1970–71 Montreal Canadiens season

NHL hockey team season (won 17th Stanley Cup) March 2026 August 2023 Montreal Canadiens NHL 1970–71 1970 East 3rd 42–23–13 29–7–3 13–16–10 291 216 Sam Pollock Claude Ruel (Oct–Dec) Al MacNeil (Dec–May) Jean Beliveau John FergusonHenri Richard Montreal Forum Yvan Cournoyer (37) Jean Beliveau (51) Jean Beliveau (76) Pete Mahovlich (181) Rogie Vachon (23) Rogie Vachon (2.64) Yes The 1970–71 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 62nd season. After missing the playoffs in the previous season, the team rebounded to place third in the East Division, qualifying for the playoffs. Behind new star goalie Ken Dryden the team won their 17th Stanley Cup championship. 2 Regular season With the Chicago Black Hawks having moved to the West Division to make way for the expansion Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres, qualification for the four available playoff berths in the East was widely expected to be contested between the five remaining Original Six teams. Considering such factors the addition of two new teams, the expansion of the schedule to 78 games and the switch to a balanced schedule, Montreal's record of 42–23–13 (five points more than their performance over 76 games the previous season) was at best a marginal improvement. However, a return to the postseason was never in serious doubt due to the stunning regression of the Detroit Red Wings (Detroit actually finished last place in the division, behind both expansion teams). On February 11, 1971, Jean Beliveau became the fourth player to score 500 career goals.National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 214, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 0-920445-98-5. Final standings MON Record vs. opponents MTL Playoffs Stanley Cup Final 1971 Stanley Cup Final Brothers Frank and Peter Mahovlich starred for the Canadiens, scoring nine goals in the seven game final series. Ken Dryden debuted for the Canadiens, while this was Jean Beliveau's final final series appearance, and he ended his career with ten championships. Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 5px solid; border-bottom:#192168 5px solid; 1970–71 regular season1970-71 Montreal Canadiens Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/MTL/1971_games.html Hockey-Reference.com April 6, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||W||October 11, 1970||2–1 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) ||1–0–0 |- |2||W||October 13, 1970||4–3 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) ||2–0–0 |- |3||W||October 15, 1970||3–0 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) ||3–0–0 |- |4||W||October 17, 1970||6–2 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) ||4–0–0 |- |5||L||October 18, 1970||0–1 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1970–71) ||4–1–0 |- |6||L||October 21, 1970||1–3 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) ||4–2–0 |- |7||W||October 24, 1970||3–1 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) ||5–2–0 |- |8||T||October 25, 1970||3–3 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) ||5–2–1 |- |9||L||October 28, 1970||2–6 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) ||5–3–1 |- |10||W||October 31, 1970||6–3 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) ||6–3–1 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |11||W||November 4, 1970||4–3 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) ||7–3–1 |- |12||W||November 7, 1970||11–2 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) ||8–3–1 |- |13||L||November 8, 1970||1–6 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) ||8–4–1 |- |14||L||November 11, 1970||0–2 || align="left"| @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) ||8–5–1 |- |15||T||November 14, 1970||1–1 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) ||8–5–2 |- |16||T||November 15, 1970||2–2 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) ||8–5–3 |- |17||W||November 17, 1970||5–1 || align="left"| California Golden Seals (1970–71) ||9–5–3 |- |18||W||November 19, 1970||5–1 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) ||10–5–3 |- |19||L||November 21, 1970||4–5 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1970–71) ||10–6–3 |- |20||L||November 25, 1970||3–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) ||10–7–3 |- |21||W||November 28, 1970||5–1 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) ||11–7–3 |- |22||L||November 29, 1970||3–5 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) ||11–8–3 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |23||T||December 2, 1970||3–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) ||11–8–4 |- |24||W||December 3, 1970||6–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1970–71) ||12–8–4 |- |25||L||December 5, 1970||2–4 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1970–71) ||12–9–4 |- |26||L||December 9, 1970||0–4 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) ||12–10–4 |- |27||W||December 10, 1970||6–1 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) ||13–10–4 |- |28||W||December 12, 1970||8–1 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) ||14–10–4 |- |29||T||December 16, 1970||1–1 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) ||14–10–5 |- |30||W||December 18, 1970||4–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) ||15–10–5 |- |31||L||December 20, 1970||2–7 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) ||15–11–5 |- |32||T||December 23, 1970||2–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) ||15–11–6 |- |33||T||December 26, 1970||4–4 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) ||15–11–7 |- |34||W||December 27, 1970||4–2 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) ||16–11–7 |- |35||T||December 30, 1970||3–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) ||16–11–8 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |36||W||January 2, 1971||5–3 || align="left"| California Golden Seals (1970–71) ||17–11–8 |- |37||L||January 3, 1971||5–6 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1970–71) ||17–12–8 |- |38||W||January 6, 1971||7–3 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) ||18–12–8 |- |39||W||January 9, 1971||1–0 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) ||19–12–8 |- |40||L||January 10, 1971||2–3 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) ||19–13–8 |- |41||T||January 14, 1971||3–3 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) ||19–13–9 |- |42||W||January 16, 1971||4–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1970–71) ||20–13–9 |- |43||T||January 17, 1971||4–4 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) ||20–13–10 |- |44||T||January 21, 1971||5–5 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) ||20–13–11 |- |45||W||January 23, 1971||6–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) ||21–13–11 |- |46||L||January 24, 1971||2–4 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) ||21–14–11 |- |47||W||January 27, 1971||4–2 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1970–71) ||22–14–11 |- |48||L||January 30, 1971||4–5 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) ||22–15–11 |- |49||L||January 31, 1971||1–4 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) ||22–16–11 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |50||W||February 2, 1971||5–2 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) ||23–16–11 |- |51||W||February 5, 1971||3–2 || align="left"| @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) ||24–16–11 |- |52||L||February 6, 1971||3–6 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) ||24–17–11 |- |53||W||February 9, 1971||4–1 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) ||25–17–11 |- |54||W||February 11, 1971||6–2 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) ||26–17–11 |- |55||W||February 13, 1971||5–2 || align="left"| California Golden Seals (1970–71) ||27–17–11 |- |56||W||February 17, 1971||3–0 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1970–71) ||28–17–11 |- |57||W||February 20, 1971||7–1 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) ||29–17–11 |- |58||T||February 22, 1971||3–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) ||29–17–12 |- |59||W||February 24, 1971||5–2 || align="left"| @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) ||30–17–12 |- |60||W||February 25, 1971||5–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) ||31–17–12 |- |61||W||February 27, 1971||3–2 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1970–71) ||32–17–12 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |62||L||March 3, 1971||0–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) ||32–18–12 |- |63||W||March 6, 1971||8–2 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) ||33–18–12 |- |64||W||March 7, 1971||4–1 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) ||34–18–12 |- |65||T||March 9, 1971||3–3 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) ||34–18–13 |- |66||L||March 10, 1971||1–2 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) ||34–19–13 |- |67||L||March 13, 1971||1–4 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) ||34–20–13 |- |68||W||March 14, 1971||5–1 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) ||35–20–13 |- |69||L||March 16, 1971||2–6 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) ||35–21–13 |- |70||W||March 18, 1971||4–1 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) ||36–21–13 |- |71||W||March 20, 1971||5–2 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) ||37–21–13 |- |72||W||March 21, 1971||6–2 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1970–71) ||38–21–13 |- |73||W||March 24, 1971||5–3 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) ||39–21–13 |- |74||W||March 27, 1971||9–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) ||40–21–13 |- |75||W||March 28, 1971||2–1 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) ||41–21–13 |- |76||L||March 31, 1971||3–6 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1970–71) ||41–22–13 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |77||W||April 3, 1971||7–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1970–71) ||42–22–13 |- |78||L||April 4, 1971||2–7 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) ||42–23–13 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 5px solid; border-bottom:#192168 5px solid; 1971 Stanley Cup playoffs y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; Quarterfinals vs. (E1) Boston Bruins – Canadiens win 4–3 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series |- |1||L||April 7, 1971||1–3 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins ||0–1 |- |2||W||April 8, 1971||7–5 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins ||1–1 |- |3||W||April 10, 1971||3–1 || align="left"| Boston Bruins ||2–1 |- |4||L||April 11, 1971||2–5 || align="left"| Boston Bruins ||2–2 |- |5||L||April 13, 1971||3–7 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins ||2–3 |- |6||W||April 15, 1971||8–3 || align="left"| Boston Bruins ||3–3 |- |7||W||April 18, 1971||4–2 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins ||4–3 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; Semifinals vs. (W4) Minnesota North Stars – Canadiens win 4–2 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series |- |1||W||April 20, 1971||7–2 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars ||1–0 |- |2||L||April 22, 1971||3–6 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars ||1–1 |- |3||W||April 24, 1971||6–3 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars ||2–1 |- |4||L||April 25, 1971||2–5 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars ||2–2 |- |5||W||April 27, 1971||6–1 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars ||3–2 |- |6||W||April 29, 1971||3–2 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars ||4–2 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#AF1E2D 2px solid; border-bottom:#192168 2px solid; Stanley Cup Final vs. (W1) Chicago Black Hawks – Canadiens win 4–3 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series |- |1||L||May 4, 1971||1–2 (OT) || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks ||0–1 |- |2||L||May 6, 1971||3–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks ||0–2 |- |3||W||May 9, 1971||4–2 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks ||1–2 |- |4||W||May 11, 1971||5–2 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks ||2–2 |- |5||L||May 13, 1971||0–2 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks ||2–3 |- |6||W||May 16, 1971||4–3 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks ||3–3 |- |7||W||May 18, 1971||3–2 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks ||4–3 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win 1px solid black #fcc Loss 1px solid black Player statistics Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Jean Beliveau Jean Béliveau C 70 25 51 76 4024704 Yvan Cournoyer RW 65 37 36 73 21201805 J. C. Tremblay D 76 11 52 63 2316504 Pete Mahovlich C 78 35 26 61 181251235 Jacques Lemaire C 78 28 28 56 180603 Marc Tardif LW 76 19 30 49 13325402 Henri Richard C 75 12 37 49 4613101 Guy Lapointe D 78 15 29 44 10728501 Frank Mahovlich LW 38 17 24 41 114412 John Ferguson John Ferguson Sr. LW 60 16 14 30 1622304 Mickey Redmond RW 40 14 15 29 3512201 Claude Larose Claude Larose (ice hockey, born 1942) RW 64 10 13 23 90−8002 Terry Harper D 78 1 21 22 11635000 Phil Roberto RW 39 14 7 21 7610203 Rejean Houle Réjean Houle W 66 10 9 19 287101 Jacques Laperriere Jacques Laperrière D 49 0 16 16 2024000 Leon Rochefort RW 57 5 10 15 411031 Serge Savard D 37 5 10 15 3011010 Bobby Sheehan Bobby Sheehan (ice hockey) C 29 6 5 11 24101 Bill Collins Bill Collins (ice hockey) RW 40 6 2 8 391001 Larry Pleau C 19 1 5 6 8−8001 Ralph Backstrom C 16 1 4 5 00000 Guy Charron C 15 2 2 4 2−2000 Fran Huck C 5 1 2 3 03000 Pierre Bouchard D 51 0 3 3 503000 Bob Murdoch Bob Murdoch (ice hockey, born 1946) D 1 0 2 2 20000 Phil Myre G 30 0 1 1 170000 Ken Dryden G 6 0 0 0 00000 Chuck Lefley LW 1 0 0 0 0−1000 Rogie Vachon G 47 0 0 0 00000 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LTGAGAA SO Rogie Vachon 2676 47 23 12 9 118 2.65 2 Phil Myre 1677 30 13 11 4 87 3.11 1 Ken Dryden 327 6 6 0 0 9 1.65 0 Team: 4680 78 42 23 13 214 2.74 3 Playoffs Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG Frank Mahovlich LW 20 14 13 27 18300 Yvan Cournoyer RW 20 10 12 22 6201 Jean Beliveau Jean Béliveau C 20 6 16 22 28200 Jacques Lemaire C 20 9 10 19 17401 J. C. Tremblay D 20 3 14 17 15103 Pete Mahovlich C 20 10 6 16 43111 Jacques Laperriere Jacques Laperrière D 20 4 9 13 12101 Henri Richard C 20 5 7 12 20001 John Ferguson John Ferguson Sr. LW 18 4 6 10 36101 Guy Lapointe D 20 4 5 9 34102 Rejean Houle Réjean Houle W 20 2 5 7 20001 Terry Harper D 20 0 6 6 28000 Marc Tardif LW 20 3 1 4 40000 Claude Larose Claude Larose (ice hockey, born 1942) RW 11 1 0 1 10000 Pierre Bouchard D 13 0 1 1 10000 Ken Dryden G 20 0 1 1 0000 Phil Roberto RW 15 0 1 1 36000 Chuck Lefley LW 1 0 0 0 0000 Bob Murdoch Bob Murdoch (ice hockey, born 1946) D 2 0 0 0 0000 Leon Rochefort RW 10 0 0 0 6000 Bobby Sheehan Bobby Sheehan (ice hockey) C 6 0 0 0 0000 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LGAGAA SO Ken Dryden 1221 20 12 8 61 3.00 0 Team: 1221 20 12 8 61 3.00 0 hockey-reference.com 2009-05-28 1970-71 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/MTL/1971.html Transactions May 22, 1970 To Oakland Seals Dennis Hextall To Montreal Canadiens cash May 22, 1970 To Oakland Seals Ernie Hicke1st round pick in 1970 (Chris Oddleifson) To Montreal Canadiens Francois Lacombe1st round pick in 1971 (Guy Lafleur) May 22, 1970 To Los Angeles Kings Jack NorrisLarry MickeyLucien Grenier To Montreal Canadiens Wayne Thomashttps://habsgoalies.blogspot.com/2007/06/wayne-thomas-1972-74.html Wayne Thomas 1972-74Leon RochefortGregg Boddy January 13, 1971 To Detroit Red Wings Mickey RedmondGuy CharronBill Collins To Montreal Canadiens Frank Mahovlich Awards and records Ken Dryden, Conn Smythe Trophy Draft picks Montreal's draft picks at the 1970 NHL amateur draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)15 Ray Martynuik Canada Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)16 Chuck Lefley Canada Canadian National Development Team331 Steve Carlyle Canada Red Deer Rustlers (AJHL)445 Cal Hammond Canada Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)452 John French Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHA)566 Rick Wilson Canada University of North Dakota (WCHA)680 Bob Brown Canada Boston University (ECAC)793 Bob Fowler United States Estevan Bruins (WCHL)8105 Ric Jordan Canada Boston University (ECAC) Citations References Canadiens on Hockey Database Canadiens on NHL Reference Category:Stanley Cup championship seasons Category:Montreal Canadiens seasons Mon Mon Category:1970 in Montreal Category:1971 in Montreal Category:1970 in sports in Quebec Category:1971 in sports in Quebec