1954–55 NHL season

Did You Know?

• The top four teams in the league qualified for the playoffs; the first-place team played the third-place team, and the second-place team faced the fourth-place team, with winners advancing to the Stanley Cup Final.
• This was the third season of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television, with coverage including selected Stanley Cup playoff games.
• Both regular season and playoff games were not broadcast in their entirety until the 1968–69 season; they were typically joined in progress, while the radio version of HNIC aired games in full.

League business

Art Ross told league governors that his time with Boston would end in late September. Since it was his final league meeting, he expressed gratitude for the kindness and cooperation he had received over three decades as a Boston club officer, and wished the league continued success. Conn Smythe and Frank Selke conveyed the group's best wishes for his retirement. Before the season started, Detroit Red Wings head coach Tommy Ivan left to become general manager of the Chicago Black Hawks, with Jimmy Skinner taking over as coach in Detroit. One of Ivan's first moves in Chicago was to build a full farm system, something the Black Hawks had lacked.

Regular season

Maurice Richard notched his 400th career goal on December 18, 1954, beating Chicago goalie Al Rollins in a 4-1 Canadiens win over the Black Hawks. Later that month, on December 29 at Maple Leaf Gardens, Montreal and Toronto skated to a 1-1 tie. Richard scored his 401st goal late in the first period and received a standing ovation. On March 10 at the Montreal Forum, a scoreless tie saw the debut of a new ice resurfacing machine called the Zamboni.

Fans, displeased with Toronto's defensive play, tossed garbage—including pig's feet—onto the ice. The Richard Riot erupted on March 17, 1955. League president Clarence Campbell had suspended Richard for the remainder of the season and the playoffs after Richard punched a referee during a game against Boston. When Campbell attended a Canadiens game at the Forum, his presence sparked protests that turned violent, both inside the arena and throughout downtown Montreal.