# 1990–91 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1990–91 Montreal Canadiens season was the Canadiens' 82nd season. The Canadiens finished second in both the division and the conference to the Boston Bruins. Montreal defeated the Buffalo Sabres in the first round before losing to Boston in the Adams Division Finals in seven games.

## Offseason

Co-Captain Chris Chelios was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for Denis Savard, in August 1990. With Chelios' departure, Guy Carbonneau continued as Canadiens captain.
Mats Naslund resumes his playing career in Europe. Veteran forwards Brian Skrudland and Mike McPhee are named alternate captains.

### NHL Draft

Montreal's draft picks at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft held at the BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 12 | Turner Stevenson | Canada | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) |
| 2 | 39 | Ryan Kuwabara | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHL) |
| 3 | 58 | Charles Poulin | Canada | Saint-Hyacinthe Laser (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 60 | Robert Guillet | Canada | Longueuil College Francais (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 81 | Gilbert Dionne | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 5 | 102 | Paul DiPietro | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OHL) |
| 6 | 123 | Craig Conroy | United States | Northwood School (USHS-NY) |
| 7 | 144 | Stephen Rohr | United States | Culver Military Academy (USHS-IN) |
| 8 | 165 | Brent Fleetwood | Canada | Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) |
| 9 | 186 | Derek Maguire | United States | Delbarton School (USHS-NJ) |
| 10 | 207 | Mark Kettelhut | United States | East High School (USHS-MN) |
| 11 | 228 | John Uniac | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 12 | 249 | Sergei Martinyuk | Soviet Union | Torpedo Yaroslavl (USSR) |
| S | 23 | Bruce Coles | Canada | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC) |

## Regular season

In terms of injuries, Patrick Roy missed the most games due to injury during the 90–91 season. Backup goalies Andre Racicot and Jean-Claude Bergeron appeared in 25 games.
* December 12, 1990: Petr Svoboda and Toronto Maple Leafs winger Wendel Clark fell on Patrick Roy's left knee. Roy suffered strained ligaments.
* January 27, 1991: Donald Dufresne checked Bruins right winger Graeme Townshend. He fell on Patrick Roy's left ankle. Roy suffered a ruptured ligament and missed fourteen games. Roy would re-injure the ankle on March 16.
The Canadiens finished the regular season as the league's most disciplined team, being short-handed only 282 times.

### Final standings

Adams Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 44 | 24 | 12 | 299 | 264 | 100 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 39 | 30 | 11 | 273 | 249 | 89 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 31 | 30 | 19 | 292 | 278 | 81 |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 31 | 38 | 11 | 238 | 276 | 73 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 16 | 50 | 14 | 236 | 354 | 46 |
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.
Wales Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Boston Bruins | ADM | 80 | 44 | 24 | 12 | 299 | 264 | 100 |
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | ADM | 80 | 39 | 30 | 11 | 273 | 249 | 89 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | PTK | 80 | 41 | 33 | 6 | 342 | 305 | 88 |
| 4 | New York Rangers | PTK | 80 | 36 | 31 | 13 | 297 | 265 | 85 |
| 5 | Washington Capitals | PTK | 80 | 37 | 36 | 7 | 258 | 258 | 81 |
| 6 | Buffalo Sabres | ADM | 80 | 31 | 30 | 19 | 292 | 278 | 81 |
| 7 | New Jersey Devils | PTK | 80 | 32 | 33 | 15 | 272 | 264 | 79 |
| 8 | Philadelphia Flyers | PTK | 80 | 33 | 37 | 10 | 252 | 267 | 76 |
| 9 | Hartford Whalers | ADM | 80 | 31 | 38 | 11 | 238 | 276 | 73 |
| 10 | New York Islanders | PTK | 80 | 25 | 45 | 10 | 223 | 290 | 60 |
| 11 | Quebec Nordiques | ADM | 80 | 16 | 50 | 14 | 236 | 354 | 46 |
Divisions: PTK – Patrick, ADM – Adams
bold – Qualified for playoffs

## Playoffs

The Montreal Canadiens were eliminated in the Adams Division final by the Boston Bruins, four games to three.

