New York Rangers win Stanley Cup
The 1940 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven series between the New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
New York would win the series 4–2 to win their third Stanley Cup. The Rangers would not win another for more than 50 years.
The final series between the Rangers and the Maple Leafs was an exciting one that went back and forth with three overtime games. The Rangers took the first two at home and the Leafs took the next two in Toronto. The circus forced the Rangers to vacate Madison Square Garden after the first two games. The Rangers would score three game-winning goals in overtime including the Cup winner. Lynn and Murray Patrick played for the Rangers to be the third and fourth members of the Patrick family to win the Stanley Cup.
The 1939–40 New York Rangers season was the 14th season for the team in the National Hockey League (NHL). With new coach Frank Boucher the Rangers finish in 2nd Place again with an impressive 27–11–10 record. In the semi-finals the Rangers beat the Boston Bruins in 6 games to advance to the 1940 Stanley Cup Finals. In the finals the Rangers win their first 2 games by scores of 2–1 and 6–2 at the Garden, before finishing the series on the road because of the circus. After dropping the first 2 games in Toronto the Rangers win a critical Game 5 2–1 in overtime on Muzz Patrick's overtime goal. In Game 6 it would take overtime again as the Rangers won the Stanley Cup for the 3rd time 3–2 on Bryan Hextall's goal 2:33 into OT. Following the season the Rangers would celebrate buying out their lease at Madison Square Garden by burning the lease in the historic Stanley Cup, a move that would take on greater mystery in coming years.
The final series between the Rangers and the Maple Leafs was an exciting one that went back and forth with three overtime games. The Rangers took the first two at home and the Leafs took the next two in Toronto. The circus forced the Rangers to vacate Madison Square Garden after the first two games. The Rangers would score three game-winning goals in overtime including the Cup winner. Lynn and Murray Patrick played for the Rangers to be the third and fourth members of the Patrick family to win the Stanley Cup.
Bryan Hextall scored in overtime in the final game to give the Rangers their last Stanley Cup until 1994.
The Boston Bruins finished first for a second consecutive season, with their famous Kraut Line finishing first, second and third in scoring, while Bill Cowley finished fifth. The Bruins met the second place New York Rangers to decide who would get the bye into the Stanley Cup finals. But the Rangers overcame an injured Bruins line-up, and took the series four games to two. Meanwhile, Chicago faced Toronto in a qualifying round. The Black Hawks flew into Toronto for the first game, one of the first times a team had flown to participate in a game. But the Leafs won the best of three in two games to advance. In the other qualifying round, Detroit beat the New York Americans two games to one to earn the right to battle the Leafs for the opportunity to play in the Stanley Cup final. Toronto beat Detroit in two straight games. That set the stage for a Cup final between the Rangers and the Maple Leafs. Toronto agreed to play the first two games on consecutive nights in New York, as Madison Square Garden was booked for the circus shortly thereafter. In fact, after the second game, the boards were being removed as the players showered, and the remaining games were played in Toronto. New York went on to win the series in six games, including three in overtime, to earn the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1932-33. The Rangers' Bryan Hextall led all players with four goals in the finals.
