Montreal-Detroit 1937

Last week when Tampa Bay eliminated the Detroit Red Wings in game 7 of their series, I was hoping for a different result. The prospect of Montreal and Detroit adding another chapter to their rich history of battling one another in the playoffs was something worth looking forward to.

They first met in 1937 when they went to battle in the semi-finals. The best-of-five series went the distance with the deciding game being played at the Montreal Forum on April 1, 1937.

A goal scored late in the third period by Montreal defenceman Bill MacKenzie sent the contest into extra-time. The following description MacKenzie's goal appeared in The Globe and Mail:

On a brilliant solo play MacKenzie brushed through Wings', edged closer while a wing checked him, then smashed a backhand shot past Smith from about six feet away. It was scored at 14:56. 

It took three overtime periods before the outcome was determined. The hero for the Detroit Red Wings was Hector Kilrea. The native of Blackburn, Ontario, scored when he, "...slipped through to take a pass from behind and score the goal that hoisted Detroit to the heights again and a courageous Canadien entity into the dreariness of defeat after a season of exceptional excellence."

Hec Kilrea

The Detroit Red Wings captured the '37 Stanley Cup by taking the best-out-of-five final 3-games-to-two over the New York Rangers.