# 1988–89 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1988–89 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 80th season of play. The Canadiens finished first in the Adams Division, as well as the Prince of Wales Conference, with a 53–18–9 record for 115 points. The team finished second overall in the league behind the Calgary Flames, who had 117 points. Montreal defeated the Hartford Whalers, Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs before meeting the Flames in the Stanley Cup Finals. Calgary took the series 4–2, clinching the Cup in Game 6 on the Canadiens' vaunted home ice, the Montreal Forum. This marked the only time that a visiting team defeated them to win the Stanley Cup on Forum ice.
The Canadiens were coached by Pat Burns and captained by Bob Gainey.

## Regular season

* November 7, 1988 – The Canadiens traded RW John Kordic and a 6th-round choice (Michael Doers) to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for RW Russ Courtnall.
For the third straight season, the Canadiens allowed the fewest goals in the NHL (218), were the least penalized team (326 short-handed situations) and allowed the fewest power-play goals (58).

### Final standings

Adams Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 53 | 18 | 9 | 315 | 218 | 115 |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 37 | 29 | 14 | 289 | 256 | 88 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 38 | 35 | 7 | 291 | 299 | 83 |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 37 | 38 | 5 | 299 | 290 | 79 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 27 | 46 | 7 | 269 | 342 | 61 |
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
#### Vs. Wales Conference

1988–89 NHL records :
| Team | BOS | BUF | HFD | MTL | QUE | Total |
| Boston | — | 0–5–3 | 5–3 | 0–7–1 | 4–1–3 | 9–16–7 |
| Buffalo | 5–0–3 | — | 3–5 | 3–5 | 3–4–1 | 14–13–5 |
| Hartford | 3–5 | 5–3 | — | 1–7 | 4–3–1 | 13–18–1 |
| Montreal | 7–0–1 | 5–3 | 7–1 | — | 4–4 | 23–8–1 |
| Quebec | 1–4–3 | 4–3–1 | 3–4–1 | 4–4 | — | 12–15–5 |
1988–89 NHL records :
| Team | NJD | NYI | NYR | PHI | PIT | WSH | Total |
| Boston | 2–0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1–1 | 1–1–1 | 9–4–5 |
| Buffalo | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 11–7–0 |
| Hartford | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 9–8–1 |
| Montreal | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1–1 | 11–4–3 |
| Quebec | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–2–1 | 7–10–1 |

#### Vs. Campbell Conference

1988–89 NHL records :
| Team | CHI | DET | MIN | STL | TOR | Total |
| Boston | 3–0 | 0–2–1 | 0–2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 9–4–2 |
| Buffalo | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 8–5–2 |
| Hartford | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0–2 | 2–1 | 9–4–2 |
| Montreal | 1–0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0–2 | 2–0–1 | 2–1 | 7–3–5 |
| Quebec | 0–2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 4–10–1 |
1988–89 NHL records :
| Team | CGY | EDM | LAK | VAN | WIN | Total |
| Boston | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 10–5–0 |
| Buffalo | 2–1 | 0–2–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 5–9–1 |
| Hartford | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1–1 | 2–1 | 6–8–1 |
| Montreal | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 12–3–0 |
| Quebec | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–11–0 |

