1929 Stanley Cup Finals



The 1929 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the defending champion New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins. This was the first time in Stanley Cup history that two USA-based teams met in the Final. Boston won the series to win its first championship.

Paths to the Final
The playoff format was revised to match the divisional first-place teams in a best-of-five semifinal. The divisional second-place teams and third-place teams played off in a two-game total-goals series to determine the participants for the other best-of-three semifinal. The semifinal winners then played off in a best-of-three series for the Cup.

The Boston Bruins knocked off the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Rangers beat the New York Americans, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Cougars. The Rangers beat Toronto and then the Bruins won their first Stanley Cup defeating the Rangers. In the process, Boston became one of the few Cup winners in history to not lose a single game in the playoffs, and the last team until 1952 to win every playoff game they had.

Boston Bruins 2, New York Rangers 0
In the Stanley Cup finals, Boston faced their divisional rival, the New York Rangers, who had eliminated them from the playoffs the previous season in a best-of-three series. New York had defeated the Detroit Cougars and the Toronto Maple Leafs to earn a spot in the Finals.

Game 1 was played at the Boston Garden where second period goals by Dit Clapper and Dutch Gainor led the Bruins to a 2-0 win. Tiny Thompson posted his third shutout in four playoff games.

Game 2 moved to Madison Square Garden in New York City where the teams played to a scoreless first period. Boston jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by Harry Oliver in the second. Desperate, the Rangers played furiously in the third and Butch Keeling scored his third of the playoffs to tie it up. With less than two minutes to go, Bill Carson was the hero, defeating the Rangers 2–1, to clinch the first Stanley Cup in Bruins history and making them the third American team to win the Cup.