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1976–77 Montreal Canadiens season

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1976–77 Montreal Canadiens
Stanley Cup champions
Wales Conference champions
Norris Division champions
Division1st Norris
Conference1st Wales
1976–77 record60–8–12
Home record33–1–6
Road record27–7–6
Goals for387
Goals against171
Team information
General managerSam Pollock
CoachScotty Bowman
CaptainYvan Cournoyer
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaMontreal Forum
Team leaders
GoalsSteve Shutt (60)
AssistsGuy Lafleur (80)
PointsGuy Lafleur (136)
Penalty minutesDoug Risebrough (132)
WinsKen Dryden (41)
Goals against averageMichel Larocque (2.09)

The 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens season was the Canadiens' 68th season. The team is regarded to be one of the greatest NHL teams ever composed. The Canadiens won their 20th Stanley Cup in 1976–77, taking the NHL championship. Montreal set new records for most wins (60) and points (132) in a season.[1] Those records were not broken until the re-introduction of regular season overtime[a] and the extension of the schedule to 82 games. The 1976–77 Canadiens continue to hold the all-time records for regulation wins[b] as well as points per game (1.650).[c] They outscored their opponents by 216 goals (also a league record), a differential average of 2.7 goals per game.[1]

Of the 24 players on the roster, 14 were drafted by the Canadiens: Pierre Bouchard, Rick Chartraw, Brian Engblom, Bob Gainey, Réjean Houle, Guy Lafleur, Michel Larocque, Pierre Mondou, Bill Nyrop, Doug Risebrough, Larry Robinson, Steve Shutt, Mario Tremblay, and Murray Wilson. The only player on the roster not developed by the Canadiens was Peter Mahovlich.[1]

Montreal lost only eight games, a modern-era record that has never been tied or broken even when counting only regulation losses and including lockout and pandemic-shortened seasons. They earned at least a point in 72 games, which also still stands as an all-time record.[d]

The Canadiens earned their 100th point in the 62nd game of the season with a victory over the Atlanta Flames on February 23, 1977. This was an NHL record for fastest team to 100 points for 45 seasons.[2][3]

Regular season

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Final standings

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Norris Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Montreal Canadiens 80 60 8 12 387 171 132
Los Angeles Kings 80 34 31 15 271 241 83
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 34 33 13 240 252 81
Washington Capitals 80 24 42 14 221 307 62
Detroit Red Wings 80 16 55 9 183 309 41

[4]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

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Norris Division record vs. opponents