## Schedule and results

| # | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 6, 1988 | 2–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | W | October 8, 1988 | 4–3 | Minnesota North Stars | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | L | October 12, 1988 | 5–6 | Quebec Nordiques | 1–2–0 |
| 4 | W | October 14, 1988 | 7–3 | @ New Jersey Devils | 2–2–0 |
| 5 | L | October 15, 1988 | 1–2 | @ New York Islanders | 2–3–0 |
| 6 | L | October 17, 1988 | 2–6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–4–0 |
| 7 | W | October 19, 1988 | 5–4 | Hartford Whalers | 3–4–0 |
| 8 | L | October 21, 1988 | 3–5 | @ Buffalo Sabres | 3–5–0 |
| 9 | W | October 22, 1988 | 4–3 | Buffalo Sabres | 4–5–0 |
| 10 | T | October 25, 1988 | 1–1 OT | @ Boston Bruins | 4–5–1 |
| 11 | L | October 26, 1988 | 2–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings | 4–6–1 |
| 12 | L | October 29, 1988 | 4–5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 4–7–1 |
| 13 | W | November 1, 1988 | 5–3 | @ Hartford Whalers | 5–7–1 |
| 14 | W | November 2, 1988 | 5–3 | Los Angeles Kings | 6–7–1 |
| 15 | W | November 5, 1988 | 7–2 | Winnipeg Jets | 7–7–1 |
| 16 | T | November 7, 1988 | 3–3 OT | St. Louis Blues | 7–7–2 |
| 17 | T | November 9, 1988 | 6–6 OT | @ Chicago Blackhawks | 7–7–3 |
| 18 | W | November 11, 1988 | 3–1 | @ Vancouver Canucks | 8–7–3 |
| 19 | L | November 13, 1988 | 3–7 | @ Winnipeg Jets | 8–8–3 |
| 20 | W | November 16, 1988 | 5–4 OT | New York Islanders | 9–8–3 |
| 21 | W | November 17, 1988 | 5–2 | @ Boston Bruins | 10–8–3 |
| 22 | W | November 19, 1988 | 5–3 | Chicago Blackhawks | 11–8–3 |
| 23 | W | November 21, 1988 | 4–2 | @ New York Rangers | 12–8–3 |
| 24 | W | November 23, 1988 | 2–0 | Boston Bruins | 13–8–3 |
| 25 | L | November 24, 1988 | 3–5 | @ Quebec Nordiques | 13–9–3 |
| 26 | W | November 26, 1988 | 7–5 | Edmonton Oilers | 14–9–3 |
| 27 | W | November 30, 1988 | 6–3 | @ Hartford Whalers | 15–9–3 |
| 28 | T | December 1, 1988 | 2–2 OT | @ Philadelphia Flyers | 15–9–4 |
| 29 | W | December 3, 1988 | 3–2 OT | Buffalo Sabres | 16–9–4 |
| 30 | W | December 5, 1988 | 7–2 | Detroit Red Wings | 17–9–4 |
| 31 | T | December 7, 1988 | 2–2 OT | @ Minnesota North Stars | 17–9–5 |
| 32 | W | December 8, 1988 | 5–1 | @ St. Louis Blues | 18–9–5 |
| 33 | T | December 10, 1988 | 0–0 OT | Washington Capitals | 18–9–6 |
| 34 | W | December 12, 1988 | 3–1 | Boston Bruins | 19–9–6 |
| 35 | L | December 15, 1988 | 4–6 | @ Quebec Nordiques | 19–10–6 |
| 36 | W | December 17, 1988 | 6–3 | New York Rangers | 20–10–6 |
| 37 | W | December 19, 1988 | 2–1 | Hartford Whalers | 21–10–6 |
| 38 | W | December 21, 1988 | 6–4 | Quebec Nordiques | 22–10–6 |
| 39 | W | December 22, 1988 | 4–2 | @ Boston Bruins | 23–10–6 |
| 40 | W | December 27, 1988 | 3–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings | 24–10–6 |
