# 1948–49 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1948–49 Montreal Canadiens season was the 40th season in club history. The Montreal Canadiens were eliminated in the semi-finals against the Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 3.

## Regular season

Bill Durnan set a long-standing modern NHL record between February 26 and March 6, 1949, when he amassed four consecutive shutouts, not allowing a goal over a span of 309 minutes, 21 seconds. This record was not surpassed until 2003–04, when Brian Boucher, then of the Phoenix Coyotes, broke it.

### Final standings

National Hockey League vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 60 | 34 | 19 | 7 | 195 | 145 | +50 | 75 |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | 60 | 29 | 23 | 8 | 178 | 163 | +15 | 66 |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 60 | 28 | 23 | 9 | 152 | 126 | +26 | 65 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 60 | 22 | 25 | 13 | 147 | 161 | −14 | 57 |
| 5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 60 | 21 | 31 | 8 | 173 | 211 | −38 | 50 |
| 6 | New York Rangers | 60 | 18 | 31 | 11 | 133 | 172 | −39 | 47 |

### Record vs. opponents

1948–49 NHL Records :
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYR | TOR |
| Boston | — | 6–5–1 | 5–4–3 | 5–6–1 | 8–2–2 | 5–6–1 |
| Chicago | 5–6–1 | — | 3–9 | 3–7–2 | 6–5–1 | 4–4–4 |
| Detroit | 4–5–3 | 9–3 | — | 7–4–1 | 7–4–1 | 7–3–2 |
| Montreal | 6–5–1 | 7–3–2 | 4–7–1 | — | 5–4–3 | 6–4–2 |
| New York | 2–8–2 | 5–6–1 | 4–7–1 | 4–5–3 | — | 3–5–4 |
| Toronto | 6–5–1 | 4–4–4 | 3–7–2 | 4–6–2 | 5–3–4 | — |

## Schedule and results

Regular season results :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | T | October 14, 1948 | 1–1 | New York Rangers (1948–49) | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | W | October 16, 1948 | 8–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49) | 1–0–1 |
| 3 | W | October 21, 1948 | 5–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49) | 2–0–1 |
| 4 | T | October 23, 1948 | 0–0 | Detroit Red Wings (1948–49) | 2–0–2 |
| 5 | L | October 27, 1948 | 2–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49) | 2–1–2 |
| 6 | T | October 30, 1948 | 3–3 | Boston Bruins (1948–49) | 2–1–3 |
| 7 | L | October 31, 1948 | 1–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1948–49) | 2–2–3 |
| 8 | W | November 6, 1948 | 2–0 | Detroit Red Wings (1948–49) | 3–2–3 |
| 9 | W | November 11, 1948 | 4–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49) | 4–2–3 |
| 10 | W | November 13, 1948 | 3–1 | @ New York Rangers (1948–49) | 5–2–3 |
| 11 | L | November 14, 1948 | 2–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1948–49) | 5–3–3 |
| 12 | L | November 17, 1948 | 3–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49) | 5–4–3 |
| 13 | W | November 21, 1948 | 3–0 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1948–49) | 6–4–3 |
| 14 | T | November 24, 1948 | 3–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49) | 6–4–4 |
| 15 | L | November 25, 1948 | 0–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49) | 6–5–4 |
| 16 | L | November 27, 1948 | 0–2 | Boston Bruins (1948–49) | 6–6–4 |
| 17 | W | December 4, 1948 | 3–1 | New York Rangers (1948–49) | 7–6–4 |
| 18 | L | December 5, 1948 | 1–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1948–49) | 7–7–4 |
| 19 | L | December 11, 1948 | 2–5 | Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49) | 7–8–4 |
| 20 | T | December 12, 1948 | 4–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49) | 7–8–5 |
| 21 | W | December 15, 1948 | 4–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1948–49) | 8–8–5 |
| 22 | W | December 18, 1948 | 5–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1948–49) | 9–8–5 |
| 23 | L | December 19, 1948 | 2–3 | @ New York Rangers (1948–49) | 9–9–5 |
| 24 | W | December 23, 1948 | 4–2 | Boston Bruins (1948–49) | 10–9–5 |
| 25 | L | December 25, 1948 | 0–2 | New York Rangers (1948–49) | 10–10–5 |
| 26 | L | December 26, 1948 | 1–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1948–49) | 10–11–5 |
| 27 | W | December 30, 1948 | 3–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49) | 11–11–5 |
| 28 | L | January 1, 1949 | 3–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49) | 11–12–5 |
| 29 | W | January 6, 1949 | 7–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49) | 12–12–5 |
| 30 | L | January 8, 1949 | 1–4 | Detroit Red Wings (1948–49) | 12–13–5 |
| 31 | T | January 9, 1949 | 1–1 | @ New York Rangers (1948–49) | 12–13–6 |
| 32 | W | January 12, 1949 | 5–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1948–49) | 13–13–6 |
| 33 | W | January 15, 1949 | 7–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49) | 14–13–6 |
| 34 | L | January 16, 1949 | 2–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1948–49) | 14–14–6 |
| 35 | W | January 19, 1949 | 4–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49) | 15–14–6 |
| 36 | W | January 20, 1949 | 2–1 | New York Rangers (1948–49) | 16–14–6 |
| 37 | W | January 22, 1949 | 4–2 | Boston Bruins (1948–49) | 17–14–6 |
| 38 | L | January 23, 1949 | 0–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1948–49) | 17–15–6 |
| 39 | W | January 26, 1949 | 3–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49) | 18–15–6 |
| 40 | L | January 29, 1949 | 2–5 | Detroit Red Wings (1948–49) | 18–16–6 |
| 41 | L | January 30, 1949 | 0–9 | @ New York Rangers (1948–49) | 18–17–6 |
| 42 | L | February 3, 1949 | 1–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49) | 18–18–6 |
| 43 | L | February 5, 1949 | 2–3 | Boston Bruins (1948–49) | 18–19–6 |
| 44 | L | February 6, 1949 | 0–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1948–49) | 18–20–6 |
| 45 | T | February 9, 1949 | 2–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49) | 18–20–7 |
| 46 | L | February 13, 1949 | 3–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49) | 18–21–7 |
| 47 | W | February 17, 1949 | 3–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49) | 19–21–7 |
| 48 | W | February 19, 1949 | 3–1 | New York Rangers (1948–49) | 20–21–7 |
| 49 | L | February 20, 1949 | 2–3 | @ New York Rangers (1948–49) | 20–22–7 |
| 50 | W | February 24, 1949 | 3–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49) | 21–22–7 |
| 51 | W | February 26, 1949 | 1–0 | Detroit Red Wings (1948–49) | 22–22–7 |
| 52 | W | March 2, 1949 | 2–0 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49) | 23–22–7 |
| 53 | W | March 5, 1949 | 4–0 | Boston Bruins (1948–49) | 24–22–7 |
| 54 | W | March 6, 1949 | 1–0 | @ Boston Bruins (1948–49) | 25–22–7 |
| 55 | T | March 9, 1949 | 2–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49) | 25–22–8 |
| 56 | W | March 12, 1949 | 3–0 | New York Rangers (1948–49) | 26–22–8 |
| 57 | T | March 13, 1949 | 1–1 | @ New York Rangers (1948–49) | 26–22–9 |
| 58 | W | March 17, 1949 | 3–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49) | 27–22–9 |
| 59 | W | March 19, 1949 | 5–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49) | 28–22–9 |
| 60 | L | March 20, 1949 | 1–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1948–49) | 28–23–9 |

