1956 Stanley Cup Final

The 1956 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1955–56 season, and the culmination of the 1956 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Montreal Canadiens and the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings in the fourth Detroit-Montreal series in the 1950s. The two teams met in the previous two years as well as in ; with Detroit winning all three. The Canadiens were appearing in their sixth consecutive Finals, the Red Wings their third. The Canadiens avenged their previous three losses to Detroit, as they defeated the Red Wings in five games to win their second Stanley Cup in four years, denying the Red Wings a three-peat.

The Canadiens' victory marked the start of what was 16 consecutive Stanley Cup championships for Canadian-based teams when facing American-based teams, until the New York Islanders broke the streak in .

Paths to the Finals Montreal defeated the New York Rangers 4–1 to reach the final. Detroit defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–1 to reach the final.

Game summaries The Canadiens won the series in 5 games to win their eighth Stanley Cup. Jacques Plante held the Red Wings to just 9 goals in the five games. This was the first Final for Henri Richard and former Habs player Toe Blake's first Final as coach, who was the last to win the Stanley Cup as both a player and coach for the same team until Rod Brind'Amour did so in 2026.

Game one

The Canadiens, down 4–2 after two periods, scored four unanswered goals, in a 5:29 span, in the third period to win game one 6–4 at the Forum. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st DET Alex Delvecchio (5) – pp Earl Reibel (2) and Gordie Howe (5) 08:17 1–0 DET 2nd MTL Jean Beliveau (6) – pp Bert Olmstead (3) 03:00 1–1 DET Bill Dineen (1) Norm Ullman (3) and Johnny Bucyk (1) 03:45 2–1 DET MTL Henri Richard (3) Maurice Richard (8) and Dickie Moore (4) 06:40 2–2 DET Ted Lindsay (5) Gordie Howe (6) 08:11 3–2 DET DET Alex Delvecchio (6) – pp Gordie Howe (7) and Lorne Ferguson (2) 11:20 4–2 DET 3rd MTL Jack LeClair (1) Floyd Curry (3) and Doug Harvey (4) 05:20 4–3 DET MTL Bernie Geoffrion (3) Jean-Guy Talbot (2) 06:20 4–4 MTL Jean Beliveau (7) Bernie Geoffrion (7) and Bert Olmstead (4) 07:31 5–4 MTL MTL Claude Provost (3) Jack LeClair (1) and Floyd Curry (4) 10:49 6–4 MTL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st DET Ted Lindsay High-sticking 02:13 2:00 MTL Jean Beliveau High-sticking 02:13 2:00 DET Bill Dineen Roughing 03:21 2:00 MTL Bob Turner High-sticking 03:21 2:00 MTL Maurice Richard High-sticking 04:44 2:00 DET Gordie Howe Hooking 05:45 2:00 MTL Maurice Richard Hooking 08:02 2:00 DET Bill Dineen Interference 13:18 2:00 MTL Maurice Richard Hooking 14:32 2:00 DET Norm Ullman Charging 15:35 2:00 2nd DET Metro Prystai Kneeing 01:10 2:00 MTL Tom Johnson Cross-checking 11:13 2:00 DET Bucky Hollingworth Roughing 16:29 2:00 MTL Tom Johnson Roughing 16:29 2:00 3rd None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 10 12 5 27 8 18 18 44

Game two

After a tight first period in game two, Montreal took control in the second, with goals from Henri Richard and Bernie Geoffrion, making the score 3–0. Jean Beliveau scored at 02:48 of the second period to make it 4-1, and Maurice Richard added a third-period goal with 39 seconds remaining, taking game two by a score of 5–1, giving Montreal a 2–0 series lead. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st MTL Donnie Marshall (1) – sh Bert Olmstead (5) 07:23 1–0 MTL 2nd MTL Henri Richard (4) Dickie Moore (5) 11:37 2–0 MTL MTL Bernie Geoffrion (4) Bert Olmstead (6) and Jean Beliveau (5) 14:38 3–0 MTL 3rd DET Norm Ullman (1) Gordie Howe (8) and Ted Lindsay (1) 00:31 3–1 MTL MTL Jean Beliveau (8) Maurice Richard (9) and Bert Olmstead (7) 02:48 4–1 MTL MTL Maurice Richard (4) Henri Richard (9) and Dickie Moore (6) 19:21 5–1 MTL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st DET Lorne Ferguson High-sticking 03:34 2:00 MTL Tom Johnson Roughing 03:34 2:00 MTL Floyd Curry Hooking 07:02 2:00 DET Marty Pavelich Cross-checking 09:30 2:00 MTL Tom Johnson Cross-checking 17:02 2:00 2nd DET Lorne Ferguson Holding 02:20 2:00 MTL Dickie Moore Hooking 07:24 2:00 DET Marty Pavelich Hooking 08:30 2:00 DET Norm Ullman Slashing 15:52 2:00 MTL Bob Turner High-sticking 15:52 2:00 3rd DET Marty Pavelich High-sticking 05:29 2:00 MTL Dickie Moore Charging 09:29 2:00 MTL Maurice Richard Spearing 19:52 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 7 5 8 20 11 13 11 35

