1940–41 Detroit Red Wings season



The 1940–41 Detroit Red Wings season was the Red Wings' 15th season. The Red Wings finished 3rd in the league and lost to the Boston Bruins in the 1941 Stanley Cup Finals 4 games to 0 becoming the first team in NHL history to be swept in a 7 game playoff series.

Detroit Red Wings 2, Chicago Black Hawks 0
Gus Giesebrecht scored the series winning goal in overtime in Game 2.

Boston Bruins 4, Detroit Red Wings 0
The Wings opponent was the Boston Bruins, who finished the regular season with 67 points, 14 more than Detroit. Detroit had defeated the New York Rangers and Chicago Black Hawks to earn a spot in the Final. Despite playing without league scoring leader Bill Cowley, the Bruins swept the Wings 4-0, becoming the first team in NHL history to sweep a 7 game series. Bobby Bauer scored the Cup winning goal, Milt Schmidt led the league in playoff scoring while Eddie Wiseman scored 6 goals in the playoffs, most in the league.

Game 1 at the Boston Garden saw the rusty Wings play its first game in a week. The Bruins had played 3 days before and were sharper with a goal by Eddie Wiseman in the first and Milt Schmidt in the second. The Bruins Pat McReavy scored at 9:16 of the third after Schmidt deked Wings goalie Johnny Mowers to the ice and fed McReavy a pass which he tapped into the open net. The Wings woke up and Carl Liscombe potted his 3rd of the playoffs. Syd Howe cut the Bruins lead to 3-2 with his first of the playoffs with less than 3 minutes remaining but the Bruins held on for a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2 in Boston saw no goals in the first two periods. The Wings Mud Bruneteau broke the ice at 2:41 of the third. Mowers held the Bruins off until the 13:35 mark when Terry Reardon took a pass on the left boards from Herb Cain and tied the score. Right after the goal, Cain and Wings Harold Jackson got into a fight at center ice. Both received 5 minute majors and the teams played 4 on 4. This benefited the Bruins as Schmidt rushed into the Wings zone and drew several players to him. Roy Conacher was about to head for the bench but seeing an opening, headed into the Wings zone and was sent in alone on Mowers after receiving a pass from Schmidt. He beat Mowers for the game winner and the Bruins led the series 2-0.

Game 3 at the Detroit Olympia saw the teams trade goals twice in the first. The Wings Bill Jennings open the score only to have Wiseman counter less than a minute later. Sid Abel netted one at 7:45 but Schmidt countered with his 5th of the playoffs at 14:07. Less than a minute into the second period, Woody Dumart was behind the Wings net and sent a pass to Schmidt in the slot who scored. The Wings couldn't solve Brimsek and a late third period Power play goal by Art Jackson sealed a 4-2 Bruins win and sent the Wings to the brink of elimination.

Game 4 in Detroit saw the Wings go up 1-0 in the first period on a goal by Carl Liscombe, his 4th of the playoffs. The Wings held the Bruins off until Jimmy Orlando took a penalty in the second penalty. Hollett and Bauer both scored on the power play, Bauer's goal a rebound his slid under Mowers after he couldn't control a Schmidt shot. With a minute left in the second period, Wiseman raced down the left wing and fired a shot over Mower's shoulder to make the Bruins lead 3-1. Neither team scored in the third period and the Bruins took the Cup. Players from both teams milled around center ice, shaking hands until the presentation was made. This was the Bruins second Stanley Cup in three seasons and third in franchise history. Eddie Wiseman led the playoffs in goals with 6 while Milt Schmidt was the scoring leader with 14 points.

Regular Season

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

Playoffs

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts

Awards and Records

 * O'Brien Trophy: Detroit Red Wings

Video
A minute worth of video of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals which the Bruins won 3-1, sweeping Detroit and winning the Cup. This was the first sweep in a 7 game series in NHL history. The Cup winning goal by Bobby Bauer which put the Bruins ahead 2-1 at 8:43 of the second period and the Bruins third goal by Eddie Wiseman are shown. The game end with the players shaking hands concludes the video.