| 41 | W | December 29, 1988 | 4–3 | @ Calgary Flames | 25–10–6 |
| 42 | W | December 31, 1988 | 4–2 | @ Edmonton Oilers | 26–10–6 |
| 43 | W | January 1, 1989 | 4–0 | @ Vancouver Canucks | 27–10–6 |
| 44 | W | January 7, 1989 | 3–1 | Boston Bruins | 28–10–6 |
| 45 | L | January 9, 1989 | 2–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings | 28–11–6 |
| 46 | W | January 11, 1989 | 1–0 | New Jersey Devils | 29–11–6 |
| 47 | W | January 12, 1989 | 5–3 | @ Boston Bruins | 30–11–6 |
| 48 | W | January 14, 1989 | 5–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs | 31–11–6 |
| 49 | W | January 18, 1989 | 3–1 | Hartford Whalers | 32–11–6 |
| 50 | L | January 19, 1989 | 4–6 | @ Hartford Whalers | 32–12–6 |
| 51 | W | January 21, 1989 | 4–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 33–12–6 |
| 52 | L | January 23, 1989 | 1–3 | Calgary Flames | 33–13–6 |
| 53 | L | January 27, 1989 | 2–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres | 33–14–6 |
| 54 | W | January 28, 1989 | 2–1 | Buffalo Sabres | 34–14–6 |
| 55 | W | January 31, 1989 | 5–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins | 35–14–6 |
| 56 | W | February 2, 1989 | 6–1 | @ Quebec Nordiques | 36–14–6 |
| 57 | W | February 4, 1989 | 7–5 | New York Rangers | 37–14–6 |
| 58 | W | February 11, 1989 | 5–4 | New Jersey Devils | 38–14–6 |
| 59 | L | February 13, 1989 | 2–3 | Quebec Nordiques | 38–15–6 |
| 60 | W | February 16, 1989 | 7–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers | 39–15–6 |
| 61 | W | February 18, 1989 | 4–2 | @ St. Louis Blues | 40–15–6 |
| 62 | T | February 19, 1989 | 4–4 OT | @ Chicago Blackhawks | 40–15–7 |
| 63 | W | February 22, 1989 | 6–3 | Winnipeg Jets | 41–15–7 |
| 64 | W | February 25, 1989 | 6–1 | Buffalo Sabres | 42–15–7 |
| 65 | W | February 26, 1989 | 5–2 | Vancouver Canucks | 43–15–7 |
| 66 | L | March 1, 1989 | 0–3 | @ Edmonton Oilers | 43–16–7 |
| 67 | W | March 2, 1989 | 3–2 | @ Calgary Flames | 44–16–7 |
| 68 | W | March 4, 1989 | 6–1 | @ Hartford Whalers | 45–16–7 |
| 69 | W | March 8, 1989 | 3–2 | Washington Capitals | 46–16–7 |
| 70 | W | March 9, 1989 | 5–2 | @ Quebec Nordiques | 47–16–7 |
| 71 | W | March 11, 1989 | 5–3 | Hartford Whalers | 48–16–7 |
| 72 | L | March 13, 1989 | 3–5 | New York Islanders | 48–17–7 |
| 73 | W | March 15, 1989 | 5–2 | Los Angeles Kings | 49–17–7 |
| 74 | L | March 17, 1989 | 1–4 | @ Washington Capitals | 49–18–7 |
| 75 | W | March 18, 1989 | 7–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins | 50–18–7 |
| 76 | W | March 22, 1989 | 8–0 | Quebec Nordiques | 51–18–7 |
| 77 | T | March 25, 1989 | 1–1 OT | Minnesota North Stars | 51–18–8 |
| 78 | W | March 27, 1989 | 5–2 | Boston Bruins | 52–18–8 |
| 79 | W | March 30, 1989 | 4–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres | 53–18–8 |
| 80 | T | April 1, 1989 | 2–2 OT | Philadelphia Flyers | 53–18–9 |

