1959–60 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1959–60 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 51st season of play. The Canadiens finished 1st in the league and defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4 games to 0 in the 1960 Stanley Cup Finals to win the Stanley Cup for the 12th time in team history and fifth year in a row.
==Regular Season==
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.
===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 	W 	October 8, 1959 	4–1 	Boston Bruins (1959–60) 	1–0–0
2 	T 	October 10, 1959 	1–1 	Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 	1–0–1
3 	L 	October 11, 1959 	4–8 	@ Boston Bruins (1959–60) 	1–1–1
4 	W 	October 15, 1959 	4–2 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 	2–1–1
5 	L 	October 17, 1959 	2–4 	New York Rangers (1959–60) 	2–2–1
6 	W 	October 18, 1959 	6–5 	@ New York Rangers (1959–60) 	3–2–1
7 	W 	October 22, 1959 	4–1 	Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 	4–2–1
8 	W 	October 24, 1959 	5–1 	Boston Bruins (1959–60) 	5–2–1
9 	W 	October 25, 1959 	2–1 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 	6–2–1
10 	W 	October 27, 1959 	2–1 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60)	7–2–1
11 	T 	October 28, 1959 	1–1 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60)	7–2–2
12 	T 	October 31, 1959 	2–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 	7–2–3
13 	W 	November 1, 1959 	3–1 	@ New York Rangers (1959–60) 	8–2–3
14 	W 	November 5, 1959 	8–2 	New York Rangers (1959–60) 	9–2–3
15 	T 	November 7, 1959 	2–2 	Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 	9–2–4
16 	W 	November 12, 1959 	3–0 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 	10–2–4
17 	W 	November 14, 1959 	8–1 	Boston Bruins (1959–60) 	11–2–4
18 	W 	November 15, 1959 	4–1 	@ Boston Bruins (1959–60) 	12–2–4
19 	W 	November 21, 1959 	4–1 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60)	13–2–4
20 	W 	November 22, 1959 	3–1 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60)	14–2–4
21 	W 	November 26, 1959 	4–2 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 	15–2–4
22 	W 	November 28, 1959 	1–0 	Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 	16–2–4
23 	W 	November 29, 1959 	4–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1959–60) 	17–2–4
24 	L 	December 2, 1959 	0–1 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60)	17–3–4
25 	L 	December 3, 1959 	4–7 	New York Rangers (1959–60) 	17–4–4
26 	T 	December 5, 1959 	2–2 	Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 	17–4–5
27 	T 	December 6, 1959 	4–4 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 	17–4–6
28 	L 	December 12, 1959 	2–3 	Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 	17–5–6
29 	T 	December 13, 1959 	4–4 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60)	17–5–7
30 	W 	December 17, 1959 	8–2 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 	18–5–7
31 	W 	December 19, 1959 	5–3 	New York Rangers (1959–60) 	19–5–7
32 	L 	December 20, 1959 	5–6 	@ New York Rangers (1959–60) 	19–6–7
33 	W 	December 26, 1959 	9–2 	Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 	20–6–7
34 	W 	December 27, 1959 	3–1 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 	21–6–7
35 	W 	December 30, 1959 	3–2 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60)	22–6–7
36 	W 	January 2, 1960 	6–5 	Boston Bruins (1959–60) 	23–6–7
37 	L 	January 3, 1960 	3–8 	@ New York Rangers (1959–60) 	23–7–7
38 	W 	January 9, 1960 	2–1 	Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 	24–7–7
39 	L 	January 10, 1960 	0–3 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60)	24–8–7
40 	W 	January 14, 1960 	3–1 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 	25–8–7
41 	W 	January 16, 1960 	8–2 	Boston Bruins (1959–60) 	26–8–7
42 	W 	January 17, 1960 	3–1 	@ Boston Bruins (1959–60) 	27–8–7
43 	W 	January 21, 1960 	11–2 	New York Rangers (1959–60) 	28–8–7
44 	W 	January 23, 1960 	4–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 	29–8–7
45 	W 	January 24, 1960 	3–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60)	30–8–7
46 	T 	January 27, 1960 	2–2 	@ New York Rangers (1959–60) 	30–8–8
47 	W 	January 28, 1960 	4–2 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 	31–8–8
48 	T 	January 30, 1960 	2–2 	Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 	31–8–9
49 	L 	January 31, 1960 	5–6 	@ Boston Bruins (1959–60) 	31–9–9
50 	W 	February 4, 1960 	4–2 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 	32–9–9
51 	W 	February 6, 1960 	5–3 	Boston Bruins (1959–60) 	33–9–9
52 	L 	February 7, 1960 	1–4 	@ New York Rangers (1959–60) 	33–10–9
53 	W 	February 10, 1960 	4–2 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60)	34–10–9
54 	L 	February 13, 1960 	6–7 	@ Boston Bruins (1959–60) 	34–11–9
55 	L 	February 14, 1960 	0–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60)	34–12–9
56 	T 	February 18, 1960 	3–3 	Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 	34–12–10
57 	T 	February 20, 1960 	3–3 	New York Rangers (1959–60) 	34–12–11
58 	W 	February 21, 1960 	6–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 	35–12–11
59 	L 	February 24, 1960 	1–3 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60)	35–13–11
60 	W 	February 27, 1960 	3–2 	New York Rangers (1959–60) 	36–13–11
61 	W 	March 3, 1960 	5–1 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 	37–13–11
62 	T 	March 5, 1960 	2–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 	37–13–12
63 	L 	March 6, 1960 	2–4 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60)	37–14–12
64 	L 	March 8, 1960 	0–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 	37–15–12
65 	W 	March 9, 1960 	9–4 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60)	38–15–12
66 	W 	March 12, 1960 	5–0 	Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 	39–15–12
67 	L 	March 13, 1960 	2–3 	@ Boston Bruins (1959–60) 	39–16–12
68 	L 	March 17, 1960 	2–6 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 	39–17–12
69 	W 	March 19, 1960 	5–1 	Boston Bruins (1959–60) 	40–17–12
70 	L 	March 20, 1960 	1–3 	@ New York Rangers (1959–60) 	40–18–12
==Playoffs==
===Montreal Canadiens 4, Chicago Black Hawks 0===
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.
