# 1970–71 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1970–71 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 62nd season. After missing the playoffs in the previous season, the team rebounded to place third in the East Division, qualifying for the playoffs. Behind new star goalie Ken Dryden the team won their 17th Stanley Cup championship.

## Regular season

With the Chicago Black Hawks having moved to the West Division to make way for the expansion Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres, qualification for the four available playoff berths in the East was widely expected to be contested between the five remaining Original Six teams. Considering such factors the addition of two new teams, the expansion of the schedule to 78 games and the switch to a balanced schedule, Montreal's record of 42–23–13 (five points more than their performance over 76 games the previous season) was at best a marginal improvement. However, a return to the postseason was never in serious doubt due to the stunning regression of the Detroit Red Wings (Detroit actually finished last place in the division, behind both expansion teams).
On February 11, 1971, Jean Beliveau became the fourth player to score 500 career goals.

### Final standings

East Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Boston Bruins | 78 | 57 | 14 | 7 | 399 | 207 | +192 | 121 |
| 2 | New York Rangers | 78 | 49 | 18 | 11 | 259 | 177 | +82 | 109 |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 78 | 42 | 23 | 13 | 291 | 216 | +75 | 97 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 78 | 37 | 33 | 8 | 248 | 211 | +37 | 82 |
| 5 | Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 24 | 39 | 15 | 217 | 291 | −74 | 63 |
| 6 | Vancouver Canucks | 78 | 24 | 46 | 8 | 229 | 296 | −67 | 56 |
| 7 | Detroit Red Wings | 78 | 22 | 45 | 11 | 209 | 308 | −99 | 55 |

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

Regular season results :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 11, 1970 | 2–1 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | W | October 13, 1970 | 4–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | W | October 15, 1970 | 3–0 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) | 3–0–0 |
| 4 | W | October 17, 1970 | 6–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) | 4–0–0 |
| 5 | L | October 18, 1970 | 0–1 | @ New York Rangers (1970–71) | 4–1–0 |
| 6 | L | October 21, 1970 | 1–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) | 4–2–0 |
| 7 | W | October 24, 1970 | 3–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) | 5–2–0 |
| 8 | T | October 25, 1970 | 3–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) | 5–2–1 |
| 9 | L | October 28, 1970 | 2–6 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) | 5–3–1 |
| 10 | W | October 31, 1970 | 6–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) | 6–3–1 |
| 11 | W | November 4, 1970 | 4–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) | 7–3–1 |
| 12 | W | November 7, 1970 | 11–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) | 8–3–1 |
| 13 | L | November 8, 1970 | 1–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) | 8–4–1 |
| 14 | L | November 11, 1970 | 0–2 | @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) | 8–5–1 |
| 15 | T | November 14, 1970 | 1–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) | 8–5–2 |
| 16 | T | November 15, 1970 | 2–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) | 8–5–3 |
| 17 | W | November 17, 1970 | 5–1 | California Golden Seals (1970–71) | 9–5–3 |
| 18 | W | November 19, 1970 | 5–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) | 10–5–3 |
| 19 | L | November 21, 1970 | 4–5 | New York Rangers (1970–71) | 10–6–3 |
| 20 | L | November 25, 1970 | 3–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) | 10–7–3 |
| 21 | W | November 28, 1970 | 5–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) | 11–7–3 |
| 22 | L | November 29, 1970 | 3–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) | 11–8–3 |
| 23 | T | December 2, 1970 | 3–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) | 11–8–4 |
| 24 | W | December 3, 1970 | 6–3 | St. Louis Blues (1970–71) | 12–8–4 |
| 25 | L | December 5, 1970 | 2–4 | Boston Bruins (1970–71) | 12–9–4 |
| 26 | L | December 9, 1970 | 0–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) | 12–10–4 |
| 27 | W | December 10, 1970 | 6–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) | 13–10–4 |
| 28 | W | December 12, 1970 | 8–1 | Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) | 14–10–4 |
| 29 | T | December 16, 1970 | 1–1 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) | 14–10–5 |
| 30 | W | December 18, 1970 | 4–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) | 15–10–5 |
| 31 | L | December 20, 1970 | 2–7 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) | 15–11–5 |
| 32 | T | December 23, 1970 | 2–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) | 15–11–6 |
| 33 | T | December 26, 1970 | 4–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) | 15–11–7 |
| 34 | W | December 27, 1970 | 4–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) | 16–11–7 |
| 35 | T | December 30, 1970 | 3–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) | 16–11–8 |
| 36 | W | January 2, 1971 | 5–3 | California Golden Seals (1970–71) | 17–11–8 |
| 37 | L | January 3, 1971 | 5–6 | @ New York Rangers (1970–71) | 17–12–8 |
| 38 | W | January 6, 1971 | 7–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) | 18–12–8 |
| 39 | W | January 9, 1971 | 1–0 | Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) | 19–12–8 |
| 40 | L | January 10, 1971 | 2–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) | 19–13–8 |
| 41 | T | January 14, 1971 | 3–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) | 19–13–9 |
| 42 | W | January 16, 1971 | 4–2 | Boston Bruins (1970–71) | 20–13–9 |
| 43 | T | January 17, 1971 | 4–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) | 20–13–10 |
| 44 | T | January 21, 1971 | 5–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) | 20–13–11 |
| 45 | W | January 23, 1971 | 6–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) | 21–13–11 |
| 46 | L | January 24, 1971 | 2–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) | 21–14–11 |
| 47 | W | January 27, 1971 | 4–2 | St. Louis Blues (1970–71) | 22–14–11 |
| 48 | L | January 30, 1971 | 4–5 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) | 22–15–11 |
| 49 | L | January 31, 1971 | 1–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) | 22–16–11 |
| 50 | W | February 2, 1971 | 5–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) | 23–16–11 |
| 51 | W | February 5, 1971 | 3–2 | @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) | 24–16–11 |
| 52 | L | February 6, 1971 | 3–6 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) | 24–17–11 |
| 53 | W | February 9, 1971 | 4–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) | 25–17–11 |
| 54 | W | February 11, 1971 | 6–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) | 26–17–11 |
| 55 | W | February 13, 1971 | 5–2 | California Golden Seals (1970–71) | 27–17–11 |
| 56 | W | February 17, 1971 | 3–0 | New York Rangers (1970–71) | 28–17–11 |
| 57 | W | February 20, 1971 | 7–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) | 29–17–11 |
| 58 | T | February 22, 1971 | 3–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) | 29–17–12 |
| 59 | W | February 24, 1971 | 5–2 | @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) | 30–17–12 |
| 60 | W | February 25, 1971 | 5–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) | 31–17–12 |
| 61 | W | February 27, 1971 | 3–2 | St. Louis Blues (1970–71) | 32–17–12 |
| 62 | L | March 3, 1971 | 0–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) | 32–18–12 |
| 63 | W | March 6, 1971 | 8–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) | 33–18–12 |
| 64 | W | March 7, 1971 | 4–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) | 34–18–12 |
| 65 | T | March 9, 1971 | 3–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) | 34–18–13 |
| 66 | L | March 10, 1971 | 1–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) | 34–19–13 |
| 67 | L | March 13, 1971 | 1–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) | 34–20–13 |
| 68 | W | March 14, 1971 | 5–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) | 35–20–13 |
| 69 | L | March 16, 1971 | 2–6 | @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) | 35–21–13 |
| 70 | W | March 18, 1971 | 4–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) | 36–21–13 |
| 71 | W | March 20, 1971 | 5–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) | 37–21–13 |
| 72 | W | March 21, 1971 | 6–2 | @ New York Rangers (1970–71) | 38–21–13 |
| 73 | W | March 24, 1971 | 5–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) | 39–21–13 |
| 74 | W | March 27, 1971 | 9–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) | 40–21–13 |
| 75 | W | March 28, 1971 | 2–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) | 41–21–13 |
| 76 | L | March 31, 1971 | 3–6 | Boston Bruins (1970–71) | 41–22–13 |
| 77 | W | April 3, 1971 | 7–2 | New York Rangers (1970–71) | 42–22–13 |
| 78 | L | April 4, 1971 | 2–7 | @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) | 42–23–13 |