## Schedule and results

| # | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | T | October 4, 1990 | 3–3 OT | @ Buffalo Sabres | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | W | October 6, 1990 | 6–5 | Buffalo Sabres | 1–0–1 |
| 4 | L | October 12, 1990 | 0–3 | @ New York Rangers | 2–1–1 |
| 5 | L | October 13, 1990 | 2–5 | @ Hartford Whalers | 2–2–1 |
| 6 | W | October 15, 1990 | 3–1 | Washington Capitals | 3–2–1 |
| 7 | W | October 17, 1990 | 4–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres | 4–2–1 |
| 8 | L | October 18, 1990 | 2–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings | 4–3–1 |
| 9 | L | October 20, 1990 | 3–5 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–4–1 |
| 10 | W | October 23, 1990 | 5–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins | 5–4–1 |
| 11 | W | October 24, 1990 | 8–2 | New York Islanders | 6–4–1 |
| 12 | L | October 27, 1990 | 0–3 | @ St. Louis Blues | 6–5–1 |
| 13 | L | October 28, 1990 | 1–2 OT | @ Chicago Blackhawks | 6–6–1 |
| 14 | W | October 31, 1990 | 4–2 | @ Hartford Whalers | 7–6–1 |
| 15 | W | November 3, 1990 | 5–2 | Detroit Red Wings | 8–6–1 |
| 16 | T | November 4, 1990 | 2–2 OT | Minnesota North Stars | 8–6–2 |
| 17 | L | November 7, 1990 | 0–2 | Boston Bruins | 8–7–2 |
| 18 | W | November 10, 1990 | 3–1 | New Jersey Devils | 9–7–2 |
| 19 | W | November 11, 1990 | 5–4 OT | Quebec Nordiques | 10–7–2 |
| 20 | L | November 13, 1990 | 3–6 | @ New Jersey Devils | 10–8–2 |
| 21 | L | November 15, 1990 | 1–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers | 10–9–2 |
| 22 | T | November 17, 1990 | 1–1 OT | @ Boston Bruins | 10–9–3 |
| 23 | W | November 19, 1990 | 5–2 | @ Quebec Nordiques | 11–9–3 |
| 24 | L | November 24, 1990 | 2–4 | Los Angeles Kings | 11–10–3 |
| 25 | W | November 25, 1990 | 4–3 | Winnipeg Jets | 12–10–3 |
| 26 | L | November 28, 1990 | 1–2 | Buffalo Sabres | 12–11–3 |
| 27 | W | November 30, 1990 | 4–3 | @ Washington Capitals | 13–11–3 |
| 28 | L | December 1, 1990 | 3–5 | Calgary Flames | 13–12–3 |
| 29 | L | December 3, 1990 | 2–4 | Hartford Whalers | 13–13–3 |
| 30 | W | December 5, 1990 | 4–3 | @ Hartford Whalers | 14–13–3 |
| 31 | W | December 6, 1990 | 6–4 | @ Boston Bruins | 15–13–3 |
| 32 | W | December 8, 1990 | 7–1 | Boston Bruins | 16–13–3 |
| 33 | L | December 12, 1990 | 1–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs | 16–14–3 |
| 34 | L | December 15, 1990 | 2–4 | @ Winnipeg Jets | 16–15–3 |
| 35 | L | December 18, 1990 | 4–6 | @ Quebec Nordiques | 16–16–3 |
| 36 | T | December 19, 1990 | 1–1 OT | Quebec Nordiques | 16–16–4 |
| 37 | W | December 22, 1990 | 3–1 | New York Rangers | 17–16–4 |
| 38 | T | December 23, 1990 | 4–4 OT | @ Philadelphia Flyers | 17–16–5 |
| 39 | W | December 27, 1990 | 7–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks | 18–16–5 |
| 40 | W | December 29, 1990 | 3–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings | 19–16–5 |
| 41 | L | December 31, 1990 | 2–7 | @ Calgary Flames | 19–17–5 |
| 42 | W | January 2, 1991 | 3–0 | @ Edmonton Oilers | 20–17–5 |
| 43 | W | January 5, 1991 | 3–0 | Quebec Nordiques | 21–17–5 |
| 44 | W | January 6, 1991 | 6–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 22–17–5 |
| 45 | W | January 9, 1991 | 4–3 OT | New York Islanders | 23–17–5 |
| 46 | W | January 12, 1991 | 4–1 | Washington Capitals | 24–17–5 |
| 47 | L | January 13, 1991 | 1–3 | St. Louis Blues | 24–18–5 |
| 48 | W | January 15, 1991 | 5–1 | @ Minnesota North Stars | 25–18–5 |
| 49 | W | January 17, 1991 | 4–2 | @ St. Louis Blues | 26–18–5 |
| 50 | W | January 23, 1991 | 7–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 27–18–5 |
| 51 | W | January 26, 1991 | 4–1 | Buffalo Sabres | 28–18–5 |
| 52 | L | January 27, 1991 | 1–3 | Boston Bruins | 28–19–5 |
| 53 | W | January 30, 1991 | 8–4 | Winnipeg Jets | 29–19–5 |
| 54 | L | January 31, 1991 | 2–5 | @ Boston Bruins | 29–20–5 |
| 55 | T | February 2, 1991 | 3–3 OT | @ New York Islanders | 29–20–6 |
| 56 | W | February 4, 1991 | 5–3 | Minnesota North Stars | 30–20–6 |
| 57 | L | February 6, 1991 | 3–8 | Chicago Blackhawks | 30–21–6 |
