1976–77 Montreal Canadiens season

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1976–77 Montreal Canadiens
Stanley Cup champions
Wales Conference champions
Norris Division champions
Division1st Norris
Conference1st Wales
1976–77 record60–8–12
Goals for387
Goals against171
Team information
General managerSam Pollock
CoachScotty Bowman
CaptainYvan Cournoyer
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaMontreal Forum
Team leaders
GoalsSteve Shutt (60)
AssistsGuy Lafleur (80)
PointsGuy Lafleur (136)
Penalty minutesDoug Risebrough (132)
WinsKen Dryden (41)
Goals against averageMichel Larocque (2.09)

The 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens season was the Canadiens' 68th season. The team is regarded to be the greatest NHL team ever composed. The Canadiens won their 20th Stanley Cup in 1976–77, taking the NHL championship. They set an NHL record for most points in a season by a team with 132 points.[1] They outscored their opponents by 216 goals (also a league record), a differential average of 2.7 goals per game.[1]

Of the 24 players on the roster, 14 were drafted by the Canadiens: Pierre Bouchard, Rick Chartraw, Brian Engblom, Bob Gainey, Rejean Houle, Guy Lafleur, Michel Larocque, Pierre Mondou, Bill Nyrop, Doug Risebrough, Larry Robinson, Steve Shutt, Mario Tremblay, and Murray Wilson. The only player on the roster not developed by the Canadiens was Peter Mahovlich.[1]

They won 72 combined victories that season, tied by the Detroit Red Wings in 1995–96. They won 60 games this season, which the 1995–96 Detroit team eventually surpassed.

Regular season[]

Final standings[]

Norris Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Montreal Canadiens 80 60 8 12 387 171 132
Los Angeles Kings 80 34 31 15 271 241 83
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 34 33 13 240 252 81
Washington Capitals 80 24 42 14 221 307 62
Detroit Red Wings 80 16 55 9 183 309 41

[2]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Schedule and results[]

Regular season schedule
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 7, 1976 10–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) 1–0–0
2 W October 9, 1976 3–0 Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) 2–0–0
3 L October 10, 1976 1–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) 2–1–0
4 W October 12, 1976 4–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) 3–1–0
5 W October 14, 1976 7–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) 4–1–0
6 W October 16, 1976 7–4 New York Rangers (1976–77) 5–1–0
7 L October 17, 1976 3–5 @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) 5–2–0
8 W October 19, 1976 6–0 @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) 6–2–0
9 W October 21, 1976 5–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) 7–2–0
10 W October 23, 1976 9–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) 8–2–0
11 W October 25, 1976 4–1 New York Islanders (1976–77) 9–2–0
12 T October 27, 1976 4–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) 9–2–1
13 L October 30, 1976 3–4 Boston Bruins (1976–77) 9–3–1
14 W November 1, 1976 3–2 Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) 10–3–1
15 W November 3, 1976 5–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) 11–3–1
16 W November 6, 1976 11–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) 12–3–1
17 W November 9, 1976 8–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) 13–3–1
18 T November 10, 1976 2–2 @ Atlanta Flames (1976–77) 13–3–2
19 T November 13, 1976 3–3 Colorado Rockies (1976–77) 13–3–3
20 W November 15, 1976 4–2 St. Louis Blues (1976–77) 14–3–3
21 L November 17, 1976 0–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) 14–4–3
22 W November 19, 1976 6–3 Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) 15–4–3
23 W November 21, 1976 9–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) 16–4–3
24 W November 23, 1976 5–1 @ New York Islanders (1976–77) 17–4–3
25 W November 24, 1976 8–1 @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) 18–4–3
26 W November 27, 1976 4–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) 19–4–3
27 T December 2, 1976 3–3 Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) 19–4–4
28 W December 4, 1976 3–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) 20–4–4
29 W December 6, 1976 1–0 Cleveland Barons (1976–77) 21–4–4
30 W December 8, 1976 4–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) 22–4–4
31 W December 11, 1976 5–0 Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) 23–4–4
32 L December 12, 1976 2–5 @ New York Rangers (1976–77) 23–5–4
33 W December 15, 1976 8–2 @ Colorado Rockies (1976–77) 24–5–4
34 W December 18, 1976 2–0 @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) 25–5–4
35 W December 20, 1976 5–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) 26–5–4
36 W December 27, 1976 4–2 Cleveland Barons (1976–77) 27–5–4
37 T December 29, 1976 3–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) 27–5–5
38 T December 30, 1976 5–5 Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) 27–5–6
39 W January 2, 1977 7–0 Atlanta Flames (1976–77) 28–5–6
40 W January 3, 1977 6–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) 29–5–6
41 W January 6, 1977 9–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) 30–5–6
42 W January 8, 1977 7–2 Washington Capitals (1976–77) 31–5–6
43 W January 11, 1977 6–0 @ Colorado Rockies (1976–77) 32–5–6
44 L January 12, 1977 2–7 @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) 32–6–6
45 W January 15, 1977 6–0 Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) 33–6–6
46 L January 17, 1977 3–7 @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) 33–7–6
47 W January 18, 1977 3–0 @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) 34–7–6
48 W January 20, 1977 6–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) 35–7–6
49 W January 22, 1977 5–2 Washington Capitals (1976–77) 36–7–6
50 T January 23, 1977 2–2 Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) 36–7–7
51 T January 29, 1977 3–3 Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) 36–7–8
52 W January 30, 1977 2–1 New York Islanders (1976–77) 37–7–8
53 W February 1, 1977 7–3 @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) 38–7–8
54 W February 3, 1977 6–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) 39–7–8
55 T February 5, 1977 3–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) 39–7–9
56 W February 9, 1977 6–0 Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) 40–7–9
57 W February 12, 1977 8–3 Boston Bruins (1976–77) 41–7–9
58 W February 13, 1977 5–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) 42–7–9
59 T February 16, 1977 4–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) 42–7–10
60 W February 19, 1977 5–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) 43–7–10
61 W February 21, 1977 3–2 Atlanta Flames (1976–77) 44–7–10
62 W February 23, 1977 4–2 @ Atlanta Flames (1976–77) 45–7–10
63 W February 26, 1977 5–3 Cleveland Barons (1976–77) 46–7–10
64 W February 27, 1977 8–1 @ New York Rangers (1976–77) 47–7–10
65 W March 1, 1977 5–4 @ New York Islanders (1976–77) 48–7–10
66 W March 3, 1977 5–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) 49–7–10
67 W March 5, 1977 7–2 New York Rangers (1976–77) 50–7–10
68 L March 6, 1977 1–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) 50–8–10
69 T March 9, 1977 2–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) 50–8–11
70 W March 10, 1977 7–1 Colorado Rockies (1976–77) 51–8–11
71 W March 12, 1977 5–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) 52–8–11
72 W March 14, 1977 3��0 Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) 53–8–11
73 W March 16, 1977 5–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) 54–8–11
74 W March 21, 1977 5–1 @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) 55–8–11
75 W March 24, 1977 6–1 St. Louis Blues (1976–77) 56–8–11
76 W March 26, 1977 4–0 Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) 57–8–11
77 W March 27, 1977 6–0 @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) 58–8–11
78 T March 30, 1977 3–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) 58–8–12
79 W April 2, 1977 11–0 Washington Capitals (1976–77) 59–8–12
80 W April 3, 1977 2–1 @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) 60–8–12

