1996–97 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1996–97 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 88th season. The Canadiens qualified for the playoffs despite a sub-.500 season. The Canadiens were eliminated in the Eastern Conference quarter-finals (the first round) by the New Jersey Devils 4 games to 1.
==Offseason==
==Regular season==
===Final standings===
===Game log===
# 	R	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	T	Oct 5, 1996 	3–3 OT	Ottawa Senators 	0–0–1
2 	T	Oct 7, 1996 	6–6 OT	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 	0–0–2
3 	W	Oct 9, 1996 	6–3 	Los Angeles Kings 	1–0–2
4 	W	Oct 12, 1996	5–2 	New York Rangers 	2–0–2
5 	L	Oct 15, 1996	2–3 	@ New Jersey Devils 	2–1–2
6 	W	Oct 16, 1996	4–2 	Calgary Flames 	3–1–2
7 	L	Oct 19, 1996	3–6 	@ Ottawa Senators 	3–2–2
8 	L	Oct 24, 1996	3–6 	@ Buffalo Sabres 	3–3–2
9 	W	Oct 26, 1996	6–5 	Philadelphia Flyers 	4–3–2
10	L	Oct 28, 1996	4–5 OT	Phoenix Coyotes 	4–4–2
11	L	Oct 30, 1996	3–5 	@ Detroit Red Wings 	4–5–2
12	L	Nov 2, 1996 	3–4 OT	@ San Jose Sharks 	4–6–2
13	T	Nov 3, 1996 	4–4 OT	@ Phoenix Coyotes 	4–6–3
14	W	Nov 6, 1996 	6–5 	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	5–6–3
15	L	Nov 7, 1996 	1–4 	@ Los Angeles Kings 	5–7–3
16	L	Nov 9, 1996 	2–5 	@ Colorado Avalanche 	5–8–3
17	W	Nov 11, 1996	3–2 OT	Edmonton Oilers 	6–8–3
18	L	Nov 13, 1996	3–5 	Florida Panthers 	6–9–3
19	L	Nov 15, 1996	1–3 	@ Washington Capitals 	6–10–3
20	W	Nov 16, 1996	6–1 	Vancouver Canucks 	7–10–3
21	L	Nov 20, 1996	1–3 	@ Hartford Whalers 	7–11–3
22	W	Nov 21, 1996	6–2 	@ Boston Bruins 	8–11–3
23	W	Nov 23, 1996	4–3 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs 	9–11–3
24	W	Nov 25, 1996	4–2 	Tampa Bay Lightning 	10–11–3
25	T	Nov 27, 1996	2–2 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins 	10–11–4
26	L	Nov 30, 1996	0–2 	Washington Capitals 	10–12–4
27	L	Dec 1, 1996 	2–6 	@ New York Rangers 	10–13–4
28	L	Dec 4, 1996 	3–4 	Boston Bruins 	10–14–4
29	W	Dec 6, 1996 	3–1 	@ Chicago Blackhawks 	11–14–4
30	W	Dec 7, 1996 	3–2 	Chicago Blackhawks 	12–14–4
31	L	Dec 11, 1996	2–3 OT	Buffalo Sabres 	12–15–4
32	T	Dec 14, 1996	3–3 OT	@ New Jersey Devils 	12–15–5
33	L	Dec 16, 1996	2–4 	Tampa Bay Lightning 	12–16–5
34	L	Dec 21, 1996	2–3 OT	New York Rangers 	12–17–5
35	L	Dec 23, 1996	0–6 	Ottawa Senators 	12–18–5
36	T	Dec 26, 1996	3–3 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins 	12–18–6
37	T	Dec 28, 1996	4–4 OT	@ Tampa Bay Lightning 	12–18–7
38	W	Dec 29, 1996	2–1 	@ Florida Panthers 	13–18–7
39	W	Jan 1, 1997 	6–4 	@ Dallas Stars 	14–18–7
40	T	Jan 2, 1997 	2–2 OT	@ St. Louis Blues 	14–18–8
41	W	Jan 4, 1997 	3–1 	New York Islanders 	15–18–8
