The 1918-19 NHL season was the second season of the National Hockey League . The season was played in a preliminary round with ten games and a second half with eight games. In the preliminary round, each team played 20 games. The season was originally planned in two halves with ten games each. However, due to the Toronto Arenas' withdrawal due to financial problems, only eight games were played in the second half. Montreal's preseason top scorer Joe Malone only played ten games this season. He had started a job in Quebec. Since only two teams remained in the league, a best-of-seven series was held for the first time, the winner of which met the champions of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association to determine the Stanley Cup winner. There the Montréal Canadiens met the Seattle Metropolitans. After both teams won twice and a game ended in a draw, five players and the Canadiens manager fell ill with Spanish flu , an epidemic that spread around the world. On April 1, the season was canceled, five days later Montreal defense attorney "Bad" Joe Hall died in the Seattle Columbus Sanatorium.
