# 1957–58 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1957–58 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 49th season of play. The Canadiens won their third-straight Stanley Cup and the tenth in club history.

## Regular season

* October 19, 1957 – Maurice Richard scored a goal at 15:52 of the first period. Richard became the first player to score 500 goals in a career.
* Hockey's colour barrier was broken in Montreal. Midway through his second minor-league season with the Quebec Aces, Willie O'Ree was called up to the Boston Bruins of the NHL to replace an injured player. O'Ree made his NHL debut with the Bruins on January 18, 1958, against the Montreal Canadiens, becoming the first black player in league history.

### Final standings

National Hockey League vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 43 | 17 | 10 | 250 | 158 | +92 | 96 |
| 2 | New York Rangers | 70 | 32 | 25 | 13 | 195 | 188 | +7 | 77 |
| 3 | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 29 | 29 | 12 | 176 | 207 | −31 | 70 |
| 4 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 27 | 28 | 15 | 199 | 194 | +5 | 69 |
| 5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 24 | 39 | 7 | 163 | 202 | −39 | 55 |
| 6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 21 | 38 | 11 | 192 | 226 | −34 | 53 |

### Record vs. opponents

1957–58 NHL Records :
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYR | TOR |
| Boston | — | 7–3–4 | 8–5–1 | 3–9–2 | 6–5–3 | 3–6–5 |
| Chicago | 3–7–4 | — | 7–7 | 3–10–1 | 4–9–1 | 7–6–1 |
| Detroit | 5–8–1 | 7–7 | — | 3–7–4 | 4–5–5 | 10–2–2 |
| Montreal | 9–3–2 | 10–3–1 | 7–3–4 | — | 6–6–2 | 11–2–1 |
| New York | 5–6–3 | 9–4–1 | 5–4–5 | 6–6–2 | — | 7–5–2 |
| Toronto | 6–3–5 | 6–7–1 | 2–10–2 | 2–11–1 | 5–7–2 | — |

