# 1972–73 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1972–73 Montreal Canadiens season, the club's 64th season, led to the Canadiens winning their 18th Stanley Cup in club history.

## Regular season

Rookie goalie Wayne Thomas left his mark in Canadiens history by becoming only the second goaltender in over 50 seasons to record a shutout (3–0) in his NHL debut against Vancouver on January 14, 1973.

### Final standings

East Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 78 | 52 | 10 | 16 | 329 | 184 | +145 | 120 |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | 78 | 51 | 22 | 5 | 330 | 235 | +95 | 107 |
| 3 | New York Rangers | 78 | 47 | 23 | 8 | 297 | 208 | +89 | 102 |
| 4 | Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 37 | 27 | 14 | 257 | 219 | +38 | 88 |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 78 | 37 | 29 | 12 | 265 | 243 | +22 | 86 |
| 6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 78 | 27 | 41 | 10 | 247 | 279 | −32 | 64 |
| 7 | Vancouver Canucks | 78 | 22 | 47 | 9 | 233 | 339 | −106 | 53 |
| 8 | New York Islanders | 78 | 12 | 60 | 6 | 170 | 347 | −177 | 30 |

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

Regular season schedule :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 7, 1972 | 3–0 | Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | T | October 11, 1972 | 2–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) | 1–0–1 |
| 3 | W | October 12, 1972 | 3–0 | Atlanta Flames (1972–73) | 2–0–1 |
| 4 | W | October 14, 1972 | 6–1 | New York Rangers (1972–73) | 3–0–1 |
| 5 | T | October 18, 1972 | 4–4 | @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) | 3–0–2 |
| 6 | W | October 21, 1972 | 5–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 4–0–2 |
| 7 | T | October 22, 1972 | 1–1 | @ New York Rangers (1972–73) | 4–0–3 |
| 8 | W | October 24, 1972 | 4–3 | @ New York Islanders (1972–73) | 5–0–3 |
| 9 | W | October 26, 1972 | 7–0 | St. Louis Blues (1972–73) | 6–0–3 |
| 10 | T | October 28, 1972 | 3–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) | 6–0–4 |
| 11 | W | October 29, 1972 | 2–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 7–0–4 |
| 12 | W | November 1, 1972 | 7–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) | 8–0–4 |
| 13 | W | November 2, 1972 | 6–1 | @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) | 9–0–4 |
| 14 | L | November 4, 1972 | 2–4 | Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 9–1–4 |
| 15 | W | November 8, 1972 | 5–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) | 10–1–4 |
| 16 | W | November 11, 1972 | 5–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) | 11–1–4 |
| 17 | W | November 12, 1972 | 5–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) | 12–1–4 |
| 18 | W | November 14, 1972 | 7–2 | @ New York Islanders (1972–73) | 13–1–4 |
| 19 | W | November 16, 1972 | 6–5 | Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) | 14–1–4 |
| 20 | L | November 18, 1972 | 3–5 | Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) | 14–2–4 |
| 21 | T | November 22, 1972 | 3–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) | 14–2–5 |
| 22 | W | November 24, 1972 | 9–1 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 15–2–5 |
| 23 | L | November 26, 1972 | 2–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) | 15–3–5 |
| 24 | T | November 29, 1972 | 3–3 | Boston Bruins (1972–73) | 15–3–6 |
| 25 | T | December 2, 1972 | 4–4 | Atlanta Flames (1972–73) | 15–3–7 |
| 26 | L | December 3, 1972 | 2–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) | 15–4–7 |
| 27 | W | December 6, 1972 | 6–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) | 16–4–7 |
| 28 | W | December 9, 1972 | 2–1 | California Golden Seals (1972–73) | 17–4–7 |
| 29 | L | December 10, 1972 | 2–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) | 17–5–7 |
| 30 | T | December 13, 1972 | 2–2 | @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) | 17–5–8 |
| 31 | W | December 15, 1972 | 4–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 18–5–8 |
| 32 | W | December 16, 1972 | 3–1 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) | 19–5–8 |
| 33 | W | December 20, 1972 | 4–2 | New York Islanders (1972–73) | 20–5–8 |
| 34 | W | December 23, 1972 | 6–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) | 21–5–8 |
| 35 | W | December 26, 1972 | 4–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) | 22–5–8 |
| 36 | L | December 27, 1972 | 2–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) | 22–6–8 |
| 37 | T | December 30, 1972 | 1–1 | Atlanta Flames (1972–73) | 22–6–9 |
