| 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 | 41 | 28 | 11 | 93 | 267 | 207 |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 36 | 32 | 12 | 84 | 270 | 275 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 31 | 37 | 12 | 74 | 289 | 299 |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 26 | 41 | 13 | 65 | 247 | 283 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 20 | 48 | 12 | 52 | 255 | 318 |
| # | 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
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Kirk Muller | 78 | 36 | 41 | 77 |
| 18 | Denis Savard | 77 | 28 | 42 | 70 |
| 47 | Stéphan Lebeau | 77 | 27 | 31 | 58 |
| 27 | Shayne Corson | 64 | 17 | 36 | 53 |
| 41 | Brent Gilchrist | 79 | 23 | 27 | 50 |
| # | #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
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Patrick Roy | 67 | 36-22-8 | 5 | 2.36 |
| DATE | AWAY | HOME |
|---|
THE REGULAR SEASON
The Canadiens have conditioned their fans to expect change over the past few seasons, and there’s more in store for the team during the offseason, as Ryan Walter heads to Vancouver and Andrew Cassels is traded to Hartford.
It’s still a surprise, though, when Stephane Richer is traded on September 20 to the New Jersey Devils, along with Tom Chorske, for Kirk Muller and goalie Roland Melanson. In Muller, the team acquires a versatile forward and an established leader. The trade will prove even more significant when Muller’s name appears among the league’s scoring leaders at the end of the regular season.
The team gets off to a strong start, losing just three times in October. After a November slump, the Habs regain their stride in December. At New Year’s, the team stands atop the league’s overall standings with 54 points. Patrick Roy and the team’s defensemen account for the lion’s share of the Canadiens’ success, having held their opponents to a league-leading 93 goals in 42 games. At the end of the season, Roy will claim his third straight Vézina Trophy along with his fourth Jennings nod in six seasons.
In February, the Habs reacquire Chris Nilan three years after he left Montreal. In the last 17 games of his NHL career, the veteran enforcer adds 74 penalty minutes to raise his overall total with the Canadiens to 2,248 minutes, the most in team history.
The Canadiens part ways with a veteran member of its defensive corps one month later when Petr Svoboda is traded to Buffalo in return for Kevin Haller, another blue-liner who was the Sabres’ first round choice in the 1989 draft.
The team struggles in the second half, particularly in March, when the Canadiens win only four of 11 games.
On April 1, the league’s players launch a strike that lasts 10 days. When the regular season resumes, the Habs are unable to win, yet nonetheless manage to finish the season first in the Adams Division, though they slip to fifth place in the overall standings.
THE PLAYOFFS
In the first round, the Habs face the Hartford Whalers, who have struggled through a disappointing season that yielded only 26 wins.
Montreal wins the first two games handily. Things aren’t as easy for the Canadiens on the road and the Whalers win two straight in Hartford to even the series at two.
Home ice advantage continues to prove valuable as the Habs win the fifth game in Montreal while the Whalers respond with a win two days later in Connecticut.
In the seventh and deciding game of the series, the teams are tied at two at the end of regulation. Russ Courtnall delivers the winning goal in the second overtime period, beating Whalers goalie Frank Pietrangelo.
The team appears to have expended all of its energy against the Whalers, as Burns’ squad is swept in four straight by Boston and eliminated from the playoffs. It is the Bruins’ third straight series win over the Canadiens.
| Adams Division semi-finals - Hartford Whalers | ||||
| Date | AWAY | HOME | ||
| April 19th, 1992 | HFD 0 | MTL 2 | ||
| April 21st, 1992 | HFD 2 | MTL 5 | ||
| April 23rd, 1992 | MTL 2 | HFD 5 | ||
| April 25th, 1992 | MTL 1 | HFD 3 | ||
| April 27th, 1992 | HFD 4 | MTL 7 | ||
| April 29th, 1992 | MTL 1 | HFD 2 | ||
| May 1st, 1992 | HFD 2 | MTL 3 | ||
| Canadiens won best-of-seven series 4-3 | ||||
| Adams Division finals - Boston Bruins | ||||
| Date | AWAY | HOME | ||
| May 3rd, 1992 | BOS 6 | MTL 4 | ||
| May 5th, 1992 | BOS 3 | MTL 2 | ||
| May 7th, 1992 | MTL 2 | BOS 3 | ||
| May 9th, 1992 | MTL 0 | BOS 2 | ||
| Boston won best-of-seven series 4-0 | ||||
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