Jump to content

1970–71 Montreal Canadiens season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1970–71 Montreal Canadiens
Stanley Cup champions
Division3rd East
1970–71 record42–23–13
Goals for291
Goals against216
Team information
General managerSam Pollock
CoachClaude Ruel (Oct–Dec)
Al MacNeil (Dec–May)
CaptainJean Beliveau
Alternate captainsJohn Ferguson
Henri Richard
ArenaMontreal Forum
Team leaders
GoalsYvan Cournoyer (37)
AssistsJean Beliveau (51)
PointsJean Beliveau (76)
Penalty minutesPete Mahovlich (181)
WinsRogatien Vachon (23)
Goals against averageRogatien Vachon (2.64)

The 1970–71 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 62nd season. After missing the playoffs in the previous season, the team rebounded to place third in the East Division, qualifying for the playoffs. Behind new star goalie Ken Dryden the team won their 17th Stanley Cup championship.

Regular season

[edit]

With the Chicago Black Hawks having moved to the West Division to make way for the expansion Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres, qualification for the four available playoff berths in the East was widely expected to be contested between the five remaining Original Six teams. Considering such factors the addition of two new teams, the expansion of the schedule to 78 games and the switch to a balanced schedule, Montreal's record of 42–23–13 (five points more than their performance over 76 games the previous season) was at best a marginal improvement. However, a return to the postseason was never in serious doubt due to the stunning regression of the Detroit Red Wings (Detroit actually finished last place in the division, behind both expansion teams).

On February 11, 1971, Jean Beliveau became the fourth player to score 500 career goals.[1]

Final standings

[edit]
East Division[2]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Boston Bruins 78 57 14 7 399 207 +192 121
2 New York Rangers 78 49 18 11 259 177 +82 109
3 Montreal Canadiens 78 42 23 13 291 216 +75 97
4 Toronto Maple Leafs 78 37 33 8 248 211 +37 82
5 Buffalo Sabres 78 24 39 15 217 291 −74 63
6 Vancouver Canucks 78 24 46 8 229 296 −67 56
7 Detroit Red Wings 78 22 45 11 209 308 −99 55

Record vs. opponents

[edit]


Schedule and results

[edit]
Regular season results
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 11, 1970 2–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 1–0–0
2 W October 13, 1970 4–3 Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 2–0–0
3 W October 15, 1970 3–0 @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) 3–0–0
4 W October 17, 1970 6–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 4–0–0
5 L October 18, 1970 0–1 @ New York Rangers (1970–71) 4–1–0
6 L October 21, 1970 1–3 Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 4–2–0
7 W October 24, 1970 3–1 Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 5–2–0
8 T October 25, 1970 3–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 5–2–1
9 L October 28, 1970 2–6 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 5–3–1
10 W October 31, 1970 6–3 Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 6–3–1
11 W November 4, 1970 4–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 7–3–1
12 W November 7, 1970 11–2 Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) 8–3–1
13 L November 8, 1970 1–6 @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) 8–4–1
14 L November 11, 1970 0–2 @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) 8–5–1
15 T November 14, 1970 1–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 8–5–2
16 T November 15, 1970 2–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) 8–5–3
17 W November 17, 1970 5–1 California Golden Seals (1970–71) 9–5–3
18 W November 19, 1970 5–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 10–5–3
19 L November 21, 1970 4–5 New York Rangers (1970–71) 10–6–3
20 L November 25, 1970 3–5 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 10–7–3
21 W November 28, 1970 5–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 11–7–3
22 L November 29, 1970 3–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 11–8–3
23 T December 2, 1970 3–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 11–8–4
24 W December 3, 1970 6–3 St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 12–8–4
25 L December 5, 1970 2–4 Boston Bruins (1970–71) 12–9–4
26 L December 9, 1970 0–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 12–10–4
27 W December 10, 1970 6–1 Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 13–10–4
28 W December 12, 1970 8–1 Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 14–10–4
29 T December 16, 1970 1–1 @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 14–10–5
30 W December 18, 1970 4–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 15–10–5
31 L December 20, 1970 2–7 @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 15–11–5
32 T December 23, 1970 2–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 15–11–6
33 T December 26, 1970 4–4 Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) 15–11–7
34 W December 27, 1970 4–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 16–11–7
35 T December 30, 1970 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 16–11–8
36 W January 2, 1971 5–3 California Golden Seals (1970–71) 17–11–8
37 L January 3, 1971 5–6 @ New York Rangers (1970–71) 17–12–8
38 W January 6, 1971 7–3 Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 18–12–8
39 W January 9, 1971 1–0 Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 19–12–8
40 L January 10, 1971 2–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 19–13–8
41 T January 14, 1971 3–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 19–13–9
42 W January 16, 1971 4–2 Boston Bruins (1970–71) 20–13–9
43 T January 17, 1971 4–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) 20–13–10
44 T January 21, 1971 5–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 20–13–11
45 W January 23, 1971 6–2 Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 21–13–11
46 L January 24, 1971 2–4 @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) 21–14–11
47 W January 27, 1971 4–2 St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 22–14–11
48 L January 30, 1971 4–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 22–15–11
49 L January 31, 1971 1–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 22–16–11
50 W February 2, 1971 5–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 23–16–11
51 W February 5, 1971 3–2 @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) 24–16–11
52 L February 6, 1971 3–6 @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 24–17–11
53 W February 9, 1971 4–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 25–17–11
54 W February 11, 1971 6–2 Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 26–17–11
55 W February 13, 1971 5–2 California Golden Seals (1970–71) 27–17–11
56 W February 17, 1971 3–0 New York Rangers (1970–71) 28–17–11
57 W February 20, 1971 7–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 29–17–11
58 T February 22, 1971 3–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 29–17–12
59 W February 24, 1971 5–2 @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) 30–17–12
60 W February 25, 1971 5–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 31–17–12
61 W February 27, 1971 3–2 St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 32–17–12
62 L March 3, 1971 0–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 32–18–12
63 W March 6, 1971 8–2 Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 33–18–12
64 W March 7, 1971 4–1 @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 34–18–12
65 T March 9, 1971 3–3 Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 34–18–13
66 L March 10, 1971 1–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 34–19–13
67 L March 13, 1971 1–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 34–20–13
68 W March 14, 1971 5–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 35–20–13
69 L March 16, 1971 2–6 @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 35–21–13
70 W March 18, 1971 4–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 36–21–13
71 W March 20, 1971 5–2 Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) 37–21–13
72 W March 21, 1971 6–2 @ New York Rangers (1970–71) 38–21–13
73 W March 24, 1971 5–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 39–21–13
74 W March 27, 1971 9–2 Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 40–21–13
75 W March 28, 1971 2–1 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 41–21–13
76 L March 31, 1971 3–6 Boston Bruins (1970–71) 41–22–13
77 W April 3, 1971 7–2 New York Rangers (1970–71) 42–22–13
78 L April 4, 1971 2–7 @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) 42–23–13