| 38 | W | January 3, 1973 | 8–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) | 23–6–9 |
| 39 | W | January 6, 1973 | 5–0 | California Golden Seals (1972–73) | 24–6–9 |
| 40 | T | January 8, 1973 | 3–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) | 24–6–10 |
| 41 | W | January 10, 1973 | 6–0 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) | 25–6–10 |
| 42 | T | January 12, 1973 | 3–3 | @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) | 25–6–11 |
| 43 | W | January 14, 1973 | 3–0 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 26–6–11 |
| 44 | W | January 17, 1973 | 6–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) | 27–6–11 |
| 45 | W | January 18, 1973 | 5–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) | 28–6–11 |
| 46 | W | January 20, 1973 | 6–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) | 29–6–11 |
| 47 | W | January 21, 1973 | 3–2 | @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) | 30–6–11 |
| 48 | W | January 24, 1973 | 6–1 | New York Islanders (1972–73) | 31–6–11 |
| 49 | W | January 27, 1973 | 4–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) | 32–6–11 |
| 50 | L | January 28, 1973 | 2–4 | Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 32–7–11 |
| 51 | T | February 1, 1973 | 3–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) | 32–7–12 |
| 52 | W | February 3, 1973 | 7–1 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) | 33–7–12 |
| 53 | W | February 4, 1973 | 6–1 | @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) | 34–7–12 |
| 54 | W | February 7, 1973 | 5–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) | 35–7–12 |
| 55 | W | February 10, 1973 | 2–1 | Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) | 36–7–12 |
| 56 | T | February 11, 1973 | 2–2 | @ New York Rangers (1972–73) | 36–7–13 |
| 57 | W | February 14, 1973 | 6–3 | New York Rangers (1972–73) | 37–7–13 |
| 58 | L | February 17, 1973 | 6–7 | Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) | 37–8–13 |
| 59 | W | February 18, 1973 | 2–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) | 38–8–13 |
| 60 | W | February 21, 1973 | 4–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) | 39–8–13 |
| 61 | T | February 22, 1973 | 3–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 39–8–14 |
| 62 | W | February 24, 1973 | 7–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 40–8–14 |
| 63 | W | February 28, 1973 | 5–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) | 41–8–14 |
| 64 | W | March 3, 1973 | 5–1 | Boston Bruins (1972–73) | 42–8–14 |
| 65 | W | March 4, 1973 | 4–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) | 43–8–14 |
| 66 | W | March 6, 1973 | 3–2 | @ New York Islanders (1972–73) | 44–8–14 |
| 67 | W | March 7, 1973 | 4–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) | 45–8–14 |
| 68 | W | March 10, 1973 | 2–0 | Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 46–8–14 |
| 69 | L | March 11, 1973 | 3–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) | 46–9–14 |
| 70 | W | March 14, 1973 | 5–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) | 47–9–14 |
| 71 | T | March 17, 1973 | 3–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) | 47–9–15 |
| 72 | T | March 18, 1973 | 4–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) | 47–9–16 |
| 73 | W | March 21, 1973 | 3–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) | 48–9–16 |
| 74 | W | March 24, 1973 | 11–4 | St. Louis Blues (1972–73) | 49–9–16 |
| 75 | L | March 25, 1973 | 5–6 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) | 49–10–16 |
| 76 | W | March 28, 1973 | 4–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) | 50–10–16 |
| 77 | W | March 31, 1973 | 5–1 | New York Rangers (1972–73) | 51–10–16 |
| 78 | W | April 1, 1973 | 5–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) | 52–10–16 |

## Playoffs

The Canadiens met the Buffalo Sabres making their playoff debut in the first round, defeating the Sabres four games to two. In the second round, the Canadiens defeated the Philadelphia Flyers who had beaten the Minnesota North Stars, winning the series four games to one to advance to the finals against the Chicago Black Hawks.

### Finals
#### Chicago Black Hawks vs. Montreal Canadiens

| Date | Visitors | Score | Home | Score |
| April 29 | Chicago | 3 | Montreal | 8 |
| May 1 | Chicago | 1 | Montreal | 4 |
| May 3 | Montreal | 4 | Chicago | 7 |
| May 6 | Montreal | 4 | Chicago | 0 |
| May 8 | Chicago | 8 | Montreal | 7 |
| May 10 | Montreal | 6 | Chicago | 4 |
Montreal wins the series 4–2.