Schedule and results

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1976–77 regular season[6]
October
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 7, 1976 10–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) 1–0–0
2 W October 9, 1976 3–0 Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) 2–0–0
3 L October 10, 1976 1–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) 2–1–0
4 W October 12, 1976 4–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) 3–1–0
5 W October 14, 1976 7–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) 4–1–0
6 W October 16, 1976 7–4 New York Rangers (1976–77) 5–1–0
7 L October 17, 1976 3–5 @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) 5–2–0
8 W October 19, 1976 6–0 @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) 6–2–0
9 W October 21, 1976 5–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) 7–2–0
10 W October 23, 1976 9–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) 8–2–0
11 W October 25, 1976 4–1 New York Islanders (1976–77) 9–2–0
12 T October 27, 1976 4–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) 9–2–1
13 L October 30, 1976 3–4 Boston Bruins (1976–77) 9–3–1
November
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
14 W November 1, 1976 3–2 Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) 10–3–1
15 W November 3, 1976 5–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) 11–3–1
16 W November 6, 1976 11–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) 12–3–1
17 W November 9, 1976 8–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) 13–3–1
18 T November 10, 1976 2–2 @ Atlanta Flames (1976–77) 13–3–2
19 T November 13, 1976 3–3 Colorado Rockies (1976–77) 13–3–3
20 W November 15, 1976 4–2 St. Louis Blues (1976–77) 14–3–3
21 L November 17, 1976 0–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) 14–4–3
22 W November 19, 1976 6–3 Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) 15–4–3
23 W November 21, 1976 9–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) 16–4–3
24 W November 23, 1976 5–1 @ New York Islanders (1976–77) 17–4–3
25 W November 24, 1976 8–1 @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) 18–4–3
26 W November 27, 1976 4–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) 19–4–3
December
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
27 T December 2, 1976 3–3 Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) 19–4–4
28 W December 4, 1976 3–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) 20–4–4
29 W December 6, 1976 1–0 Cleveland Barons (1976–77) 21–4–4
30 W December 8, 1976 4–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) 22–4–4
31 W December 11, 1976 5–0 Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) 23–4–4
32 L December 12, 1976 2–5 @ New York Rangers (1976–77) 23–5–4
33 W December 15, 1976 8–2 @ Colorado Rockies (1976–77) 24–5–4
34 W December 18, 1976 2–0 @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) 25–5–4
35 W December 20, 1976 5–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) 26–5–4
36 W December 27, 1976 4–2 Cleveland Barons (1976–77) 27–5–4
37 T December 29, 1976 3–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) 27–5–5
38 T December 30, 1976 5–5 Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) 27–5–6
January
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
39 W January 2, 1977 7–0 Atlanta Flames (1976–77) 28–5–6
40 W January 3, 1977 6–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) 29–5–6
41 W January 6, 1977 9–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) 30–5–6
42 W January 8, 1977 7–2 Washington Capitals (1976–77) 31–5–6
43 W January 11, 1977 6–0 @ Colorado Rockies (1976–77) 32–5–6
44 L January 12, 1977 2–7 @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) 32–6–6
45 W January 15, 1977 6–0 Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) 33–6–6
46 L January 17, 1977 3–7 @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) 33–7–6
47 W January 18, 1977 3–0 @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) 34–7–6
48 W January 20, 1977 6–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) 35–7–6
49 W January 22, 1977 5–2 Washington Capitals (1976–77) 36–7–6
50 T January 23, 1977 2–2 Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) 36–7–7
51 T January 29, 1977 3–3 Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) 36–7–8
52 W January 30, 1977 2–1 New York Islanders (1976–77) 37–7–8
February
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
53 W February 1, 1977 7–3 @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) 38–7–8
54 W February 3, 1977 6–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) 39–7–8
55 T February 5, 1977 3–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) 39–7–9
56 W February 9, 1977 6–0 Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) 40–7–9
57 W February 12, 1977 8–3 Boston Bruins (1976–77) 41–7–9
58 W February 13, 1977 5–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) 42–7–9
59 T February 16, 1977 4–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) 42–7–10
60 W February 19, 1977 5–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) 43–7–10
61 W February 21, 1977 3–2 Atlanta Flames (1976–77) 44–7–10
62 W February 23, 1977 4–2 @ Atlanta Flames (1976–77) 45–7–10
63 W February 26, 1977 5–3 Cleveland Barons (1976–77) 46–7–10
64 W February 27, 1977 8–1 @ New York Rangers (1976–77) 47–7–10
March
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
65 W March 1, 1977 5–4 @ New York Islanders (1976–77) 48–7–10
66 W March 3, 1977 5–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) 49–7–10
67 W March 5, 1977 7–2 New York Rangers (1976–77) 50–7–10
68 L March 6, 1977 1–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) 50–8–10
69 T March 9, 1977 2–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) 50–8–11
70 W March 10, 1977 7–1 Colorado Rockies (1976–77) 51–8–11
71 W March 12, 1977 5–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) 52–8–11
72 W March 14, 1977 3–0 Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) 53–8–11
73 W March 16, 1977 5–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) 54–8–11
74 W March 21, 1977 5–1 @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) 55–8–11
75 W March 24, 1977 6–1 St. Louis Blues (1976–77) 56–8–11
76 W March 26, 1977 4–0 Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) 57–8–11
77 W March 27, 1977 6–0 @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) 58–8–11
78 T March 30, 1977 3–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) 58–8–12
April
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
79 W April 2, 1977 11–0 Washington Capitals (1976–77) 59–8–12
80 W April 3, 1977 2–1 @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) 60–8–12

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

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Stanley Cup Finals

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Main article: 1977 Stanley Cup Finals

Jacques Lemaire scored three game-winning goals, including the Cup winner in overtime. Guy Lafleur won the Conn Smythe Trophy for scoring 9 goals and 17 assists during the playoffs.

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens

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Date Visitors Score Home Score Notes
May 7 Boston 3 Montreal 7
May 10 Boston 0 Montreal 3
May 12 Montreal 4 Boston 2
May 14 Montreal 2 Boston 1 OT

Montreal wins the series 4–0. Guy Lafleur won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Player statistics

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Regular season

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Scoring

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Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Guy Lafleur RW 80 56 80 136 20 89 14 0 8
Steve Shutt LW 80 60 45 105 28 88 8 0 9
Larry Robinson D 77 19 66 85 45 120 3 0 3
Guy Lapointe D 77 25 51 76 53 69 10 0 6
Jacques Lemaire C 75 34 41 75 22 70 5 2 4
Pete Mahovlich C 76 15 47 62 45 36 3 0 1
Doug Risebrough C 78 22 38 60 132 33 1 0 6
Yvan Cournoyer RW 60 25 28 53 8 27 6 0 2
Yvon Lambert LW 79 24 28 52 50 30 2 0 5
Rejean Houle W 65 22 30 52 24 39 2 0 3
Mario Tremblay RW 74 18 28 46 61 25 4 0 3
Serge Savard D 78 9 33 42 35 79 0 0 1
Doug Jarvis C 80 16 22 38 14 30 0 0 2
Bob Gainey LW 80 14 19 33 41 31 0 1 3
Murray Wilson LW 60 13 14 27 26 25 1 0 1
Bill Nyrop D 74 3 19 22 21 42 0 0 1
Jim Roberts D/RW 45 5 14 19 18 22 0 1 1
Pierre Bouchard D 73 4 11 15 52 33 0 1 0
Rick Chartraw D/RW 43 3 4 7 59 27 0 0 1
Ken Dryden G 56 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
John Van Boxmeer D 4 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Michel Larocque G 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

