1919 Stanley Cup Finals

Infobox Stanley Cup Final
year=1919
team2=Seattle Metropolitans (PCHA)
team2_short=Seattle
team1=Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
team1_short=Montreal
format=best-of-five
team2_1=7
team1_1=0
team2_2=2
team1_2=4
team2_3=7
team1_3=2
team2_4=0
team1_4=0
gm4_ot=*
team2_5=1
team1_5=4
gm5_ot=*
team2_tot=2
team1_tot=2
table-note=* - overtime periods
dates=March 19 – 30
location1=Seattle, WA (Seattle Ice Arena) (1–5)
team1_coach=George Kennedy
team2_coach=Pete MuldoonThe 1919 Stanley Cup Finals ended with no decision after an outbreak of Spanish Influenza forced the cancellation of the series between the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Montreal Canadiens and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Seattle Metropolitans.

Both teams had won two games, lost two, and tied one before health officials were forced to cancel the deciding game of finals. Several players on both sides fell ill with the flu, and it would eventually claim the life of Canadiens' star Joe Hall four days later. Canadiens manager George Kennedy also would not recover completely and died a few years later. This was the first time in history when the Stanley Cup was not awarded after the playoffs began.

Paths to the Final

The Canadiens won the first half of the 1918–19 NHL regular season while the Ottawa Senators won the second half, setting up a best-of-seven series between the two clubs to determine the NHL title. Montreal ended up winning the series, 4 games to 1.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitans finished the 1919 PCHA regular season in second place with a 11–9 record, behind the 12–8 Vancouver Millionaires. The two teams then faced off in a two-game total-goals championship series, with Seattle winning game one, 6–1. Vancouver recorded a 4–1 victory in game two, but lost the series to the Metropolitans by a combined score of 7–5.

The series

All of the games were held at the Seattle Ice Arena. As with the previous Stanley Cup Finals, the differing rules for the leagues alternated each game: PCHA rules were used in games one, three and five; and NHL rules were to be used in games two and four. The actual game five used NHL rules, as it was considered a replay of game four.cite news|work=The Globe |date=March 29, 1919 |title=Patrick decides in favour of Canadiens |page=22]

Game one

NHLPlayoffs
team1 = Seattle Metropolitans
team2 = Montreal Canadiens
date1 = March 19
score1 = 7 – 0
won1 = 1

Seattle dominated Montreal under PCHA rules, scoring two in the first, three in the second and a further two in the third. [cite news |work=The Globe |title=Seattle Win First Game |date=March 20, 1919 |page=12] Corbeau of Montreal was injured but finished the game and continued to play in the series as a substitute.cite news |work=The Globe |title=Stanley Cup Series is Off |date=April 2, 1919 |page=11]

Game two

NHLPlayoffs
team1 = Seattle Metropolitans
team2 = Montreal Canadiens
date1 = March 22
score1 = 2 – 4
won1 = 2

The Canadiens evened the series in game two with Newsy Lalonde scoring all of Montreal's goals. Montreal took the lead and never relinquished it, although Seattle scored two in the third in 32 seconds to make it close. Joe Hall took a puck in the nose, on a deliberate play by Cully Wilson but the rough tactics did not continue as Seattle tried to catch up. [cite news |work=The Globe |title=Canadiens Win From Seattle |date=March 24, 1919 |page=14]

Game three

NHLPlayoffs
team1 = Seattle Metropolitans
team2 = Montreal Canadiens
date1 = March 24
score1 = 7 – 2
won1 = 1

Back under PCHA rules, the Metropolitans won game three, 7–2. Seattle scored four goals in the first to take a commanding lead. No goals were scored in the second. In the third, Seattle prevented any comeback, outscoring Montreal 3–2. [cite news |work=The Globe |title=Seattle Wins Another From Flying Frenchmen |date=March 25, 1919 |page=10]

Game four

NHLPlayoffs
team1 = Seattle Metropolitans
team2 = Montreal Canadiens
date1 = March 26
score1 = 0 – 0Game four ended tied, 0–0, after 20 minutes of overtime, with both Holmes and Montreal's Georges Vezina blocking every shot. Near the close of the second overtime, Berlinquette of Montreal had an outstanding chance to win it, but missed by inches. Wilson of Seattle would mix it up with Berlinquette who had to leave the ice. The crowd gave both teams an ovation after the game in appreciation of the teams' play. [cite news |work=The Globe |title=Teams Battle to 0–0 Draw |date=March 27, 1919 |page=10]