42	W	Jan 6, 1997 	5–4 	Hartford Whalers 	16–18–8
43	L	Jan 9, 1997 	4–5 	@ Boston Bruins 	16–19–8
44	W	Jan 11, 1997	6–3 	Boston Bruins 	17–19–8
45	L	Jan 13, 1997	1–2 	Dallas Stars 	17–20–8
46	L	Jan 14, 1997	2–3 	@ Philadelphia Flyers 	17–21–8
47	W	Jan 20, 1997	4–1 	Detroit Red Wings 	18–21–8
48	L	Jan 22, 1997	1–6 	@ Buffalo Sabres 	18–22–8
49	L	Jan 25, 1997	1–8 	St. Louis Blues 	18–23–8
50	L	Jan 26, 1997	2–5 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	18–24–8
51	L	Jan 28, 1997	1–5 	@ Florida Panthers 	18–25–8
52	W	Jan 30, 1997	4–1 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning 	19–25–8
53	T	Feb 1, 1997 	4–4 OT	New Jersey Devils 	19–25–9
54	T	Feb 3, 1997 	2–2 OT	Florida Panthers 	19–25–10
55	L	Feb 5, 1997 	3–6 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	19–26–10
56	L	Feb 6, 1997 	5–9 	@ Philadelphia Flyers 	19–27–10
57	W	Feb 8, 1997 	3–2 OT	Hartford Whalers 	20–27–10
58	W	Feb 10, 1997	4–2 	San Jose Sharks 	21–27–10
59	T	Feb 12, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres 	21–27–11
60	L	Feb 15, 1997	1–4 	New Jersey Devils 	21–28–11
61	W	Feb 17, 1997	4–1 	@ New York Islanders 	22–28–11
62	L	Feb 22, 1997	1–5 	Toronto Maple Leafs 	22–29–11
63	W	Feb 25, 1997	4–2 	@ Vancouver Canucks 	23–29–11
64	L	Feb 28, 1997	2–3 	@ Calgary Flames 	23–30–11
65	W	Mar 1, 1997 	5–4 	@ Edmonton Oilers 	24–30–11
66	L	Mar 5, 1997 	3–7 	Colorado Avalanche 	24–31–11
67	L	Mar 7, 1997 	0–2 	@ Hartford Whalers 	24–32–11
68	T	Mar 8, 1997 	3–3 OT	Buffalo Sabres 	24–32–12
69	T	Mar 10, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins 	24–32–13
70	W	Mar 13, 1997	3–0 	@ Boston Bruins 	25–32–13
71	T	Mar 15, 1997	2–2 OT	Ottawa Senators 	25–32–14
72	W	Mar 19, 1997	5–4 	@ New York Rangers 	26–32–14
73	L	Mar 22, 1997	1–3 	Washington Capitals 	26–33–14
74	W	Mar 24, 1997	3–1 	Boston Bruins 	27–33–14
75	W	Mar 26, 1997	8–5 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	28–33–14
76	L	Mar 29, 1997	2–5 	@ Ottawa Senators 	28–34–14
77	W	Apr 2, 1997 	4–1 	@ Hartford Whalers 	29–34–14
78	L	Apr 5, 1997 	1–4 	Hartford Whalers 	29–35–14
79	W	Apr 7, 1997 	2–1 	New York Islanders 	30–35–14
80	W	Apr 9, 1997 	3–1 	@ New York Islanders 	31–35–14
81	L	Apr 10, 1997	2–3 	@ Washington Capitals 	31–36–14
82	T	Apr 12, 1997	3–3 OT	Philadelphia Flyers 	31–36–15
==Playoffs==
In the first game of the series against New Jersey, on April 17, 1997, with the Devils up by two goals late in the game, Martin Brodeur fired the puck the length of the ice and into the Canadiens' empty net to ensure a 2-0 victory. It was only the second time in NHL history that a goaltender had scored in the playoffs, and the fifth time overall.
