Our history - The historical website of the Montreal Canadiens
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GP
Games played - Number of games the team has played
|
W
Wins - Games the team has won, either in regulation or in overtime
|
L
Losses - Games the team has lost in regulation
|
T
Ties - Games that have ended in a tie
|
PTS
Points - Team points, calculated from W, L, T, OTL and SOL; used to determine standings
|
GF
Goals for - Number of goals the team has scored
|
GA
Goals against - Number of goals scored against the team
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boston Bruins | 48 | 27 | 8 | 13 | 67 | 168 | 102 |
Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 28 | 14 | 6 | 62 | 145 | 99 |
Detroit Red Wings | 48 | 21 | 16 | 11 | 53 | 112 | 102 |
New York Rangers | 48 | 21 | 19 | 8 | 50 | 143 | 125 |
Chicago Blackhawks | 48 | 16 | 25 | 7 | 39 | 112 | 139 |
Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 16 | 26 | 6 | 38 | 121 | 147 |
New York Americans | 48 | 8 | 29 | 11 | 27 | 99 | 186 |
Roster 24 PLAYERS
# | SKATERS |
GP
Games played - Number of games the player has set foot on the ice
|
G
Goals - Number of goals the player has scored
|
A
Assists - Number of goals the player has assisted in
|
PTS
Points - Scoring points, calculated as the sum of G and A
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 | John Quilty | 48 | 18 | 16 | 34 |
11 | Joe Benoit | 45 | 16 | 16 | 32 |
6 | Toe Blake | 48 | 12 | 20 | 32 |
11 | Ray Getliffe | 39 | 15 | 10 | 25 |
12 | Murph Chamberlain | 45 | 10 | 15 | 25 |
# | #1 GOALIE |
GP
Games played - Number of games the player has set foot on the ice
|
RECORD
Record - Goalie record (W-L-T)
|
SO
Shutouts - Number of games where the goaltender has not allowed a goal
|
GAA
Goals against average - Mean goals-per-game scored on the goaltender
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bert Gardiner | 42 | 13-23-6 | 2 | 2.75 |
DATE | AWAY | HOME |
---|
3/11/1940 | BOS 1 | vs | MTL 1 | |
10/11/1940 | CHI 3 | vs | MTL 1 | |
14/11/1940 | TOR 6 | vs | MTL 2 | |
16/11/1940 | MTL 2 | vs | TOR 4 | |
17/11/1940 | MTL 4 | vs | CHI 4 | |
21/11/1940 | MTL 1 | vs | DET 2 | |
23/11/1940 | NYA 1 | vs | MTL 3 | |
24/11/1940 | MTL 1 | vs | NYA 2 | |
26/11/1940 | MTL 3 | vs | BOS 2 | |
30/11/1940 | MTL 1 | vs | NYR 6 | |
5/12/1940 | NYR 3 | vs | MTL 2 | |
7/12/1940 | DET 2 | vs | MTL 3 | |
12/12/1940 | MTL 3 | vs | TOR 4 | |
15/12/1940 | MTL 2 | vs | DET 1 | |
19/12/1940 | MTL 0 | vs | CHI 2 | |
21/12/1940 | BOS 1 | vs | MTL 3 | |
26/12/1940 | CHI 5 | vs | MTL 7 | |
28/12/1940 | NYA 0 | vs | MTL 3 | |
31/12/1940 | MTL 2 | vs | NYA 4 | |
1/01/1941 | MTL 2 | vs | NYR 1 | |
4/01/1941 | NYR 3 | vs | MTL 3 | |
5/01/1941 | MTL 0 | vs | DET 3 | |
7/01/1941 | TOR 4 | vs | MTL 3 | |
9/01/1941 | MTL 1 | vs | CHI 3 | |
11/01/1941 | BOS 2 | vs | MTL 1 | |
12/01/1941 | MTL 5 | vs | BOS 7 | |
16/01/1941 | CHI 1 | vs | MTL 5 | |
18/01/1941 | DET 1 | vs | MTL 2 | |
23/01/1941 | TOR 3 | vs | MTL 2 | |
25/01/1941 | MTL 2 | vs | TOR 2 | |
2/02/1941 | MTL 1 | vs | NYR 2 | |
4/02/1941 | MTL 3 | vs | BOS 5 | |
6/02/1941 | DET 4 | vs | MTL 4 | |
8/02/1941 | NYA 3 | vs | MTL 3 | |
9/02/1941 | MTL 3 | vs | NYA 6 | |
11/02/1941 | NYR 2 | vs | MTL 6 | |
13/02/1941 | MTL 6 | vs | CHI 5 | |
15/02/1941 | BOS 5 | vs | MTL 0 | |
16/02/1941 | MTL 1 | vs | DET 2 | |
20/02/1941 | MTL 1 | vs | TOR 2 | |
22/02/1941 | CHI 3 | vs | MTL 7 | |
27/02/1941 | MTL 2 | vs | NYR 5 | |
1/03/1941 | NYR 3 | vs | MTL 1 | |
2/03/1941 | MTL 3 | vs | NYA 2 | |
6/03/1941 | TOR 3 | vs | MTL 4 | |
8/03/1941 | DET 4 | vs | MTL 0 | |
9/03/1941 | MTL 0 | vs | BOS 8 | |
15/03/1941 | NYA 0 | vs | MTL 6 |

THE REGULAR SEASON
After missing the playoffs twice in the previous four seasons, the time has come for the Canadiens to make some changes before the puck drops for the 1940-41 season.
The franchise is in financial trouble and a group led by Ernest Savard tries to acquire the team. The Canadian Arena Company turns down their offer, which sets off a wave of departures from the organization and Senator Donat Raymond becomes the team’s president. Tommy Gorman, who already manages the Forum, is hired as the Canadiens’ general manager and he hires Dick Irvin, recently fired by Toronto, to replace Pit Lepine behind the bench.
Gorman gets right to work and begins a recruiting drive to improve the lineup, adding players such as Johnny Quilty, Joe Benoit, Elmer Lach and Ken Reardon to the team’s roster.
The final pieces of the puzzle settle into place when Bert Gardiner takes over between the pipes from the duo of Claude Bourque and Wilf Cude and former Toronto forward Murph Chamberlain is brought in to give Montreal’s offense a little more bite.
Surprisingly, it’s the 20-year old, Quilty that sparks the team’s offense, just as his coach had predicted. Prior to the season, Irvin gave a sealed envelope with the name of the player he thought would be named the league’s rookie of the year inside it to a newspaperman who had asked the coach to predict who would claim the award.
At the end of the season, the reporter opens the envelope and to his wonder sees Quilty’s name written on the paper enclosed. Thanks to his 34-point season, Quilty becomes the first Calder Trophy winner in team history.
THE PLAYOFFS
After finishing the regular season in the sixth and final spot for the playoffs, Irvin’s team faces the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round.
The series figures to be a real battle between the two teams that each finished the regular season with 16 wins, with just one point separating them in the standings.
As expected, the series is hotly contested as all three games are decided by one goal. The second game, Montreal’s only win of the series, requires two overtime periods to determine the outcome.
The Blackhawks claim the series in front of their fans in the third and final game at Chicago Stadium and advance to the next round.
Despite the quick playoff exit, rookie forward Joe Benoit still manages to score four goals.
Semi-finals - Chicago Blackhawks | ||||
Date | AWAY | HOME | ||
March 20th, 1941 | MTL 1 | CHI 2 | ||
March 22nd, 1941 | CHI 3 | MTL 4 | ||
March 25th, 1941 | MTL 2 | CHI 3 | ||
Chicago won best-of-three series 2-1 |
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