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season card
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| 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 |
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...
TOO MANY MEN
Facing elimination for the first time in four years, the Montreal Canadiens met the Boston [...]
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DRYDEN'S LUCKY SEVEN
On April 4, 1979, Ken Dryden and the Canadiens faced off against the Detroit Red Wings at the [...]
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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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