This Week in Canadiens History: March 28th – April 3rd
March 29th
Canadiens Make History in the Win Column
On this day, the year of our Lord 1969, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 5-3 at the Forum. Montreal’s goals were scored by Jacques Laperriere, Jean Beliveau, J.C. Tremblay and Bobby Rousseau and Henri Richard added 2 assists. Goalie Gump Worsley (who won his 300th career win exactly one year later as a member of the Minnesota North Stars) stopped 16 shots in the win.
The win was Montreal’s 46th win of the season, which was a new record. The team would finish the season with a 46-19-11 record, and won the Stanley Cup against the St. Louis Blues. It was the second straight year that the Canadiens swept the newly formed Blues in the final.
It is interesting to note that the St. Louis Blues, who were formed in the 1967-68 season made the Stanley Cup Final in their first two seasons, but this was largely due to St. Louis playing in a conference with just expansion teams. They were the best of the worst and were destroyed by Montreal when they reached the Final.
The win broke the previous record of 45 wins by the 1955-56 Montreal Canadiens, who also won the Stanley Cup. Today the record is 62 wins, shared by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning. Both teams lost in the playoffs. The rest of the top five are filled with Montreal Canadiens teams from the 1970s, who all won the Stanley Cup.
Home Sweet Home
On March 29th, 1975, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Kansas City Scouts 4-1 in Montreal. The goals came from Mario Tremblay, Frank Mahovlich, Steve Shutt and Guy Lafleur, and Larry Robinson had 3 assists. Ken Dryden got the win with 28 saves, the only player to put it past him was Guy Charron.
It was the Montreal Canadiens 1,000th win at The Forum, making it the most home wins in a building in NHL history. It was one of the toughest buildings to play in, especially in the playoffs. The Stanley Cup was won 22 times by the Montreal teams that called the building home, the Maroons and Canadiens, and only 2 visiting teams have won the Cup at The Forum: the New York Rangers against the Maroons, and the Calgary Flames against the Canadiens.
Lafleur Scores 50 for the First Time
During that same game in The Forum, the goal that Guy Lafleur scored was his 50th of the season. It was the third time that a Montreal Canadiens player had scored 50 goals in a season. The first was Maurice Richard and the second was Bernie Geoffrion. Both only managed 50 in those seasons.
It was the first time the young Guy Lafleur scored 50 goals in a season, and it kick started a run of 6 straight NHL seasons with at least 50 goals and 100 points. What is interesting was that the goal was scored on goalie Denis Herron. Lafleur liked to score on Herron apparently, because Lafleur scored his 50th of the season three times on Herron: in 1975, 1976 and 1979.
March 30
The Canadiens Win Their First Stanley Cup
On this day, the year of our Lord 1916, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Portland Rosebuds 2-1 to win their first Stanley Cup. At the beginning of the professional competition for the Stanley Cup, the best team from the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the best team from the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) played a series to determine the winner of the Cup.
The Montreal Canadiens had quite the payday apparently, each earning $238 each. The Portland Rosebuds were the first American team to make the Stanley Cup Final, but the whole team was comprised of Canadian born players. The next year, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first American team to win the Stanley Cup.
The Canadiens Put On a Clinic
On March 30th, 1944, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 11-0, and in the process won their series 4-1, en route to beating the Chicago Blackhawks and winning the Stanley Cup.
In that game, the Montreal Canadiens scored 7 goals in the third period, which was a record for most goals scored by a single team in a single period in the playoffs. Between 7:58 and 11:34 of the third period Maurice Richard, Ray Getliffe, Buddy O’Connor and Toe Blake (twice) scored. The record is still held to this day, although teams have scored 6 goals in a period since.
The Rocket Makes History
Exactly 13 years later, Maurice Richard scored a goal and an assist as the Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers 8-3. The Montreal Canadiens would go on to beat the Rangers and then the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup.
With the second point, Richard became the first NHL player to register 100 playoff points. Richard would finish his career with 82 goals and 42 assists for 126 points in 132 games, good for 52nd all time, one point behind Nikita Kucherov.
The player with the most playoff points is no surprise, and its by a longshot. Wayne Gretzky scored 382 points in 208 games, almost 100 points more than Mark Messier (295 in 236 games) in second place. The player with the most playoff points to ever play with the Canadiens is Doug Gilmour with 188 points in 182 games, 10th most overall.
To find the player that had the most playoff points all in a Montreal Canadiens uniform, you have to go down to #15, with Jean Beliveau, who scored 176 points in 162 games.
March 31st
The First NHL Playoff Overtime Game
On this day, the year of our Lord 1927, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Montreal Maroons 1-0 on the strength of a Howie Morenz goal and a George Hainsworth shutout.
Much of the specifics of the game have been lost in time, but Morenz scored the only goal 12:05 into the first overtime period, to put an end to the very first NHL playoff overtime game. Sadly, the Montreal Canadiens would lose their next series to the Ottawa Senators, who would go on to beat the Boston Bruins and win the Stanley Cup.
Happy Birthday Michael Ryder!
On March 31st, 1980, Michael Ryder was born in Bonavista, Newfoundland. Ryder played junior hockey with the Hull Olympiques before being drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 8th round, 216th overall in the 1998 NHL draft.
It was a great value-find overall, since Ryder finished his career with 237 goals, good for most 9th in that draft class. Ryder also has the distinction of ending the longest AHL game of all time. In 2003, Ryder, as a member of the Hamilton Bulldogs, scored the deciding goal in a 2-1 win in the fourth overtime period.
