1928 Stanley Cup Finals


The 1928 Stanley Cup Finals was played by the New York Rangers and the Montreal Maroons. It was the first appearance by the Rangers in the Finals and was their first victory of the Stanley Cup in only their second season. This was the second Stanley Cup victory by an American team, the first being the Seattle Metropolitans in the 1917 Stanley Cup Finals. It was also the first of only two times that a Montreal-based team would lose the Stanley Cup clinching game at the Montreal Forum.

Paths to the Finals

The Montreal Maroons defeated the Ottawa Senators in the quarter-finals total-goals series 3–1. The Maroons then defeated the Montreal Canadiens in the semi-finals total-goals series 3–2 to reach the Finals.
The New York Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in the quarter-finals total-goals series 6–4. The Rangers then defeated the Boston Bruins in the semi-finals total-goals series 5–2 to reach the Finals.

Game summaries

The series had to be played in Montreal, as the circus had taken over New York's Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers lost their goalie Lorne Chabot to an eye injury in the second period of Game 2. Although goaltenders Alex Connell and Hugh McCormick were in the stands, the Maroons refused to allow the Rangers to use either goalie. In one of the most famous incidents in hockey history, 44-year-old coach Lester Patrick took over with the recorded words "Boys, don't let an old man down," and his efforts inspired the Rangers to a 2–1 victory in overtime. At 44 years, 99 days old, Patrick became the oldest man to play in the Stanley Cup Finals, a record which remains unsurpassed to this day. He entered with 8 minutes remaining in the second period and played the final 35 minutes, 5 seconds of the game.
For the following matches, the Rangers hired New York Americans goalie Joe Miller, who won two games including a shutout. Miller was available to all NHL teams as a backup after the Americans had put him on waivers. The Boston Bruins had claimed him on waivers, but he was made available to any NHL team. At the time of the Final, Miller had not played in four weeks, and was home in Ottawa. Miller was cut and suffered two black eyes in game five, but hung on for a 2–1 victory.

New York Rangers 1928 Stanley Cup champions

Frank Boucher became the fourth member of his family to win the Stanley Cup, after his brother George won it four times with Ottawa, and his brothers Billy and Bobby had won it with Montreal in 1924.

Three champions

With the Rangers' triumph, the city of New York became home of the titlists of all three major sports leagues, including the 1927 World Series-winning New York Yankees and the 1927 National Football League champion New York Giants. The only other city to pull of this feat is Detroit, whose Tigers, Lions and Red Wings reigned over the pro sports scene in 1936.