The 1948 Stanley Cup playoffs, the championship of the National Hockey League (NHL), began with four teams on March 4, 1948. It concluded on April 14, with the Toronto Maple Leafs defeating the Detroit Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup.

Semifinals

The first round of the playoffs saw third place Boston Bruins matched up with first place Toronto Maple Leafs and fourth place New York Rangers against second place Detroit Red Wings.

Toronto vs. Boston

Toronto beat Boston 4 games to 1. Although Boston kept it close. Three of the five games were decided by one goal.

Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
March 24	Boston Bruins	4	Toronto Maple Leafs	5	(OT)
March 27	Boston Bruins	3	Toronto Maple Leafs	5
March 30	Toronto Maple Leafs	5	Boston Bruins	1
April 1	Toronto Maple Leafs	2	Boston Bruins	3
April 3	Boston Bruins	2	Toronto Maple Leafs	3

Toronto wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1

NY Rangers vs. Detroit

It looked initially to be a close series as, after the Blueshirts lost the first two games, the Wings Production line got lazy. But wingers, Ted Lindsay

Ted Lindsay

Robert Blake Theodore Lindsay is a former professional ice hockey player, a forward for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League . He scored over 800 points in his Hockey Hall of Fame career, won the Art Ross Trophy in 1950, and won the Stanley Cup four times...

 and Gordie Howe

Gordie Howe

Gordon "Gordie" Howe, OC is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played for the Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League , and the Houston Aeros and New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association . Howe is often referred to as Mr...

 chose follow Lindsay's recent quote —

“In this game, you have to be mean, or you're going to get pushed around.”

(Glenn Liebman, Hockey Shorts: 1,001 of the Game's Funniest One Liners" (Contemporary Books, 1996) ) —

Detroil was now pursuing Lord Stanley's Mug for the fourth time in six years.

New York Rangers vs. Detroit Red Wings

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
March 24	New York Rangers	1	Detroit Red Wings	2
March 26	New York Rangers	2	Detroit Red Wings	5
March 28	Detroit Red Wings	2	New York Rangers	3
March 30	Detroit Red Wings	1	New York Rangers	3
April 1	New York Rangers	1	Detroit Red Wings	3
April 4	Detroit Red Wings	4	New York Rangers	2

Detroit wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 2

Finals

Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
April 7	Detroit	3	Toronto	5
April 10	Detroit	2	Toronto	4
April 11	Toronto	2	Detroit	0
April 14	Toronto	7	Detroit	2

Toronto wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 0

Playoff bracket

Playoff scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals

Goal (ice hockey)

In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to...

, A = Assists

Assist (ice hockey)

In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal...

, Pts = Points

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Ted Kennedy	Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...	9	8	6	14
Max Bentley	Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...	9	4	7	11
Peter Horeck	Detroit Red Wings Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...	10	3	7	10
Jim McFadden	Detroit Red Wings Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...	10	5	3	8
Syl Apps	Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...	9	4	4	8
Harry Watson Harry Watson (ice hockey b. 1923) Harold Percival "Whipper" Watson was a Canadian professional ice hockey left wing who played for the Brooklyn Americans, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Chicago Black Hawks, winning five Stanley Cups over a 14-year career in the National Hockey League.-Playing career:Born in Saskatoon,...	Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...	9	5	2	7
Milt Schmidt	Boston Bruins Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...	5	2	5	7