# 1956–57 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1956–57 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 48th season of play. The Canadiens would place second in the league to qualify for the playoffs. The Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup for the ninth time in team history and for the second year in a row.

## Regular season
### Final standings

National Hockey League vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 38 | 20 | 12 | 198 | 157 | +41 | 88 |
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 35 | 23 | 12 | 210 | 155 | +55 | 82 |
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 34 | 24 | 12 | 195 | 174 | +21 | 80 |
| 4 | New York Rangers | 70 | 26 | 30 | 14 | 184 | 227 | −43 | 66 |
| 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 21 | 34 | 15 | 174 | 192 | −18 | 57 |
| 6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 16 | 39 | 15 | 169 | 225 | −56 | 47 |

### Record vs. opponents

1956–57 NHL Records :
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYR | TOR |
| Boston | — | 8–5–1 | 7–4–3 | 7–4–3 | 5–8–1 | 7–3–4 |
| Chicago | 5–8–1 | — | 2–10–2 | 3–8–3 | 1–7–6 | 5–6–3 |
| Detroit | 4–7–3 | 10–2–2 | — | 4–6–4 | 10–3–1 | 10–2–2 |
| Montreal | 4–7–3 | 8–3–3 | 6–4–4 | — | 8–5–1 | 9–4–1 |
| New York | 8–5–1 | 7–1–6 | 3–10–1 | 5–8–1 | — | 3–6–5 |
| Toronto | 3–7–4 | 6–5–3 | 2–10–2 | 4–9–1 | 6–3–5 | — |

## Schedule and results

Regular season results :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 13, 1956 | 3–0 | Boston Bruins (1956–57) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | L | October 14, 1956 | 1–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1956–57) | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | T | October 18, 1956 | 1–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1956–57) | 1–1–1 |
| 4 | W | October 20, 1956 | 5–0 | New York Rangers (1956–57) | 2–1–1 |
| 5 | L | October 24, 1956 | 2–3 | @ New York Rangers (1956–57) | 2–2–1 |
| 6 | L | October 25, 1956 | 2–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1956–57) | 2–3–1 |
| 7 | L | October 27, 1956 | 0–1 | Boston Bruins (1956–57) | 2–4–1 |
| 8 | L | October 28, 1956 | 1–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1956–57) | 2–5–1 |
| 9 | W | November 1, 1956 | 4–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1956–57) | 3–5–1 |
| 10 | W | November 3, 1956 | 6–0 | Chicago Black Hawks (1956–57) | 4–5–1 |
| 11 | W | November 4, 1956 | 1–0 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1956–57) | 5–5–1 |
| 12 | W | November 7, 1956 | 4–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1956–57) | 6–5–1 |
| 13 | W | November 8, 1956 | 4–2 | New York Rangers (1956–57) | 7–5–1 |
| 14 | L | November 10, 1956 | 1–3 | Boston Bruins (1956–57) | 7–6–1 |
| 15 | L | November 11, 1956 | 2–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1956–57) | 7–7–1 |
| 16 | W | November 14, 1956 | 5–3 | @ New York Rangers (1956–57) | 8–7–1 |
| 17 | W | November 17, 1956 | 6–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1956–57) | 9–7–1 |
| 18 | L | November 18, 1956 | 3–8 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1956–57) | 9–8–1 |
| 19 | L | November 22, 1956 | 3–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1956–57) | 9–9–1 |
| 20 | W | November 24, 1956 | 6–1 | New York Rangers (1956–57) | 10–9–1 |
| 21 | T | November 25, 1956 | 1–1 | @ New York Rangers (1956–57) | 10–9–2 |
| 22 | W | November 29, 1956 | 4–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1956–57) | 11–9–2 |
| 23 | W | December 1, 1956 | 7–0 | Chicago Black Hawks (1956–57) | 12–9–2 |
| 24 | L | December 2, 1956 | 0–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1956–57) | 12–10–2 |
| 25 | W | December 5, 1956 | 3–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1956–57) | 13–10–2 |
| 26 | W | December 7, 1956 | 3–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1956–57) | 14–10–2 |
| 27 | T | December 9, 1956 | 1–1 | @ Boston Bruins (1956–57) | 14–10–3 |
| 28 | W | December 13, 1956 | 6–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1956–57) | 15–10–3 |
| 29 | W | December 15, 1956 | 6–4 | Boston Bruins (1956–57) | 16–10–3 |
| 30 | L | December 16, 1956 | 2–4 | @ New York Rangers (1956–57) | 16–11–3 |
| 31 | W | December 20, 1956 | 4–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1956–57) | 17–11–3 |
| 32 | T | December 22, 1956 | 1–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1956–57) | 17–11–4 |
| 33 | T | December 23, 1956 | 3–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1956–57) | 17–11–5 |
| 34 | L | December 26, 1956 | 0–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1956–57) | 17–12–5 |
| 35 | W | December 29, 1956 | 6–3 | New York Rangers (1956–57) | 18–12–5 |
| 36 | W | January 1, 1957 | 6–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1956–57) | 19–12–5 |
| 37 | T | January 3, 1957 | 3–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1956–57) | 19–12–6 |
| 38 | W | January 5, 1957 | 1–0 | Detroit Red Wings (1956–57) | 20–12–6 |
| 39 | W | January 6, 1957 | 3–2 | @ New York Rangers (1956–57) | 21–12–6 |
| 40 | W | January 10, 1957 | 2–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1956–57) | 22–12–6 |
| 41 | W | January 12, 1957 | 4–1 | Boston Bruins (1956–57) | 23–12–6 |
| 42 | W | January 13, 1957 | 3–1 | @ Boston Bruins (1956–57) | 24–12–6 |
| 43 | W | January 16, 1957 | 3–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1956–57) | 25–12–6 |
| 44 | W | January 19, 1957 | 5–0 | New York Rangers (1956–57) | 26–12–6 |
| 45 | L | January 20, 1957 | 2–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1956–57) | 26–13–6 |
| 46 | T | January 26, 1957 | 4–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1956–57) | 26–13–7 |
| 47 | L | January 27, 1957 | 2–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1956–57) | 26–14–7 |
| 48 | W | January 31, 1957 | 5–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1956–57) | 27–14–7 |
| 49 | L | February 2, 1957 | 1–2 | Boston Bruins (1956–57) | 27–15–7 |
| 50 | T | February 3, 1957 | 3–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1956–57) | 27–15–8 |
| 51 | T | February 6, 1957 | 1–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1956–57) | 27–15–9 |
| 52 | T | February 9, 1957 | 2–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1956–57) | 27–15–10 |
| 53 | L | February 10, 1957 | 4–5 | @ New York Rangers (1956–57) | 27–16–10 |
| 54 | L | February 14, 1957 | 1–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1956–57) | 27–17–10 |
| 55 | L | February 16, 1957 | 1–2 | New York Rangers (1956–57) | 27–18–10 |
| 56 | W | February 17, 1957 | 3–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1956–57) | 28–18–10 |
| 57 | T | February 21, 1957 | 3–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1956–57) | 28–18–11 |
| 58 | W | February 23, 1957 | 4–1 | New York Rangers (1956–57) | 29–18–11 |
| 59 | L | February 24, 1957 | 3–4 | @ New York Rangers (1956–57) | 29–19–11 |
| 60 | W | February 28, 1957 | 3–0 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1956–57) | 30–19–11 |
| 61 | W | March 2, 1957 | 5–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1956–57) | 31–19–11 |
| 62 | L | March 3, 1957 | 2–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1956–57) | 31–20–11 |
| 63 | L | March 6, 1957 | 1–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1956–57) | 31–21–11 |
| 64 | W | March 9, 1957 | 6–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1956–57) | 32–21–11 |
| 65 | L | March 10, 1957 | 1–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1956–57) | 32–22–11 |
| 66 | W | March 14, 1957 | 8–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1956–57) | 33–22–11 |
| 67 | T | March 16, 1957 | 2–2 | Boston Bruins (1956–57) | 33–22–12 |
| 68 | L | March 17, 1957 | 1–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1956–57) | 33–23–12 |
| 69 | W | March 20, 1957 | 2–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1956–57) | 34–23–12 |
| 70 | W | March 23, 1957 | 3–0 | Chicago Black Hawks (1956–57) | 35–23–12 |