Game three

In game three, with Detroit having home ice advantage, defeated Montreal by a score of 3-1, with goals from Red Kelly, Ted Lindsay, and Gordie Howe, cutting the Canadiens series lead in half. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st DET Red Kelly (2) – pp Gordie Howe (9) 14:27 1–0 DET MTL Jean Beliveau (9) Claude Provost (2) 19:20 1–1 2nd None 3rd DET Ted Lindsay (6) Marty Pavelich (1) and Al Arbour (1) 11:36 2–1 DET DET Gordie Howe (3) Ted Lindsay (2) and Alex Delvecchio (3) 18:12 3–1 DET Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st DET Lorne Ferguson Interference 01:44 2:00 MTL Jack LeClair Holding 04:31 2:00 DET Johnny Bucyk Tripping 10:31 2:00 DET Ted Lindsay High-sticking 11:25 2:00 MTL Jean Beliveau High-sticking 11:25 2:00 MTL Jean-Guy Talbot Holding 13:41 2:00 DET Earl Reibel Roughing 19:06 2:00 MTL Bert Olmstead Roughing 19:06 2:00 2nd DET Marty Pavelich Elbowing 04:43 2:00 MTL Maurice Richard Interference 06:24 2:00 3rd DET Bob Goldham Tripping 04:21 2:00 MTL Bert Olmstead Roughing 05:59 2:00 MTL Jack LeClair Tripping 13:22 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 6 8 7 21 5 8 12 25

Game four

Jacques Plante recorded a shutout in game four, stopping all 24 shots he faced, while Jean Beliveau scored twice, giving the Canadiens a 3–0 victory and a 3–1 series lead. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st MTL Jean Beliveau (10) Doug Harvey (4) and Bert Olmstead (8) 15:52 1–0 MTL 2nd MTL Jean Beliveau (11) Bernie Geoffrion (8) and Bert Olmstead (9) 11:39 2–0 MTL 3rd MTL Floyd Curry (1) Claude Provost (3) and Ken Mosdell (1) 11:34 3–0 MTL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st DET Metro Prystai Tripping 00:50 2:00 MTL Bernie Geoffrion Charging 01:47 2:00 MTL Floyd Curry Hooking 08:57 2:00 DET Norm Ullman Roughing 14:03 2:00 DET Norm Ullman Fighting – major 14:03 5:00 MTL Henri Richard Roughing 14:03 2:00 MTL Henri Richard Fighting – major 14:03 5:00 2nd DET Johnny Bucyk Roughing 04:04 2:00 MTL Henri Richard Tripping 04:12 2:00 DET Lorne Ferguson High-sticking 04:44 2:00 MTL Jean Beliveau High-sticking 04:44 2:00 MTL Doug Harvey Kneeing 06:24 2:00 MTL Dickie Moore Hooking 15:47 2:00 3rd None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 8 11 11 30 6 9 9 24

Game five

In game five, Montreal defeated Detroit by a score of 3–1 in front of their home crowd to win their fifth consecutive Stanley Cup. Jean Beliveau starred with a goal and two assists, supported by goals from Maurice Richard and Bernie Geoffrion, while Jacques Plante made 25 saves. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd MTL Jean Beliveau (12) – pp Floyd Curry (5) and Doug Harvey (5) 14:16 1–0 MTL MTL Maurice Richard (5) – pp Bernie Geoffrion (9) and Jean Beliveau (6) 15:08 2–0 MTL 3rd MTL Bernie Geoffrion (5) Jean Beliveau (7) and Bert Olmstead (10) 00:13 3–0 MTL DET Alex Delvecchio (7) Ted Lindsay (3) 00:35 3–1 MTL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st DET Larry Hillman Elbowing 02:48 2:00 MTL Claude Provost Slashing 06:42 2:00 MTL Henri Richard Hooking 09:35 2:00 DET Gordie Howe Charging 10:47 2:00 MTL Doug Harvey Slashing 10:47 2:00 2nd MTL Doug Harvey Holding 00:42 2:00 DET Ted Lindsay High-sticking 06:30 2:00 MTL Jean Beliveau High-sticking 06:30 2:00 MTL Dollard St. Laurent High-sticking 09:56 2:00 DET Marcel Pronovost Tripping 13:50 2:00 3rd DET Red Kelly Tripping 07:07 2:00 MTL Maurice Richard Hooking 12:11 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 7 10 9 26 11 8 11 30

Stanley Cup engraving The 1956 Stanley Cup was presented to Canadiens captain Emile Bouchard by NHL President Clarence Campbell following the Canadiens 3–1 win over the Red Wings in game five.

The following Canadiens players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup

1955–56 Montreal Canadiens

1956 Stanley Cup Final

Bron en licentie