## Playoffs

The Canadiens would meet the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
| March 22 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 2 | OT |
| March 24 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | Detroit Red Wings | 3 | OT |
| March 26 | Detroit Red Wings | 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | |
| March 29 | Detroit Red Wings | 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | |
| March 31 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 3 | |
| April 2 | Detroit Red Wings | 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | |
| April 5 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | Detroit Red Wings | 3 | |
Detroit won the best-of-seven series 4 games to 3.

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Billy Reay | C | 60 | 22 | 23 | 45 | 33 |
| Maurice Richard | RW | 59 | 20 | 18 | 38 | 110 |
| Joe Carveth | RW | 60 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 8 |
| Elmer Lach | C | 36 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 59 |
| Ken Mosdell | C | 60 | 17 | 9 | 26 | 50 |
| Glen Harmon | D | 59 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 44 |
| Norm Dussault | C | 47 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 6 |
| Rip Riopelle | LW | 48 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 34 |
| Doug Harvey | D | 55 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 87 |
| Ken Reardon | D | 46 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 103 |
| Roger Leger | D | 28 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 10 |
| Murph Chamberlain | LW | 54 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 111 |
| Bob Fillion | LW | 59 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 14 |
| Gerry Plamondon | LW | 27 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 8 |
| Leo Gravelle | RW | 36 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 6 |
| Tod Campeau | C | 26 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 12 |
| Hal Laycoe | D | 51 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 31 |
| George Robertson | LW/C | 30 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Emile Bouchard | D | 27 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 42 |
| Ed Dorohoy | C/LW | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Bill Durnan | G | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacques Locas | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bud MacPherson | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Bill Durnan | 3600 | 60 | 28 | 23 | 9 | 126 | 2.10 | 10 |
| Team: | 3600 | 60 | 28 | 23 | 9 | 126 | 2.10 | 10 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Gerry Plamondon | LW | 7 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Billy Reay | C | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| Leo Gravelle | RW | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Maurice Richard | RW | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 14 |
| Glen Harmon | D | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Murdo MacKay | RW/C | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Ken Mosdell | C | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Rip Riopelle | LW | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Joe Carveth | RW | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Bob Fillion | LW | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Doug Harvey | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Hal Laycoe | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| Roger Leger | D | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Emile Bouchard | D | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Tod Campeau | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Murph Chamberlain | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Floyd Curry | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bill Durnan | G | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Norm Dussault | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Elmer Lach | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Ken Reardon | D | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Bill Durnan | 468 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 2.18 | 0 |
| Team: | 468 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 2.18 | 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

* Bill Durnan, Vezina Trophy
* Bill Durnan, Goaltender, NHL First Team All-Star
* Glen Harmon, Defence, NHL Second Team All-Star
* Ken Reardon, Defence, NHL Second Team All-Star
* Maurice Richard, Right Wing, NHL First Team All-Star