit Red Wings, who finished the year with a weak 19–25–4 record, ending up in fifth in the league. Detroit defeated the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins to earn a spot in the finals. The Wings surprised Toronto in the series opener, winning the game 3–2, then Detroit managed to take the second game by a 4–2 score to go home with a 2–0 series lead. The Red Wings stayed hot, winning the third game at the Detroit Olympia 5–2, pushing the Leafs to the brink of elimination. Toronto responded in the fourth game, narrowly defeating Detroit 4–3 to cut the Wings series lead to 3–1. The Leafs returned home for the fifth game, and dominated Detroit, winning the game 9–3 and now were down 3–2 in the series. Turk Broda stole the show in the sixth game, shutting out Detroit 3–0 to even the series up, and the Leafs completed their miracle comeback with a 3–1 victory in the seventh and deciding game in front of a record breaking crowd of over 16,000 fans to win the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in club history, and first time since the 1931–32 season. This comeback was never repeated in a Stanley Cup finals since.

Final standings

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National Hockey League
GP W L T Pts GF GA
New York Rangers 48 29 17 2 60 177 143
Toronto Maple Leafs 48 27 18 3 57 158 136
Boston Bruins 48 25 17 6 56 160 118
Chicago Black Hawks 48 22 23 3 47 145 155
Detroit Red Wings 48 19 25 4 42 140 147
Montreal Canadiens 48 18 27 3 39 134 173
Brooklyn Americans 48 16 29 3 35 133 175

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Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

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1941–42 NHL Records [3]
Team BOS BRK CHI DET MTL NYR TOR
Boston — 4–4 3–3–2 4–2–2 6–1–1 4–4 4–3–1
Brooklyn 4–4 — 2–6 3–4–1 3–4–1 2–5–1 2–6
Chicago 3–3–2 6–2 — 3–5 4–3–1 2–6 4–4
Detroit 2–4–2 4–3–1 5–3 — 5–3 1–7 2–5–1
Montreal 1–6–1 4–3–1 3–4–1 3–5 — 4–4 3–5
New York 4–4 5–2–1 6–2 7–1 4–4 — 3–4–1
Toronto 3–4–1 6–2 4–4 5–2–1 5–3 4–3–1 —


Schedule and results

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# Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts
1 November 1 New York Rangers 4–3 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–1–0 0
2 November 8 Boston Bruins 0–2 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–1–0 2
3 November 13 Montreal Canadiens 2–4 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–1–0 4
4 November 15 Detroit Red Wings 1–2 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–1–0 6
5 November 18 Toronto Maple Leafs 8–6 New York Rangers 4–1–0 8
6 November 20 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 Detroit Red Wings 5–1–0 10
7 November 22 Chicago Black Hawks 0–3 Toronto Maple Leafs 6–1–0 12
8 November 23 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–3 Chicago Black Hawks 6–2–0 12
9 November 29 Brooklyn Americans 2–8 Toronto Maple Leafs 7–2–0 14
10 November 30 Toronto Maple Leafs 5–1 Brooklyn Americans 8–2–0 16
11 December 2 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–3 Boston Bruins 8–3–0 16
12 December 6 Montreal Canadiens 1–3 Toronto Maple Leafs 9–3–0 18
13 December 11 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–2 Montreal Canadiens 9–4–0 18
14 December 13 New York Rangers 1–2 Toronto Maple Leafs 10–4–0 20
15 December 14 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–0 Detroit Red Wings 11–4–0 22
16 December 20 Chicago Black Hawks 2–0 Toronto Maple Leafs 11–5–0 22
17 December 21 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–0 Chicago Black Hawks 12–5–0 24
18 December 25 Boston Bruins 0–2 Toronto Maple Leafs 13–5–0 26
19 December 27 Detroit Red Wings 3–5 Toronto Maple Leafs 14–5–0 28
20 December 28 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–2 Brooklyn Americans 14–6–0 28
21 December 30 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–4 Boston Bruins 14–7–0 28
22 January 1 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–3 New York Rangers 14–7–1 29
23 January 3 Brooklyn Americans 2–4 Toronto Maple Leafs 15–7–1 31
24 January 10 Detroit Red Wings 6–4 Toronto Maple Leafs 15–8–1 31
25 January 15 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–2 Montreal Canadiens 16–8–1 33
26 January 17 Chicago Black Hawks 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs 16–9–1 33
27 January 24 Brooklyn Americans 2–3 Toronto Maple Leafs 17–9–1 35
28 January 25 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–6 Chicago Black Hawks 17–10–1 35
29 January 27 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–0 Boston Bruins 17–10–2 36
30 January 29 Montreal Canadiens 3–7 Toronto Maple Leafs 18–10–2 38
31 January 31 Boston Bruins 3–2 Toronto Maple Leafs 18–11–2 38
32 February 1 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–7 New York Rangers 18–12–2 38
33 February 5 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–3 Detroit Red Wings 18–12–3 39
34 February 7 New York Rangers 4–6 Toronto Maple Leafs 19–12–3 41
35 February 8 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 Brooklyn Americans 20–12–3 43
36 February 12 Toronto Maple Leafs 6–4 Montreal Canadiens 21–12–3 45
37 February 14 Detroit Red Wings 2–4 Toronto Maple Leafs 22–12–3 47
38 February 21 Brooklyn Americans 3–4 Toronto Maple Leafs 23–12–3 49
39 February 22 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–3 Detroit Red Wings 23–13–3 49
40 February 28 Chicago Black Hawks 2–8 Toronto Maple Leafs 24–13–3 51
41 March 1 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 Chicago Black Hawks 25–13–3 53
42 March 3 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–5 Boston Bruins 25–14–3 53
43 March 5 Montreal Canadiens 5–2 Toronto Maple Leafs 25–15–3 53
44 March 7 New York Rangers 2–4 Toronto Maple Leafs 26–15–3 55
45 March 8 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–2 New York Rangers 26–16–3 55
46 March 14 Boston Bruins 4–6 Toronto Maple Leafs 27–16–3 57
47 March 15 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–6 Brooklyn Americans 27–17–3 57
48 March 19 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–7 Montreal Canadiens 27–18–3 57

