The Montreal Canadiens dominated the 1965-66 National Hockey
League season. The Habs finished first overall in the six team league, eight
points ahead of second place Chicago. Montreal then swept the Toronto Maple
Leafs in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs before capturing the
championship in six games against the fourth seed Detroit Red Wings.
Bobby Hull – Chicago Black Hawks
Bobby Hull not only led the Chicago Black Hawks but finished
atop the whole NHL with 97 points, capturing the Art Ross Trophy. Hull’s 97
points set an NHL record for most points in a season, eclipsing the previous
mark of 96 set by Dickie Moore of Montreal in 1958-59.
Bobby Rousseau – Montreal Canadiens
Leading the Montreal Canadiens with a career high of 78
points and finishing tied for second in the league was Bobby Rousseau. Bobby
played in the NHL from 1960-61 to 1974-75 with the Canadiens, Minnesota North
Stars and New York Rangers. His next highest point total came in 1968-69 when
he totalled 70 with the Habs.
Gordie Howe – Detroit Red Wings
Gordie Howe occupied a familiar spot, leading the Detroit
Red Wings in points with 75. Howe was fifth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy
and had just three more points than teammate Norm
Ullman. However, Ullman proved more of a factor in the Red Wings reaching
the Stanley Cup final with 15 playoff points compared to Howe’s 10.
Bob Nevin – New York Rangers
The New York Rangers finished last in the NHL in 1965-66,
one point behind the Boston Bruins and 27 points out of a playoff position. Bob
Nevin led the club with 62 points. Nevin played in the NHL from 1960-61 to
1975-76 and would only total more points on one other occasion. In 1974-75,
with the Los
Angeles Kings, Bob contributed 72 points. Of course, the regular season was
ten games longer that year than in 1965-66.
Murray Oliver – Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins had the least goals for and the most goals
against in 1965-66. Leading the way for Bruins was Murray Oliver with 60
points. Oliver played in the NHL from 1959-60 to 1974-75 with the Detroit Red
Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Minnesota North Stars. In fact,
Oliver and Bobby Rousseau were teammates with the North Stars for the 1970-71
season.
Frank Mahovlich and Bob Pulford – Toronto Maple Leafs
As was the way with the ‘Original 6’ era Toronto
Maple Leafs, individual scoring numbers were never exceptionally high. In
1965-66, Frank Mahovlich and Bob Pulford tied for the team lead with just 56
points each. Dave Keon
was just two points behind with 54. It was a career high for Pulford but a
mediocre season for Mahovlich.