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Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Ken Dryden 3275 56 41 6 8 117 2.14 10
Michel Larocque 1525 26 19 2 4 53 2.09 4
Team: 4800 80 60 8 12 170 2.12 14

Playoffs

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Scoring

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Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Guy Lafleur RW 14 9 17 26 6 1 0 2
Jacques Lemaire C 14 7 12 19 6 1 0 3
Steve Shutt LW 14 8 10 18 2 2 0 3
Guy Lapointe D 12 3 9 12 4 1 0 0
Larry Robinson D 14 2 10 12 12 1 0 0
Pete Mahovlich C 13 4 5 9 19 2 0 1
Serge Savard D 14 2 7 9 2 1 0 1
Murray Wilson LW 14 1 6 7 14 0 0 0
Doug Jarvis C 14 0 7 7 2 0 0 0
Yvon Lambert LW 14 3 3 6 12 1 0 0
Bob Gainey LW 14 4 1 5 25 0 1 1
Doug Risebrough C 12 2 3 5 16 0 0 0
Jim Roberts D/RW 14 3 0 3 6 0 1 1
Mario Tremblay RW 14 3 0 3 9 0 0 0
Rick Chartraw D/RW 13 2 1 3 17 0 0 0
Bill Nyrop D 8 1 0 1 4 0 0 0
Pierre Bouchard D 6 0 1 1 6 0 0 0
Rejean Houle W 6 0 1 1 4 0 0 0
Ken Dryden G 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brian Engblom D 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Pierre Mondou C 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mike Polich C/LW 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

[edit]
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Ken Dryden 849 14 12 2 22 1.55 4
Team: 849 14 12 2 22 1.55 4

[7]

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;

Awards and records

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Draft picks

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See also: 1976 NHL Amateur Draft
Round # Player Nationality College/junior/club team
1 12 Peter Lee  United Kingdom Ottawa 67's (OHA)
1 13 Rod Schutt  Canada Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)
1 18 Bruce Baker  Canada Ottawa 67's (OMJHL)
2 36 Barry Melrose  Canada Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL)
3 54 Bill Baker  United States University of Minnesota (WCHA)
4 72 Ed Clarey  Canada Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
5 90 Maurice Barrette  Canada Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
6 108 Pierre Brassard  Canada Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
7 118 Rich Gosselin  Canada Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
8 123 John Gregory  Canada University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
9 125 Bruce Horsch  United States Michigan Tech University (WCHA)
10 127 John Tavella  Canada Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)
11 129 Mark Davidson  Canada Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
12 131 Bill Wells  Canada Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
13 133 Ron Wilson  Canada St. Catharines Black Hawks (OMJHL)

Notes

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  1. ^ Whereas the 1976–77 Canadiens recorded twelve points for games that ended tied after the third period, under current rules a team earns one point for losses incurred in overtime or a shootout. Notably, the 2022–23 Boston Bruins, who are the current NHL record holders with 65 wins and 135 points, won only 54 games in regulation, winning an additional eleven games and thus recording an additional 11 points in overtime and shootouts.
  2. ^ Prior to the 2022–23 Bruins, two other teams had won more than sixty games under an 82-game schedule, these being the 1995–96 Detroit Red Wings (62 wins, 59 in regulation) and the 2018–19 Tampa Bay Lightning (62 wins, 49 in regulation).
  3. ^ The closest any team has come to the 1976–77 Canadiens' 1.650 PpG is the 2022–23 Bruins, who recorded 1.646 PpG.
  4. ^ The closest any teams have come to this record are the 2022–23 Bruins (who earned a point in 70 games) and the 1995–96 Red Wings (who earned a point in 69 games and also lost one game in overtime, which would have earned a point under current rules.)

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c Campbell, Ken (January 3, 2014). "GREATEST TEAMS OF ALL-TIME: 1976-77 MONTREAL CANADIENS". The Hockey News. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  2. ^ "Bruins rout Sabres 7-1, become fastest team to 100 points". Associated Press. March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  3. ^ Russo, Eric. "Bruins Make History, Become Fastest Team to 100 Points". NHL.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  4. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
  5. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  6. ^ "1976-77 Montreal Canadiens Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  7. ^ "1976-77 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  8. ^ a b c National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 204, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.

References

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