Playoffs

[edit]

Quarter-final

[edit]

Versus Boston Bruins

[edit]
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 L April 7, 1971 1–3 @ Boston Bruins 0–1
2 W April 8, 1971 7–5 @ Boston Bruins 1–1
3 W April 10, 1971 3–1 Boston Bruins 2–1
4 L April 11, 1971 2–5 Boston Bruins 2–2
5 L April 13, 1971 3–7 @ Boston Bruins 2–3
6 W April 15, 1971 8–3 Boston Bruins 3–3
7 W April 18, 1971 4–2 @ Boston Bruins 4–3

[4]

Montreal wins the series 4–3.

Semi-final

[edit]

Versus Minnesota North Stars

[edit]
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W April 20, 1971 7–2 Minnesota North Stars 1–0
2 L April 22, 1971 3–6 Minnesota North Stars 1–1
3 W April 24, 1971 6–3 @ Minnesota North Stars 2–1
4 L April 25, 1971 2–5 @ Minnesota North Stars 2–2
5 W April 27, 1971 6–1 Minnesota North Stars 3–2
6 W April 29, 1971 3–2 @ Minnesota North Stars 4–2

[4]

Montreal wins the series 4–2.

Stanley Cup Finals

[edit]

Brothers Frank and Peter Mahovlich starred for the Canadiens, scoring nine goals in the seven game final series. Ken Dryden debuted for the Canadiens, while this was Jean Beliveau's final final series appearance, and he ended his career with ten championships.

Versus Chicago Black Hawks

[edit]
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 L May 4, 1971 1–2 (OT) @ Chicago Black Hawks 0–1
2 L May 6, 1971 3–5 @ Chicago Black Hawks 0–2
3 W May 9, 1971 4–2 Chicago Black Hawks 1–2
4 W May 11, 1971 5–2 Chicago Black Hawks 2–2
5 L May 13, 1971 0–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks 2–3
6 W May 16, 1971 4–3 Chicago Black Hawks 3–3
7 W May 18, 1971 3–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks 4–3

[4]

Montreal wins the series 4–3.

