# 1963–64 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1963–64 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 55th season of play. The team placed first in the regular season, earning top seed in the playoffs, but lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the semi-finals.

## Regular season
### Final standings

National Hockey League vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 36 | 21 | 13 | 209 | 167 | +42 | 85 |
| 2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 36 | 22 | 12 | 218 | 169 | +49 | 84 |
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 33 | 25 | 12 | 192 | 172 | +20 | 78 |
| 4 | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 30 | 29 | 11 | 191 | 204 | −13 | 71 |
| 5 | New York Rangers | 70 | 22 | 38 | 10 | 186 | 242 | −56 | 54 |
| 6 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 18 | 40 | 12 | 170 | 212 | −42 | 48 |

### Record vs. opponents

1963–64 NHL Records :
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYR | TOR |
| Boston | — | 3–9–2 | 3–10–1 | 2–7–5 | 5–7–2 | 5–7–2 |
| Chicago | 9–3–2 | — | 5–6–3 | 7–5–2 | 9–3–2 | 7–5–2 |
| Detroit | 10–3–1 | 6–5–3 | — | 5–7–2 | 6–6–2 | 3–8–3 |
| Montreal | 7–2–5 | 5–7–2 | 7–5–2 | — | 10–3–1 | 7–5–2 |
| New York | 7–5–2 | 3–9–2 | 6–6–2 | 3–10–1 | — | 3–8–3 |
| Toronto | 7–5–2 | 5–7–2 | 8–3–3 | 5–7–2 | 8–3–3 | — |

### Schedule and results

| # | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | T | October 8, 1963 | 4–4 | @ Boston Bruins | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | W | October 12, 1963 | 6–2 | New York Rangers | 1–0–1 |
| 3 | L | October 16, 1963 | 2–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–1–1 |
| 4 | W | October 19, 1963 | 2–0 | Boston Bruins | 2–1–1 |
| 5 | L | October 20, 1963 | 3–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks | 2–2–1 |
| 6 | T | October 26, 1963 | 1–1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–2–2 |
| 7 | W | October 27, 1963 | 6–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings | 3–2–2 |
| 8 | L | October 30, 1963 | 3–6 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–3–2 |
| 9 | W | November 2, 1963 | 5–1 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–3–2 |
| 10 | W | November 3, 1963 | 5–3 | @ New York Rangers | 5–3–2 |
| 11 | T | November 7, 1963 | 2–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 5–3–3 |
| 12 | W | November 9, 1963 | 4–2 | New York Rangers | 6–3–3 |
| 13 | L | November 10, 1963 | 0–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings | 6–4–3 |
| 14 | T | November 13, 1963 | 2–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 6–4–4 |
| 15 | L | November 16, 1963 | 2–5 | Chicago Black Hawks | 6–5–4 |
| 16 | W | November 17, 1963 | 3–2 | @ Boston Bruins | 7–5–4 |
| 17 | W | November 20, 1963 | 3–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs | 8–5–4 |
| 18 | L | November 24, 1963 | 3–7 | @ Chicago Black Hawks | 8–6–4 |
| 19 | W | November 28, 1963 | 7–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings | 9–6–4 |
| 20 | T | November 30, 1963 | 0–0 | Boston Bruins | 9–6–5 |
| 21 | W | December 1, 1963 | 3–1 | @ Boston Bruins | 10–6–5 |
| 22 | L | December 4, 1963 | 0–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs | 10–7–5 |
| 23 | W | December 5, 1963 | 4–2 | New York Rangers | 11–7–5 |
| 24 | W | December 7, 1963 | 5–2 | Detroit Red Wings | 12–7–5 |
| 25 | L | December 8, 1963 | 0–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks | 12–8–5 |
| 26 | W | December 12, 1963 | 6–4 | New York Rangers | 13–8–5 |
| 27 | W | December 14, 1963 | 3–1 | Boston Bruins | 14–8–5 |
| 28 | L | December 15, 1963 | 2–4 | @ New York Rangers | 14–9–5 |
| 29 | W | December 18, 1963 | 7–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 15–9–5 |
| 30 | W | December 21, 1963 | 3–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 16–9–5 |
| 31 | W | December 22, 1963 | 6–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings | 17–9–5 |
| 32 | L | December 25, 1963 | 1–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks | 17–10–5 |
| 33 | T | December 28, 1963 | 1–1 | Detroit Red Wings | 17–10–6 |
| 34 | W | December 29, 1963 | 6–2 | @ New York Rangers | 18–10–6 |
| 35 | T | January 1, 1964 | 3–3 | @ Boston Bruins | 18–10–7 |
| 36 | W | January 4, 1964 | 5–1 | Boston Bruins | 19–10–7 |
| 37 | T | January 5, 1964 | 3–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings | 19–10–8 |
| 38 | L | January 8, 1964 | 1–6 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs | 19–11–8 |
| 39 | W | January 12, 1964 | 2–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks | 20–11–8 |
| 40 | W | January 16, 1964 | 1–0 | Chicago Black Hawks | 21–11–8 |
| 41 | L | January 18, 1964 | 0–2 | Detroit Red Wings | 21–12–8 |
| 42 | T | January 19, 1964 | 1–1 | @ Boston Bruins | 21–12–9 |
| 43 | W | January 22, 1964 | 3–0 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs | 22–12–9 |
| 44 | W | January 23, 1964 | 4–2 | New York Rangers | 23–12–9 |
| 45 | L | January 25, 1964 | 0–6 | Boston Bruins | 23–13–9 |
| 46 | T | January 26, 1964 | 2–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks | 23–13–10 |
| 47 | W | January 29, 1964 | 2–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 24–13–10 |
| 48 | W | February 1, 1964 | 9–3 | Detroit Red Wings | 25–13–10 |
| 49 | L | February 2, 1964 | 2–4 | @ New York Rangers | 25–14–10 |
| 50 | W | February 5, 1964 | 2–0 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs | 26–14–10 |
| 51 | W | February 8, 1964 | 8–2 | @ New York Rangers | 27–14–10 |
| 52 | T | February 9, 1964 | 4–4 | @ Boston Bruins | 27–14–11 |
| 53 | W | February 12, 1964 | 4–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 28–14–11 |
| 54 | L | February 15, 1964 | 1–4 | Detroit Red Wings | 28–15–11 |
| 55 | W | February 16, 1964 | 5–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings | 29–15–11 |
| 56 | W | February 20, 1964 | 3–2 | Boston Bruins | 30–15–11 |
| 57 | W | February 22, 1964 | 3–1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 31–15–11 |
| 58 | L | February 23, 1964 | 2–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings | 31–16–11 |
| 59 | W | February 26, 1964 | 1–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 32–16–11 |
| 60 | W | February 29, 1964 | 4–0 | New York Rangers | 33–16–11 |
| 61 | L | March 1, 1964 | 3–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks | 33–17–11 |
| 62 | L | March 5, 1964 | 5–7 | Detroit Red Wings | 33–18–11 |
| 63 | L | March 7, 1964 | 2–3 | New York Rangers | 33–19–11 |
| 64 | T | March 8, 1964 | 0–0 | @ New York Rangers | 33–19–12 |
| 65 | L | March 11, 1964 | 0–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs | 33–20–12 |
| 66 | W | March 14, 1964 | 4–3 | Chicago Black Hawks | 34–20–12 |
| 67 | L | March 15, 1964 | 1–3 | @ Boston Bruins | 34–21–12 |
| 68 | T | March 18, 1964 | 2–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 34–21–13 |
| 69 | W | March 21, 1964 | 5–1 | Boston Bruins | 35–21–13 |
| 70 | W | March 22, 1964 | 2–1 | @ New York Rangers | 36–21–13 |

