# 1951–52 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1951–52 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 43rd season of play. After qualifying for the playoffs in second place, the Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins to advance to the final series. The Detroit Red Wings would sweep the Canadiens in the finals, four games to none.

## Regular season
### Final standings

National Hockey League vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 44 | 14 | 12 | 215 | 133 | +82 | 100 |
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 34 | 26 | 10 | 195 | 164 | +31 | 78 |
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 29 | 25 | 16 | 168 | 157 | +11 | 74 |
| 4 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 25 | 29 | 16 | 162 | 176 | −14 | 66 |
| 5 | New York Rangers | 70 | 23 | 34 | 13 | 192 | 219 | −27 | 59 |
| 6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 17 | 44 | 9 | 158 | 241 | −83 | 43 |

### Record vs. opponents

1951–52 NHL Records :
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYR | TOR |
| Boston | — | 9–3–2 | 3–8–3 | 7–5–2 | 4–6–4 | 2–7–5 |
| Chicago | 3–9–2 | — | 2–12 | 1–10–3 | 5–7–2 | 6–6–2 |
| Detroit | 8–3–3 | 12–2 | — | 9–2–3 | 9–3–2 | 6–4–4 |
| Montreal | 5–7–2 | 10–1–3 | 2–9–3 | — | 9–4–1 | 8–5–1 |
| New York | 6–4–4 | 7–5–2 | 3–9–2 | 4–9–1 | — | 3–7–4 |
| Toronto | 7–2–5 | 6–6–2 | 4–6–4 | 5–8–1 | 7–3–4 | — |