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Jacques Lemaire | C | 77 | 44 | 51 | 95 | 16 | 59 | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| Frank Mahovlich | LW | 78 | 38 | 55 | 93 | 51 | 42 | 8 | 2 | 5 |
| Yvan Cournoyer | RW | 67 | 40 | 39 | 79 | 18 | 50 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Pete Mahovlich | C | 61 | 21 | 38 | 59 | 49 | 21 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Guy Lafleur | RW | 69 | 28 | 27 | 55 | 51 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 |
| Guy Lapointe | D | 76 | 19 | 35 | 54 | 117 | 51 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Marc Tardif | LW | 76 | 25 | 25 | 50 | 48 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Rejean Houle | W | 72 | 13 | 35 | 48 | 36 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Chuck Lefley | LW | 65 | 21 | 25 | 46 | 22 | 35 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Henri Richard | C | 71 | 8 | 35 | 43 | 21 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Serge Savard | D | 74 | 7 | 32 | 39 | 58 | 70 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Claude Larose | RW | 73 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 30 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Roberts | D/RW | 77 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 28 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Murray Wilson | LW | 52 | 18 | 9 | 27 | 16 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Bob Murdoch | D | 69 | 2 | 22 | 24 | 55 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jacques Laperriere | D | 57 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 34 | 78 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Shutt | LW | 50 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Pierre Bouchard | D | 41 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 69 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Robinson | D | 36 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ken Dryden | G | 54 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chuck Arnason | RW | 19 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Gardner | C | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Rota | C/LW | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dale Hoganson | D | 25 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Thomas | G | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yvon Lambert | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michel Plasse | G | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Ken Dryden | 3165 | 54 | 33 | 7 | 13 | 119 | 2.26 | 6 |
| Michel Plasse | 932 | 17 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 40 | 2.58 | 0 |
| Wayne Thomas | 583 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 2.37 | 1 |
| Team: | 4680 | 78 | 52 | 10 | 16 | 182 | 2.33 | 7 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Yvan Cournoyer | RW | 17 | 15 | 10 | 25 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Frank Mahovlich | LW | 17 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacques Lemaire | C | 17 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Guy Lapointe | D | 17 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Pete Mahovlich | C | 17 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Marc Tardif | LW | 14 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Serge Savard | D | 17 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Henri Richard | C | 17 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Rejean Houle | W | 17 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guy Lafleur | RW | 17 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Chuck Lefley | LW | 17 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Claude Larose | RW | 17 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Murray Wilson | LW | 16 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Larry Robinson | D | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Pierre Bouchard | D | 17 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacques Laperriere | D | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Murdoch | D | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Roberts | D/RW | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Dryden | G | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Shutt | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Ken Dryden | 1039 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 50 | 2.89 | 1 |
| Team: | 1039 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 50 | 2.89 | 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

* Prince of Wales Trophy.
* Guy Lapointe, runner up, Norris Trophy.
* Yvan Cournoyer won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

## Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 4 | Steve Shutt | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL) |
| 1 | 6 | Michel Larocque | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OMJHL) |
| 1 | 8 | Dave Gardner | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL) |
| 1 | 14 | John Van Boxmeer | Canada | Guelph CMC's (SOJHL) |
| 3 | 46 | Ed Gilbert | Canada | Hamilton Red Wings (OMJHL) |
| 4 | 62 | Dave Elenbaas | Canada | Cornell University (ECAC) |
| 5 | 66 | Bill Nyrop | United States | University of Notre Dame (WCHA) |
| 6 | 94 | D'Arcy Ryan | Canada | Yale University (ECAC) |
| 7 | 110 | Yves Archambault | Canada | Sorel Eperviers (QMJHL) |
| 8 | 126 | Graham Parsons | Canada | Red Deer Rustlers (AJHL) |
| 9 | 142 | Eddie Bumbacco | Canada | University of Notre Dame (WCHA) |
| 10 | 151 | Fred Riggall | Canada | Dartmouth College (ECAC) |
| 11 | 152 | Ron LeBlanc | Canada | Universite de Moncton (CIAU) |