Game five

NHLPlayoffs
team1 = Seattle Metropolitans
team2 = Montreal Canadiens
date1 = March 30
score1 = 3 – 4
won1 = 2

Between game four and five, discussions were made about which rules to use for game five. As game four had finished in a tie, the Canadiens wished game five to be a replay of game four, using NHL rules and Seattle wanted PCHA rules. The game was played under NHL rules, and it was agreed that in the future, teams would play overtime until a winning goal was scored. Lalonde scored two goals, and Jack McDonald scored the game winning goal 15:57 into overtime, to lead the Canadiens to a 4–3 victory. Montreal was down 3–0 after two periods, but Seattle had tired and Montreal scored three to tie the game, Lalonde scoring Montreal's second and third goals. [cite news |work=The Globe |title=Seattle Lose In Overtime |date=March 31, 1919 |page=12]

Cancellation: "The Stanley Cup Series Is Off"

The sixth and deciding game of the series was scheduled for April 1, but the epidemic of Spanish Influenza caused several players on both teams to become seriously ill. With Lalonde, Hall, Couture, Berlinquette and McDonald of Montreal hospitalized or sick in bed, with fevers between 101 to 105 degrees F, game six was canceled just 5 and a half hours before it was scheduled to start. Kennedy said he was forfeiting the Cup to Seattle, but Pete Muldoon, manager-coach of the Metropolitans, refused to accept the Cup in a forfeiture, seeing that it was catastrophic illness that had caused the Canadiens lineup to be short of players. Kennedy asked to use players from the Victoria team of the PCHA and president Frank Patrick refused the request. [cite news |work=The Globe |title=Even Division of Cup Funds |date=April 3, 1919 |page=10]

Five days later, Montreal's Joe Hall died of pneumonia brought about by the flu.cite news |work=The Globe |title=J. Hall Dies In Seattle |date=April 7, 1919 |page=12] His funeral was held in Vancouver on April 8 with most team members attending, [cite news |work=The Globe |title=Funeral of Joe Hall at Vancouver To-day |date=April 8, 1919 |page=11] and was buried in Brandon, Manitoba. Manager George Kennedy also was stricken. His condition declined and his wife arrived from Montreal to be with him. [cite news |work=The Globe |title=Mrs. Kennedy Goes West to Bedside of Husband |date=April 4, 1919 |page=11] He seemed to recover and was released from the hospital, but he never fully did and he eventually died a few years later.

As a result, no official Stanley Cup winner was declared in 1919, and thus nothing was engraved onto the trophy. However, when the Cup was redesigned in 1948 and a new collar was added to include those teams that did not engrave their names on the trophy themselves, the following was added:

1919
Montreal Canadiens
Seattle Metropolitans
Series Not Completed

Rosters

;Montreal Canadiens

George Vezina(goalie), Bert Corbeau(defence), Joe Hall(defence), Bert Coutu(defence), Didier Pitre(defence), Edouard "Newsy" Lalonde(Captain-center/rover), Billy Bell(center), Joe Malone(center), Amos Arbour(left wing), Louis Berlinquette(left wing), Jack MacDonald(left wing), Odie Cleghorn(right wing), Fred "Doc" Doherty(Right Wing), George Kennedy (President/Manager-Coach), Napolean Norval(Secretary), Aldrie Quimet(Trainer)

;Seattle Metropolitans

Harry "Happy" Holmes(goalie), Ranald "Ran" MacDonald(defence), Bernie Morris(Captain-defence), Roy Rickey(defence), Bobby Rowe(defence), Jack Walker(center/rover), Frank Foyston(left wing/rover), Hugh Murray(center/left wing), Carol "Cully" Wilson(right wing), Pete Muldoon(President/Manager-Coach).

References

*cite web | url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SilverwareTrophyWinner.jsp?tro=STC&year=1918–19 | title=1918–19 Stanley Cup Winner: No Decision | publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame | accessdate=2006-07-03
*cite web | url=http://www.hockeyleaguehistory.com/Pacific_Coast_Hockey_Association%20_1911.htm | title=hockeyleaguehistory.com - Pacific Coast Hockey Association | accessdate=2006-07-03
*cite book | last=Podnieks | first=Andrew | coauthors=Hockey Hall of Fame | title=Lord Stanley's Cup | year=2004 | publisher=Triumph Books| isbn=1551682613 | pages=51
*cite book | editor=Dan Diamond (ed.) | title=The Official National Hockey League Stanley Cup Centennial Book | year=1992 | publisher=Firefly Books| isbn=1895565154 | pages=50–52;Notes:

ee also

* 1918–19 NHL season
* 1918–19 PCHA season