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season card
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 | 47 | 20 | 13 | 107 | 328 | 240 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 30 | 36 | 14 | 74 | 290 | 313 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 30 | 37 | 13 | 73 | 251 | 303 |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 27 | 34 | 19 | 73 | 303 | 312 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 26 | 43 | 11 | 63 | 268 | 306 |
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 | 74 | 50 | 75 | 125 |
| 28 | Pierre Larouche | 73 | 50 | 41 | 91 |
| 22 | Steve Shutt | 77 | 47 | 42 | 89 |
| 19 | Larry Robinson | 72 | 14 | 61 | 75 |
| 6 | Pierre Mondou | 75 | 30 | 36 | 66 |
| # | #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
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | Denis Herron | 34 | 25-3-3 | 0 | 2.51 |
Season results
| DATE | AWAY | HOME |
|---|
THE REGULAR SEASON
Losing Yvan Cournoyer, Ken Dryden and Jacques Lemaire to retirement and Scotty Bowman to the Sabres left some major holes in the Canadiens’ lineup. Bernard Geoffrion began the 1979-80 season behind the bench but 30 games in, he resigned and was replaced by Claude Ruel for the remainder of the season, while Serge Savard, one of only two players in their thirties, assumed the captaincy.There were changes in the league as well, with four remaining WHA teams joining the NHL, making it a 21-team circuit and creating an instant rivalry between the Habs and the Quebec Nordiques.
On the ice, Montreal remained one of the most potent offensive threats in the NHL, with a pair of 50-goal men in Guy Lafleur and Pierre Larouche and Steve Shutt falling only three goals short of making it a trio. Their production, combined with Pierre Mondou’s 30-goal campaign, kept Montreal near the top in league scoring.
Larry Robinson appeared in all but eight games on the schedule while the other members of The Big Three, Savard and Guy Lapointe were limited to 45 and 46 games respectively.
Rod Langway quickly climbed the depth chart, becoming a reliable defenseman in his own zone. Gaston Gingras made his blue line debut, playing 34 games with the big club while a scrappy Boston native named Chris Nilan earned two points and 50 penalty minutes in 15 games as a spot forward.
Michel Larocque, Denis Herron and Richard Sevigny all tried to fill Dryden’s place between the pipes with Larocque seeing the most playing time and Herron having the most success.
A 47-20-17 record gave Montreal 107 points, third overall in the NHL, and tops in the Norris Division with a 33-point lead over the second-place Kings. Lafleur, Robinson and Shutt all earned All-Star Game invites.
THE PLAYOFFS
The impact of losing three veteran performers with 24 Stanley Cups between them became evident in the postseason. For the first time since the NHL changed to divisional play, first place teams no longer got a bye, but instead took part in a best-of-three preliminary round.Montreal, third in the league, faced the 14th-ranked Hartford Whalers in the opening round, which the Canadiens swept as expected. After winning the first two games handily, the Whalers forced the third game into overtime, though Montreal iced the contest just 29 seconds into the extra frame to close out the series.
The Minnesota North Stars ended the regular season with 88 points, 19 fewer than Montreal, and had swept the Toronto Maple Leafs to enter the quarterfinals.
They took the two first games at the Forum, shutting out Montreal 3-0 in the opener and following it up with a 4-1 victory the next evening. The Habs rebounded, blanking the Stars 5-0 in the third game and almost repeating in the fourth, with a 5-1 victory.
A decisive 6-2 win in front of the home crowd gave Montreal the lead and put Minnesota’s backs against the wall. In past years, it was a situation that guaranteed a Montreal series win but the North Stars refused to admit defeat, taking the sixth game at home 5-2.
A 3-2 Minnesota win in the seventh game ended the Habs’ season, but it also ended the quest for a fifth consecutive Stanley Cup, leaving the 1956 to 1960 Canadiens as the only NHL team to ever accomplish that feat.
The playoffs roadmap
| Preliminary round - Hartford Whalers | ||||
| Date | AWAY | HOME | ||
| April 8th, 1980 | HFD 1 | MTL 6 | ||
| April 9th, 1980 | HFD 4 | MTL 8 | ||
| April 11th, 1980 | MTL 4 | HFD 3 | ||
| Canadiens won best-of-five series 3-0 | ||||
| Quarter-finals - Minnesota North Stars | ||||
| Date | AWAY | HOME | ||
| April 16th, 1980 | MIN 3 | MTL 0 | ||
| April 17th, 1980 | MIN 4 | MTL 1 | ||
| April 19th, 1980 | MTL 5 | MIN 0 | ||
| April 20th, 1980 | MTL 5 | MIN 1 | ||
| April 22nd, 1980 | MIN 2 | MTL 6 | ||
| April 24th, 1980 | MTL 2 | MIN 5 | ||
| April 27th, 1980 | MIN 3 | MTL 2 | ||
| Minnesota won best-of-seven series 4-3 | ||||
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