The 5th National Hockey League All-Star Game took place at
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...
, home of the
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
, on October 9, 1951. Two teams of all-star players played to a 2–2 tie.
Change in format
The format was different from the one before it, largely because due to the nomination of five
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...
players to the First and Second Team All-Stars which led to a 7–1 loss the year before. The same critics of the previous format's 7–1 outcome equally lamented the two-all tie in this game, with many suggesting that
overtime
Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways:
*by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...
be implemented.
[Podnieks(2000), p. 41]
The new format had the First Team All-Stars and the Second Team All-Stars be the cores of the two teams playing in the all-star game, with the reserves for the First Team consisting of players on American-based teams and the Second Team reserves consisting of
Habs and
Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
. Because of the new format, the First Team All-Stars wore the red jerseys worn in previous All-Star Games, while the Second Team wore a white version featuring red and blue stripes and a blue NHL shield.
[Podnieks(2000), p. 42]
The 1951 game was held in somewhat of a sombre mood, as
Bill Barilko
William "Bashin' Bill" Barilko (March 25, 1927 – ) was a Canadian ice hockey player who played his entire National Hockey League career for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Over five seasons, Barilko won the Stanley Cup four times in 1947, 1948, 1949, a ...
, who had scored the
Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...
-winning goal for the Leafs, had mysteriously disappeared in a plane accident two months before. Had he been around, he would have been made a member of the Second Team
As the All-Star game was symbolic of the start of the season, many new rule changes also had their first looks in this game: the most notable being
touch icing: that a defensive player (other than the goaltender) must touch the puck for icing calls (previously, only goaltenders were permitted to touch the puck on icing calls).
[Podnieks(2000), p. 40]
Other notable firsts include the first time that the
Vezina Trophy
The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's (NHL) goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the thirty-two NHL general managers vote to determine the winner. It is named in ...
winner (
Al Rollins
Elwin Ira Rollins (October 9, 1926 – July 27, 1996) was a professional Canadian ice hockey goaltender who played for the Chicago Black Hawks, New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Playing career
Before joining the NHL, Rollins played ...
) would be absent from the game, as Second Team coach
Dick Irvin
James Dickinson "Dick" Irvin Jr. (or II) (July 19, 1892 – May 16, 1957) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He played for professional teams in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, the Western Canada Hockey League, and th ...
chose his own player
Gerry McNeil
Gerald George McNeil (April 17, 1926 – June 17, 2004) was a professional ice hockey goaltender who won three Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens between 1947 and 1956. With the Canadiens he won the Stanley Cup in 1953.
Career
McNeil first ...
, who was in goal when Barilko scored the Cup-winning goal.
The game
Summary
* Referee:
Bill Chadwick
William Leroy "The Big Whistle" Chadwick (October 10, 1915 – October 24, 2009) was the first US-born referee to serve in the National Hockey League (NHL). Despite being blind in his right eye, his on-ice officiating career spanned the greater ...
* Linesmen:
Sammy Babcock
Sammy is a nickname, frequently for people named Samuel, and also an English spelling of the Arabic name Sami.
People Music
*Sammy Adams (born 1987), American rapper and songwriter
*Sammy Cahn (1913-1993), American songwriter
*Sammy Davis Jr. ( ...
,
Scotty Morrison
Ian "Scotty" Morrison (born April 22, 1930) is a Canadian former National Hockey League referee and vice-president, and the former president and chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Morrison played junior hockey in Quebec and then became a refer ...
* Attendance: 11,469
Source: Podnieks(2000), p. 43.
Rosters
See also
*
1951–52 NHL season
The 1951–52 NHL season was the 35th season of the National Hockey League. The Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup by sweeping the Montreal Canadiens four games to none.
League business
A long standing feud between Boston president Weston Adam ...
References
*
*
{{1951–52 NHL season by team
05th National Hockey League All-Star Game
All
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All al ...
Ice hockey competitions in Toronto
1951 in Ontario
October 1951 sports events in Canada
1950s in Toronto