# 1969–70 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1969–70 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 61st season of play. The defending Stanley Cup champions finished sixteen games above .500, but it was not enough to return to the playoffs in the powerful East Division. Montreal finished fifth after losing tiebreaker to the New York Rangers on goal differential, and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 1947–48 season, ending their 21-season playoff streak.
This team was the only Canadiens team between the 1948–49 season and the 1993–94 season that missed the playoffs, a span of 46 years. Montreal would go on to win another Cup the following season, becoming the first (and, as of 2025, only) team to win the Stanley Cup, miss the playoffs and win the Cup again in successive campaigns.

## Regular season

On April 5, 1970 the Montreal Canadiens, in a desperate race to qualify for the NHL playoffs, the team played away against the Chicago Black Hawks. With 9:30 left in regulation time, Montreal was down by a score of 5–2. The Canadiens' only hope of qualifying for the playoffs was to score three more goals. Montreal coach Claude Ruel pulled his goaltender, Rogatien Vachon, from the net, sending him back out only for faceoffs. Unfortunately, luck ran out as Chicago scored five empty net goals and won the game by a score of 10–2, while the Rangers racked up a 9–5 win over Detroit. Thus, Montreal missed the playoffs for the first time in 22 years.

### Final standings

East Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 76 | 45 | 22 | 9 | 250 | 170 | +80 | 99 |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | 76 | 40 | 17 | 19 | 277 | 216 | +61 | 99 |
| 3 | Detroit Red Wings | 76 | 40 | 21 | 15 | 246 | 199 | +47 | 95 |
| 4 | New York Rangers | 76 | 38 | 22 | 16 | 246 | 189 | +57 | 92 |
| 5 | Montreal Canadiens | 76 | 38 | 22 | 16 | 244 | 201 | +43 | 92 |
| 6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 76 | 29 | 34 | 13 | 222 | 242 | −20 | 71 |

