1959 – 60 Montreal Canadiens season The 1959 – 60 Montreal Canadiens season was the club ' s 51st season of play . The team had another outstanding season , placing first in the league and winning the Stanley Cup for the fifth consecutive season , and the 12th time in team history . Team Picture Bottom Row ( L - R ) Charlie Hodge , Doug Harvey ( A . Capt . ) , Hartland Molson ( President ) , Frank Selke Sr . ( Manager ) , Maurice Richard ( Captain ) , Ken Reardon ( Vice President ) , Toe Blake ( Coach ) , Tom Johnson ( A . Capt . ) , Jacques Plante , Row # 2 ( L - R ) Camile DesRoches ( Publicity Director ) , Dickie Moore , Jean - Guy Talbot , Albert Langlois , Jean Beliveau , Ab McDonald , Bob Turner , Phil Goyette , Bernie Geofferion ( A . Capt . ) , Frank Selke Jr . ( Publicity Director ) , Regular season . On November 1 , 1959 , at 3 : 06 of the first period , Jacques Plante was hit in the face by a shot fired by Andy Bathgate . Plante came back in the game wearing a mask ( the second goaltender in NHL history to wear a mask after Clint Benedict ) starting a trend where all NHL goaltenders today wear a mask . Jacques Plante . The use of the goalie mask was Plante ' s most enduring contribution to the game , however , occurred as a result of an incident on November 1 , 1959 . He was hit in the face by a shot from New York Rangers player Andy Bathgate , needing to go to the dressing room for stitches . When he returned , he was wearing the crude home - made goalie mask that he ' d been using in practices . His coach , Toe Blake , was livid , but he had no other goalie to call upon , and Plante refused to return to the goal unless he kept the mask . Blake agreed on the condition that Plante discard the mask when the cut healed . Only Camille Henry beat him in that game , which the Canadiens won 3 – 1 . In the ensuing days Plante refused to discard the mask , and as the Canadiens continued to win , Blake became less obstinate . The unbeaten streak stretched to 18 games . Plante didn ' t wear the mask , at Blake ' s request , against Detroit on March 8 , 1960 . The Canadiens lost 3 – 0 , and the mask returned for good the next night . Plante subsequently designed his own mask and masks for other goalies . Although Plante was " not " the first NHL goalie known to wear a facemask ( Montreal Maroons goaltender Clint Benedict had done so thirty years before ) , Plante introduced the mask as everyday equipment , which continues to this day . Playoffs . The Canadiens placed first in the standings and met the Chicago Black Hawks in the first round of the playoffs . The Canadiens would sweep the Hawks 4 – 0 to move on to the finals against Toronto . Stanley Cup finals . Montreal swept the Maple Leafs , outscoring them 15 – 5 , en route to being the first team since the 1952 Detroit Red Wings to go without a loss in the playoffs . After the series Rocket Richard retired . He went out with style , finishing with his 34th finals goal in game three . Toronto Maple Leafs vs . Montreal Canadiens " Montreal wins best - of - seven series 4 games to 0 . " Roster . Jacques Plante , Charlie Hodge , Doug Harvey , Tom Johnson , Bob Turner , Jean - Guy Talbot , Albert Langlois , Ralph Backstrom , Jean Beliveau , Marcel Bonin , Bernie Geoffrion , Phil Goyette , Bill Hicke , Don Marshall , Ab McDonald , Dickie Moore , Andre Pronovost , Claude Provost , Henri Richard , Maurice Richard ( captain ) , Frank Selke ( manager ) , Toe Blake ( coach ) , Hector Dubois , Larry Aubut ( trainers ) . References . < / div >