## Player statistics
### Forwards

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Mats Naslund | 77 | 33 | 51 | 84 | 14 |
| Bobby Smith | 80 | 32 | 51 | 83 | 69 |
| Stephane Richer | 68 | 25 | 35 | 60 | 61 |
| Guy Carbonneau | 79 | 26 | 30 | 56 | 44 |
| Claude Lemieux | 69 | 29 | 22 | 51 | 136 |
| Shayne Corson | 80 | 26 | 24 | 50 | 193 |
| Brian Skrudland | 71 | 12 | 29 | 41 | 84 |
| Mike McPhee | 73 | 19 | 22 | 41 | 74 |
| Russ Courtnall | 64 | 22 | 17 | 39 | 15 |
| Mike Keane | 69 | 16 | 19 | 35 | 69 |
| Ryan Walter | 78 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 48 |
| Brent Gilchrist | 49 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 16 |
| Bob Gainey | 49 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 34 |
| Gilles Thibaudeau | 32 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 6 |
| Jose Charbonneau | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Benoit Brunet | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Stephan Lebeau | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Jocelyn Lemieux | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Steve Martinson | 25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 87 |
| John Kordic | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |

### Defencemen

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Chris Chelios | 80 | 15 | 58 | 73 | 185 |
| Petr Svoboda | 71 | 8 | 37 | 45 | 147 |
| Larry Robinson | 74 | 4 | 26 | 30 | 22 |
| Craig Ludwig | 74 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 73 |
| Rick Green | 72 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 25 |
| Eric Desjardins | 36 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 26 |
| Mike Lalor | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 15 |
| Jyrki Lumme | 21 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| Donald Dufresne | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 43 |

### Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | GP | W | L | T | SO | GAA |
| Patrick Roy | 48 | 33 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 2.47 |
| Brian Hayward | 36 | 20 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 2.90 |
| Randy Exelby | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |

## Playoffs
### Adams Division semi-finals
#### Hartford Whalers vs. Montreal Canadiens

| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
| April 5 | Hartford Whalers | 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 6 | |
| April 6 | Hartford Whalers | 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | |
| April 8 | Montreal Canadiens | 5 | Hartford Whalers | 4 | (OT) |
| April 9 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | Hartford Whalers | 3 | |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 0.

### Adams Division finals
#### Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens

| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
| April 17 | Boston Bruins | 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | |
| April 19 | Boston Bruins | 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | (OT) |
| April 21 | Montreal Canadiens | 5 | Boston Bruins | 4 | |
| April 23 | Montreal Canadiens | 2 | Boston Bruins | 3 | |
| April 25 | Boston Bruins | 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1.

### Conference finals
#### Philadelphia Flyers vs. Montreal Canadiens

| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
| May 1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | |
| May 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 0 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | |
| May 5 | Montreal Canadiens | 5 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1 | |
| May 7 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 0 | |
| May 9 | Philadelphia Flyers | 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | (OT) |
| May 11 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 2 |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 2.

### Stanley Cup finals
#### Montreal Canadiens vs. Calgary Flames

The Stanley Cup Finals was decided between the top two teams during the 1988–89 NHL regular season. Co-captain Lanny McDonald scored the second Flames goal in Game 6. This turned out to be the last goal in his Hockey Hall of Fame career because he retired during the following off-season. Doug Gilmour scored two goals in the third period, including the eventual game and Cup winner to cement the victory for the Flames.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
| May 14 | Montreal | 2 | Calgary | 3 | |
| May 17 | Montreal | 4 | Calgary | 2 | |
| May 19 | Calgary | 3 | Montreal | 4 | (2nd OT) |
| May 21 | Calgary | 4 | Montreal | 2 | |
| May 23 | Montreal | 2 | Calgary | 3 | |
| May 25 | Calgary | 4 | Montreal | 2 | |
Calgary wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 2.

## Awards and records

* Prince of Wales Trophy
* Frank J. Selke Trophy: Guy Carbonneau
* Jack Adams Award: Pat Burns
* James Norris Memorial Trophy: Chris Chelios
* William M. Jennings Trophy: Patrick Roy/Brian Hayward
* Vezina Trophy: Patrick Roy
* Patrick Roy, goalie, NHL First All-Star Team
* Chris Chelios, defence, NHL First All-Star Team

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | 20 | Eric Charron (D) | Canada | Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 34 | Martin St. Amour (LW) | Canada | Verdun Junior Canadiens (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 46 | Neil Carnes (C) | Canada | Verdun Junior Canadiens (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 83 | Patric Kjellberg (LW) | Sweden | Falu IF (Sweden) |
| 5 | 93 | Peter Popovic (D) | Sweden | Västerås HK (Sweden) |
| 5 | 104 | Jean-Claude Bergeron (G) | Canada | Verdun Junior Canadiens (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 125 | Patrik Carnback (RW) | Sweden | Västra Frölunda HC (Sweden) |
| 7 | 146 | Tim Chase (D) | United States | Tabor Academy (USHS-MA) |
| 8 | 167 | Sean Hill (D) | United States | East High School (USHS-MN) |
| 9 | 188 | Harijs Vitolinsh (C) | Soviet Union | Dinamo Riga (USSR) |
| 10 | 209 | Yuri Krivokhizha (D) | Soviet Union | Dinamo Minsk (USSR) |
| 11 | 230 | Kevin Dahl (D) | Canada | Bowling Green State University (CCHA) |
| 12 | 251 | Dave Kunda (D) | Canada | University of Guelph (CIAU) |
| S | 25 | Peter Fish (G) | United States | Boston University (Hockey East) |