Ryder finished his career with 237 goals and 484 points in his career. It is the most goals and points by a player born in Newfoundland and Labrador.
April 1st
The Stanley Cup Final is Cancelled
On this day, the year of our Lord 1919, the Montreal Canadiens attempted to concede the Stanley Cup to the Seattle Metropolitans. This was due to the Spanish Flu, which ran through the Montreal Canadiens and the team couldn’t ice a full roster. However, the Metropolitans refused to accept the Cup, seeing it as unsportsmanlike.
Unfortunately, this could have been avoided. At the time, all the Stanley Cup Final rounds were best-of-five series rather than best-of-seven series, and this would have been the 6th game.
How can that be? Well, Game 4 was called a tie because the teams were still tied after 2 overtime periods. If one team had scored an overtime goal, the series would have been tied going into Game 5, and there would have been a 1919 Stanley Cup champion.
Happy Birthday Ken Reardon!
On April 1st, 1921, Ken Reardon was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Reardon started playing with the Montreal Canadiens in 1940, but his career was cut short by serving in the military during World War 2.
Reardon returned to the Canadiens in 1946, and won his only Stanley Cup as a player that year. Reardon finished his career as a bruising defenseman that played 341 games and scored 26 goals and 122 points, and 604 penalty minutes. Reardon also won 5 Stanley Cups as vice-president of the Montreal Canadiens, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.
April 2nd
Happy Birthday Rem Pitlick!
On this day, the year of our Lord 1997, Rem Pitlick was born in Ottawa, Ontario. In 2016, Pitlick was named the USHL player of the year and was drafted by the Nashville Predators 76th overall in 2016. His draft pick has an interesting history, beginning as a Minnesota Wild pick, which was traded to Florida.
That pick was packaged away from Florida with a second round pick to the New Jersey Devils for Jaromir Jagr. And then, exactly 4 months later, Pitlick’s pick and the exact same 2nd rounder from Florida was traded from New Jersey to Anaheim for Kyle Palmieri. And then his pick was traded to Buffalo for Jamie McGinn and then traded to Nashville for the rights of Jimmy Vesey.
Pitlick has then been picked up off of waivers twice by the Wild, who owned his draft pick in the first place and then the Montreal Canadiens. He has had a very good rookie year so far, with 12 goals and 29 points in 47 games.
Pitlick’s father Lance Pitlick played 393 NHL games with the Ottawa Senators and the Florida Panthers. His cousin, Tyler Pitlick was acquired earlier this year as part of the Tyler Toffoli trade from Calgary. And his younger brother was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the fifth round in 2019.
Lafleur Makes NHL History
On April 2nd, 1980, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings 7-2. Both Guy Lafleur and Mark Napier scored 2 goals for the Canadiens, who won their 46th game of the season.
Lafleur’s second goal was his 50th of the season, and marked the 6th season in a row that he had reached the 50 goal mark. It was an NHL record at the time, a record that has been beaten by just Wayne Gretzky with 8, and Mike Bossy with 9.
The Canadiens Win Game #59
On April 2nd, 1977, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Washington Capitals 11-0. Guy Lafleur was the star on the night with 4 points, with Bob Gainey also contributing 4 points, and Steve Shutt and Guy Lapointe scoring 2 goals each.
The win was the Montreal Canadiens’ 59th win of the season, breaking the record that they had set the year before. The Canadiens would also win the last game of the season against those same Washington Capitals to be the first team to win 60 games in a season. They finished with a record of 60-8-12.
The Montreal Canadiens have been joined by just two teams so far in the 60 win club, but fared off much better. The Canadiens won the 1977 Stanley Cup against the Boston Bruins in a sweep. The 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings won 62 games that season, but lost to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche.
And in one of the most embarrassing playoff efforts in recent memory, the 62 win Tampa Bay Lightning were swept out of the playoffs against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team that had not won a playoff series before. And the Blue Jackets didn’t even win the Cup that year, they lost to the Boston Bruins the very next round.
April 3rd
The Canadiens Topple A Giant
On this day, the year of our Lord 1930, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 4-3. Bert McCaffery and Nick Wasnie scored in the first period, and Sylvio Mantha and Howie Morenz scored in the second as the Montreal Canadiens fend off a fierce comeback attempt in the third period to win the Stanley Cup.
It was the second win in the best-of-three series, and the first time that the Boston Bruins lost two games in a row in that season. The Bruins finished the regular season with a 38-5-1 season, and beat the Montreal Maroons in the first round of the playoffs.
That season is the NHL regular season with the highest winning percentage of all time, but they still lost to the Montreal Canadiens, who finished the season 21-14-9. The next 4 best winning percentage season (over a full season, not counting the 8 game season by the Ottawa Senators) belong to the Montreal Canadiens, and three of those seasons ended with the Montreal Canadiens winning the Stanley Cup.
Lafleur’s Point Streak
On April 3rd, 1977, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Washington Capitals 2-1 for their 60th win of the season. Guy Lafleur and Steve Shutt scored to put a cap on one of the best seasons in the entire history of the Montreal Canadiens.
That game represented the end of the season, and the end of Guy Lafleur’s 28 game point streak. In that time, Lafleur scored 19 goals and 61 points in that time, for an incredible 2.17 points per game. He ended the season with 56 goals and 80 assists for 136 points. It is the most points any Canadiens player has ever had, and the top 6 best seasons in Montreal Canadiens history.
In that same game, Steve Shutt scored his 60th goal of the season, becoming the first left winger in Montreal Canadiens history to score 60 goals in a season. That season was Shutt’s best season, registering 105 points.
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