1948–49 Toronto Maple Leafs season



The 1948–49 Toronto Maple Leafs season was Toronto's 32nd season in the NHL. The Maple Leafs finished 4th in the league and won the 1949 Stanley Cup Finals over the Detroit Red Wings by 4 games to 0.

Regular Season
A league record of ten major penalties was set November 25, 1948 when 11,000 fans at the Montreal Forum witnessed a donnybrook. It started when the Habs' Ken Mosdell elbowed Maple Leaf Gus Mortson. Mortson retaliated by knocking Elliot de Grey down with his stick. Montreal's Maurice Richard then sprang onto Mortson's back, they fought and then all hands joined in. Mortson, Richard, Toronto's Howie Meeker and Mosdell were assessed major penalties. Play had scarcely resumed when the Habs Ken Reardon and the Leafs Joe Klukay began fencing. Bill Barilko went at Reardon, while Klukay got into it with Billy Reay, and in another fight, Hal Laycoe got into it with Garth Boesch. Turk Broda quietly picked up his first shutout of the year as the Leafs beat the Canadiens 2-0.

Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Boston Bruins 1
Having met the year before in the 1948 Semi-finals, the Leafs dispatched the Bruins again by the same 4-1 series score.

Game 1 at Maple Leaf Gardens saw Turk Broda earn a shutout. A Power play goal by the Leafs Harry Watson at 5:15 of the first with the Bruins Pat Egan in the box opened the scoring. Watson potted his second goal in the second frame while Max Bentley completed the 3-0 win with his goal in the third period.

Game 2 in Toronto was a closer match with the Leafs Ray Timgren scoring on the power play at 3:36 of the first with the Bruins Pat Egan again in the box. Woody Dumart scored a Shorthanded goal on the same Leafs PP to even the score. Late in the second period, the Bruins Paul Ronty scored his first playoff goal to put the Bruins up 2-1. Harry Watson was once again the hero, scoring twice in the third period to win it 3-2 for the Leafs.

Game 3 at the Boston Garden saw the Leafs open the scoring for the third consecutive game when Ted Kennedy scored at 8:46. The Bruins Grant Warwick tied it up and Dumart's 2nd of the playoffs had the Bruins up 2-1 at the end of the first period. The Leafs Bill Barilko took a tripping penalty in the second and Johnny Peirson extended the Bruins lead on the power play. However, the Leafs Gus Mortson scored a shorthanded goal on the same PP and then Joe Klukay tied it at 3-3 with 3 seconds left in the second period. Ed Sandford and Fleming Mackell traded goals in the third and the game went into overtime. Just after 17:00, a face-off in the Leafs zone saw Sandford win it against Ted Kennedy and get the puck to Dumart whose one-timer beat Broda for a 5-4 win for home team. Bruins all-star defenseman Jack Crawford had to leave the game with a rib injury and would miss game 4.

Game 4 in Boston saw Fleming Mackell opening the scoring for the Leafs for the 4th consecutive game. Johnny Peirson tied it up on the power play and the already playing without Crawford, the Bruins lost Jimmy Peters with an injured shoulder after he took a check from Bill Juzda. In the second period, after the Bruins Milt Schmidt left the game with an injury, the shorthanded Bruins couldn't hold off the Leafs who took a 2-1 lead on a goal by Sid Smith. In the third period, a slashing penalty to the Bruins Murray Henderson with 5 minutes left resulted in Smith scoring on the PP for a 3-1 Leafs win and a 3-1 stranglehold in the series.

Game 5 in Toronto again saw the Leafs score first when Cal Gardner scored on the PP. Playing without Crawford, Peters and Schmidt, the Bruins Grant Warwick tied it up, also on the PP, until Ray Timgren's trickler made it past Frank Brimsek to put the Leafs up 2-1 at the end of the first period. Six minor penalties were called in the second period but Max Bentley's second of the series was the only goal, putting the Leafs up 3-1. Desperate, the Bruins poured it on in the third but when Fern Flaman was called for boarding at 9:29, the fans littered the ice, causing a 15 minute delay before play started again. Johnny Peirson made it close with less than a minute left but the Leafs held on for a 3-2 win to take the series in 5 games.

Regular Season

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

Playoffs

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

Awards and Records

 * The Maple Leafs became the first team in NHL history to win three consecutive Stanley Cups.
 * The Maple Leafs won no awards this season.

1949 Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup Champions
Turk Broda, Garth Boesch, Gus Mortson, Jimmy Thomson, Bill Juzda, Bill Barilko, Harry Watson, Ted Kennedy, Don Metz, Fleming MacKell, Bill Ezinicki, Vic Lynn, Howie Meeker, Max Bentley, Joe Klukay, Sid Smith, Harry Taylor, Bob Dawes, Tod Sloan, Conn Smythe (manager), Hap Day (coach), Tim Daly (trainer).

Farm Teams

 * Pittsburgh Hornets, American Hockey League
 * Toronto Marlboros, Ontario Hockey Association

Video
Highlights of Game 4 of the 1949 Stanley Cup Finals in which the Leafs win the Cup with a 3-1 victory. Goals by Ray Timgren and Max Bentley are shown.