1956–57 Detroit Red Wings season



The 1956–57 Detroit Red Wings season was the Red Wings' 31st season. The Red Wings finished 1st in the league and lost in the Semi-finals to the Boston Bruins 4 games to 1.

Boston Bruins 4, Detroit Red Wings 1
The Bruins and Red Wings last met in the 1953 Semi-finals where Boston upset first place Detroit in six games. The Bruins would accomplish another upset in 1957, beating first place Detroit in five games. Rookie Don Simmons outplayed Glenn Hall while the Bruins line of Don McKenney, Real Chevrefils and Larry Regan held the league's two top scorers, Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay, to 2 goals each.

Game 1 at the Detroit Olympia saw the Wings jump out to an early lead on a goal by Ted Lindsay 50 seconds in. Bruins fourth liner Jack Caffery scored the only playoff goal of his career late in the first period to tie the game. Lindsay took a boarding penalty at the end of the first period that would prove costly as Bruins defenseman Doug Mohns scored what would be the winner on the Power play 38 seconds into the second period. Real Chevrefils added another early in the third period as the Bruins stunned the Red Wings 3-1.

Game 2 at Detroit saw the Red Wings special teams capitalize in a rough game where 20 penalties were called. After Red Kelly put Detroit up 1-0 in the first period, Lindsay won a face-off back to Gordie Howe whose one-timer beat Bruins goalie Don Simmons low to the stick side. After Norm Ullman went off for cross-checking, Metro Prystai scored a Shorthanded goal for a 3-0 lead at the end of the first period. Alex Delvecchio and Billy Dea added power play goals in the second period to make it 5-0. With Fern Flaman in the box, Lorne Ferguson smacked in a rebound to make it 6-0 Detroit. The Bruins got on the board when Fleming Mackell tipped in a backhand shot by Bob Armstrong. Ullman countered with his first career playoff goal. With a little over two minutes to play, Leo Boivin scored on a give-and-go with Don McKenney which made little difference as the Wings trounced the Bruins 7-2.

Game 3 at the Boston Garden saw the Bruins never trail. First period goals by Vic Stasiuk and Leo Boivin was countered by a power play goal by Alex Delvecchio for a 2-1 Bruins lead. Leo Labine potted one late in the second period but Gordie Howe and Billy Dea tied it up three minutes into the third period. Veteran Cal Gardner was the hero with the winner at 13:28 for a 4-3 Bruins win.

Game 4 at Boston was a clean game with relatively few penalties called. Don Simmons shutout the Red Wings and goals by Real Chevrefils and Vic Stasiuk saw the Bruins take a stranglehold on the series with a 2-0 victory.

Game 5 at Detroit saw Delvecchio stake the Red Wings to a 1-0 first period lead. Bruins fourth liner Carl "Buddy" Boone scored his first career playoff goal in the second period to tie it up 1-1. The Wings kept pressing and early in the third period, Ted Lindsay put them up 2-1. However, the Bruins exploded for three straight goals by Labine, Mohns and Gardner for a 4-2 lead. Metro Prystai made it 4-3 with two minutes to go but despite pulling Glenn Hall, the Red Wings couldn't tie it up. Though registering only 15 shots on the goal, the Bruins won 4-3 and took the series in five games.

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

 * Prince of Wales Trophy: Detroit Red Wings
 * Hart Memorial Trophy: Gordie Howe
 * Art Ross Trophy: Gordie Howe
 * Gordie Howe, Right Wing, NHL First Team All-Star
 * Ted Lindsay, Left Wing, NHL First Team All-Star
 * Red Kelly, Defense, NHL First Team All-Star
 * Terry Sawchuk, Gaolie, NHL First Team All-Star

Video
Three minutes of highlights from Game 2 of the Bruins-Red Wings 1957 Semi-finals with French commentary. Goals by Gordie Howe, Lorne Ferguson, Fleming Mackell and Leo Boivin are shown.