Detroit Red Wings win Stanley Cup
The 1950 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings.
It was the Rangers' first appearance in the Final since their Stanley Cup victory in 1940. The Red Wings would win the series 4–3 to mark their franchise's fourth Cup win, and first since 1943.
New York defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4–1 to reach the finals. Detroit defeated the defending champion Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 to reach the final.
Two games were played in Toronto as the circus had taken over Madison Square Garden in New York. New York's Don Raleigh scored two overtime winners and Pete Babando scored the Cup-winning goal in overtime of game seven, the first time that happened. Detroit won the Cup without Gordie Howe, injured in the first game of the playoffs. As Stanley Cup runner-up, the Rangers would be awarded the O'Brien Cup, the last team to win the trophy, at one time the National Hockey Association championship trophy, which was retired after the season.
The 1949–50 Detroit Red Wings season saw the team finish in first place in the National Hockey League (NHL) with a record of 37 wins, 19 losses, and 14 ties for 88 points. They defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the Semi-finals before downing the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Finals, also in seven games.
In one of the more bizarre occurrences in NHL history, the New York Rangers were forced to play two of their home games in Toronto. Once again, the circus coincided with New York's playoff success. The Rangers split two games with Detroit, winning game two 3-1 and falling 4-0 in game three. New York won the next two games both in overtime, but Detroit was able to comeback in game six and then again in a thrilling overtime in game seven. The Red Wings Cup-winning goal scorer was Pete Babando, who scored the first game seven overtime goal ever. Sid Abel of Detroit led all players with five goals and seven points in the finals.
