1970–71 Montreal Canadiens season explained

Team:	Montreal Canadiens
League:	NHL
Season:	1970–71
Year:	1970
Divisionrank:	3rd
Record:	42–23–13
Goalsfor:	291
Goalsagainst:	216
Coach:	Claude Ruel (Oct–Dec) Al MacNeil (Dec–May)
Goalsleader:	Yvan Cournoyer (37)
Assistsleader:	Jean Beliveau (51)
Pointsleader:	Jean Beliveau (76)
Pimleader:	Pete Mahovlich (181)
Winsleader:	Rogatien Vachon (23)
Gaaleader:	Rogatien Vachon (2.64)
Stanleycup:	Yes

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

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]

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

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

Quarter-final

Versus Boston Bruins

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

^[2]

Montreal wins the series 4–3.

Semi-final

Versus Minnesota North Stars

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	April 20, 1971	7–2		1–0
2	L	April 22, 1971	3–6		1–1
3	W	April 24, 1971	6–3		2–1
4	L	April 25, 1971	2–5		2–2
5	W	April 27, 1971	6–1		3–2
6	W	April 29, 1971	3–2		4–2

^[2]

Montreal wins the series 4–2.

Stanley Cup Finals

See main article: 1971 Stanley Cup Finals. 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

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

^[2]

Montreal wins the series 4–3.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
	C	70	25	51	76	40	24	7	0	4
	RW	65	37	36	73	21	20	18	0	5
	D	76	11	52	63	23	16	5	0	4
	C	78	35	26	61	181	25	12	3	5
	C	78	28	28	56	18	0	6	0	3
	LW	76	19	30	49	133	25	4	0	2
	C	75	12	37	49	46	13	1	0	1
	D	78	15	29	44	107	28	5	0	1
	LW	38	17	24	41	11	4	4	1	2
	LW	60	16	14	30	162	2	3	0	4
	RW	40	14	15	29	35	12	2	0	1
	RW	64	10	13	23	90	−8	0	0	2
	D	78	1	21	22	116	35	0	0	0
	RW	39	14	7	21	76	10	2	0	3
	W	66	10	9	19	28	7	1	0	1
	D	49	0	16	16	20	24	0	0	0
	RW	57	5	10	15	4	11	0	3	1
	D	37	5	10	15	30	11	0	1	0
	C	29	6	5	11	2	4	1	0	1
	RW	40	6	2	8	39	1	0	0	1
	C	19	1	5	6	8	−8	0	0	1
	C	16	1	4	5	0	0	0	0	0
	C	15	2	2	4	2	−2	0	0	0
	C	5	1	2	3	0	3	0	0	0
	D	51	0	3	3	50	3	0	0	0
	D	1	0	2	2	2	0	0	0	0
	G	30	0	1	1	17	0	0	0	0
	G	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	LW	1	0	0	0	0	−1	0	0	0
	G	47	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

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

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
	LW	20	14	13	27	18	3	0	0
	RW	20	10	12	22	6	2	0	1
	C	20	6	16	22	28	2	0	0
	C	20	9	10	19	17	4	0	1
	D	20	3	14	17	15	1	0	3
	C	20	10	6	16	43	1	1	1
	D	20	4	9	13	12	1	0	1
	C	20	5	7	12	20	0	0	1
	LW	18	4	6	10	36	1	0	1
	D	20	4	5	9	34	1	0	2
	W	20	2	5	7	20	0	0	1
	D	20	0	6	6	28	0	0	0
	LW	20	3	1	4	40	0	0	0
	RW	11	1	0	1	10	0	0	0
	D	13	0	1	1	10	0	0	0
	G	20	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
	RW	15	0	1	1	36	0	0	0
	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	D	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	RW	10	0	0	0	6	0	0	0
	C	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
	1221	20	12	8	61	3.00	0
Team:	1221	20	12	8	61	3.00	0

^[3]

Transactions

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^[4] 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

• Ken Dryden, Conn Smythe Trophy

Draft picks

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			Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
1	6			Canadian National Development Team
3	31			Red Deer Rustlers (AJHL)
4	45	Cal Hammond		Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
4	52			Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
5	66			University of North Dakota (WCHA)
6	80			Boston University (ECAC)
7	93	Bob Fowler		Estevan Bruins (WCHL)
8	105			Boston University (ECAC)

References

• Canadiens on Hockey Database
• Canadiens on NHL Reference

Notes and References

1. National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 214, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, .
2. Web site: 1971 NHL Playoff Summary . hockey-reference.com . 2009-07-14 .
3. Web site: hockey-reference.com . 2009-05-28 . 1970-71 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com.
4. Web site: Wayne Thomas 1972-74.