# 1978–79 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1978–79 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 70th season. The franchise won 52 games and had 11 ties for a total of 115 points, but they finished second overall in the league as the New York Islanders finished first overall by one point. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup for the fourth consecutive time, the 15th time in the past 24 seasons, and their 22nd overall. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup on home ice for the first time since 1968.

## Regular season
### Season standings

Norris Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 52 | 17 | 11 | 337 | 204 | 115 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 36 | 31 | 13 | 281 | 279 | 85 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 34 | 34 | 12 | 292 | 286 | 80 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 24 | 41 | 15 | 273 | 338 | 63 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 23 | 41 | 16 | 252 | 295 | 62 |
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

### Record vs. opponents

Norris Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Detroit
—1–5–22–4–23–53–2–39–16–7
Los Angeles
5–1–2—3–3–23–4–13–4–114–12–6
Montreal
4–2–23–3–2—5–2–17–0–119–7–6
Pittsburgh
5–34–3–12–5–1—4–3–115–14–3
Washington
2–3–34–3–10–7–13–4–1—9–17–6
Vs. Adams Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
MIN
TOR
Total
Detroit
1–31–31–2–12–25–10–1
Los Angeles
3–11–2–13–10–47–8–1
Montreal
2–0–24–03–13–0–112–1–3
Pittsburgh
2–1–12–0–23–11–38–5–3
Washington
0–3–10–3–12–21–1–23–9–4
Vs. Patrick Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Detroit
0–3–10–3–11–1–20–2–21–9–6
Los Angeles
2–20–2–21–30–43–11–2
Montreal
3–11–31–33–0–18–7–1
Pittsburgh
0–3–10–1–32–21–33–9–4
Washington
1–2–11–31–1–20–3–13–9–4
Vs. Smythe Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
STL
VAN
Total
Detroit
3–0–13–0–11–31–38–6–2
Los Angeles
3–12–0–22–1–13–110–3–3
Montreal
2–24–04–03–0–113–2–1
Pittsburgh
2–0–23–12–1–13–110–3–3
Washington
1–2–13–12–23–19–6–1 :