[3]

Playoffs[]

Stanley Cup Final[]

Main article: 1977 Stanley Cup Final

Jacques Lemaire scored three game-winning goals, including the Cup winner in overtime. Guy Lafleur won the Conn Smythe Trophy for scoring 9 goals and 17 assists during the playoffs.

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens

Date Visitors Score Home Score Notes
May 7 Boston 3 Montreal 7
May 10 Boston 0 Montreal 3
May 12 Montreal 4 Boston 2
May 14 Montreal 2 Boston 1 OT

Montreal wins the series 4–0.

Guy Lafleur won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Player statistics[]

Regular season[]

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Guy Lafleur RW 80 56 80 136 20 89 14 0 8
Steve Shutt LW 80 60 45 105 28 88 8 0 9
Larry Robinson D 77 19 66 85 45 120 3 0 3
Guy Lapointe D 77 25 51 76 53 69 10 0 6
Jacques Lemaire C 75 34 41 75 22 70 5 2 4
Pete Mahovlich C 76 15 47 62 45 36 3 0 1
Doug Risebrough C 78 22 38 60 132 33 1 0 6
Yvan Cournoyer RW 60 25 28 53 8 27 6 0 2
Yvon Lambert LW 79 24 28 52 50 30 2 0 5
Rejean Houle W 65 22 30 52 24 39 2 0 3
Mario Tremblay RW 74 18 28 46 61 25 4 0 3
Serge Savard D 78 9 33 42 35 79 0 0 1
Doug Jarvis C 80 16 22 38 14 30 0 0 2
Bob Gainey LW 80 14 19 33 41 31 0 1 3
Murray Wilson LW 60 13 14 27 26 25 1 0 1
Bill Nyrop D 74 3 19 22 21 42 0 0 1
Jim Roberts D/RW 45 5 14 19 18 22 0 1 1
Pierre Bouchard D 73 4 11 15 52 33 0 1 0
Rick Chartraw D/RW 43 3 4 7 59 27 0 0 1
Ken Dryden G 56 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
John Van Boxmeer D 4 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Michel Larocque G 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Ken Dryden 3275 56 41 6 8 117 2.14 10
Michel Larocque 1525 26 19 2 4 53 2.09 4
Team: 4800 80 60 8 12 170 2.12 14

