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58-59ChiBH
1958–59 Chicago Black Hawks
Division 3rd NHL
1958–59 record 28–29–13
Home record 14–12–9
Road record 14–17–4
Goals for 197
Goals against 208
Team information
General manager Tommy Ivan
Coach Rudy Pilous
Captain Ed Litzenberger
Arena Chicago Stadium
Team leaders
Goals Ed Litzenberger (33)
Assists Ed Litzenberger (44)
Points Ed Litzenberger (77)
Penalty minutes Ted Lindsay (184)
Wins Glenn Hall (28)
Goals against average Glenn Hall (2.97)

The 1958–59 Chicago Black Hawks season was the team's 33rd season in the NHL. The Hawks qualified for the playoffs for only the second time in the past thirteen seasons, finishing 3rd in the league. They lost in the Semi-finals to the Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 2.

Off-season[]

It was a quiet off-season for the Black Hawks, who made no major moves. The team named Ed Litzenberger the new team captain, as the spot had been left vacant for the 1957–58 season.

Regular Season[]

Horvath winner-12Feb1959

Bronco Horvath scores the game winner, February 12, 1959.

Chicago would get off to a good start, going unbeaten in their first four games, before going on a six game winless streak to drop them under .500. The Black Hawks would hover around the .500 mark all season long, and as a result, the team set a club record with 28 victories, and tied the club record by earning 69 points, as the Black Hawks qualified for the post-season for the first time since 1952–53. Chicago finished in third place, which was their highest finish in the standings since finishing third in the 1945–46 season.

Offensively, Chicago was led by Ed Litzenberger, who led the club with 33 goals and 77 points. His 77 points tied a club record originally set by Max Bentley in 1943–44. Tod Sloan finished with 27 goals and 62 points, while Ted Lindsay rebounded from a poor 1957–58 season by scoring 22 goals and 58 points, while leading the NHL with 181 penalty minutes. Bobby Hull had a solid season, scoring 18 goals and 50 points. On the blueline, Pierre Pilote led the way, scoring 7 goals and 37 points, while Moose Vasko chipped in with 6 goals and 10 assists for 16 points.

In goal, Glenn Hall had all the playing time for the second straight season, as he won a club record 28 games and posted a 2.97 GAA, along with a shutout.

Final Standings[]

National Hockey League
GP W L T Pts GF GA
Montreal Canadiens 70 39 18 13 91 258 158
Boston Bruins 70 32 29 9 73 205 215
Chicago Black Hawks 70 28 29 13 69 197 208
Toronto Maple Leafs 70 27 32 11 65 189 201
New York Rangers 70 26 32 12 64 201 217
Detroit Red Wings 70 25 37 8 58 167 218

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Teams that qualify for the playoffs are indicated in bold.

Game Log[]

# Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts
1 October 8 New York Rangers 1–1 Chicago Black Hawks 0–0–1 1
2 October 11 Chicago Black Hawks 3–1 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–0–1 3
3 October 12 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–5 Chicago Black Hawks 2–0–1 5
4 October 16 Chicago Black Hawks 7–2 Detroit Red Wings 3–0–1 7
5 October 18 Detroit Red Wings 3–1 Chicago Black Hawks 3–1–1 7
6 October 19 Boston Bruins 4–1 Chicago Black Hawks 3–2–1 7
7 October 23 Chicago Black Hawks 1–9 Montreal Canadiens 3–3–1 7
8 October 25 Chicago Black Hawks 2–6 New York Rangers 3–4–1 7
9 October 28 Montreal Canadiens 5–5 Chicago Black Hawks 3–4–2 8
10 October 30 Chicago Black Hawks 2–5 Boston Bruins 3–5–2 8
11 November 1 Chicago Black Hawks 4–2 Montreal Canadiens 4–5–2 10
12 November 4 New York Rangers 2–4 Chicago Black Hawks 5–5–2 12
13 November 8 Chicago Black Hawks 4–3 Detroit Red Wings 6–5–2 14
14 November 11 Boston Bruins 8–4 Chicago Black Hawks 6–6–2 14
15 November 15 Montreal Canadiens 3–1 Chicago Black Hawks 6–7–2 14
16 November 16 Detroit Red Wings 2–3 Chicago Black Hawks 7–7–2 16
17 November 19 Boston Bruins 2–3 Chicago Black Hawks 8–7–2 18
18 November 22 Chicago Black Hawks 1–5 Montreal Canadiens 8–8–2 18
19 November 23 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–3 Chicago Black Hawks 8–8–3 19
20 November 27 Montreal Canadiens 2–1 Chicago Black Hawks 8–9–3 19
21 November 29 Chicago Black Hawks 2–1 Toronto Maple Leafs 9–9–3 21
22 November 30 New York Rangers 2–2 Chicago Black Hawks 9–9–4 22
23 December 3 Chicago Black Hawks 2–4 New York Rangers 9–10–4 22
24 December 6 Detroit Red Wings 4–3 Chicago Black Hawks 9–11–4 22
25 December 7 Chicago Black Hawks 2–2 Detroit Red Wings 9–11–5 23
26 December 10 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–2 Chicago Black Hawks 9–11–6 24
27 December 13 Chicago Black Hawks 2–4 Boston Bruins 9–12–6 24
28 December 14 Chicago Black Hawks 3–3 New York Rangers 9–12–7 25
29 December 17 Boston Bruins 2–5 Chicago Black Hawks 10–12–7 27
30 December 20 Chicago Black Hawks 1–4 Montreal Canadiens 10–13–7 27
31 December 21 Detroit Red Wings 2–4 Chicago Black Hawks 11–13–7 29
32 December 25 Chicago Black Hawks 2–4 Boston Bruins 11–14–7 29
33 December 27 Chicago Black Hawks 2–2 Toronto Maple Leafs 11–14–8 30
34 December 28 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–4 Chicago Black Hawks 12–14–8 32
35 December 31 Chicago Black Hawks 4–2 Detroit Red Wings 13–14–8 34
36 January 1 Montreal Canadiens 2–2 Chicago Black Hawks 13–14–9 35
37 January 3 Chicago Black Hawks 2–1 Toronto Maple Leafs 14–14–9 37
38 January 4 Boston Bruins 3–5 Chicago Black Hawks 15–14–9 39
39 January 7 Chicago Black Hawks 4–0 New York Rangers 16–14–9 41
40 January 8 Chicago Black Hawks 4–2 Boston Bruins 17–14–9 43
41 January 10 Chicago Black Hawks 0–1 Montreal Canadiens 17–15–9 43
42 January 11 New York Rangers 4–3 Chicago Black Hawks 17–16–9 43
43 January 17 New York Rangers 1–7 Chicago Black Hawks 18–16–9 45
44 January 18 Montreal Canadiens 1–1 Chicago Black Hawks 18–16–10 46
45 January 21 Detroit Red Wings 3–2 Chicago Black Hawks 18–17–10 46
46 January 24 Chicago Black Hawks 0–2 Detroit Red Wings 18–18–10 46
47 January 25 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–1 Chicago Black Hawks 18–19–10 46
48 January 28 Chicago Black Hawks 3–1 New York Rangers 19–19–10 48
49 January 31 Chicago Black Hawks 3–3 Montreal Canadiens 19–19–11 49
50 February 1 Montreal Canadiens 3–3 Chicago Black Hawks 19–19–12 50
51 February 5 Chicago Black Hawks 2–1 Boston Bruins 20–19–12 52
52 February 7 Chicago Black Hawks 6–3 New York Rangers 21–19–12 54
53 February 8 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–7 Chicago Black Hawks 22–19–12 56
54 February 12 Chicago Black Hawks 4–5 Boston Bruins 22–20–12 56
55 February 14 Chicago Black Hawks 1–5 Toronto Maple Leafs 22–21–12 56
56 February 15 Boston Bruins 3–3 Chicago Black Hawks 22–21–13 57
57 February 18 New York Rangers 2–4 Chicago Black Hawks 23–21–13 59
58 February 21 Chicago Black Hawks 2–5 Detroit Red Wings 23–22–13 59
59 February 22 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–5 Chicago Black Hawks 24–22–13 61
60 February 28 Boston Bruins 2–5 Chicago Black Hawks 25–22–13 63
61 March 1 Detroit Red Wings 1–3 Chicago Black Hawks 26–22–13 65
62 March 4 Chicago Black Hawks 2–5 Toronto Maple Leafs 26–23–13 65
63 March 7 New York Rangers 6–1 Chicago Black Hawks 26–24–13 65
64 March 8 Montreal Canadiens 2–1 Chicago Black Hawks 26–25–13 65
65 March 11 Chicago Black Hawks 5–3 New York Rangers 27–25–13 67
66 March 14 Chicago Black Hawks 4–8 Montreal Canadiens 27–26–13 67
67 March 15 Detroit Red Wings 4–1 Chicago Black Hawks 27–27–13 67
68 March 17 Chicago Black Hawks 0–2 Detroit Red Wings 27–28–13 67
69 March 21 Chicago Black Hawks 1–5 Toronto Maple Leafs 27–29–13 67
70 March 22 Chicago Black Hawks 4–1 Boston Bruins 28–29–13 69

