# 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens season

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. Those records were not broken until the re-introduction of regular season overtime and the extension of the schedule to 82 games. The 1976–77 Canadiens continue to hold the all-time records for regulation wins as well as points per game (1.650). They outscored their opponents by 216 goals (also a league record), a differential average of 2.7 goals per game.
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.
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.
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.

## Regular season
### Final standings

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 |
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

Norris Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Detroit
—0–5–10–5–12–40–3–32–17–5
Los Angeles
5–0–1—0–4–23–2–15–0–113–6–5
Montreal
5–0–14–0–2—4–0–26–019–0–5
Pittsburgh
4–22–3–10–4–2—1–4–17–13–4
Washington
3–0–30–5–10–64–1–1—7–12–5
Vs. Adams Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CLE
TOR
Total
Detroit
1–41–43–21–3–16–13–1
Los Angeles
2–2–12–32–1–21–2–27–8–5
Montreal
2–32–2–15–02–1–111–6–2
Pittsburgh
1–3–14–0–13–0–22–1–210–4–6
Washington
0–4–11–40–53–24–15–1
Vs. Patrick Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Detroit
1–2–12–21–31–35–10–1
Los Angeles
2–22–23–0–10–47–8–1
Montreal
3–0–14–03–14–014–1–1
Pittsburgh
0–3–12–22–1–11–35–9–2
Washington
1–30–1–32–20–2–23–8–5
Vs. Smythe Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Detroit
0–40–40–3–10–3–13–13–15–2
Los Angeles
2–22–0–21–32–20–2–27–9–4
Montreal
3–0–13–0–13–0–13–14–016–1–3
Pittsburgh
2–22–23–13–12–1–112–7–1
Washington
1–2–13–11–1–23–12–210–7–3 :

## Schedule and results

Regular season schedule :
| No. | R | 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |

## Playoffs
### 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

| 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
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| 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

| 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
#### Scoring

| 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

| 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 |
    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

* Prince of Wales Trophy
* Ken Dryden and Michel Larocque, Vezina Trophy
* Ken Dryden, Goaltender, NHL First Team All-Star
* Guy Lafleur, Art Ross Trophy
* Guy Lafleur, Conn Smythe Trophy
* Guy Lafleur, Hart Memorial Trophy
* Guy Lafleur, Lou Marsh Trophy
* Guy Lafleur, right wing, NHL First Team All-Star
* Guy Lafleur, NHL leader, assists (80)
* Guy Lafleur, NHL leader, points (136)
* Guy Lapointe, defence, NHL Second Team All-Star
* Larry Robinson, defence, NHL First Team All-Star
* Steve Shutt, left wing, NHL First Team All-Star
* Steve Shutt, NHL leader, goals (60)
* 132 points, NHL record for most points in a season by a team
* +216 goal differential, NHL record for highest team differential

## Draft picks

| 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) |