## Playoffs
### Quarter-final
#### Versus Boston Bruins

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | April 7, 1971 | 1–3 | @ Boston Bruins | 0–1 |
| 2 | W | April 8, 1971 | 7–5 | @ Boston Bruins | 1–1 |
| 3 | W | April 10, 1971 | 3–1 | Boston Bruins | 2–1 |
| 4 | L | April 11, 1971 | 2–5 | Boston Bruins | 2–2 |
| 5 | L | April 13, 1971 | 3–7 | @ Boston Bruins | 2–3 |
| 6 | W | April 15, 1971 | 8–3 | Boston Bruins | 3–3 |
| 7 | W | April 18, 1971 | 4–2 | @ Boston Bruins | 4–3 |
Montreal wins the series 4–3.

### Semi-final
#### Versus Minnesota North Stars

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | April 20, 1971 | 7–2 | Minnesota North Stars | 1–0 |
| 2 | L | April 22, 1971 | 3–6 | Minnesota North Stars | 1–1 |
| 3 | W | April 24, 1971 | 6–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars | 2–1 |
| 4 | L | April 25, 1971 | 2–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars | 2–2 |
| 5 | W | April 27, 1971 | 6–1 | Minnesota North Stars | 3–2 |
| 6 | W | April 29, 1971 | 3–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars | 4–2 |
Montreal wins the series 4–2.

### Stanley Cup Finals

Brothers Frank and Peter Mahovlich starred for the Canadiens, scoring nine goals in the seven game final series. Ken Dryden debuted for the Canadiens, while this was Jean Beliveau's final final series appearance, and he ended his career with ten championships.