| 58 | W | February 7, 1991 | 5–1 | @ Quebec Nordiques | 31–21–6 |
| 59 | W | February 9, 1991 | 6–4 | New York Rangers | 32–21–6 |
| 60 | L | February 13, 1991 | 4–7 | Boston Bruins | 32–22–6 |
| 61 | T | February 15, 1991 | 2–2 OT | @ Buffalo Sabres | 32–22–7 |
| 62 | L | February 16, 1991 | 1–2 | Hartford Whalers | 32–23–7 |
| 63 | L | February 20, 1991 | 3–5 | @ Hartford Whalers | 32–24–7 |
| 64 | T | February 23, 1991 | 3–3 OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | 32–24–8 |
| 65 | L | February 27, 1991 | 3–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings | 32–25–8 |
| 66 | W | March 1, 1991 | 7–1 | @ Vancouver Canucks | 33–25–8 |
| 67 | W | March 2, 1991 | 3–1 | @ Edmonton Oilers | 34–25–8 |
| 68 | L | March 4, 1991 | 2–3 OT | @ Calgary Flames | 34–26–8 |
| 69 | W | March 6, 1991 | 5–3 | @ Chicago Blackhawks | 35–26–8 |
| 70 | W | March 9, 1991 | 4–2 | Vancouver Canucks | 36–26–8 |
| 71 | T | March 10, 1991 | 4–4 OT | Los Angeles Kings | 36–26–9 |
| 72 | T | March 12, 1991 | 4–4 OT | @ Pittsburgh Penguins | 36–26–10 |
| 73 | L | March 14, 1991 | 2–3 | @ Boston Bruins | 36–27–10 |
| 74 | W | March 16, 1991 | 6–4 | Buffalo Sabres | 37–27–10 |
| 75 | L | March 17, 1991 | 2–4 | Edmonton Oilers | 37–28–10 |
| 76 | L | March 20, 1991 | 2–3 OT | @ Buffalo Sabres | 37–29–10 |
| 77 | T | March 23, 1991 | 3–3 OT | New Jersey Devils | 37–29–11 |
| 78 | W | March 25, 1991 | 3–2 OT | Hartford Whalers | 38–29–11 |
| 79 | W | March 30, 1991 | 4–3 | Quebec Nordiques | 39–29–11 |
| 80 | L | March 31, 1991 | 1–4 | @ Quebec Nordiques | 39–30–11 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Russ Courtnall | RW | 79 | 26 | 50 | 76 | 29 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Stephane Richer | RW | 75 | 31 | 30 | 61 | 53 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| Denis Savard | C | 70 | 28 | 31 | 59 | 52 | -1 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| Stephan Lebeau | C | 73 | 22 | 31 | 53 | 24 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
| Shayne Corson | LW | 71 | 23 | 24 | 47 | 138 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| Guy Carbonneau | C | 78 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 63 | -1 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Mike McPhee | LW | 64 | 22 | 21 | 43 | 56 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Mike Keane | RW | 73 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 50 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Brian Skrudland | C | 57 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 85 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Mathieu Schneider | D | 69 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 63 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Petr Svoboda | D | 60 | 4 | 22 | 26 | 52 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Eric Desjardins | D | 62 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 27 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Andrew Cassels | C | 54 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Mark Pederson | LW | 47 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Sylvain Lefebvre | D | 63 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 30 | -11 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Tom Chorske | LW | 57 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 32 | -8 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| J.J. Daigneault | D | 51 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 31 | -2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Brent Gilchrist | LW | 51 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 10 | -3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Donald Dufresne | D | 53 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 55 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sylvain Turgeon | LW | 19 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 20 | -2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| John LeClair | LW | 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Alain Cote | D | 28 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 26 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Todd