1930–31 Chicago Black Hawks season


The 1930–31 Chicago Black Hawks season was the team's fifth season in the NHL, and they were coming off a surprising season, in which they finished over.500 for the first time in team history, and making the playoffs after a two-year absence. The Hawks would go on to lose to the Montreal Canadiens in the first round. Prior to the season, Chicago would name former team captain and player-coach Dick Irvin as the head coach. The team responded with a club record 24 wins and 51 points, and finished in second place in the American Division, and make the playoffs for the 2nd straight season.

Regular season

Chicago was led offensively once again by Johnny Gottselig, who scored a club high 20 goals and 32 points, and by Tom Cook, who was the team leader in assists with 14, and finished 2nd in team scoring with 29 points. Frank Ingram would have a big season, scoring a career high 17 goals.
In goal, Chuck Gardiner would play in every game, and he would break the Hawks record for wins, shutouts and GAA. The Hawks finished with the 2nd fewest goals against in the league.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
1November 16New York Rangers1–1Chicago Black Hawks0–0–11
2November 20Boston Bruins0–1Chicago Black Hawks1–0–13
3November 23Montreal Canadiens0–3Chicago Black Hawks2–0–15
4November 25Chicago Black Hawks4–3Boston Bruins3–0–17
5November 27Chicago Black Hawks4–0New York Rangers4–0–19
6November 29Chicago Black Hawks3–0Ottawa Senators5–0–111
7December 2Chicago Black Hawks1–2Montreal Maroons5–1–111
8December 4New York Americans2–4Chicago Black Hawks6–1–113
9December 7Detroit Falcons2–3Chicago Black Hawks7–1–115
10December 9Chicago Black Hawks0–1Detroit Falcons7–2–115
11December 14Montreal Maroons2–0Chicago Black Hawks7–3–115
12December 16Ottawa Senators2–4Chicago Black Hawks8–3–117
13December 18Chicago Black Hawks0–0Montreal Canadiens8–3–218
14December 20Chicago Black Hawks1–3Toronto Maple Leafs8–4–218
15December 23Chicago Black Hawks3–2Philadelphia Quakers9–4–220
16December 28Toronto Maple Leafs3–2Chicago Black Hawks9–5–220
17January 1Philadelphia Quakers3–10Chicago Black Hawks10–5–222
18January 4Detroit Falcons2–1Chicago Black Hawks10–6–222
19January 6Chicago Black Hawks2–5Boston Bruins10–7–222
20January 8Chicago Black Hawks4–0Philadelphia Quakers11–7–224
21January 11Chicago Black Hawks2–0New York Rangers12–7–226
22January 13Chicago Black Hawks1–0New York Americans13–7–228
23January 15Boston Bruins0–2Chicago Black Hawks14–7–230
24January 18New York Rangers1–2Chicago Black Hawks15–7–232
25January 22Philadelphia Quakers2–5Chicago Black Hawks16–7–234
26January 25Montreal Maroons3–2Chicago Black Hawks16–8–234
27February 1Montreal Canadiens4–2Chicago Black Hawks16–9–234
28February 5Philadelphia Quakers1–6Chicago Black Hawks17–9–236
29February 8Chicago Black Hawks3–2New York Rangers18–9–238
30February 10Chicago Black Hawks1–2Boston Bruins18–10–238
31February 12Chicago Black Hawks3–2Ottawa Senators19–10–240
32February 15New York Rangers2–1Chicago Black Hawks19–11–240
33February 19Detroit Falcons5–4Chicago Black Hawks19–12–240
34February 22Chicago Black Hawks1–1Detroit Falcons19–12–341
35February 24Chicago Black Hawks2–3Montreal Maroons19–13–341
36March 1Ottawa Senators0–5Chicago Black Hawks20–13–343
37March 5New York Americans0–1Chicago Black Hawks21–13–345
38March 8Chicago Black Hawks1–2New York Americans21–14–345
39March 10Chicago Black Hawks1–2Montreal Canadiens21–15–345
40March 12Boston Bruins2–3Chicago Black Hawks22–15–347
41March 15Toronto Maple Leafs2–1Chicago Black Hawks22–16–347
42March 17Chicago Black Hawks4–0Philadelphia Quakers23–16–349
43March 19Chicago Black Hawks2–8Toronto Maple Leafs23–17–349
44March 22Chicago Black Hawks2–1Detroit Falcons24–17–351

Playoffs

The Hawks would open the playoffs in a two-game total-goals series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and for the first time in team history, the Black Hawks won the series by a score of 4–3. Next up was a two-game total-goals series against the New York Rangers, and Chuck Gardiner would shine by shutting New York out in both games, as the Hawks won the series by a 3–0 score and earn a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Montreal Canadiens. The Hawks would lose the first game of the best-of-five series, but then would win two in a row in overtime to take a 2–1 series lead. Montreal would respond with a 4–2 victory in game four, and then the Canadiens would put away the Black Hawks with a 2–0 win in the fifth and deciding game, ending the Black Hawks dream of winning the championship one win short.

Chicago Black Hawks 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 2

Chicago Black Hawks 3, New York Rangers 0

Montreal Canadiens 3, Chicago Black Hawks 2

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Goaltending

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders

Goaltending