1970–71 Montreal Canadiens season

1970–71 Montreal Canadiens
Stanley Cup champions
Division	3rd East
1970–71 record	42–23–13
Goals for	291
Goals against	216
Team information
General manager	Sam Pollock
Coach	Claude Ruel (Oct–Dec) Al MacNeil (Dec–May)
Captain	Jean Beliveau
Alternate captains	John Ferguson Henri Richard
Arena	Montreal Forum
Team leaders
Goals	Yvan Cournoyer (37)
Assists	Jean Beliveau (51)
Points	Jean Beliveau (76)
Penalty minutes	Pete Mahovlich (181)
Wins	Rogatien Vachon (23)
Goals against average	Rogatien 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

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

East Division^[2]

• v
• t
• e

		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

Vs. East Division 1970–71 NHL records[3] Team BOS BUF DET MTL NYR TOR VAN Total Boston — 4–1–1 5–1 5–1 2–2–2 5–1 5–1 26–7–3 Buffalo 1–4–1 — 3–3 0–3–3 0–4–2 1–5 3–3 8–22–6 Detroit 1–5 3–3 — 1–4–1 1–4–1 1–4–1 4–2 11–22–3 Montreal 1–5 3–0–3 4–1–1 — 3–3 2–4 4–0–2 17–13–6 New York 2–2–2 4–0–2 4–1–1 3–3 — 5–1 5–1 23–8–5 Toronto 1–5 5–1 4–1–1 4–2 1–5 — 3–3 18–17–1 Vancouver 1–5 3–3 2–4 0–4–2 1–5 3–3 — 10–24–2

Vs. West Division 1970–71 NHL records Team CAL CHI LAK MIN PHI PIT STL Total Boston 5–1 2–3–1 5–1 5–0–1 6–0 4–1–1 4–1–1 31–7–4 Buffalo 3–3 0–5–1 2–1–3 5–1 2–3–1 2–0–4 2–4 16–17–9 Detroit 4–2 0–6 1–2–3 2–3–1 3–2–1 1–3–2 0–5–1 11–23–8 Montreal 5–1 3–3 4–2 3–1–2 4–1–1 3–1–2 3–1–2 25–10–7 New York 3–2–1 3–3 4–0–2 6–0 2–3–1 5–0–1 3–2–1 26–6–10 Toronto 3–2–1 3–2–1 3–3 2–2–2 2–3–1 3–2–1 3–2–1 19–16–7 Vancouver 5–1 0–5–1 3–2–1 2–3–1 2–4 1–4–1 1–3–2 14–22–6

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	@ 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

Versus Minnesota North Stars

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

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)	@ 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

Regular season

Scoring

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

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

Scoring

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

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

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

• 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	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

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. "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

• Canadiens on Hockey Database
• Canadiens on NHL Reference