#### Versus Chicago Black Hawks

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | May 4, 1971 | 1–2 (OT) | @ Chicago Black Hawks | 0–1 |
| 2 | L | May 6, 1971 | 3–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks | 0–2 |
| 3 | W | May 9, 1971 | 4–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–2 |
| 4 | W | May 11, 1971 | 5–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–2 |
| 5 | L | May 13, 1971 | 0–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks | 2–3 |
| 6 | W | May 16, 1971 | 4–3 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–3 |
| 7 | W | May 18, 1971 | 3–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks | 4–3 |
Montreal wins the series 4–3.

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Jean Beliveau | C | 70 | 25 | 51 | 76 | 40 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| Yvan Cournoyer | RW | 65 | 37 | 36 | 73 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 0 | 5 |
| J. C. Tremblay | D | 76 | 11 | 52 | 63 | 23 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Pete Mahovlich | C | 78 | 35 | 26 | 61 | 181 | 25 | 12 | 3 | 5 |
| Jacques Lemaire | C | 78 | 28 | 28 | 56 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Marc Tardif | LW | 76 | 19 | 30 | 49 | 133 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Henri Richard | C | 75 | 12 | 37 | 49 | 46 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Guy Lapointe | D | 78 | 15 | 29 | 44 | 107 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Frank Mahovlich | LW | 38 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| John Ferguson | LW | 60 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 162 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Mickey Redmond | RW | 40 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 35 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Claude Larose | RW | 64 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 90 | −8 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Terry Harper | D | 78 | 1 | 21 | 22 | 116 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Roberto | RW | 39 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 76 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Rejean Houle | W | 66 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jacques Laperriere | D | 49 | 0 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leon Rochefort | RW | 57 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Serge Savard | D | 37 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 30 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bobby Sheehan | C | 29 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bill Collins | RW | 40 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Larry Pleau | C | 19 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | −8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ralph Backstrom | C | 16 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guy Charron | C | 15 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fran Huck | C | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre Bouchard | D | 51 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 50 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Murdoch | D | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Myre | G | 30 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Dryden | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chuck Lefley | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rogie Vachon | G | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Rogie Vachon | 2676 | 47 | 23 | 12 | 9 | 118 | 2.65 | 2 |
| Phil Myre | 1677 | 30 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 87 | 3.11 | 1 |
| Ken Dryden | 327 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1.65 | 0 |
| Team: | 4680 | 78 | 42 | 23 | 13 | 214 | 2.74 | 3 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Frank Mahovlich | LW | 20 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Yvan Cournoyer | RW | 20 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Jean Beliveau | C | 20 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacques Lemaire | C | 20 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| J. C. Tremblay | D | 20 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Pete Mahovlich | C | 20 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 43 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Jacques Laperriere | D | 20 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Henri Richard | C | 20 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| John Ferguson | LW | 18 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Guy Lapointe | D | 20 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Rejean Houle | W | 20 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Terry Harper | D | 20 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marc Tardif | LW | 20 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Claude Larose | RW | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre Bouchard | D | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Dryden | G | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Roberto | RW | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chuck Lefley | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Murdoch | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leon Rochefort | RW | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Sheehan | C | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Ken Dryden | 1221 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 61 | 3.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 1221 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 61 | 3.00 | 0 |
    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;

## Transactions

| May 22, 1970 | To Oakland Seals Dennis Hextall | To Montreal Canadiens cash |
| May 22, 1970 | To Oakland Seals Ernie Hicke 1st round pick in 1970 (Chris Oddleifson) | To Montreal Canadiens Francois Lacombe 1st round pick in 1971 (Guy Lafleur) |
| May 22, 1970 | To Los Angeles Kings Jack Norris Larry Mickey Lucien Grenier | To Montreal Canadiens Wayne Thomas Leon Rochefort Gregg Boddy |
| January 13, 1971 | To Detroit Red Wings Mickey Redmond Guy Charron Bill Collins | To Montreal Canadiens Frank Mahovlich |

## Awards and records

* Ken Dryden, Conn Smythe Trophy

## Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 5 | Ray Martynuik | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) |
| 1 | 6 | Chuck Lefley | Canada | Canadian National Development Team |
| 3 | 31 | Steve Carlyle | Canada | Red Deer Rustlers (AJHL) |
| 4 | 45 | Cal Hammond | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) |
| 4 | 52 | John French | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHA) |
| 5 | 66 | Rick Wilson | Canada | University of North Dakota (WCHA) |
| 6 | 80 | Bob Brown | Canada | Boston University (ECAC) |
| 7 | 93 | Bob Fowler | United States | Estevan Bruins (WCHL) |
| 8 | 105 | Ric Jordan | Canada | Boston University (ECAC) |

## Citations

* ↑ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 214, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.
* ↑ "1970–1971 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
* ↑ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
* 1 2 3 "1971 NHL Playoff Summary". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
* ↑ "1970-71 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
* ↑ "Wayne Thomas 1972-74".