## Schedule and results

Regular season schedule :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 11, 1978 | 5–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | W | October 14, 1978 | 5–2 | Colorado Rockies (1978–79) | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | W | October 15, 1978 | 3–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 3–0–0 |
| 4 | L | October 17, 1978 | 1–3 | @ New York Islanders (1978–79) | 3–1–0 |
| 5 | L | October 20, 1978 | 5–7 | @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 3–2–0 |
| 6 | W | October 22, 1978 | 8–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 4–2–0 |
| 7 | T | October 25, 1978 | 4–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) | 4–2–1 |
| 8 | L | October 28, 1978 | 1–2 | New York Rangers (1978–79) | 4–3–1 |
| 9 | L | October 29, 1978 | 1–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 4–4–1 |
| 10 | W | November 1, 1978 | 4–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 5–4–1 |
| 11 | W | November 2, 1978 | 4–2 | Washington Capitals (1978–79) | 6–4–1 |
| 12 | W | November 4, 1978 | 4–2 | Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 7–4–1 |
| 13 | T | November 5, 1978 | 1–1 | @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) | 7–4–2 |
| 14 | W | November 8, 1978 | 6–0 | @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) | 8–4–2 |
| 15 | W | November 9, 1978 | 8–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 9–4–2 |
| 16 | W | November 11, 1978 | 3–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) | 10–4–2 |
| 17 | W | November 15, 1978 | 6–1 | @ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) | 11–4–2 |
| 18 | L | November 16, 1978 | 3–6 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 11–5–2 |
| 19 | W | November 18, 1978 | 4–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 12–5–2 |
| 20 | W | November 22, 1978 | 3–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 13–5–2 |
| 21 | W | November 23, 1978 | 8–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 14–5–2 |
| 22 | L | November 25, 1978 | 3–8 | Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 14–6–2 |
| 23 | W | November 28, 1978 | 3–0 | Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 15–6–2 |
| 24 | W | December 2, 1978 | 8–1 | Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 16–6–2 |
| 25 | W | December 3, 1978 | 4–1 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 17–6–2 |
| 26 | T | December 6, 1978 | 2–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 17–6–3 |
| 27 | T | December 8, 1978 | 3–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 17–6–4 |
| 28 | W | December 10, 1978 | 4–3 | New York Islanders (1978–79) | 18–6–4 |
| 29 | W | December 12, 1978 | 6–0 | @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) | 19–6–4 |
| 30 | W | December 13, 1978 | 3–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 20–6–4 |
| 31 | W | December 16, 1978 | 5–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 21–6–4 |
| 32 | W | December 20, 1978 | 5–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 22–6–4 |
| 33 | W | December 21, 1978 | 5–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 23–6–4 |
| 34 | W | December 23, 1978 | 3–2 | Colorado Rockies (1978–79) | 24–6–4 |
| 35 | W | December 27, 1978 | 5–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 25–6–4 |
| 36 | T | December 28, 1978 | 3–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 25–6–5 |
| 37 | W | December 30, 1978 | 6–1 | Boston Bruins (1978–79) | 26–6–5 |
| 38 | L | January 3, 1979 | 2–6 | @ New York Rangers (1978–79) | 26–7–5 |
| 39 | L | January 4, 1979 | 4–5 | Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 26–8–5 |
| 40 | W | January 6, 1979 | 2–0 | Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 27–8–5 |
| 41 | W | January 8, 1979 | 3–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 28–8–5 |
| 42 | L | January 10, 1979 | 2–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 28–9–5 |
| 43 | W | January 13, 1979 | 5–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 29–9–5 |
| 44 | T | January 16, 1979 | 2–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 29–9–6 |
| 45 | W | January 17, 1979 | 7–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 30–9–6 |
| 46 | T | January 20, 1979 | 5–5 | Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 30–9–7 |
| 47 | W | January 23, 1979 | 6–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) | 31–9–7 |
| 48 | W | January 25, 1979 | 6–0 | Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 32–9–7 |
| 49 | W | January 27, 1979 | 3–1 | Boston Bruins (1978–79) | 33–9–7 |
| 50 | W | January 29, 1979 | 7–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 34–9–7 |
| 51 | W | January 31, 1979 | 4–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 35–9–7 |
| 52 | W | February 3, 1979 | 6–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) | 36–9–7 |
| 53 | W | February 4, 1979 | 8–4 | @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) | 37–9–7 |
| 54 | T | February 15, 1979 | 2–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 37–9–8 |
| 55 | W | February 17, 1979 | 2–0 | Washington Capitals (1978–79) | 38–9–8 |
| 56 | W | February 18, 1979 | 5–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 39–9–8 |
| 57 | L | February 21, 1979 | 1–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 39–10–8 |
| 58 | W | February 22, 1979 | 12–0 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 40–10–8 |
| 59 | W | February 24, 1979 | 6–4 | St. Louis Blues (1978–79) | 41–10–8 |
| 60 | W | February 25, 1979 | 8–5 | @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) | 42–10–8 |
| 61 | L | February 27, 1979 | 3–7 | @ New York Islanders (1978–79) | 42–11–8 |
| 62 | W | March 1, 1979 | 2–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) | 43–11–8 |
| 63 | L | March 3, 1979 | 3–5 | Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 43–12–8 |
| 64 | T | March 5, 1979 | 2–2 | @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) | 43–12–9 |
| 65 | W | March 8, 1979 | 11–1 | Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 44–12–9 |
| 66 | L | March 10, 1979 | 3–6 | New York Rangers (1978–79) | 44–13–9 |
| 67 | T | March 12, 1979 | 3–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 44–13–10 |
| 68 | L | March 14, 1979 | 3–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 44–14–10 |
| 69 | L | March 17, 1979 | 1–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 44–15–10 |
| 70 | W | March 18, 1979 | 3–1 | @ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) | 45–15–10 |
| 71 | L | March 22, 1979 | 3–5 | New York Islanders (1978–79) | 45–16–10 |
| 72 | W | March 24, 1979 | 3–1 | Washington Capitals (1978–79) | 46–16–10 |
| 73 | W | March 25, 1979 | 1–0 | @ New York Rangers (1978–79) | 47–16–10 |
| 74 | W | March 27, 1979 | 6–4 | @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 48–16–10 |
| 75 | W | March 29, 1979 | 5–2 | St. Louis Blues (1978–79) | 49–16–10 |
| 76 | W | March 31, 1979 | 5–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 50–16–10 |
| 77 | T | April 1, 1979 | 3–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) | 50–16–11 |
| 78 | W | April 4, 1979 | 4–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 51–16–11 |
| 79 | W | April 7, 1979 | 10–3 | Washington Capitals (1978–79) | 52–16–11 |
| 80 | L | April 8, 1979 | 0–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 52–17–11 |

## Playoffs

1979 Stanley Cup Playoffs :
Quarterfinals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (4-0)
#DateOpponentScoreLocation/AttendanceSeries
1April 16Maple Leafs5–2Montreal ForumMTL 1–0
2April 18Maple Leafs5-1Montreal ForumMTL 2–0
3April 21@Maple Leafs4–3 (2OT)Maple Leaf GardensMTL 3–0
4April 22@Maple Leafs5-4 (OT)Maple Leaf GardensMTL 4–0 :
Semifinals vs. Boston Bruins (4-3)
#DateOpponentScoreLocation/AttendanceSeries
1April 26Bruins4–2Montreal ForumMTL 1–0
2April 28Bruins5—2Montreal ForumMTL 2–0
3May 1@Bruins1–2Boston GardenMTL 2–1
4May 3@Bruins3–4Boston GardenTie 2–2
5May 5Bruins5-1Montreal ForumMTL 3–2
6May 8@Bruins2-5Boston GardenTie 3–3
7May 10Bruins5–4 (OT)Montreal ForumMTL 4–3 :
Stanley Cup Finals vs. New York Rangers (4-1)
#DateOpponentScoreLocation/AttendanceSeries
1May 13Rangers1–4Montreal ForumNYR 1–0
2May 15Rangers6–2Montreal ForumTie 1–1
3May 17@Rangers4–1Madison Square GardenMTL 2–1
4May 19@Rangers4–3 (OT)Madison Square GardenMTL 3–1
5May 21Rangers4-1Montreal ForumMTL 4–1 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss :

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Guy Lafleur | RW | 80 | 52 | 77 | 129 | 28 | 56 | 13 | 0 | 12 |
| Steve Shutt | LW | 72 | 37 | 40 | 77 | 31 | 37 | 10 | 0 | 6 |
| Pierre Mondou | C | 77 | 31 | 41 | 72 | 26 | 59 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| Yvon Lambert | LW | 79 | 26 | 40 | 66 | 26 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| Larry Robinson | D | 67 | 16 | 45 | 61 | 33 | 50 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Mario Tremblay | RW | 76 | 30 | 29 | 59 | 74 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Jacques Lemaire | C | 50 | 24 | 31 | 55 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| Guy Lapointe | D | 69 | 13 | 42 | 55 | 43 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Rejean Houle | W | 66 | 17 | 34 | 51 | 43 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Bob Gainey | LW | 79 | 20 | 18 | 38 | 44 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Serge Savard | D | 80 | 7 | 26 | 33 | 30 | 46 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Mark Napier | RW | 54 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 11 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Risebrough | C | 48 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 62 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Doug Jarvis | C | 80 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Pierre Larouche | C | 36 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Hughes | RW | 41 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Rick Chartraw | D/RW | 62 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 29 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Brian Engblom | D | 62 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 60 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilles Lupien | D | 72 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 124 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rod Langway | D | 45 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yvan Cournoyer | RW | 15 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cam Connor | RW | 23 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 39 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Dryden | G | 47 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michel Larocque | G | 34 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Newman | LW | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Lumley | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Ken Dryden | 2814 | 47 | 30 | 10 | 7 | 108 | 2.30 | 5 |
| Michel Larocque | 1986 | 34 | 22 | 7 | 4 | 94 | 2.84 | 3 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 52 | 17 | 11 | 202 | 2.52 | 8 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Jacques Lemaire | C | 16 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Guy Lafleur | RW | 16 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Bob Gainey | LW | 16 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Larry Robinson | D | 16 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Yvon Lambert | LW | 16 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Steve Shutt | LW | 11 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre Mondou | C | 16 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Serge Savard | D | 16 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Guy Lapointe | D | 10 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mario Tremblay | RW | 13 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Doug Risebrough | C | 15 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rejean Houle | W | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Napier | RW | 12 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Jarvis | C | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre Larouche | C | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rick Chartraw | D/RW | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Hughes | RW | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Dryden | G | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cam Connor | RW | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Brian Engblom | D | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rod Langway | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michel Larocque | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilles Lupien | D | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Ken Dryden | 990 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 41 | 2.48 | 0 |
| Michel Larocque | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 1010 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 41 | 2.44 | 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;

## Awards and records

* Prince of Wales Trophy
* Ken Dryden and Michel Larocque, Vezina Trophy
* Bob Gainey, Conn Smythe Trophy
* Bob Gainey, Selke Trophy
* Serge Savard, Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

## Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 8 | Dan Geoffrion | Canada | Cornwall Royals (QMJHL) |
| 1 | 17 | Dave Hunter | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL) |
| 2 | 30 | Dale Yakiwchuk | Canada | Portland Winterhawks (WCHL) |
| 2 | 36 | Ron Carter | Canada | Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 42 | Richard David | Canada | Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 69 | Kevin Reeves | Canada | Montreal Juniors (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 86 | Mike Boyd | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL) |
| 6 | 103 | Keith Acton | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OMJHL) |
| 7 | 120 | Jim Lawson | Canada | Brown University (ECAC) |
| 8 | 137 | Larry Landon | Canada | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC) |
| 9 | 154 | Kevin Constantine | United States | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC) |
| 10 | 171 | John Swan | Canada | McGill University (CIAU) |
| 11 | 186 | Daniel Metivier | Canada | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) |
| 12 | 201 | Viacheslav Fetisov | Soviet Union | CSKA Moscow (Russia) |
| 13 | 212 | Jeff Mars | United States | University of Michigan (WCHA) |
| 14 | 222 | Greg Tignanelli | United States | Northern Michigan University (CCHA) |
| 15 | 225 | George Goulakos | Canada | St. Lawrence University (ECAC) |
| 16 | 227 | Ken Moodie | Canada | Colgate University (ECAC) |
| 17 | 229 | Serge LeBlanc | Canada | University of Vermont (ECAC) |
| 18 | 230 | Bob Magnuson | United States | Merrimack College (ECAC) |
| 19 | 231 | Chris Nilan | United States | Northeastern University (ECAC) |
| 20 | 232 | Rick Wilson | Canada | St. Lawrence University (ECAC) |
| 21 | 233 | Louis Sleigher | Canada | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) |
| 22 | 234 | Doug Robb | Canada | Billings Bighorns (WCHL) |