The 1923 Stanley Cup playoffs was the second year in which the National Hockey League (NHL) champions, the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champions, and the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) champions all competed for the Stanley Cup. The playoffs began on March 16, 1923, and concluded on March 31 when the NHL champion Ottawa Senators defeated the WCHL champion Edmonton Eskimos in the final series, two games to zero.
Throughout these playoffs, injuries had thinned Ottawa's line-up. But after seeing the gritty show put on by the undermanned Senators, Frank Patrick, the head coach of the PCHA champion Vancouver Maroons, called Ottawa the greatest team he had ever seen.
| 1923 Stanley Cup playoffs | |||||
| League | Team | City | Arena | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHL | |||||
| Montreal Canadiens | Montreal, Quebec | Mount Royal Arena | 10,000 | ||
| Ottawa Senators | Ottawa, Ontario | The Arena | 4,500 | ||
| PCHA | Vancouver Maroons | Vancouver, British Columbia | Denman Arena | 10,500 | |
| Victoria Cougars | Victoria, British Columbia | Patrick Arena | 4,000 | ||
| WCHL | Edmonton Eskimos | Edmonton, Alberta | Edmonton Stock Pavilion | 6,000 | |
| Regina Capitals | Regina, Saskatchewan | Regina Exhibition Stadium | 4,000 | ||
Ottawa finished first overall in the 1922–23 NHL regular season standings with a 14–9–1 record. They then went on to defeat the 13–9–2 second place Montreal Canadiens in the two-game total goal NHL championship series, 3 goals to 2, to win the NHL title. Cy Denneny scored the series-clinching goal in Game 2 for the Canadiens.
The 1922–23 WCHL season ended with the 19–10–1 first place Eskimos defeating the 16–14 second place Regina Capitals in the WCHL championship series. Edmonton clinched the WCHL title after Duke Keats scored the series-winning overtime goal in Game 2.
Meanwhile, the Maroons finished the 1922–23 PCHA regular season in first place with a 17–12–1 record, and then went on to defeat the 16–14 second place Victoria Cougars in the PCHA championship series by a combined score of 5–3.
Both rounds of the 1923 Stanley Cup playoffs were played at Denman Street Arena in Vancouver. The NHL and the PCHA champions played in the semifinal round, with the winner facing the WCHL champion in the Cup Final.
The Ottawa-Vancouver best-of-five series marked the first time in Stanley Cup history that brothers faced each other. In fact, there were two sets of brothers: Cy and Corb Denneny, and George and Frank Boucher. Cy and George played for the Senators, while Corb and Frank skated for the Maroons. [1] A third Boucher brother, Billy, was to have replaced Ottawa's Jack Darragh who was injured, but Frank Patrick, the PCHA president, disallowed Billy from joining the Senators. [2]
Ottawa won the first game 1–0, with Punch Broadbent's winning goal in the third period. Vancouver, led by two goals by Duncan and two by Frank Boucher, took the second game 4–1, which led to more injuries for the Senators. Benedict took a puck in the mouth, Gerard was injured due to a heavy check and Cy Denneny injured his elbow. [3] The Senators again asked if Billy Boucher could join the team, but were again refused by Patrick. In the third game, the Senators lost Gerard to a dislocated shoulder, but won the game 3–2. King Clancy took his place for the fourth game, and the Senators won it 5–1, to win the series. Broadbent ended up leading Ottawa with five goals in the series. After watching the gritty show by the undermanned Senators, Patrick called them the greatest team he had ever seen. [4]
| March 16 | Ottawa Senators | 1-0 | Vancouver Maroons | Denman Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Punch Broadbent (1) - 15:00 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hugh Lehman | ||||||
| March 19 | Ottawa Senators | 1-4 | Vancouver Maroons | Denman Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 1:18 - Art Duncan (1) 3:37 - Frank Boucher (1) 14:45 - Frank Boucher (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 13:51 - Art Duncan (2) | ||||||
| Buck Boucher (1) - 1:58 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hugh Lehman | ||||||
| March 23 | Ottawa Senators | 3-2 | Vancouver Maroons | Denman Arena | Recap | |||
| Punch Broadbent (2) - 6:33 Punch Broadbent (3) - 14:35 | First period | 5:23 - Alf Skinner (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 16:47 - Mickey MacKay (1) | ||||||
| Frank Nighbor (1) - 2:13 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hugh Lehman | ||||||
| March 26 | Ottawa Senators | 5-1 | Vancouver Maroons | Denman Arena | Recap | |||
| Buck Boucher (2) - 7:35 Eddie Gerard (1) - 17:25 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Punch Broadbent (4) - 10:07 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| King Clancy (1) - 9:15 Punch Broadbent (5) - 19:56 | Third period | 16:46 - Smokey Harris (1) | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hugh Lehman | ||||||
| Ottawa won the series 3-1 | |
Ottawa swept Edmonton in the best-of-three final series, winning both games by one-goal margins. In the first game, Cy Denneny scored 2:08 into overtime to give the Senators a 2–1 win. Then Punch Broadbent scored the only goal in the second game to give Ottawa a 1–0 victory and the championship.
| March 29 | Ottawa Senators | 2-1 | OT | Edmonton Eskimos | Denman Arena | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 10:05 - John Morrison (1) | ||||||
| Lionel Hitchman (1) - 13:04 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cy Denneny (3) - 2:08 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hal Winkler | ||||||
| March 31 | Ottawa Senators | 1-0 | Edmonton Eskimos | Denman Arena | Recap | |||
| Punch Broadbent (6) - pp - 11:23 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Clint Benedict | Goalie stats | Hal Winkler | ||||||
| Ottawa won the series 2-0 | |
The Senators never did engrave their names on the Cup for their 1923 championship. It was only until the trophy was redesigned in 1948 that the words "1923 Ottawa Senators" were put onto its then-new collar.