### Player statistics
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Jean Beliveau | C | 68 | 28 | 50 | 78 | 42 |
| Bobby Rousseau | RW | 70 | 25 | 31 | 56 | 32 |
| Henri Richard | C | 66 | 14 | 39 | 53 | 73 |
| John Ferguson | LW | 59 | 18 | 27 | 45 | 125 |
| Dave Balon | LW | 70 | 24 | 18 | 42 | 80 |
| Bernie Geoffrion | RW | 55 | 21 | 18 | 39 | 41 |
| Gilles Tremblay | LW | 61 | 22 | 15 | 37 | 21 |
| Claude Provost | RW | 68 | 15 | 17 | 32 | 37 |
| Jacques Laperriere | D | 65 | 2 | 28 | 30 | 102 |
| Ralph Backstrom | C | 70 | 8 | 21 | 29 | 41 |
| J. C. Tremblay | D | 70 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 24 |
| Bill Hicke | RW | 48 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 41 |
| Terry Harper | D | 70 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 149 |
| Red Berenson | C | 69 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 12 |
| Jean-Guy Talbot | D | 66 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 83 |
| Andre Boudrias | LW | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Yvan Cournoyer | RW | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Claude Larose | RW | 21 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 43 |
| Bryan Watson | D | 39 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 18 |
| Ted Harris | D | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jim Roberts | D/RW | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Jean Gauthier | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Terry Gray | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| John Hanna | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Wayne Hicks | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlie Hodge | G | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jean-Guy Morissette | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marc Reaume | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Leon Rochefort | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gump Worsley | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Charlie Hodge | 3720 | 62 | 33 | 18 | 11 | 140 | 2.26 | 8 |
| Gump Worsley | 444 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 2.97 | 1 |
| Jean-Guy Morissette | 36 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6.67 | 0 |
| Team: | 4200 | 70 | 36 | 21 | 13 | 166 | 2.37 | 9 |

## Playoffs
### Semi-finals

* March 26, 1964, Toronto Maple Leafs 2 – 0
* March 28, 1964, Toronto Maple Leafs 1 – 2
* March 31, 1964, at Toronto Maple Leafs 3 – 2
* April 2, 1964, at Toronto Maple Leafs 3 – 5
* April 4, 1964, Toronto Maple Leafs 4 – 2
* April 7, 1964, at Toronto Maple Leafs 0 – 3
* April 9, 1964, Toronto Maple Leafs 1 – 3

### Player statistics
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Claude Provost | RW | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 22 |
| Ralph Backstrom | C | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| J. C. Tremblay | D | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Jean Beliveau | C | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 18 |
| Dave Balon | LW | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 25 |
| Bernie Geoffrion | RW | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Jacques Laperriere | D | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Henri Richard | C | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| Bobby Rousseau | RW | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Bill Hicke | RW | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Jean-Guy Talbot | D | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| Claude Larose | RW | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| John Ferguson | LW | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 25 |
| Jim Roberts | D/RW | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| Red Berenson | C | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Terry Harper | D | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Charlie Hodge | G | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilles Tremblay | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Watson | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Charlie Hodge | 420 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 2.29 | 1 |
| Team: | 420 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 2.29 | 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;

## Transactions

* June 4, 1963 – Jacques Plante was traded to the New York Rangers, along with Phil Goyette and Don Marshall, in exchange for Gump Worsley, Dave Balon, and Leon Rochefort.

## Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 1963 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 1 | Garry Monahan | Canada | St. Michael's Buzzers (MetJHL) |
| 2 | 7 | Rodney Presswood | Canada | Georgetown Midgets (OAAAMHL) |
| 3 | 13 | Roy Pugh | Canada | Aurora Bears (SOJCHL) |