Hosting the series in Seattle was the the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Seattle Metropolitans (Mets) playing off against the National Hockey League (NHL) champion Montreal Canadiens. Both teams had won two games, lost two, and tied one before health officials were forced to cancel the deciding game of the series. The entire Canadiens team and its manager George Kennedy fell ill with the flu and were hospitalized. The flu would eventually claim the life of Canadiens' defenseman Joe Hall four days later. Kennedy was permanently weakened by his illness, and it led to his death a few years later.