Toronto Keeps NHL Title

The National Hockey League season ended last night and the defending world champion Toronto Maple Leafs managed to finish first although they lost twice to the Detroit Red Wings this weekend, 2-1 on Saturday and 3-2 last night. The Leafs had clinched the League title on Thursday, marking the first time in 15 years that neither the Detroit Red Wings nor the Montreal Canadians had taken first place.

Before last night, the Chicago Black Hawks and the Canadiens were tied for second position with 79 points each. Then fifth-place New York Rangers ended the Canadiens' hopes of a second-place finish by smashing them 5-0 at New York. Meanwhile the Black Hawks overcame a 2-1 deficit to edge the cellar-dwelling Boston Bruins 4-3 to clinch second with 81 points.

By letting 5 goals slip by him against the lowly Rangers, Canadiens' goalie Jacques Plante eliminated himself from the race for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the netminder playing the most games for the team allowing the fewest goals. Instead, Glenn Hall of the Hawks won the honor for the first time in his career with an average of 2.54 goals scored against him per game.