# 1965–66 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1965–66 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 57th season of play. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive season, and the 14th time in their history. Bobby Rousseau registered 78 points and tied with Stan Mikita for second in the overall 1965–66 NHL scoring race.

## Regular season
### Final standings

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 41 | 21 | 8 | 239 | 173 | +66 | 90 |
| 2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 37 | 25 | 8 | 240 | 187 | +53 | 82 |
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 34 | 25 | 11 | 208 | 187 | +21 | 79 |
| 4 | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 31 | 27 | 12 | 221 | 194 | +27 | 74 |
| 5 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 21 | 43 | 6 | 174 | 275 | −101 | 48 |
| 6 | New York Rangers | 70 | 18 | 41 | 11 | 195 | 261 | −66 | 47 |

### Record vs. opponents

1965–66 NHL Records :
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYR | TOR |
| Boston | — | 4–8–2 | 2–11–1 | 4–9–1 | 8–5–1 | 4–9–1 |
| Chicago | 8–4–2 | — | 11–1–2 | 4–8–2 | 9–4–1 | 5–8–1 |
| Detroit | 11–2–1 | 1–11–2 | — | 4–8–2 | 7–3–4 | 8–4–2 |
| Montreal | 9–4–1 | 8–4–2 | 8–4–2 | — | 12–2 | 5–7–2 |
| New York | 5–8–1 | 4–9–1 | 3–7–4 | 2–12 | — | 3–6–5 |
| Toronto | 9–4–1 | 8–5–1 | 4–8–2 | 7–5–2 | 6–3–5 | — |

## Schedule and results

Regular season results :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 23, 1965 | 8–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1965–66) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | W | October 24, 1965 | 4–3 | @ New York Rangers (1965–66) | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | W | October 27, 1965 | 4–3 | New York Rangers (1965–66) | 3–0–0 |
| 4 | L | October 30, 1965 | 4–6 | Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 3–1–0 |
| 5 | T | October 31, 1965 | 2–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1965–66) | 3–1–1 |
| 6 | W | November 4, 1965 | 5–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 4–1–1 |
| 7 | L | November 6, 1965 | 1–3 | Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 4–2–1 |
| 8 | W | November 7, 1965 | 5–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 5–2–1 |
| 9 | T | November 10, 1965 | 3–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 5–2–2 |
| 10 | W | November 13, 1965 | 5–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 6–2–2 |
| 11 | T | November 14, 1965 | 2–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1965–66) | 6–2–3 |
| 12 | L | November 18, 1965 | 1–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 6–3–3 |
| 13 | W | November 20, 1965 | 9–3 | New York Rangers (1965–66) | 7–3–3 |
| 14 | L | November 21, 1965 | 2–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 7–4–3 |
| 15 | W | November 24, 1965 | 2–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 8–4–3 |
| 16 | W | November 27, 1965 | 3–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1965–66) | 9–4–3 |
| 17 | W | November 28, 1965 | 2–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 10–4–3 |
| 18 | W | December 4, 1965 | 4–3 | New York Rangers (1965–66) | 11–4–3 |
| 19 | T | December 5, 1965 | 4–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 11–4–4 |
| 20 | W | December 8, 1965 | 8–3 | Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 12–4–4 |
| 21 | W | December 11, 1965 | 2–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 13–4–4 |
| 22 | W | December 12, 1965 | 5–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 14–4–4 |
| 23 | L | December 16, 1965 | 2–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 14–5–4 |
| 24 | W | December 18, 1965 | 2–1 | Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 15–5–4 |
| 25 | L | December 19, 1965 | 2–3 | @ New York Rangers (1965–66) | 15–6–4 |
| 26 | W | December 25, 1965 | 4–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1965–66) | 16–6–4 |
| 27 | L | December 26, 1965 | 0–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1965–66) | 16–7–4 |
| 28 | L | December 29, 1965 | 2–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 16–8–4 |
| 29 | W | January 1, 1966 | 5–1 | New York Rangers (1965–66) | 17–8–4 |
| 30 | W | January 2, 1966 | 6–3 | @ New York Rangers (1965–66) | 18–8–4 |
| 31 | L | January 5, 1966 | 2–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 18–9–4 |
| 32 | W | January 8, 1966 | 6–0 | Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 19–9–4 |
| 33 | L | January 9, 1966 | 2–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1965–66) | 19–10–4 |
| 34 | L | January 13, 1966 | 0–6 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 19–11–4 |
| 35 | W | January 15, 1966 | 6–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 20–11–4 |
| 36 | W | January 16, 1966 | 3–1 | @ Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 21–11–4 |
| 37 | L | January 20, 1966 | 2–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1965–66) | 21–12–4 |
| 38 | L | January 22, 1966 | 0–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1965–66) | 21–13–4 |
| 39 | T | January 23, 1966 | 3–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 21–13–5 |
| 40 | L | January 26, 1966 | 2–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 21–14–5 |
| 41 | W | January 29, 1966 | 6–2 | New York Rangers (1965–66) | 22–14–5 |
| 42 | W | January 30, 1966 | 3–1 | @ Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 23–14–5 |
| 43 | W | February 3, 1966 | 5–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 24–14–5 |
| 44 | T | February 5, 1966 | 2–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1965–66) | 24–14–6 |
| 45 | W | February 6, 1966 | 4–0 | @ New York Rangers (1965–66) | 25–14–6 |
| 46 | L | February 10, 1966 | 0–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 25–15–6 |
| 47 | T | February 12, 1966 | 2–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 25–15–7 |
| 48 | W | February 13, 1966 | 4–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1965–66) | 26–15–7 |
| 49 | L | February 16, 1966 | 1–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 26–16–7 |
| 50 | W | February 19, 1966 | 5–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 27–16–7 |
| 51 | W | February 20, 1966 | 5–3 | @ New York Rangers (1965–66) | 28–16–7 |
| 52 | W | February 23, 1966 | 3–2 | Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 29–16–7 |
| 53 | W | February 26, 1966 | 4–3 | New York Rangers (1965–66) | 30–16–7 |
| 54 | W | February 27, 1966 | 5–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1965–66) | 31–16–7 |
| 55 | T | March 2, 1966 | 3–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 31–16–8 |
| 56 | L | March 3, 1966 | 0–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 31–17–8 |
| 57 | W | March 5, 1966 | 7–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1965–66) | 32–17–8 |
| 58 | W | March 6, 1966 | 1–0 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 33–17–8 |
| 59 | L | March 9, 1966 | 1–3 | Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 33–18–8 |
| 60 | W | March 12, 1966 | 4–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1965–66) | 34–18–8 |
| 61 | L | March 13, 1966 | 2–3 | @ New York Rangers (1965–66) | 34–19–8 |
| 62 | W | March 16, 1966 | 7–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 35–19–8 |
| 63 | W | March 19, 1966 | 6–2 | New York Rangers (1965–66) | 36–19–8 |
| 64 | L | March 20, 1966 | 2–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 36–20–8 |
| 65 | L | March 24, 1966 | 0–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 36–21–8 |
| 66 | W | March 26, 1966 | 5–2 | Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 37–21–8 |
| 67 | W | March 27, 1966 | 3–1 | @ Boston Bruins (1965–66) | 38–21–8 |
| 68 | W | March 30, 1966 | 3–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1965–66) | 39–21–8 |
| 69 | W | April 2, 1966 | 8–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1965–66) | 40–21–8 |
| 70 | W | April 3, 1966 | 4–1 | @ New York Rangers (1965–66) | 41–21–8 |