===Eastern Conference Quarter-finals vs. New Jersey Devils===
Montreal vs. New Jersey 	Montreal vs. New Jersey 	Montreal vs. New Jersey 	Montreal vs. New Jersey 	Montreal vs. New Jersey
Date 	Away 	Home 	Scores 	OT
April 17 	Montreal 	New Jersey 	5 – 2 	
April 19 	Montreal 	New Jersey 	4 – 1 	
April 22 	New Jersey 	Montreal 	6 – 4 	
April 24 	New Jersey 	Montreal 	4 – 3 	3OT
April 26 	Montreal 	New Jersey 	4 – 0 	
New Jersey wins series 4–1	New Jersey wins series 4–1	New Jersey wins series 4–1	New Jersey wins series 4–1	New Jersey wins series 4–1
==Player stats==
===Regular season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C 	82	27	54	81 	82 	-6 	7 	2 	3
 	RW 	82	34	46	80 	58 	-1 	7 	2 	3
 	LW 	81	23	37	60 	39 	-14	5 	0 	2
 	C 	50	17	39	56 	38 	7 	5 	0 	3
 	LW 	70	28	27	55 	62 	1 	6 	3 	3
 	RW 	63	22	24	46 	32 	0 	2 	0 	2
 	RW 	64	14	21	35 	6 	4 	4 	0 	2
 	D 	65	10	20	30 	43 	3 	5 	0 	1
 	LW 	39	10	13	23 	14 	6 	2 	0 	2
 	D 	71	7 	15	22 	100	1 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	65	8 	13	21 	97 	-14	1 	0 	0
 	LW 	47	6 	15	21 	80 	-5 	2 	0 	2
 	LW 	73	10	10	20 	128	-19	1 	1 	1
 	RW 	73	7 	13	20 	110	-5 	1 	0 	3
 	C 	43	6 	9 	15 	16 	4 	1 	1 	2
 	D 	61	6 	9 	15 	63 	-9 	3 	0 	0
 	D 	49	2 	13	15 	24 	-7 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	78	1 	13	14 	32 	9 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	28	2 	9 	11 	2 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	9 	1 	10	11 	2 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	49	2 	6 	8 	42 	4 	0 	1 	1
 	RW 	56	4 	2 	6 	114	-8 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	60	1 	5 	6 	107	-16	0 	0 	0
 	D 	35	0 	4 	4 	54 	7 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	9 	1 	1 	2 	23 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	13	0 	2 	2 	2 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	0 	1 	1 	6 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	10	0 	0 	0 	38 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	8 	0 	0 	0 	22 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0 	0 	0 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	17	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	13	0 	0 	0 	5 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	16	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	61	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	3397	61	22	24	11	164	2.90 	1 	1815	1651	.910
 	821 	16	5 	6 	2 	53 	3.87 	0 	508 	455 	.896
 	754 	17	4 	6 	2 	50 	3.98 	0 	438 	388 	.886
 	20 	1 	0 	0 	0 	4 	12.00	0 	14 	10 	.714
Team: 	4992	82	31	36	15	271	3.26 	1 	2775	2504	.902
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	RW 	5 	4	2	6 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	4 	1	3	4 	4 	0 	1 	0
 	C 	5 	1	3	4 	10 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	3 	1	1	2 	24 	0 	0 	1
 	LW 	5 	1	1	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	1	1	2 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	1	0	1 	4 	0 	1 	0
 	LW 	5 	1	0	1 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	0	1	1 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	1	1 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	1	1 	14 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	2 	0	0	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	0	0	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	0	0 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	5 	0	0	0 	17 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	3 	0	0	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	5 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	0	0	0 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	2 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	3 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	4 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	2 	0	0	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	168	2 	1	1	7 	2.50	0 	108	101	.935
 	179	3 	0	3	13	4.36	0 	101	88 	.871
Team: 	347	5 	1	4	20	3.46	0 	209	189	.904
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; SA=Shots Against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save Percentage; 
==Awards and records==
==Transactions==
==Roster==
==Draft picks==
==Farm teams==
==See also==
* 1996–97 NHL season
==References==
*Canadiens on Hockey Database
*Canadiens on NHL Reference
</div>
Category:Montreal Canadiens seasons
Montreal Canadiens season, 1996–97
Montreal Canadiens season, 1996–97