## Schedule and results

Regular season results :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 11, 1951 | 4–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | L | October 13, 1951 | 1–2 | Boston Bruins (1951–52) | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | W | October 14, 1951 | 4–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1951–52) | 2–1–0 |
| 4 | W | October 18, 1951 | 3–2 | New York Rangers (1951–52) | 3–1–0 |
| 5 | L | October 20, 1951 | 0–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) | 3–2–0 |
| 6 | L | October 22, 1951 | 1–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) | 3–3–0 |
| 7 | T | October 25, 1951 | 2–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) | 3–3–1 |
| 8 | L | October 28, 1951 | 1–2 | @ New York Rangers (1951–52) | 3–4–1 |
| 9 | W | October 29, 1951 | 6–1 | New York Rangers (1951–52) | 4–4–1 |
| 10 | L | October 31, 1951 | 0–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) | 4–5–1 |
| 11 | L | November 1, 1951 | 2–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) | 4–6–1 |
| 12 | L | November 3, 1951 | 2–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) | 4–7–1 |
| 13 | W | November 8, 1951 | 4–2 | Boston Bruins (1951–52) | 5–7–1 |
| 14 | W | November 10, 1951 | 4–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) | 6–7–1 |
| 15 | T | November 11, 1951 | 3–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) | 6–7–2 |
| 16 | W | November 17, 1951 | 3–2 | New York Rangers (1951–52) | 7–7–2 |
| 17 | T | November 18, 1951 | 3–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1951–52) | 7–7–3 |
| 18 | L | November 22, 1951 | 1–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) | 7–8–3 |
| 19 | L | November 24, 1951 | 2–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) | 7–9–3 |
| 20 | L | November 25, 1951 | 1–2 | @ New York Rangers (1951–52) | 7–10–3 |
| 21 | W | November 29, 1951 | 5–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) | 8–10–3 |
| 22 | W | December 1, 1951 | 4–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) | 9–10–3 |
| 23 | L | December 2, 1951 | 1–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1951–52) | 9–11–3 |
| 24 | L | December 8, 1951 | 0–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) | 9–12–3 |
| 25 | L | December 9, 1951 | 2–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) | 9–13–3 |
| 26 | T | December 13, 1951 | 1–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) | 9–13–4 |
| 27 | W | December 15, 1951 | 3–1 | Boston Bruins (1951–52) | 10–13–4 |
| 28 | W | December 16, 1951 | 4–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1951–52) | 11–13–4 |
| 29 | L | December 19, 1951 | 2–4 | @ New York Rangers (1951–52) | 11–14–4 |
| 30 | W | December 20, 1951 | 4–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) | 12–14–4 |
| 31 | W | December 22, 1951 | 5–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) | 13–14–4 |
| 32 | L | December 23, 1951 | 0–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) | 13–15–4 |
| 33 | W | December 26, 1951 | 3–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) | 14–15–4 |
| 34 | W | December 29, 1951 | 7–2 | New York Rangers (1951–52) | 15–15–4 |
| 35 | W | December 31, 1951 | 5–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) | 16–15–4 |
| 36 | W | January 1, 1952 | 3–0 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) | 17–15–4 |
| 37 | W | January 3, 1952 | 3–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) | 18–15–4 |
| 38 | L | January 5, 1952 | 2–3 | Boston Bruins (1951–52) | 18–16–4 |
| 39 | W | January 12, 1952 | 8–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) | 19–16–4 |
| 40 | T | January 13, 1952 | 2–2 | @ New York Rangers (1951–52) | 19–16–5 |
| 41 | T | January 17, 1952 | 2–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) | 19–16–6 |
| 42 | L | January 19, 1952 | 0–4 | Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) | 19–17–6 |
| 43 | L | January 20, 1952 | 1–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1951–52) | 19–18–6 |
| 44 | W | January 23, 1952 | 4–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) | 20–18–6 |
| 45 | W | January 24, 1952 | 4–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) | 21–18–6 |
| 46 | W | January 26, 1952 | 5–3 | Boston Bruins (1951–52) | 22–18–6 |
| 47 | W | January 27, 1952 | 5–3 | @ New York Rangers (1951–52) | 23–18–6 |
| 48 | W | January 31, 1952 | 1–0 | New York Rangers (1951–52) | 24–18–6 |
| 49 | T | February 2, 1952 | 2–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) | 24–18–7 |
| 50 | L | February 3, 1952 | 0–1 | @ Boston Bruins (1951–52) | 24–19–7 |
| 51 | L | February 7, 1952 | 3–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) | 24–20–7 |
| 52 | L | February 9, 1952 | 2–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) | 24–21–7 |
| 53 | W | February 10, 1952 | 3–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) | 25–21–7 |
| 54 | W | February 14, 1952 | 3–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) | 26–21–7 |
| 55 | W | February 16, 1952 | 5–1 | New York Rangers (1951–52) | 27–21–7 |
| 56 | L | February 17, 1952 | 2–3 | @ New York Rangers (1951–52) | 27–22–7 |
| 57 | T | February 21, 1952 | 3–3 | Boston Bruins (1951–52) | 27–22–8 |
| 58 | W | February 23, 1952 | 7–0 | Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) | 28–22–8 |
| 59 | W | February 28, 1952 | 3–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) | 29–22–8 |
| 60 | W | March 1, 1952 | 3–1 | New York Rangers (1951–52) | 30–22–8 |
| 61 | W | March 2, 1952 | 6–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) | 31–22–8 |
| 62 | L | March 5, 1952 | 2–6 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) | 31–23–8 |
| 63 | T | March 8, 1952 | 4–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) | 31–23–9 |
| 64 | W | March 9, 1952 | 2–0 | @ New York Rangers (1951–52) | 32–23–9 |
| 65 | W | March 13, 1952 | 3–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) | 33–23–9 |
| 66 | L | March 15, 1952 | 0–2 | Boston Bruins (1951–52) | 33–24–9 |
| 67 | L | March 16, 1952 | 1–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1951–52) | 33–25–9 |
| 68 | W | March 19, 1952 | 3–0 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) | 34–25–9 |
| 69 | T | March 22, 1952 | 3–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) | 34–25–10 |
| 70 | L | March 23, 1952 | 2–7 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) | 34–26–10 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Elmer Lach | C | 70 | 15 | 50 | 65 | 36 |
| Bernie Geoffrion | RW | 67 | 30 | 24 | 54 | 66 |
| Maurice Richard | RW | 48 | 27 | 17 | 44 | 44 |
| Paul Meger | LW | 69 | 24 | 18 | 42 | 44 |
| Billy Reay | C | 68 | 7 | 34 | 41 | 20 |
| Dick Gamble | LW | 64 | 23 | 17 | 40 | 8 |
| Floyd Curry | RW | 64 | 20 | 18 | 38 | 10 |
| Bert Olmstead | LW | 69 | 7 | 28 | 35 | 49 |
| Dickie Moore | LW | 33 | 18 | 15 | 33 | 44 |
| Doug Harvey | D | 68 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 82 |
| Ken Mosdell | C | 44 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 19 |
| Dollard St. Laurent | D | 40 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 30 |
| Emile Bouchard | D | 60 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 45 |
| John McCormack | C | 54 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 4 |
| Tom Johnson | D | 67 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 76 |
| Ross Lowe | D/LW | 31 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 42 |
| Bud MacPherson | D | 54 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 24 |
| Paul Masnick | C | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Lorne Davis | RW | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Gerry Couture | RW | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Calum MacKay | LW | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Gene Achtymichuk | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garry Edmundson | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bob Fryday | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cliff Malone | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Donnie Marshall | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry McNeil | G | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gerry McNeil | 4200 | 70 | 34 | 26 | 10 | 164 | 2.34 | 5 |
| Team: | 4200 | 70 | 34 | 26 | 10 | 164 | 2.34 | 5 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Floyd Curry | RW | 11 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 |
| Maurice Richard | RW | 11 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Bernie Geoffrion | RW | 11 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Billy Reay | C | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| Elmer Lach | C | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Doug Harvey | D | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| Paul Meger | LW | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Dollard St. Laurent | D | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Eddie Mazur | D/LW | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Dickie Moore | LW | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| Emile Bouchard | D | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| Dick Gamble | LW | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Tom Johnson | D | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Paul Masnick | C | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| Ken Mosdell | C | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bert Olmstead | LW | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Garry Edmundson | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Stan Long | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bud MacPherson | D | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry McNeil | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gerry McNeil | 688 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 23 | 2.01 | 1 |
| Team: | 688 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 23 | 2.01 | 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;