The 1956 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the Montreal Canadiens and the defending champion Detroit Red Wings in the fifth Detroit-Montreal series in the 1950s. The Canadiens were making the sixth consecutive appearance in the Final series; Detroit was making their third consecutive appearance. The Canadiens would win the series 4–1.
It is also the season that Jean Beliveau became angry. After tolerating all kinds of illegal tactics by his opponents since entering the league, he decides that he is no longer going to turn the other cheek and begins to give back as good as he gets.
Beliveau’s new mindset results in143 penalty minutes but it also gives him a bit more room to operate on the ice. Ably flanked by Maurice Richard and Bert Olmstead, that season’s NHL assists leader, he makes the most of it, scoring 47 goals, topping both the team and the league, while setting a new record for NHL centers.
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