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Saisons

1978-1979
season card
Coach

Scotty
Bowman

Captain

Yvan
Cournoyer

 
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 52 17 11 115 337 204
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 36 31 13 85 281 279
Los Angeles Kings 80 34 34 12 80 292 286
Washington Capitals 80 24 41 15 63 273 338
Detroit Red Wings 80 23 41 16 62 252 295

Roster 27 PLAYERS

Larry Robinson
19 LARRY
ROBINSON
David Lumley
32 DAVID
LUMLEY
Yvan Cournoyer
12 YVAN
COURNOYER
Bob Gainey
23 BOB
GAINEY
Serge Savard
18 SERGE
SAVARD
Ken Dryden
29 KEN
DRYDEN
Complete list
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 80 52 77 129
22 Steve Shutt 72 37 40 77
6 Pierre Mondou 77 31 41 72
11 Yvon Lambert 79 26 40 66
19 Larry Robinson 67 16 45 61
# #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 47 30-10-7 5 2.30
Season results
DATE AWAY HOME

THE REGULAR SEASON

Parity was creeping into the NHL as recent offseason acquisitions were making an impact throughout the league. By 1978-79 Montreal faced challenges to their supremacy, losing the regular season race by a single point to the New York Islanders, who had become a significant force in the league.

Guy Lafleur, with a team-leading dozen game-winners, posted his fifth straight 50-goal season. The Flower’s 129 points placed him third among NHL skaters in a year that, as per usual, the Habs’ defense was the stingiest in the league. Ken Dryden and Michel Larocque had their names added to the Vézina Trophy for the third year running, Bob Gainey captured the Selke Trophy for a second consecutive season after enjoying his first 20-goal campaign, and Serge Savard was awarded the Masterton Trophy. Dryden, Lafleur, Savard and Larry Robinson were named All-Stars, rounding out the Canadiens’ regular season individual honor roll.

Injuries limited Jacques Lemaire to 50 games but he still managed to contribute 55 points to his team’s cause. Team captain, Yvan Cournoyer watched from the sidelines for most of the season as chronic back problems kept him out of the lineup for all but 15 games.

Both Pierre Mondou and Mario Tremblay cracked the 30-goal plateau for the first time in their careers, while Yvon Lambert proved to be an adept clutch scorer with seven game winners among his 26 tallies. Among the new faces on the Canadiens in 1978-79 was forward, Mark Napier, and blue-liner, Rod Langway. Both would enjoy several productive seasons in front of Forum fans.

Montreal extended their domination over their divisional rivals for a fifth season, finishing 30 points ahead of Pittsburgh, the third different Norris Division runner-up in as many seasons. As had become their habit, the Canadiens earned an opening round playoff bye.

THE PLAYOFFS

The path to the 1979 Stanley Cup started smoothly enough with a four-game sweep of the Maple Leafs, the second straight season that the Habs ended Toronto’s season.

Hometown fans went home happy after every game of the semifinal series between Montreal and Boston. The Canadiens captured the opening games at the Forum, 4-2 and 5-2. Boston Garden fans watched their Bruins pull even with a pair of one-goal victories, the second ending when Jean Ratelle broke a 3-3 tie nine minutes into the extra frame.

Continuing to trade wins, Montreal took the fifth game 5-1 and then dropped a 5-2 decision to bring the series back home for a deciding game, the first time in four years that a Habs team faced elimination in the postseason.

Leading 4-3 with just minutes remaining in the game, Boston took a penalty for having too many men on the ice. Guy Lafleur converted a Jacques Lemaire pass, netting the tying goal with just over a minute to go in regulation.

Nine minutes into overtime, Yvon Lambert buried a pass from Mario Tremblay behind Gilles Gilbert, the most important of his 27 career playoff goals to put the Canadiens back on the road to their sixth Stanley Cup of the 1970s.

The Rangers, who disposed of the Islanders in their semifinal, took the opening game of the Finals. The 4-1 decision in front of the Forum faithful would be their only victory as Montreal rolled on to a 22nd Stanley Cup, with Jacques Lemaire netting the deciding goal in the fifth game.

Bob Gainey, with 16 points in the run for a fourth straight championship, was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP.

The 1979 Stanley Cup marked the end of an era in Montreal, with veterans Lemaire, Dryden and Cournoyer all announcing their retirements and coach Scotty Bowman leaving the organization by the time training camp opened the following fall.
The playoffs roadmap
Quarter-finals - Toronto Maple Leafs
Date AWAY   HOME  
April 16th, 1979 TOR 2 MTL 5  
April 18th, 1979 TOR 1 MTL 5  
April 21st, 1979 MTL 4 TOR 3  
April 22nd, 1979 MTL 5 TOR 4  
Canadiens won best-of-seven series 4-0
Semi-finals - Boston Bruins
Date AWAY   HOME  
April 26th, 1979 BOS 2 MTL 4  
April 28th, 1979 BOS 2 MTL 5  
May 1st, 1979 MTL 1 BOS 2  
May 3rd, 1979 MTL 3 BOS 4  
May 5th, 1979 BOS 1 MTL 4  
May 8th, 1979 MTL 2 BOS 5  
May 10th, 1979 BOS 4 MTL 5  
Canadiens won best-of-seven series 4-3
Stanley Cup Finals - New York Rangers
Date AWAY   HOME  
May 13th, 1979 NYR 4 MTL 1  
May 15th, 1979 NYR 2 MTL 6  
May 17th, 1979 MTL 4 NYR 1  
May 19th, 1979 MTL 4 NYR 3  
May 21st, 1979 NYR 1 MTL 4  
Canadiens won best-of-seven series 4-1
See also...
DRYDEN'S LUCKY SEVEN

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TOO MANY MEN

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STANLEY CUP NO. 22

On May 21, 1979, the Canadiens were a victory away from capturing their first Stanley Cup in [...]

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