1950–51 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1950–51 Montreal Canadiens season was the 42nd in franchise history. The team placed first third in the regular season to qualify for the playoffs. The Canadiens lost in the 1951 Stanley Cup Finals to the Toronto Maple Leafs 4 games to 1. All five games were decided in overtime.
==Regular Season==
Montreal fans were excited when it was reported that two junior stars, Jean Beliveau and Bernie Geoffrion, would be given a trial in a December 16th game with the Rangers. The Canadiens played a 1-1 tie before 14,158 fans. Geoffrion scored the Canadiens goal in his debut.
In March, Rocket Richard ran into trouble in a game with Detroit. Richard was tripped and rose with a cut between the eyes. No penalty was called and Richard commenced an argument with referee Hugh McLean. He continued his argument too long and was given a 
misconduct penalty. Richard then skated to the penalty box and found Leo Reise of Detroit there to welcome him with derisive remarks which infuriated Richard, who then punched Reise, and when linesman Jim Primeau rushed to intervene, Richard took a poke at him and Richard was given a game misconduct. The Canadiens took a train to New York for a game against the Rangers, and the next morning, Richard encountered referee McLean and linesman Primeau in the lobby of the Picadilly Hotel. No punches were thrown, but Richard grabbed McLean by the tie and then Primeau intervened. Considerable profanity filled the air, but cooler heads separated the trio before fists could fly. NHL President Clarence Campbell took a dim view of the matter and fined the Rocket $500 for conduct prejudicial to the welfare of hockey.
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results 	Regular Season Results
No. 	R 	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	T 	October 12, 1950 	3–3 	Chicago Black Hawks (1950–51) 	0–0–1
2 	T 	October 14, 1950 	1–1 	Boston Bruins (1950–51) 	0–0–2
3 	W 	October 15, 1950 	2–1 	@ Boston Bruins (1950–51) 	1–0–2
4 	W 	October 19, 1950 	4–0 	New York Rangers (1950–51) 	2–0–2
5 	W 	October 21, 1950 	2–0 	Detroit Red Wings (1950–51) 	3–0–2
6 	L 	October 22, 1950 	2–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1950–51) 	3–1–2
7 	L 	October 26, 1950 	1–5 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1950–51)	3–2–2
8 	W 	October 28, 1950 	5–1 	New York Rangers (1950–51) 	4–2–2
9 	T 	October 29, 1950 	2–2 	@ New York Rangers (1950–51) 	4–2–3
10 	L 	November 1, 1950 	3–5 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1950–51)	4–3–3
11 	L 	November 2, 1950 	1–2 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1950–51) 	4–4–3
12 	L 	November 4, 1950 	2–3 	Boston Bruins (1950–51) 	4–5–3
13 	L 	November 9, 1950 	1–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1950–51)	4–6–3
14 	T 	November 11, 1950 	1–1 	New York Rangers (1950–51) 	4–6–4
15 	L 	November 12, 1950 	0–4 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1950–51) 	4–7–4
16 	W 	November 16, 1950 	5–2 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1950–51) 	5–7–4
17 	W 	November 18, 1950 	3–2 	Chicago Black Hawks (1950–51) 	6–7–4
18 	W 	November 19, 1950 	3–0 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1950–51)	7–7–4
19 	L 	November 22, 1950 	2–3 	@ New York Rangers (1950–51) 	7–8–4
20 	L 	November 25, 1950 	1–4 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1950–51)	7–9–4
21 	W 	November 26, 1950 	3–1 	@ Boston Bruins (1950–51) 	8–9–4
22 	T 	November 30, 1950 	0–0 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1950–51) 	8–9–5
23 	L 	December 2, 1950 	1–7 	Detroit Red Wings (1950–51) 	8–10–5
24 	W 	December 3, 1950 	4–1 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1950–51) 	9–10–5
25 	L 	December 6, 1950 	1–3 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1950–51)	9–11–5
26 	L 	December 7, 1950 	0–3 	Boston Bruins (1950–51) 	9–12–5
27 	L 	December 9, 1950 	0–5 	Chicago Black Hawks (1950–51) 	9–13–5
28 	L 	December 10, 1950 	2–5 	@ Boston Bruins (1950–51) 	9–14–5
29 	L 	December 13, 1950 	2–3 	@ New York Rangers (1950–51) 	9–15–5
30 	T 	December 16, 1950 	1–1 	New York Rangers (1950–51) 	9–15–6
31 	W 	December 17, 1950 	7–3 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1950–51)	10–15–6
32 	L 	December 20, 1950 	1–6 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1950–51)	10–16–6