## Playoffs
### Finals

With this series, Toe Blake had coached the Canadiens to seven Stanley Cup championships in eleven years. Henri Richard, a member of all seven, would score the series winner in overtime of game six. Despite the Wings losing, their goalie Roger Crozier would win the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Canadiens
| Date | Visitors | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
| April 17 | Detroit | 3 | Montreal | 2 | |
| April 20 | Detroit | 5 | Montreal | 2 | |
| April 22 | Montreal | 4 | Detroit | 2 | |
| April 25 | Montreal | 2 | Detroit | 1 | |
| April 27 | Detroit | 1 | Montreal | 5 | |
| April 29 | Montreal | 3 | Detroit | 2 | OT |
Montreal wins Stanley Cup four games to two.

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Bobby Rousseau | RW | 70 | 30 | 48 | 78 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Jean Beliveau | C | 67 | 29 | 48 | 77 | 50 | 13 | 0 | 7 |
| Henri Richard | C | 62 | 22 | 39 | 61 | 47 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Claude Provost | RW | 70 | 19 | 36 | 55 | 38 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Gilles Tremblay | LW | 70 | 27 | 21 | 48 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Dick Duff | LW | 63 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 78 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Ralph Backstrom | C | 67 | 22 | 20 | 42 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| J. C. Tremblay | D | 59 | 6 | 29 | 35 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Claude Larose | RW | 64 | 15 | 18 | 33 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Jacques Laperriere | D | 57 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 85 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Yvan Cournoyer | RW | 65 | 18 | 11 | 29 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| John Ferguson | LW | 65 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 153 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jean-Guy Talbot | D | 59 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ted Harris | D | 53 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 87 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Harper | D | 69 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 91 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Roberts | D/RW | 70 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Dave Balon | LW | 45 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Red Berenson | C | 23 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Noel Price | D | 15 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leon Rochefort | RW | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gump Worsley | G | 51 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean Gauthier | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Grant | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlie Hodge | G | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Johns | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gump Worsley | 2899 | 51 | 29 | 14 | 6 | 114 | 2.36 | 2 |
| Charlie Hodge | 1301 | 26 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 56 | 2.58 | 1 |
| Team: | 4200 | 70 | 41 | 21 | 8 | 170 | 2.43 | 3 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| J. C. Tremblay | D | 10 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 2 |
| Jean Beliveau | C | 10 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 6 |
| Gilles Tremblay | LW | 10 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| Bobby Rousseau | RW | 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 |
| Ralph Backstrom | C | 10 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 |
| Dick Duff | LW | 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| Dave Balon | LW | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 16 |
| Yvan Cournoyer | RW | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Terry Harper | D | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 18 |
| Claude Provost | RW | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Henri Richard | C | 8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| John Ferguson | LW | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 44 |
| Jim Roberts | D/RW | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Leon Rochefort | RW | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Jean-Guy Talbot | D | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Claude Larose | RW | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 31 |
| Noel Price | D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Ted Harris | D | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 |
| Gump Worsley | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gump Worsley | 602 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 1.99 | 1 |
| Team: | 602 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 1.99 | 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;

## Milestones

* November 1965: Henri Richard got his 600th career point
* January 1966: Richard would earn his 400th career assist
* Jean Beliveau would play in his 800th career game during the season.
* During the season, Beliveau would become the first Canadiens player to accumulate 500 career assists.

## Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 1965 NHL amateur draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 5 | Pierre Bouchard | Canada | St. Vincent de Paul Saints (LHJAA) |