Ottawa Senators win Stanley Cup
The 1920 Stanley Cup Final was contested by the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Ottawa Senators and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Seattle Metropolitans.
The Senators won the series by 3 games to 2 in the best-of-five game series. Although all of the games for the series were scheduled to be played at The Arena in Ottawa, unseasonably warm weather and poor ice conditions forced the last two contests to be played on the artificial ice at Toronto's Arena Gardens (also known as the Mutual Street Arena).
Ottawa won the first two games of the series. After Jack Darragh scored the game-winning goal in their 3–2 victory in game one, goaltender Clint Benedict led the Senators to a 3–0 shutout win in game two. Seattle won game three, 3–1, before the series was shifted to Toronto because of Ottawa's slushy ice conditions (The Ottawa Arena did not have artificial ice). Frank Foyston then scored twice to lead the Mets to a 5–2 victory in game four to even the series. In the fifth game, Darragh recorded a hat-trick to lead the Senators to a 6–1 win to clinch the Cup.
For the series, Frank Nighbor led Ottawa in goals with six, while Darragh scored five. Benedict recorded a 2.20 goals-against average during the series
The 1919–20 Ottawa Senators season was the club's 35th season of play and third season in the NHL. It was a very successful season, as they set an NHL record for wins (19), points (38), and won both halves of the season, therefore the Sens automatically were awarded the O'Brien Cup and the right to play in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Senators defeated Seattle to win their eighth Stanley Cup title.
he Senators would face the Seattle Metropolitans for the Stanley Cup, with all games scheduled to be played in Ottawa. However an unseasonably warm spring in the Ottawa area led to some problems with the ice at Dey's Arena, and the final two games were moved to Toronto's Arena Gardens, which had artificial ice equipment.
Despite playing in a neutral arena, the Senators would hold on, and win the series 3 games to 2 over Seattle, including a convincing 6–1 victory in the deciding game, to win the Stanley Cup for the first time as a member of the NHL.
Ottawa Senators 3, Seattle Metropolitans 2
The Seattle Metropolitans met the Ottawa Senators for the Stanley Cup in 1919-20. The first three games, all played in Ottawa, were notable more for the poor ice conditions than the level of play. As a result, the series' final two games were played in Toronto's Arena Gardens (often called the Mutual Street Arena). The Ottawa Senators went on to defeat Seattle in six games. Leading scorer Jack Darragh scored the winning goal in game one, and recorded a hat-trick in the deciding fifth game.
After finishing the previous season with only two active teams the NHL required new franchises to remain as a viable league. Toronto was rebuilding under new ownership and would rejoin the league as the Toronto St. Patricks. The Quebec Bulldogs were finally ready to join the league, managing only 4 wins in their inagural season.
Ottawa won both halves of the season with a 9-3 record the first half and a 10-2 record the second. This eliminated the need for a playoff with Ottawa being acclaimed the NHL champion. Meanwhile in the PCHA Seattle eliminated Vancouver in the playoffs in a two game total goals series. Seattle travelled east to face off against Ottawa. Ottawa took the Cup in five games with the last two games played on artificial ice in Toronto because of the hot weather.