Ewen | RW | 28 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 128 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Benoit Brunet | LW | 17 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerald Diduck | D | 32 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 39 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Patrick Lebeau | LW | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Patrice Brisebois | D | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lyle Odelein | D | 52 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 259 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Patrick Roy | G | 48 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean-Claude Bergeron | G | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andre Racicot | G | 21 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Walter | C/LW | 25 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frederic Chabot | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilbert Dionne | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Luc Gauthier | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mario Roberge | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Patrick Roy | 2835 | 48 | 25 | 15 | 6 | 128 | 2.71 | 1 | 1362 | 1234 | .906 |
| Jean-Claude Bergeron | 941 | 18 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 59 | 3.76 | 0 | 426 | 367 | .862 |
| Andre Racicot | 975 | 21 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 52 | 3.20 | 1 | 479 | 427 | .891 |
| Frederic Chabot | 108 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3.33 | 0 | 45 | 39 | .867 |
| Team: | 4859 | 80 | 39 | 30 | 11 | 245 | 3.03 | 2 | 2312 | 2067 | .894 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Shayne Corson | LW | 13 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 36 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Stephane Richer | RW | 13 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Brian Skrudland | C | 13 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Denis Savard | C | 13 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Russ Courtnall | RW | 13 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Mathieu Schneider | D | 13 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brent Gilchrist | LW | 13 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike McPhee | LW | 13 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Guy Carbonneau | C | 13 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Keane | RW | 12 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Desjardins | D | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Stephan Lebeau | C | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andrew Cassels | C | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alain Cote | D | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sylvain Lefebvre | D | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J.J. Daigneault | D | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Donald Dufresne | D | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Petr Svoboda | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sean Hill | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John LeClair | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lyle Odelein | D | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andre Racicot | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mario Roberge | LW | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Patrick Roy | G | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sylvain Turgeon | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Walter | C/LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Patrick Roy | 785 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 40 | 3.06 | 0 | 394 | 354 | .898 |
| Andre Racicot | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10.00 | 0 | 14 | 12 | .857 |
| Team: | 797 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 42 | 3.16 | 0 | 408 | 366 | .897 |
    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

* In November 1990, Brian Hayward was traded to the Minnesota North Stars for defenseman Jayson More.