Playoffs[]

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Guy Lafleur RW 14 9 17 26 6 1 0 2
Jacques Lemaire C 14 7 12 19 6 1 0 3
Steve Shutt LW 14 8 10 18 2 2 0 3
Guy Lapointe D 12 3 9 12 4 1 0 0
Larry Robinson D 14 2 10 12 12 1 0 0
Pete Mahovlich C 13 4 5 9 19 2 0 1
Serge Savard D 14 2 7 9 2 1 0 1
Murray Wilson LW 14 1 6 7 14 0 0 0
Doug Jarvis C 14 0 7 7 2 0 0 0
Yvon Lambert LW 14 3 3 6 12 1 0 0
Bob Gainey LW 14 4 1 5 25 0 1 1
Doug Risebrough C 12 2 3 5 16 0 0 0
Jim Roberts D/RW 14 3 0 3 6 0 1 1
Mario Tremblay RW 14 3 0 3 9 0 0 0
Rick Chartraw D/RW 13 2 1 3 17 0 0 0
Bill Nyrop D 8 1 0 1 4 0 0 0
Pierre Bouchard D 6 0 1 1 6 0 0 0
Rejean Houle W 6 0 1 1 4 0 0 0
Ken Dryden G 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brian Engblom D 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Pierre Mondou C 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mike Polich C/LW 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Ken Dryden 849 14 12 2 22 1.55 4
Team: 849 14 12 2 22 1.55 4

[4]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records[]

  • Prince of Wales Trophy
  • Ken Dryden and Michel Larocque, Vezina Trophy
  • Ken Dryden, Goaltender, NHL First Team All-Star
  • Guy Lafleur, Art Ross Trophy
  • Guy Lafleur, Conn Smythe Trophy
  • Guy Lafleur, Hart Memorial Trophy
  • Guy Lafleur, Lou Marsh Trophy
  • Guy Lafleur, right wing, NHL First Team All-Star
  • Guy Lafleur, NHL leader, assists (80)[5]
  • Guy Lafleur, NHL leader, points (136)[5]
  • Guy Lapointe, defence, NHL Second Team All-Star
  • Larry Robinson, defence, NHL First Team All-Star
  • Steve Shutt, left wing, NHL First Team All-Star
  • Steve Shutt, NHL leader, goals (60)[5]
  • 132 points, NHL record for most points in a season by a team
  • +216 goal differential, NHL record for highest team differential

1977 Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup Champions[]

Ken Dryden, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe, Larry Robinson, Bill Nyrop, Pierre Bouchard, Jim Roberts, Rick Chartraw, Brian Engblom, Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt, Peter Mahovlich, Yvan Cournoyer, Jacques Lemaire, Yvon Lambert, Bob Gainey, Doug Jarvis, Doug Risebrough, Murray Wilson, Mario Tremblay, Rejean Houle, Pierre Mondou, Mike Polich, Michel Larocque, Scotty Bowman (coach), Sam Pollock (general manager), Eddy Palchak, Pierre Meilleur (trainers)

Draft picks[]

See also: 1976 NHL Amateur Draft
Round # Player Nationality College/junior/club team
1 12 Peter Lee  England/
 Canada		 Ottawa 67's (OHA)
1 13 Rod Schutt  Canada Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)
1 18 Bruce Baker  Canada Ottawa 67's (OMJHL)
2 36 Barry Melrose  Canada Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL)
3 54 Bill Baker  United States University of Minnesota (WCHA)
4 72 Ed Clarey  Canada Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
5 90 Maurice Barrette  Canada Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
6 108 Pierre Brassard  Canada Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
7 118 Rich Gosselin  Canada Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
8 123 John Gregory  Canada University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
9 125 Bruce Horsch  United States Michigan Tech University (WCHA)
10 127 John Tavella  Canada Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)
11 129 Mark Davidson  Canada Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
12 131 Bill Wells  Canada Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
13 133 Ron Wilson  Canada St. Catharines Black Hawks (OMJHL)

Roster[]

1976-77 Montreal Canadiens season
Goaltenders
  • Canada 1 – Michel Larocque 
  • Canada 29 – Ken Dryden 

Defensemen

Wingers

Centers

  • Canada 8 – Doug Risebrough 
  • Canada 20 – Pete Mahovlich 
  • Canada 21 – Doug Jarvis 
  • Canada 25 – Jacques Lemaire 
  • GM: Canada Sam Pollock
  • Coach: Canada Scotty Bowman

[6]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Habs Team Best Ever, by Ken Campbell, The Hockey News, November 20, 2007.
  2. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
  3. ^ "1976–77 Montreal Canadiens Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  4. ^ "1976-77 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  5. ^ a b c National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 204, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.
  6. ^ "1976-77 Montreal Canadiens Roster and Statistics".
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