5 4 Start date April 6, 1961 | Champion Chicago Blackhawks | |
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Dates April 6 to April 16, 1961 Similar 1938 Stanley Cup Finals, 1934 Stanley Cup Finals, 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, 1962 Stanley Cup Finals, 1964 Stanley Cup Finals | ||
1961 stanley cup finals clip 1088
The 1961 Stanley Cup Final was contested by the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Black Hawks. Chicago was making its first Finals appearance since 1944, and Detroit its first appearance since 1956; both had lost to the Montreal Canadiens in those previous appearances. The Blackhawks would win the best-of-seven series four games to two to win their third Stanley Cup, their first since 1938. However, this proved to be the last time Chicago won the Cup until 2010, a 49-year drought. This was the only title not won by the Canadiens, Red Wings or Toronto Maple Leafs during the Original Six era.
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Paths to the Final
Detroit defeated Toronto in five games and Chicago upset Montreal, the record five-time defending champion, in six, setting up the first all-American-team Finals since 1950, when the Wings beat the New York Rangers in a seven-game series.
The series
Two future Hockey Hall of Fame members, Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita, made their first Stanley Cup appearances. Hull scored two goals in the first game, including the winner, and Mikita scored the winner in game five.
This was the only Stanley Cup championship in the 1960s not to be won by either the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Montreal Canadiens or feature either team.