Summary
The members of Detroit's "Production Line," Sid Abel, Gordie Howe, and Ted Lindsay, finished 1-2-3 in scoring as the Red Wings cruised into a first-place finish, 11 points of the Montreal Canadiens.
The New York Rangers finished fourth to make the playoffs for only the second time since 1943. Oddly, their goalie, Chuck Rayner, won the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player, but lost out in Vezina Trophy voting to Bill Durnan of Montreal.
New York eliminated the Canadiens while the Red Wings finally got past the Toronto Maple Leafs, who had swept them in the two previous Stanley Cup finals.
Because a circus was booked into Madison Square Garden, the Rangers had only two "home games" in the final series, and both of those were played in Toronto. Nevertheless, New York pushed Detroit to the full seven games, losing the final game in the second overtime. It was the third game of the series to go into overtime; the Rangers had won the previous two.