### Record vs. opponents
## Schedule and results

Regular season results :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 11, 1969 | 5–1 | Los Angeles Kings (1969–70) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | T | October 15, 1969 | 2–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70) | 1–0–1 |
| 3 | W | October 18, 1969 | 7–3 | New York Rangers (1969–70) | 2–0–1 |
| 4 | T | October 19, 1969 | 1–1 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70) | 2–0–2 |
| 5 | T | October 22, 1969 | 3–3 | St. Louis Blues (1969–70) | 2–0–3 |
| 6 | L | October 25, 1969 | 0–5 | Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70) | 2–1–3 |
| 7 | W | October 26, 1969 | 8–3 | @ New York Rangers (1969–70) | 3–1–3 |
| 8 | L | October 29, 1969 | 1–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70) | 3–2–3 |
| 9 | T | October 30, 1969 | 2–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1969–70) | 3–2–4 |
| 10 | W | November 1, 1969 | 9–2 | Boston Bruins (1969–70) | 4–2–4 |
| 11 | T | November 5, 1969 | 2–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1969–70) | 4–2–5 |
| 12 | W | November 6, 1969 | 4–1 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70) | 5–2–5 |
| 13 | W | November 8, 1969 | 6–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70) | 6–2–5 |
| 14 | W | November 10, 1969 | 6–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70) | 7–2–5 |
| 15 | W | November 12, 1969 | 5–0 | @ Oakland Seals (1969–70) | 8–2–5 |
| 16 | W | November 15, 1969 | 3–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1969–70) | 9–2–5 |
| 17 | L | November 16, 1969 | 0–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70) | 9–3–5 |
| 18 | T | November 19, 1969 | 5–5 | Detroit Red Wings (1969–70) | 9–3–6 |
| 19 | W | November 22, 1969 | 4–2 | Oakland Seals (1969–70) | 10–3–6 |
| 20 | T | November 23, 1969 | 2–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1969–70) | 10–3–7 |
| 21 | W | November 26, 1969 | 3–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70) | 11–3–7 |
| 22 | T | November 29, 1969 | 2–2 | Boston Bruins (1969–70) | 11–3–8 |
| 23 | W | December 4, 1969 | 1–0 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70) | 12–3–8 |
| 24 | L | December 6, 1969 | 3–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1969–70) | 12–4–8 |
| 25 | L | December 7, 1969 | 3–6 | @ New York Rangers (1969–70) | 12–5–8 |
| 26 | W | December 10, 1969 | 6–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70) | 13–5–8 |
| 27 | W | December 13, 1969 | 4–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70) | 14–5–8 |
| 28 | L | December 14, 1969 | 2–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1969–70) | 14–6–8 |
| 29 | W | December 17, 1969 | 5–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70) | 15–6–8 |
| 30 | L | December 20, 1969 | 2–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1969–70) | 15–7–8 |
| 31 | W | December 21, 1969 | 5–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1969–70) | 16–7–8 |
| 32 | T | December 26, 1969 | 3–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1969–70) | 16–7–9 |
| 33 | T | December 27, 1969 | 2–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70) | 16–7–10 |
| 34 | L | December 30, 1969 | 0–5 | St. Louis Blues (1969–70) | 16–8–10 |
| 35 | L | December 31, 1969 | 2–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70) | 16–9–10 |
| 36 | W | January 3, 1970 | 5–1 | Oakland Seals (1969–70) | 17–9–10 |
| 37 | W | January 6, 1970 | 4–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1969–70) | 18–9–10 |
| 38 | W | January 8, 1970 | 3–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70) | 19–9–10 |
| 39 | W | January 11, 1970 | 4–1 | New York Rangers (1969–70) | 20–9–10 |
| 40 | W | January 14, 1970 | 4–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1969–70) | 21–9–10 |
| 41 | L | January 17, 1970 | 0–3 | Oakland Seals (1969–70) | 21–10–10 |
| 42 | L | January 18, 1970 | 3–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1969–70) | 21–11–10 |
| 43 | W | January 22, 1970 | 4–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70) | 22–11–10 |
| 44 | W | January 24, 1970 | 4–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70) | 23–11–10 |
| 45 | W | January 25, 1970 | 4–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1969–70) | 24–11–10 |
| 46 | W | January 28, 1970 | 5–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1969–70) | 25–11–10 |
| 47 | T | January 31, 1970 | 3–3 | Boston Bruins (1969–70) | 25–11–11 |
| 48 | W | February 1, 1970 | 5–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70) | 26–11–11 |
| 49 | L | February 4, 1970 | 2–5 | @ Oakland Seals (1969–70) | 26–12–11 |
| 50 | W | February 5, 1970 | 5–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70) | 27–12–11 |
| 51 | T | February 7, 1970 | 1–1 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70) | 27–12–12 |
| 52 | W | February 8, 1970 | 3–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70) | 28–12–12 |
| 53 | T | February 11, 1970 | 3–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70) | 28–12–13 |
| 54 | L | February 14, 1970 | 2–5 | Detroit Red Wings (1969–70) | 28–13–13 |
| 55 | L | February 15, 1970 | 0–2 | @ New York Rangers (1969–70) | 28–14–13 |
| 56 | L | February 18, 1970 | 3–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70) | 28–15–13 |
| 57 | W | February 21, 1970 | 5–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70) | 29–15–13 |
| 58 | W | February 22, 1970 | 1–0 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1969–70) | 30–15–13 |
| 59 | W | February 25, 1970 | 3–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70) | 31–15–13 |