Playoffs[]

Montreal Canadiens 4, Chicago Black Hawks 2[]

Chicago would face the Montreal Canadiens in the best of seven NHL Semi-final. The Canadiens finished the year on top of the NHL standings with 91 points, and had won the Stanley Cup three years in a row. The series opened at the Montreal Forum, and the Canadiens took control of the series, winning the opening two games by scores of 4–2 and 5–1 to take the 2–0 series lead. The series moved to Chicago Stadium for the next two games, and the Black Hawks responded, winning their first playoff games since 1953, as they defeated Montreal 4–2 and 3–2 to even the series up at two games a piece. The series returned to Montreal for the fifth game, and the heavily favored Canadiens put the Black Hawks on the brink of elimination with a 4–2 win to take a 3–2 series lead. Montreal ended the series in the sixth game in Chicago, hanging on for a 5–4 victory to win the series.

# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 March 24 Chicago Black Hawks 2–4 Montreal Canadiens 0–1
2 March 26 Chicago Black Hawks 1–5 Montreal Canadiens 0–2
3 March 28 Montreal Canadiens 2–4 Chicago Black Hawks 1–2
4 March 31 Montreal Canadiens 1–3 Chicago Black Hawks 2–2
5 April 2 Chicago Black Hawks 2–4 Montreal Canadiens 2–3
6 April 4 Montreal Canadiens 5–4 Chicago Black Hawks 2–4

Player Stats[]

Scoring Leaders[]

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Ed Litzenberger 70 33 44 77 37
Tod Sloan 59 27 35 62 79
Ted Lindsay 70 22 36 58 184
Bobby Hull 70 18 32 50 50
Ron Murphy 59 17 30 47 52

Goaltending[]

Player GP TOI W L T GA SO GAA
Glenn Hall 70 4200 28 29 13 208 1 2.97

Playoff Stats[]

Scoring Leaders[]

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Ed Litzenberger 6 3 5 8 8
Tod Sloan 6 3 5 8 0
Ted Lindsay 6 2 4 6 13
Eric Nesterenko 6 2 2 4 8
Glen Skov 6 2 1 3 4

Goaltending[]

Player GP TOI W L GA SO GAA
Glenn Hall 6 360 2 4 21 0 3.50

Awards and Records[]

  • The Black Hawks did not win any awards this season.

Farm Teams[]

1959 Boston Bruins–New York Rangers European tour[]

3May1959-Geneva Buyck Worsley

John Bucyk scores on Gump Worsley during the Bruins 12-4 romp in Geneva, May 3, 1959.

In 1959, the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers went on a 23 game tour of Europe, visiting England, Switzerland, France, Belgium, West Germany and Austria. The Rangers line-up was supplemented by Bobby Hull, Ed Litzenberger, Eric Nesterenko and Pierre Pilote of the Chicago Black Hawks while Andy Bathgate of the Rangers didn't participate as his wife had given birth just before the tour.

It was the first time NHL teams played in Europe since the 1938 Detroit Red Wings–Montreal Canadiens European tour, a nine-game affair in Paris and London that the Canadiens won, 5-3-1.

During the tour, the teams experimented with an orange puck, designed by Clair Kenney. The players didn't like it and complained it looked like a blur on the ice.[1]

Bobby Hull credits the series for his later success as he was allowed to play a freewheeling style instead of a checking role, which he had during his first two years with Chicago. The Rangers won the series with a record of 11–9–3.

See Also[]

Sources[]

  1. The Official NHL 75th Anniversary Commemorative Book, p.139.
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