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Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens 1946-47

NHL, the National Hockey League is a premier professional North American Sports League played in indoor stadiums. It’s divided into two conferences, each comprising of three divisions of ice hockey teams. The league was established in 1917 in Montreal, Quebec and it is composed of 30 teams out of which 24 teams are based in U.S. and 6 in Canada. They have a regular season and playoffs leading to the Stanley Cup, which is the NHL Championship final.

The Stanley Cup is one of the most-recognized symbols in North American sports. It is the championship trophy of the NHL, National Hockey League which is won by one of the teams that have qualified for the championship finals after playing a series of playoff matches. It is the only trophy in professional sports that has the name of the winning players, coaches, management, and club staff engraved upon it. The Cup winners keep it until the new champion is crowned.

The Maple Leafs was the second-best team during the regular season and the top offensive team in the league, with star players namely Ted Kennedy, Howie Meeker and Syl Apps. In the playoffs, Toronto won the opener against Detroit, but then was blasted 9-1 in game 2. The Maple Leafs rebounded with a vengeance as they swept the final three games by a combined 14-3 score. In the other semifinals, Montreal also won in five games by dispatching of Boston.

In the Stanley Cup Finals, the Leafs were humiliated 6-0, causing Montreal standout goalie, Toronto bounced back with four power-play goals in game 2 and shut out the Canadiens. Also in that game, the NHL's leading scorer, Maurice Rocket Richard was ejected and was suspended for game 3 for high sticking. Without Richard in the lineup, Montreal was flat and lost 4-2. The Leafs won again in game 4 on an overtime goal by Apps to put the heat on Montreal. The Canadiens responded with a 3-1 win, with two Richard goals. But in game 6, Toronto got goals from Vic Lynn and Kennedy to eke out a 2-1 win to clinch the Stanley Cup.

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