The Toronto Maple Leafs won the 1947-48 NHL standings race on 77 points, 5 points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings. It came down to the final days: the Toronto Maple Leafs did not lead for good until March 14, 1948.
Loading season data…
NHL standings, 1947-48
Team
W
L
T
PTS
L10
Streak
Toronto Maple Leafs (TOR)
32
15
13
77
6-4-0
W4
Detroit Red Wings (DET)
30
18
12
72
3-4-3
L2
Boston Bruins (BOS)
23
24
13
59
5-2-3
W1
New York Rangers (NYR)
21
26
13
55
2-7-1
L1
Montréal Canadiens (MTL)
20
29
11
51
5-3-2
L1
Chicago Blackhawks (CHI)
20
34
6
46
4-5-1
W1
Final standings.
Turning points
The lead changed hands 20 times.
The Toronto Maple Leafs trailed by as many as 4 points on October 19, 1947.
The Toronto Maple Leafs took first place for good on March 14, 1948.
The Detroit Red Wings led by 4 points as late as February 3, 1948.
The Toronto Maple Leafs went 4-0-2 from November 28, 1947 to December 10, 1947, turning a deficit of 3 points into a lead of 5 points.
The top two ended the day within two points of each other on 67 of the 87 days played.
Four teams held first place.
The Toronto Maple Leafs held first place for 35 straight days, the season's longest run.
The Toronto Maple Leafs spent 75 of the season's 159 charted days in first place.