## Schedule and results

Regular season results :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 10, 1957 | 5–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1957–58) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | T | October 12, 1957 | 2–2 | New York Rangers (1957–58) | 1–0–1 |
| 3 | W | October 13, 1957 | 6–0 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1957–58) | 2–0–1 |
| 4 | T | October 15, 1957 | 3–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1957–58) | 2–0–2 |
| 5 | W | October 17, 1957 | 9–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1957–58) | 3–0–2 |
| 6 | W | October 19, 1957 | 3–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1957–58) | 4–0–2 |
| 7 | W | October 26, 1957 | 4–3 | Boston Bruins (1957–58) | 5–0–2 |
| 8 | L | October 27, 1957 | 1–4 | @ New York Rangers (1957–58) | 5–1–2 |
| 9 | W | October 30, 1957 | 6–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1957–58) | 6–1–2 |
| 10 | L | October 31, 1957 | 1–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1957–58) | 6–2–2 |
| 11 | W | November 2, 1957 | 6–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1957–58) | 7–2–2 |
| 12 | W | November 7, 1957 | 6–0 | Detroit Red Wings (1957–58) | 8–2–2 |
| 13 | W | November 9, 1957 | 4–2 | Boston Bruins (1957–58) | 9–2–2 |
| 14 | W | November 13, 1957 | 4–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1957–58) | 10–2–2 |
| 15 | L | November 16, 1957 | 2–4 | New York Rangers (1957–58) | 10–3–2 |
| 16 | L | November 17, 1957 | 2–4 | @ New York Rangers (1957–58) | 10–4–2 |
| 17 | W | November 23, 1957 | 4–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1957–58) | 11–4–2 |
| 18 | T | November 24, 1957 | 3–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1957–58) | 11–4–3 |
| 19 | W | November 28, 1957 | 2–0 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1957–58) | 12–4–3 |
| 20 | W | November 30, 1957 | 6–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1957–58) | 13–4–3 |
| 21 | W | December 1, 1957 | 4–1 | @ Boston Bruins (1957–58) | 14–4–3 |
| 22 | T | December 4, 1957 | 0–0 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1957–58) | 14–4–4 |
| 23 | W | December 5, 1957 | 4–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1957–58) | 15–4–4 |
| 24 | L | December 7, 1957 | 1–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1957–58) | 15–5–4 |
| 25 | W | December 8, 1957 | 3–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1957–58) | 16–5–4 |
| 26 | W | December 12, 1957 | 3–2 | New York Rangers (1957–58) | 17–5–4 |
| 27 | T | December 14, 1957 | 1–1 | Boston Bruins (1957–58) | 17–5–5 |
| 28 | W | December 15, 1957 | 2–0 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1957–58) | 18–5–5 |
| 29 | L | December 18, 1957 | 4–5 | @ New York Rangers (1957–58) | 18–6–5 |
| 30 | L | December 21, 1957 | 2–4 | New York Rangers (1957–58) | 18–7–5 |
| 31 | W | December 22, 1957 | 4–1 | @ Boston Bruins (1957–58) | 19–7–5 |
| 32 | L | December 25, 1957 | 4–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1957–58) | 19–8–5 |
| 33 | W | December 28, 1957 | 6–0 | Detroit Red Wings (1957–58) | 20–8–5 |
| 34 | W | December 29, 1957 | 4–3 | @ New York Rangers (1957–58) | 21–8–5 |
| 35 | W | January 1, 1958 | 4–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1957–58) | 22–8–5 |
| 36 | W | January 2, 1958 | 5–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1957–58) | 23–8–5 |
| 37 | W | January 4, 1958 | 2–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1957–58) | 24–8–5 |
| 38 | W | January 5, 1958 | 4–0 | @ New York Rangers (1957–58) | 25–8–5 |
| 39 | W | January 9, 1958 | 11–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1957–58) | 26–8–5 |
| 40 | W | January 11, 1958 | 9–3 | New York Rangers (1957–58) | 27–8–5 |
| 41 | L | January 12, 1958 | 1–7 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1957–58) | 27–9–5 |
| 42 | W | January 16, 1958 | 5–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1957–58) | 28–9–5 |
| 43 | L | January 18, 1958 | 0–3 | Boston Bruins (1957–58) | 28–10–5 |
| 44 | W | January 19, 1958 | 6–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1957–58) | 29–10–5 |
| 45 | W | January 22, 1958 | 2–0 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1957–58) | 30–10–5 |
| 46 | W | January 25, 1958 | 2–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1957–58) | 31–10–5 |
| 47 | L | January 26, 1958 | 2–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1957–58) | 31–11–5 |
| 48 | W | January 30, 1958 | 7–0 | Detroit Red Wings (1957–58) | 32–11–5 |
| 49 | W | February 1, 1958 | 3–1 | Boston Bruins (1957–58) | 33–11–5 |
| 50 | W | February 2, 1958 | 3–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1957–58) | 34–11–5 |
| 51 | T | February 6, 1958 | 1–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1957–58) | 34–11–6 |
| 52 | L | February 8, 1958 | 2–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1957–58) | 34–12–6 |
| 53 | W | February 9, 1958 | 3–1 | @ New York Rangers (1957–58) | 35–12–6 |
| 54 | W | February 12, 1958 | 5–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1957–58) | 36–12–6 |
| 55 | T | February 15, 1958 | 2–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1957–58) | 36–12–7 |
| 56 | L | February 16, 1958 | 0–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1957–58) | 36–13–7 |
| 57 | W | February 20, 1958 | 4–0 | Boston Bruins (1957–58) | 37–13–7 |
| 58 | T | February 22, 1958 | 2–2 | New York Rangers (1957–58) | 37–13–8 |
| 59 | T | February 23, 1958 | 3–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1957–58) | 37–13–9 |
| 60 | W | February 27, 1958 | 4–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1957–58) | 38–13–9 |
| 61 | T | March 1, 1958 | 2–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1957–58) | 38–13–10 |
| 62 | L | March 8, 1958 | 2–3 | New York Rangers (1957–58) | 38–14–10 |
| 63 | W | March 9, 1958 | 4–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1957–58) | 39–14–10 |
| 64 | W | March 12, 1958 | 5–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1957–58) | 40–14–10 |
| 65 | L | March 13, 1958 | 3–7 | @ Boston Bruins (1957–58) | 40–15–10 |
| 66 | W | March 15, 1958 | 4–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1957–58) | 41–15–10 |
| 67 | W | March 16, 1958 | 3–2 | @ New York Rangers (1957–58) | 42–15–10 |
| 68 | W | March 20, 1958 | 7–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1957–58) | 43–15–10 |
| 69 | L | March 22, 1958 | 5–8 | Boston Bruins (1957–58) | 43–16–10 |
| 70 | L | March 23, 1958 | 2–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1957–58) | 43–17–10 |