33 	T 	December 23, 1950 	4–4 	Detroit Red Wings (1950–51) 	10–16–7
34 	L 	December 28, 1950 	1–8 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1950–51) 	10–17–7
35 	W 	December 30, 1950 	4–3 	Chicago Black Hawks (1950–51) 	11–17–7
36 	T 	January 1, 1951 	3–3 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1950–51)	11–17–8
37 	L 	January 4, 1951 	2–4 	Boston Bruins (1950–51) 	11–18–8
38 	W 	January 6, 1951 	5–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1950–51) 	12–18–8
39 	W 	January 10, 1951 	3–0 	@ New York Rangers (1950–51) 	13–18–8
40 	W 	January 11, 1951 	4–1 	Chicago Black Hawks (1950–51) 	14–18–8
41 	W 	January 13, 1951 	4–0 	Boston Bruins (1950–51) 	15–18–8
42 	L 	January 14, 1951 	2–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1950–51) 	15–19–8
43 	L 	January 18, 1951 	2–5 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1950–51) 	15–20–8
44 	T 	January 20, 1951 	2–2 	New York Rangers (1950–51) 	15–20–9
45 	W 	January 21, 1951 	3–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1950–51)	16–20–9
46 	L 	January 24, 1951 	3–4 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1950–51)	16–21–9
47 	W 	January 27, 1951 	4–2 	Chicago Black Hawks (1950–51) 	17–21–9
48 	T 	January 28, 1951 	1–1 	@ Boston Bruins (1950–51) 	17–21–10
49 	L 	February 1, 1951 	1–3 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1950–51) 	17–22–10
50 	W 	February 3, 1951 	4–1 	Boston Bruins (1950–51) 	18–22–10
51 	T 	February 4, 1951 	3–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1950–51) 	18–22–11
52 	L 	February 7, 1951 	1–3 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1950–51)	18–23–11
53 	L 	February 10, 1951 	0–6 	@ Boston Bruins (1950–51) 	18–24–11
54 	L 	February 11, 1951 	1–3 	@ New York Rangers (1950–51) 	18–25–11
55 	T 	February 15, 1951 	2–2 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1950–51) 	18–25–12
56 	L 	February 17, 1951 	1–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1950–51) 	18–26–12
57 	L 	February 22, 1951 	2–3 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1950–51)	18–27–12
58 	W 	February 24, 1951 	6–2 	New York Rangers (1950–51) 	19–27–12
59 	W 	March 1, 1951 	3–1 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1950–51) 	20–27–12
60 	L 	March 3, 1951 	1–3 	Detroit Red Wings (1950–51) 	20–28–12
61 	T 	March 4, 1951 	2–2 	@ New York Rangers (1950–51) 	20–28–13
62 	W 	March 7, 1951 	3–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1950–51) 	21–28–13
63 	W 	March 10, 1951 	12–2 	Chicago Black Hawks (1950–51) 	22–28–13
64 	T 	March 11, 1951 	5–5 	@ New York Rangers (1950–51) 	22–28–14
65 	W 	March 15, 1951 	5–3 	New York Rangers (1950–51) 	23–28–14
66 	W 	March 17, 1951 	3–1 	Boston Bruins (1950–51) 	24–28–14
67 	T 	March 18, 1951 	2–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1950–51) 	24–28–15
68 	L 	March 21, 1951 	0–2 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1950–51)	24–29–15
69 	W 	March 24, 1951 	3–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1950–51) 	25–29–15
70 	L 	March 25, 1951 	0–5 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1950–51) 	25–30–15
==Playoffs==
===Montreal Canadiens 4, Detroit Red Wings 2===
The Canadiens first played the Detroit Red Wings in the Semi-finals. The first four games of the series was won by the visiting team. The Canadiens then won the last two to win the series four games to two to advance to the final against Toronto.
Date 	Home 	Score	Visitor 	Score	Notes
March 27	Detroit Red Wings 	2 	Montreal Canadiens	3 	(OT)
March 29	Detroit Red Wings 	0 	Montreal Canadiens	1 	(OT)
March 31	Montreal Canadiens	0 	Detroit Red Wings 	2 	
April 3 	Montreal Canadiens	1 	Detroit Red Wings 	4 	
April 5 	Detroit Red Wings 	2 	Montreal Canadiens	5 	
April 7 	Montreal Canadiens	3 	Detroit Red Wings 	2 	
===Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Montreal Canadiens 1===
The Canadiens lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs four games to one with Bill Barilko scoring the series winning goal in overtime in Game 5. All five games in the series were decided in overtime. Canadiens forward Bob Dawes played his only game of the 1951 playoffs in the last game of the Finals. He suffered a compound fracture of the right leg and never played in the NHL again.