## Playoffs

The Canadiens qualified for the playoffs in second place. The Canadien then faced off against the New York Rangers, winning the best-of-seven series 4–1 to advance to the final against Boston.

### Stanley Cup Finals

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score |
| April 6 | Boston | 1 | Montreal | 5 |
| April 9 | Boston | 0 | Montreal | 1 |
| April 11 | Montreal | 4 | Boston | 2 |
| April 14 | Montreal | 0 | Boston | 2 |
| April 16 | Boston | 1 | Montreal | 5 |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Jean Beliveau | C | 69 | 33 | 51 | 84 | 105 |
| Maurice Richard | RW | 63 | 33 | 29 | 62 | 74 |
| Dickie Moore | LW | 70 | 29 | 29 | 58 | 56 |
| Henri Richard | C | 63 | 18 | 36 | 54 | 71 |
| Doug Harvey | D | 70 | 6 | 44 | 50 | 92 |
| Bert Olmstead | LW | 64 | 15 | 33 | 48 | 74 |
| Bernie Geoffrion | RW | 41 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 18 |
| Claude Provost | RW | 67 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 24 |
| Andre Pronovost | LW | 64 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 58 |
| Donnie Marshall | LW | 70 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 6 |
| Floyd Curry | RW | 70 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 20 |
| Tom Johnson | D | 70 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 59 |
| Jack LeClair | C | 47 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 14 |
| Jean-Guy Talbot | D | 59 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 70 |
| Dollard St. Laurent | D | 64 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 49 |
| Phil Goyette | C | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Bob Turner | D | 58 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 48 |
| Allan Johnson | RW/C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Gene Achtymichuk | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ralph Backstrom | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Murray Balfour | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Glen Cressman | C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bronco Horvath | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bud MacPherson | D | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Gerry McNeil | G | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jacques Plante | G | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Guy Rousseau | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stan Smrke | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jerry Wilson | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Jacques Plante | 3660 | 61 | 31 | 18 | 12 | 122 | 2.00 | 9 |
| Gerry McNeil | 540 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 31 | 3.44 | 0 |
| Team: | 4200 | 70 | 35 | 23 | 12 | 153 | 2.19 | 9 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Bernie Geoffrion | RW | 10 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 2 |
| Jean Beliveau | C | 10 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 15 |
| Maurice Richard | RW | 10 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 8 |
| Dickie Moore | LW | 10 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 4 |
| Bert Olmstead | LW | 10 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 13 |
| Henri Richard | C | 10 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Doug Harvey | D | 10 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| Floyd Curry | RW | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| Donnie Marshall | LW | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Phil Goyette | C | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Tom Johnson | D | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 13 |
| Jean-Guy Talbot | D | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| Andre Pronovost | LW | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Connie Broden | C | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Claude Provost | RW | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Dollard St. Laurent | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| Bob Turner | D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jacques Plante | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Jacques Plante | 616 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 17 | 1.66 | 1 |
| Team: | 616 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 17 | 1.66 | 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;

## Awards and records

* James Norris Memorial Trophy: || Doug Harvey
* Vezina Trophy: || Jacques Plante