The Vancouver Millionaires were a professional ice hockey team that competed in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the Western Canada Hockey League between 1911 and 1926. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, they played in Denman Arena, the first artificial ice surface in Canada and the largest indoor ice rink in the world at the time it opened.
The 1922–23 NHL season was the sixth season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Four teams played 24 games each. The Ottawa Senators defeated the Montreal Canadiens for the NHL championship, and then defeated Vancouver and Edmonton to win the Stanley Cup.
The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926.
The 1923–24 NHL season was the seventh season of the National Hockey League. Four teams each played 24 games. The league champions were the Montreal Canadiens, who defeated the first-place Ottawa Senators in the league playoff. The Canadiens then defeated the Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) and Vancouver Maroons of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) to win their second Stanley Cup championship.
The 1921–22 NHL season was the fifth season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Four teams each played 24 games. The league dropped the split season and the two top teams played off for the league championship. The second-place Toronto St. Patricks defeated the first-place Ottawa Senators for the league championship.
The Calgary Tigers, often nicknamed the Bengals, were an ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 1920 until 1927 as members of the Big-4 League, Western Canada Hockey League and Prairie Hockey League. The Tigers were revived in 1932, playing for a short-lived four years in the North Western Hockey League. They played their games at the Victoria Arena.
Charles Corbett "Corb" Denneny was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played professionally from 1912 to 1931, including nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Arenas, Toronto St. Pats, Hamilton Tigers and Chicago Black Hawks. Corbett also played for the Vancouver Maroons of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) and the Saskatoon Sheiks of Western Canada Hockey League. He twice won the Stanley Cup with the original versions of the NHL's Toronto franchise.
Charles M. Cotch was a Canadian ice hockey left winger. He played two seasons in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association with the Vancouver Maroons and one season in the National Hockey League with the Hamilton Tigers and Toronto St. Pats between 1922 and 1925. Playing mainly as a spare player, Cotch appeared in 29 games in the PCHA and 12 in the NHL, and played in the 1923 and 1924 Stanley Cup playoffs with the Maroons.
The 1921 Stanley Cup Finals was contested by the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Ottawa Senators and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Vancouver Millionaires. The Senators defeated Vancouver three games to two in the best-of-five game series to become the first team to win back-to-back Cup championships since the 1912/1913 Quebec Bulldogs.
The 1924 Stanley Cup playoffs was the third and final year in which the National Hockey League (NHL) champions, the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champions, and the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) champions all competed for the Stanley Cup. The playoffs began on March 18, 1924, and concluded on March 25 when the NHL champion Montreal Canadiens defeated the WCHL champion Calgary Tigers in the final series, two games to zero.
The 1922 Stanley Cup playoffs concluded on March 22 when the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Toronto St. Patricks defeated the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Vancouver Millionaires in the final series, three games to two. With the debut of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) at the start of the season, these playoffs marked the first time that the NHL, the PCHA, and the WCHL all competed for the Cup.
The 1920–21 Ottawa Senators season was the club's 36th season of play, fourth season in the NHL, and they were out to defend their 1920 Stanley Cup championship. The club would win the NHL championship and defeat Vancouver in the Stanley Cup Finals to win the club's ninth Stanley Cup.
The 1921–22 Ottawa Senators season was the club's 37th season of play, fifth season in the NHL, and they were coming off back-to-back Stanley Cup Championship seasons, winning in 1920 and 1921. The Senators would finish in first place in the standings, but lost in the playoff to the Toronto St. Pats.
The 1922–23 Ottawa Senators season was the club's 38th season of play and sixth season in the NHL. They were coming off a disappointing playoff run in 1922, as they lost to the Toronto St. Pats in the NHL finals in a close, hard-fought series. The Senators would finish first in the standings, defeat Montreal in the playoffs, defeat Vancouver in the Stanley Cup semi-finals and defeat Edmonton to win their tenth Stanley Cup title.
The 1923–24 Ottawa Senators season was the club's 39th season of play and seventh season in the NHL. Coming off a Stanley Cup Championship in 1923, they had won three cups in the previous four seasons. The Senators moved into the brand new Ottawa Auditorium prior to the season. The club had an outstanding regular season, but lost in the NHL playoffs to the Montreal Canadiens.
The 1923 Stanley Cup Finals was contested by the NHL champion Ottawa Senators and the WCHL champion Edmonton Eskimos. The previous WCHL-PCHA playoff format was abandoned, and the Ottawa Senators now had to play first the PCHA champion Vancouver Maroons, followed by the WCHL champion Edmonton Eskimos in the Finals.
The 1924 Stanley Cup Finals saw the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Montreal Canadiens defeat the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) champion Calgary Tigers two games to none in the best-of-three-game series. It was Montreal's fourth appearance in the Finals and second championship.
The 1922 Stanley Cup Finals was contested by the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Toronto St. Patricks and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Vancouver Millionaires. The St. Pats defeated Vancouver three games to two in the best-of-five game series to win their only Stanley Cup as the St. Pats.
The 1922–23 PCHA season was the 12th season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from November 13, 1922, until March 2, 1923. The Vancouver Maroons club would be regular-season PCHA champions, and won the play-off with Victoria Aristocrats.
The 1923–24 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 15th season and seventh as a member of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Canadiens once again returned to the playoffs and won their second Stanley Cup, defeating the Calgary Tigers.
| 1910s | |
|---|---|
| 1920s | |
| 1930s | |
| 1940s | |
| 1950s | |
| 1960s | |
| 1970s | |
| 1980s | |
| 1990s | |
| 2000s | |
| 2010s | |
| 2020s | |
Playoffs not held in 2005 due to an unresolved lockout | |
