1951 Stanley Cup Finals



The 1951 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. The Maple Leafs won the series 4–1. It was the Toronto franchise's ninth Stanley Cup win and the last in a series of six wins starting in 1942. It was the first appearance in a string of ten consecutive appearances by the Canadiens.

Paths to the Final
Toronto defeated the Boston Bruins 4–1 while Montreal defeated the defending champion Detroit Red Wings 4–2 to reach the final.

The Series
Every game went into overtime in this series. Canadiens forward Bob Dawes played his only game of the 1951 playoffs in the last game of the Finals. He suffered a compound fracture of the right leg and never played in the NHL again.

Bill Barilko scored the Cup-winning goal, his last goal in the NHL as he would die in a plane crash during the summer.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens Toronto wins best-of-seven series four games to one

Engraving Mistakes
Several mistakes happened in the engraving of the names: The Rollins mistake was not corrected on the Replica Cup created in 1992–93. The other 4 mistakes were corrected on the Replica Cup.
 * Gus Mortson's last name was misspelled WORTSON with a "W" instead a "M".
 * Danny Lewecki's last name was misspelled LEWESKI, with a "S" instead of a "C".
 * Ted Kennedy's name was misspelled KENNEDYY with an extra "Y". His position as Captain was also left off the Stanley Cup.
 * William A. H. MacBrien's last name was misspelled as McBrien.
 * Elwin "Al" Rollins' first name was misspelled ELVIN with a "V" instead a "W".

Members of Toronto Maple Leafs Dynasty that won 4 cups in 5 years (1947, 1948, 1949, 1951)
Bill Bariko, Turk Broda, Ted Kennedy†, Joe Klukay, Howie Meeker, Gus Mortson, Jimmy Thomson, Harry Watson (8 players),

Ed Bickle†, John Bickell†, Conn Smythe†, John Mordoch†, William MacBrien†, Hap Day†, Tim Daly†, George Walker, Ed Finkin, Horance McIntre (10 non-players).

† also won the Stanley Cup in 1945.

Video
Highlights of Game 5 of the Finals including goals by Richard, the game tying goal with 32 seconds left by Tod Sloan and the overtime winner by Bill Barilko.