Player statistics

[edit]

Regular season

[edit]

Scoring

[edit]
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Jean Beliveau C 70 25 51 76 40 24 7 0 4
Yvan Cournoyer RW 65 37 36 73 21 20 18 0 5
J. C. Tremblay D 76 11 52 63 23 16 5 0 4
Pete Mahovlich C 78 35 26 61 181 25 12 3 5
Jacques Lemaire C 78 28 28 56 18 0 6 0 3
Marc Tardif LW 76 19 30 49 133 25 4 0 2
Henri Richard C 75 12 37 49 46 13 1 0 1
Guy Lapointe D 78 15 29 44 107 28 5 0 1
Frank Mahovlich LW 38 17 24 41 11 4 4 1 2
John Ferguson LW 60 16 14 30 162 2 3 0 4
Mickey Redmond RW 40 14 15 29 35 12 2 0 1
Claude Larose RW 64 10 13 23 90 −8 0 0 2
Terry Harper D 78 1 21 22 116 35 0 0 0
Phil Roberto RW 39 14 7 21 76 10 2 0 3
Rejean Houle W 66 10 9 19 28 7 1 0 1
Jacques Laperriere D 49 0 16 16 20 24 0 0 0
Leon Rochefort RW 57 5 10 15 4 11 0 3 1
Serge Savard D 37 5 10 15 30 11 0 1 0
Bobby Sheehan C 29 6 5 11 2 4 1 0 1
Bill Collins RW 40 6 2 8 39 1 0 0 1
Larry Pleau C 19 1 5 6 8 −8 0 0 1
Ralph Backstrom C 16 1 4 5 0 0 0 0 0
Guy Charron C 15 2 2 4 2 −2 0 0 0
Fran Huck C 5 1 2 3 0 3 0 0 0
Pierre Bouchard D 51 0 3 3 50 3 0 0 0
Bob Murdoch D 1 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0
Phil Myre G 30 0 1 1 17 0 0 0 0
Ken Dryden G 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chuck Lefley LW 1 0 0 0 0 −1 0 0 0
Rogie Vachon G 47 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

[edit]
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Rogie Vachon 2676 47 23 12 9 118 2.65 2
Phil Myre 1677 30 13 11 4 87 3.11 1
Ken Dryden 327 6 6 0 0 9 1.65 0
Team: 4680 78 42 23 13 214 2.74 3

Playoffs

[edit]

Scoring

[edit]
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Frank Mahovlich LW 20 14 13 27 18 3 0 0
Yvan Cournoyer RW 20 10 12 22 6 2 0 1
Jean Beliveau C 20 6 16 22 28 2 0 0
Jacques Lemaire C 20 9 10 19 17 4 0 1
J. C. Tremblay D 20 3 14 17 15 1 0 3
Pete Mahovlich C 20 10 6 16 43 1 1 1
Jacques Laperriere D 20 4 9 13 12 1 0 1
Henri Richard C 20 5 7 12 20 0 0 1
John Ferguson LW 18 4 6 10 36 1 0 1
Guy Lapointe D 20 4 5 9 34 1 0 2
Rejean Houle W 20 2 5 7 20 0 0 1
Terry Harper D 20 0 6 6 28 0 0 0
Marc Tardif LW 20 3 1 4 40 0 0 0
Claude Larose RW 11 1 0 1 10 0 0 0
Pierre Bouchard D 13 0 1 1 10 0 0 0
Ken Dryden G 20 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Phil Roberto RW 15 0 1 1 36 0 0 0
Chuck Lefley LW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bob Murdoch D 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Leon Rochefort RW 10 0 0 0 6 0 0 0
Bobby Sheehan C 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

[edit]
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Ken Dryden 1221 20 12 8 61 3.00 0
Team: 1221 20 12 8 61 3.00 0

[5]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Transactions

[edit]
May 22, 1970 To Oakland Seals
Dennis Hextall
To Montreal Canadiens
cash
May 22, 1970 To Oakland Seals
Ernie Hicke
1st round pick in 1970 (Chris Oddleifson)
To Montreal Canadiens
Francois Lacombe
1st round pick in 1971 (Guy Lafleur)
May 22, 1970 To Los Angeles Kings
Jack Norris
Larry Mickey
Lucien Grenier
To Montreal Canadiens
Wayne Thomas[6]
Leon Rochefort
Gregg Boddy
January 13, 1971 To Detroit Red Wings
Mickey Redmond
Guy Charron
Bill Collins
To Montreal Canadiens
Frank Mahovlich

Awards and records

[edit]

Draft picks

[edit]

Montreal's draft picks at the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 5 Ray Martynuik  Canada Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
1 6 Chuck Lefley  Canada Canadian National Development Team
3 31 Steve Carlyle  Canada Red Deer Rustlers (AJHL)
4 45 Cal Hammond  Canada Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
4 52 John French  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
5 66 Rick Wilson  Canada University of North Dakota (WCHA)
6 80 Bob Brown  Canada Boston University (ECAC)
7 93 Bob Fowler  United States Estevan Bruins (WCHL)
8 105 Ric Jordan  Canada Boston University (ECAC)

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 214, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.
  2. ^ "1970–1971 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  3. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "1971 NHL Playoff Summary". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
  5. ^ "1970-71 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  6. ^ "Wayne Thomas 1972-74".

References

[edit]