Playoffs

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Toronto Maple Leafs 4, New York Rangers 2

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# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 March 21 New York Rangers 1–3 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–0
2 March 22 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–2 New York Rangers 2–0
3 March 24 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–3 New York Rangers 2–1
4 March 28 New York Rangers 1–2 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–1
5 March 29 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–3 New York Rangers 3–2
6 March 31 New York Rangers 2–3 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–2

Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Detroit Red Wings 3

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# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 April 4 Detroit Red Wings 3–2 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–1
2 April 7 Detroit Red Wings 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–2
3 April 9 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–5 Detroit Red Wings 0–3
4 April 12 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 Detroit Red Wings 1–3
5 April 14 Detroit Red Wings 3–9 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–3
6 April 16 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–0 Detroit Red Wings 3–3
7 April 18 Detroit Red Wings 1–3 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3

Player statistics

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Regular season

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Gordie Drillon RW 48 23 18 41 6
Syl Apps C 38 18 23 41 0
Billy Taylor C 48 12 26 38 20
Sweeney Schriner LW 47 20 16 36 21
Lorne Carr RW 47 16 17 33 4
Pete Langelle C 48 10 22 32 9
Hank Goldup LW 44 12 18 30 13
Bob Davidson LW 37 6 20 26 39
John McCreedy RW 47 15 8 23 14
Bucko McDonald D 48 2 19 21 24
Nick Metz LW 30 11 9 20 20
Bob Goldham D 19 4 7 11 25
Bingo Kampman D 38 4 7 11 67
Wally Stanowski D 24 1 7 8 10
Don Metz RW 25 2 3 5 8
Ernie Dickens D 10 2 2 4 6
Reg Hamilton D 22 0 4 4 27
Jack Church D 27 0 3 3 30
Turk Broda G 48 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Turk Broda 2960 48 27 18 3 136 2.76 6
Team: 2960 48 27 18 3 136 2.76 6

Playoffs

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Syl Apps C 13 5 9 14 2
Wally Stanowski D 13 2 8 10 2
Billy Taylor C 13 2 8 10 4
Sweeney Schriner LW 13 6 3 9 10
Nick Metz LW 13 4 4 8 12
John McCreedy RW 13 4 3 7 6
Don Metz RW 4 4 3 7 0
Pete Langelle C 13 3 3 6 2
Lorne Carr RW 13 3 2 5 6
Gordie Drillon RW 9 2 3 5 2
Bob Goldham D 13 2 2 4 31
Bob Davidson LW 13 1 2 3 20
Bingo Kampman D 13 0 2 2 12
Bucko McDonald D 9 0 1 1 2
Turk Broda G 13 0 0 0 0
Ernie Dickens D 13 0 0 0 4
Hank Goldup LW 9 0 0 0 2
Gaye Stewart LW 1 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Turk Broda 780 13 8 5 31 2.38 1
Team: 780 13 8 5 31 2.38 1

[4]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

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The 1941–42 Toronto Maple Leafs were inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.[5]

Transactions

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Smythe, p. 144
  2. ^ Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  3. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "1941-42 Toronto Maple Leafs Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
  5. ^ "1941–42 Toronto Maple Leafs". oshof.ca. Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  • Smythe, Conn; Young, Scott (1981). Conn Smythe: If you can't beat 'em in the alley. Toronto, Ontario: McClelland and Stewart. ISBN 0-7710-9078-1.
  • National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007
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