Date 	Away 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
April 11	Montreal	2 	Toronto 	3 	OT
April 14	Montreal	3 	Toronto 	2 	OT
April 17	Toronto 	2 	Montreal	1 	OT
April 19	Toronto 	3 	Montreal	2 	OT
April 21	Montreal	2 	Toronto 	3 	OT
==Player Stats==
===Regular Season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
 	RW 	65	42	24	66 	97
 	C 	65	21	24	45 	48
 	LW 	39	16	22	38 	50
 	C 	66	13	18	31 	24
 	D 	70	5 	24	29 	93
 	LW 	70	18	10	28 	69
 	RW 	69	13	14	27 	23
 	C 	60	6 	18	24 	24
 	C 	64	4 	20	24 	15
 	D 	62	0 	16	16 	40
 	RW 	18	8 	6 	14 	9
 	D 	57	2 	12	14 	27
 	D 	52	3 	10	13 	80
 	LW 	50	7 	5 	12 	33
 	D 	70	2 	8 	10 	128
 	RW 	31	4 	2 	6 	0
 	LW 	17	2 	4 	6 	6
 	C 	43	4 	1 	5 	14
 	D/C	15	0 	5 	5 	4
 	C 	2 	1 	1 	2 	0
 	LW 	20	0 	2 	2 	0
 	D 	38	0 	2 	2 	25
 	C 	10	1 	0 	1 	2
 	LW 	23	1 	0 	1 	9
 	C 	3 	0 	1 	1 	2
 	D 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	4 	0 	0 	0 	2
 	D 	6 	0 	0 	0 	11
 	G 	70	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO
 	4200	70	25	30	15	184	2.63	6
Team: 	4200	70	25	30	15	184	2.63	6
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
 	RW 	11	9	4	13 	13
 	C 	11	3	3	6 	10
 	LW 	11	2	4	6 	9
 	D 	11	0	5	5 	12
 	C 	11	2	2	4 	2
 	LW 	11	1	3	4 	4
 	C 	11	2	1	3 	4
 	D 	11	1	1	2 	2
 	RW 	11	1	1	2 	6
 	C 	11	1	1	2 	4
 	RW 	11	0	2	2 	2
 	D 	11	0	2	2 	8
 	LW 	11	1	0	1 	0
 	C 	5 	0	1	1 	2
 	D/C 	1 	0	0	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0	0	0 	0
 	LW 	2 	0	0	0 	0
 	D/LW	2 	0	0	0 	0
 	D/LW	2 	0	0	0 	0
 	D 	11	0	0	0 	6
 	G 	11	0	0	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA 	SO
 	785	11	5	6	25	1.91	1
Team: 	785	11	5	6	25	1.91	1
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals 
MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; SO = Shutouts 
==Awards and Records==
*Maurice Richard, Right Wing, NHL First Team All-Star
==Transactions==
==Gallery==
1950-51-Richard_Bruins.jpg|Kenny Smith scraps with Maurice Richard, October 15, 1950.
1950-51-Richard_Bruins2.jpg|75 minutes in penalties called, October 15, 1950.
1950-51-McNeil-Abel-Stasiuk.jpg|Gerry McNeil, Sid Abel, Vic Stasiuk in 1950-51 season action. Note the City of Detroit 250th anniversary patch.
50-51MonCanSemiFinal.jpg|Canadiens celebrate after eliminating Detroit in the 1950 Semi-finals.
50-51NHLExhMontrealGameAd1.jpg|Pre-season @ Montreal
50-51QSHLExhShawiniganGameAd.jpg|Pre-season @ Shawinigan
50-51NHLExhMontrealGameAd.jpg|Pre-season @ Montreal
50-51NHLMontrealGameAd.jpg|Home opener
50-51NHLSFMontrealGameAd.jpg|Semi Final
==Video==
Highlights of Game 5 of the Finals including goals by Richard, the game tying goal with 32 seconds left by Tod Sloan and the overtime winner by Bill Barilko.
1951 Stanley Cup (Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens) - Archive News Reel
==See Also==
* 1950–51 NHL season
==References==
==External Links==
*Canadiens on Hockey Database
*Canadiens on NHL Reference
Category:Montreal Canadiens seasons
Montreal Canadiens season, 1950–51
Montreal Canadiens season, 1950–51