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season card
Trophies
norris
| TEAM |
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
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 59 | 10 | 11 | 129 | 359 | 183 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 32 | 34 | 14 | 78 | 252 | 266 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 31 | 34 | 15 | 77 | 243 | 245 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 25 | 37 | 18 | 68 | 254 | 321 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 17 | 49 | 14 | 48 | 195 | 321 |
Season's leaders
see the complete stats
| # | 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 | Guy Lafleur | 78 | 60 | 72 | 132 |
| 25 | Jacques Lemaire | 76 | 36 | 61 | 97 |
| 22 | Steve Shutt | 80 | 49 | 37 | 86 |
| 19 | Larry Robinson | 80 | 13 | 52 | 65 |
| 15 | Réjean Houle | 76 | 30 | 28 | 58 |
| # | #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
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Ken Dryden | 52 | 37-7-7 | 5 | 2.05 |
Season results
| DATE | AWAY | HOME |
|---|
THE REGULAR SEASON
With a campaign that was almost a carbon-copy of the previous one, the 1977-78 Montreal Canadiens made a strong argument that history does repeat itself, capturing the NHL regular season title with a 129-point campaign.Pete Mahovlich was sent to Pittsburgh early in the season, with Pierre Larouche sent to the Canadiens in return. Also joining the team were Pierre Mondou, who played in the postseason the year before, and rugged defenseman Gilles Lupien, who ended Doug Risebrough’s three-year run as the team’s most penalized player.
The team’s top marksman was Guy Lafleur, who became the second member of the Canadiens 60-goal club. For the second straight season The Flower won both the NHL’s scoring crown and MVP award, repeating as the Art Ross and Hart Trophy recipient.
Linemate Steve Shutt potted 49 goals, third among all NHLers, while Jacques Lemaire, who pivoted the line, posted 97 points to the record books, good for fourth in the league.
Once again leading NHL goaltenders, the Dryden-Larocque tandem backstopped the only team to allow fewer than 200 goals, winning another Vézina Trophy for their efforts.
Bob Gainey cemented his status as the NHL’s top defensive forward when he was named the inaugural recipient of the Frank J. Selke Trophy, an award he would monopolize for the next three seasons.
Losing only 10 of the 80 games on the schedule, Montreal had a lock on the Norris Division from the season’s opening faceoff, finishing a comfortable 51 points ahead of second-place Detroit, and 16 up on Boston, the NHL’s second-best team in 1977-78.
THE PLAYOFFS
As in the 1977 postseason, the Canadiens were the team to beat. Once again no other squad was able to prevail as Montreal won night after night, en route to the team’s third straight Stanley Cup.Given a bye for the first round, the Habs entered the playoffs against Detroit in the quarterfinals. Outscored 24-10, the Red Wings managed only a single win in the five games it took for Montreal to move on to the semifinals.
Their semifinal opponents from Toronto featured two 40-goal men, Lanny McDonald and Darryl Sittler as well as Borje Salming on the blue line, all future Hall of Famers. The Canadiens needed just four games to sweep their way into the Finals for the third straight spring.
In yet another parallel with the events of a year earlier, Montreal faced Boston in the Stanley Cup Finals. A well-balanced club with an NHL-record eleven 20-goal scorers, the Bruins put up more of a fight than they did in 1977.
Guy Lafleur posted three points in the opening game, a 4-1 Canadiens victory. He also put the next game to bed thirteen minutes into the extra frame, notching the OT winner.
Playing in front of a friendlier crowd, Gerry Cheevers posted a 4-0 shutout in the third game and Gary Doak broke a 3-3 deadlock in overtime in the fourth to tie the series.
Back at the Forum, the Habs regained control with a 4-1 victory and then returned to Boston to complete their 13th straight playoff series victory over the Bruins, winning the game 4-1 with Mario Tremblay’s first period marker standing as the Stanley Cup winner.
Larry Robinson and Guy Lafleur led all playoff scorers and Robinson took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason MVP.
The playoffs roadmap
| Quarter-finals - Detroit Red Wings | ||||
| Date | AWAY | HOME | ||
| April 17th, 1978 | DET 2 | MTL 6 | ||
| April 19th, 1978 | DET 4 | MTL 2 | ||
| April 21st, 1978 | MTL 4 | DET 2 | ||
| April 23rd, 1978 | MTL 8 | DET 0 | ||
| April 25th, 1978 | DET 2 | MTL 4 | ||
| Canadiens won best-of-seven series 4-1 | ||||
| Semi-finals - Toronto Maple Leafs | ||||
| Date | AWAY | HOME | ||
| May 2nd, 1978 | TOR 3 | MTL 5 | ||
| May 4th, 1978 | TOR 2 | MTL 3 | ||
| May 6th, 1978 | MTL 6 | TOR 1 | ||
| May 9th, 1978 | MTL 2 | TOR 0 | ||
| Canadiens won best-of-seven series 4-0 | ||||
| Stanley Cup Finals - Boston Bruins | ||||
| Date | AWAY | HOME | ||
| May 13th, 1978 | BOS 1 | MTL 4 | ||
| May 16th, 1978 | BOS 2 | MTL 3 | ||
| May 18th, 1978 | MTL 0 | BOS 4 | ||
| May 21st, 1978 | MTL 3 | BOS 4 | ||
| May 23rd, 1978 | BOS 1 | MTL 4 | ||
| May 25th, 1978 | MTL 4 | BOS 1 | ||
| Canadiens won best-of-seven series 4-2 | ||||
See also...
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