## Playoffs

In the semi-finals, Montreal played third place Detroit. After Detroit traded Ted Lindsay because of his union efforts, Detroit was a team in disarray. Montreal defeated the Red Wings in four straight games to reach the finals.

### Stanley Cup Finals

Rocket Richard, was the top goal scorer during the playoffs with 11. In game five he notched his third final series overtime goal of his career and sixth playoff overtime goal of his career.
Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
| April 8 | Boston | 1 | Montreal | 2 | |
| April 10 | Boston | 5 | Montreal | 2 | |
| April 13 | Montreal | 3 | Boston | 0 | |
| April 15 | Montreal | 1 | Boston | 3 | |
| April 17 | Boston | 2 | Montreal | 3 | OT |
| April 20 | Montreal | 5 | Boston | 3 | |
Montreal won the best-of-seven series 4 games to 2.

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Dickie Moore | LW | 70 | 36 | 48 | 84 | 65 |
| Henri Richard | C | 67 | 28 | 52 | 80 | 56 |
| Jean Beliveau | C | 55 | 27 | 32 | 59 | 93 |
| Claude Provost | RW | 70 | 19 | 32 | 51 | 71 |
| Bernie Geoffrion | RW | 42 | 27 | 23 | 50 | 51 |
| Phil Goyette | C | 70 | 9 | 37 | 46 | 8 |
| Donnie Marshall | LW | 68 | 22 | 19 | 41 | 14 |
| Doug Harvey | D | 68 | 9 | 32 | 41 | 131 |
| Marcel Bonin | W | 66 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 37 |
| Bert Olmstead | LW | 57 | 9 | 28 | 37 | 71 |
| Maurice Richard | RW | 28 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 28 |
| Andre Pronovost | LW | 66 | 16 | 12 | 28 | 55 |
| Dollard St. Laurent | D | 65 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 68 |
| Tom Johnson | D | 66 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 75 |
| Jean-Guy Talbot | D | 55 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 65 |
| Gene Achtymichuk | C | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| Floyd Curry | RW | 42 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Connie Broden | C | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Stan Smrke | LW | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Bob Turner | D | 66 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 30 |
| Murray Balfour | RW | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Ralph Backstrom | C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jack Bownass | D | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Ken Mosdell | C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Don Aiken | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Len Broderick | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Carter | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlie Hodge | G | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Claude Laforge | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Albert Langlois | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacques Plante | G | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Jacques Plante | 3386 | 57 | 34 | 14 | 8 | 119 | 2.11 | 9 |
| Charlie Hodge | 720 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 31 | 2.58 | 1 |
| Len Broderick | 60 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.00 | 0 |
| Don Aiken | 34 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10.59 | 0 |
| Team: | 4200 | 70 | 43 | 17 | 10 | 158 | 2.26 | 10 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Maurice Richard | RW | 10 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 10 |
| Jean Beliveau | C | 10 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 10 |
| Bernie Geoffrion | RW | 10 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2 |
| Dickie Moore | LW | 10 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 4 |
| Doug Harvey | D | 10 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 16 |
| Henri Richard | C | 10 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 11 |
| Phil Goyette | C | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Claude Provost | RW | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| Bert Olmstead | LW | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Jean-Guy Talbot | D | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| Andre Pronovost | LW | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
| Donnie Marshall | LW | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Marcel Bonin | W | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Albert Langlois | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Connie Broden | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Floyd Curry | RW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Tom Johnson | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ab McDonald | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jacques Plante | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Dollard St. Laurent | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Bob Turner | D | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Jacques Plante | 618 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 1.94 | 1 |
| Team: | 618 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 1.94 | 1 |
    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;