===Montreal Canadiens 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 0===
Montreal swept the Maple Leafs, outscoring them 15–5, en route to being the first team since the 1951–52 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.
Date 	Away 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
April 7 	Toronto Maple Leafs	2 	Montreal Canadiens 	4 	
April 9 	Toronto Maple Leafs	1 	Montreal Canadiens 	2 	
April 12	Montreal Canadiens 	5 	Toronto Maple Leafs	2 	
April 14	Montreal Canadiens 	4 	Toronto Maple Leafs	0 	
==Player Stats==
===Regular Season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
 	C 	60	34	40	74 	57
 	C 	70	30	43	73 	66
 	RW 	59	30	41	71 	36
 	LW 	62	22	42	64 	54
 	W 	59	17	34	51 	59
 	RW 	70	17	29	46 	42
 	C 	65	21	22	43 	4
 	LW 	70	16	22	38 	4
 	RW 	51	19	16	35 	50
 	LW 	69	12	19	31 	61
 	D 	64	4 	25	29 	59
 	C 	64	13	15	28 	24
 	D 	66	6 	21	27 	45
 	LW 	68	9 	13	22 	26
 	D 	67	1 	14	15 	48
 	D 	69	1 	14	15 	60
 	RW 	43	3 	10	13 	17
 	D 	54	0 	9 	9 	40
 	D 	11	0 	1 	1 	0
 	D/LW	3 	0 	0 	0 	2
 	C 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	69	0 	0 	0 	2
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO
 	4140	69	40	17	12	175	2.54	3
 	60 	1 	0 	1 	0 	3 	3.00	0
Team: 	4200	70	40	18	12	178	2.54	3
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G	A 	Pts	PIM
 	C 	8 	3	9 	12 	9
 	RW 	8 	2	10	12 	4
 	LW 	8 	6	4 	10 	4
 	C 	8 	5	2 	7 	6
 	W 	8 	1	4 	5 	12
 	LW 	8 	2	2 	4 	0
 	RW 	8 	1	3 	4 	2
 	D 	8 	3	0 	3 	6
 	C 	8 	2	1 	3 	4
 	RW 	7 	1	2 	3 	0
 	LW 	8 	1	2 	3 	0
 	C 	7 	0	3 	3 	2
 	D 	8 	0	3 	3 	18
 	RW 	8 	1	1 	2 	0
 	D 	8 	1	1 	2 	8
 	D 	8 	0	1 	1 	4
 	D 	8 	0	0 	0 	0
 	G 	8 	0	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA 	SO
 	489	8 	8	0	11	1.35	3
Team: 	489	8 	8	0	11	1.35	3
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==
*Prince of Wales Trophy: Montreal Canadiens
*James Norris Memorial Trophy: Doug Harvey
*Vezina Trophy: Jacques Plante
*Jean Beliveau, Centre, NHL First Team All-Star
*Doug Harvey, Defense, NHL First Team All-Star
*Bernie Geoffrion, Right Wing, NHL Second Team All-Star
*Jacques Plante, Goaltender, NHL Second Team All-Star
==Farm Teams==
===Minor Pro===
*Hull-Ottawa Canadiens, Eastern Professional Hockey League
*Montreal Royals, Eastern Professional Hockey League
*Spokane Spokes, Western Hockey League
===Junior A===
*Brockville Canadiens
*Fort William Canadiens
*Peterborough Petes
*Regina Pats
==Transactions==
==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).
==Gallery==
19Jan1960-Plante_Gendron.jpg|Jean-Guy Gendron falls over Jacques Plante, January 19, 1960.
1959-60-Lumley_stops_Ab_MacDonald.jpg|Harry Lumley, #4 Bob Armstrong and #15 Ab McDonald in 1959-60 action. Note the gold pants with black jerseys and socks.
59-60MonCaninOct.jpg|The Canadiens in October
59-60MonCaninApr.jpg|The Canadiens in April
59-60EPHLExhHullGameAd3.jpg|Pre-season @ Hull
59-60NHLMontrealExhGameAd.jpg|Pre-season game
59-60NHLMontrealExhTRivGameAd.jpg|Pre-season @ Trois Rivieres
59-60NHLMontrealGameAd.jpg|Opening game
59-60NHLSFMontrealGameAd.jpg|Semi Final
60SCupMontrealGameAd.jpg|Final
==Video==
Colour highlights and interviews from the 1960 Stanley Cup Finals.
Montreal Canadiens win 5th consecutive Stanley cup - 1960 color film
==See Also==
*1959–60 NHL season
*List of Stanley Cup champions
==References==
*Canadiens on Hockey Database
*Canadiens on NHL Reference
Category:Stanley Cup championship seasons
Category:Montreal Canadiens seasons
Montreal Canadiens season, 1959–60
Montreal Canadiens season, 1959–60