| 60 | L | February 28, 1970 | 2–3 | St. Louis Blues (1969–70) | 31–16–13 |
| 61 | L | March 4, 1970 | 1–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70) | 31–17–13 |
| 62 | L | March 7, 1970 | 2–4 | Detroit Red Wings (1969–70) | 31–18–13 |
| 63 | L | March 8, 1970 | 0–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1969–70) | 31–19–13 |
| 64 | W | March 11, 1970 | 5–3 | New York Rangers (1969–70) | 32–19–13 |
| 65 | W | March 14, 1970 | 6–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1969–70) | 33–19–13 |
| 66 | T | March 15, 1970 | 3–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70) | 33–19–14 |
| 67 | T | March 18, 1970 | 2–2 | @ Oakland Seals (1969–70) | 33–19–15 |
| 68 | W | March 19, 1970 | 6–1 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70) | 34–19–15 |
| 69 | W | March 21, 1970 | 2–0 | Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70) | 35–19–15 |
| 70 | W | March 22, 1970 | 5–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70) | 36–19–15 |
| 71 | W | March 25, 1970 | 5–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70) | 37–19–15 |
| 72 | T | March 28, 1970 | 1–1 | New York Rangers (1969–70) | 37–19–16 |
| 73 | L | March 29, 1970 | 1–4 | @ New York Rangers (1969–70) | 37–20–16 |
| 74 | W | April 1, 1970 | 6–3 | Boston Bruins (1969–70) | 38–20–16 |
| 75 | L | April 4, 1970 | 1–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70) | 38–21–16 |
| 76 | L | April 5, 1970 | 2–10 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70) | 38–22–16 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Yvan Cournoyer | RW | 72 | 27 | 36 | 63 | 23 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Jacques Lemaire | C | 69 | 32 | 28 | 60 | 16 | 13 | 0 | 5 |
| Bobby Rousseau | RW | 72 | 24 | 34 | 58 | 30 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
| Mickey Redmond | RW | 75 | 27 | 27 | 54 | 61 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Henri Richard | C | 62 | 16 | 36 | 52 | 61 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Jean Beliveau | C | 63 | 19 | 30 | 49 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Ralph Backstrom | C | 72 | 19 | 24 | 43 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Jacques Laperriere | D | 73 | 6 | 31 | 37 | 98 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| John Ferguson | LW | 48 | 19 | 13 | 32 | 139 | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| Serge Savard | D | 64 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 38 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Terry Harper | D | 75 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 109 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Claude Provost | RW | 65 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| J.C. Tremblay | D | 58 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ted Harris | D | 74 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 116 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pete Mahovlich | C | 36 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Christian Bordeleau | C | 48 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Mickey | RW | 21 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Marc Tardif | LW | 18 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lucien Grenier | RW | 23 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bobby Sheehan | C | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dick Duff | LW | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Pleau | C | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jean Gauthier | D | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rejean Houle | W | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Roberto | RW | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guy Charron | C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Curtis | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jude Drouin | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fran Huck | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guy Lapointe | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Myre | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rogie Vachon | G | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gump Worsley | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Rogie Vachon | 3697 | 64 | 31 | 18 | 12 | 162 | 2.63 | 4 |
| Phil Myre | 503 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 2.27 | 0 |
| Gump Worsley | 360 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 2.33 | 0 |
| Team: | 4560 | 76 | 38 | 22 | 16 | 195 | 2.57 | 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

* Jacques Laperriere, Defence, NHL Second Team All-Star

## Draft picks

| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 1 | Réjean Houle | Canada | Montreal Junior Canadiens (OHA) |
| 1 | 2 | Marc Tardif | Canada | Montreal Junior Canadiens (OHA) |
| 3 | 32 | Bobby Sheehan | United States | St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA) |
| 4 | 44 | Murray Anderson | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) |
| 5 | 56 | Gary Doyle | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHA) |
| 6 | 63 | Guy Delparte | Canada | London Knights (OHA) |
| 6 | 68 | Lynn Powis | Canada | Denver Pioneers (NCAA) |
| 7 | 74 | Ian Wilkie | Canada | Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL) |
| 7 | 75 | Dale Power | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHA) |
| 8 | 79 | Frank Hamill | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHA) |
| 9 | 83 | Gilles Drolet | Canada | Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) |
| 10 | 84 | Darrel Knibbs | Canada | Lethbridge Sugar Kings (AJHL) |