| 1971–72Montreal Canadiens | |
|---|---|
| Division | 3rdEast |
| 1971–72 record | 46–16–16 |
| Home record | 29–3–7 |
| Road record | 17–13–9 |
| Goals for | 307 |
| Goals against | 205 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Sam Pollock |
| Coach | Scotty Bowman |
| Captain | Henri Richard |
| Arena | Montreal Forum |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Yvan Cournoyer (47) |
| Assists | Frank Mahovlich (53) |
| Points | Frank Mahovlich (96) |
| Penalty minutes | Pete Mahovlich (103) |
| Plus/minus | J. C. Tremblay (+52) |
| Wins | Ken Dryden (39) |
| Goals against average | Ken Dryden (2.24) |
The1971–72Montreal Canadiens season was the team's63rdseason of play. The Canadiens qualified for the playoffs but were eliminated in the first round.
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Bruins | 78 | 54 | 13 | 11 | 330 | 204 | +126 | 119 |
| 2 | New York Rangers | 78 | 48 | 17 | 13 | 317 | 192 | +125 | 109 |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 78 | 46 | 16 | 16 | 307 | 205 | +102 | 108 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 78 | 33 | 31 | 14 | 209 | 208 | +1 | 80 |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 78 | 33 | 35 | 10 | 261 | 262 | −1 | 76 |
| 6 | Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 16 | 43 | 19 | 203 | 289 | −86 | 51 |
| 7 | Vancouver Canucks | 78 | 20 | 50 | 8 | 203 | 297 | −94 | 48 |
Vs. East Division[edit]
| Vs. West Division[edit]
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| 1971–72 regular season[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October
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November
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December
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January
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February
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March
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April
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Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point) |
After winning the Stanley Cup the previous season, the Canadiens could not repeat. The Canadiens lost to theNew York Rangers in the first round, losing four games to two.
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Mahovlich | 76 | 43 | 53 | 96 | 36 | 42 | 14 | 4 | 4 |
| Yvan Cournoyer | 73 | 47 | 36 | 83 | 15 | 23 | 18 | 0 | 5 |
| Jacques Lemaire | 77 | 32 | 49 | 81 | 26 | 37 | 8 | 0 | 7 |
| Pete Mahovlich | 75 | 35 | 32 | 67 | 103 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 6 |
| Guy Lafleur | 73 | 29 | 35 | 64 | 48 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| J. C. Tremblay | 76 | 6 | 51 | 57 | 24 | 52 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Marc Tardif | 75 | 31 | 22 | 53 | 81 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| Guy Lapointe | 69 | 11 | 38 | 49 | 58 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Henri Richard | 75 | 12 | 32 | 44 | 48 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Claude Larose | 77 | 20 | 18 | 38 | 64 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Réjean Houle | 77 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 21 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jacques Laperrière | 73 | 3 | 25 | 28 | 50 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Roberts | 51 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 53 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Larry Pleau | 55 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Terry Harper | 52 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 35 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Serge Savard | 23 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre Bouchard | 60 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 39 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Roberto | 27 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chuck Arnason | 17 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Dryden | 64 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Murdoch | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chuck Lefley | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Denis DeJordy | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rey Comeau | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Germain Gagnon | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale Hoganson | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Myre | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rogie Vachon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Dryden | 3800 | 64 | 39 | 8 | 15 | 142 | 2.24 | 8 |
| Phil Myre | 528 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 32 | 3.64 | 0 |
| Denis DeJordy | 332 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 4.52 | 0 |
| Rogie Vachon | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 12.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 4680 | 78 | 46 | 16 | 16 | 203 | 2.60 | 8 |
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Mahovlich | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Marc Tardif | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Guy Lafleur | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yvan Cournoyer | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Claude Larose | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacques Lemaire | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Henri Richard | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Harper | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pete Mahovlich | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. C. Tremblay | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Roberts | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Guy Lapointe | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre Bouchard | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Dryden | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Réjean Houle | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacques Laperrière | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Murdoch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Pleau | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Serge Savard | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Dryden | 360 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 2.83 | 0 |
| Team: | 360 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 2.83 | 0 |
| May 22, 1971 | To California Golden Seals Bobby Sheehan | ToMontreal Canadiens cash |
| August 31, 1971 | To California Golden Seals Marshall Johnston | ToMontreal Canadiens cash |
| October, 1971 | To California Golden Seals cash | ToMontreal Canadiens Jocelyn Hardy |
| October, 1971 | To California Golden Seals cash | ToMontreal Canadiens Mike Laughton |
| October, 1971 | To California Golden Seals Lyle Carter John French | ToMontreal Canadiens Randy Rota |
| October 6, 1971 | To California Golden Seals Ray Martyniuk | ToMontreal Canadiens Tony Featherstone |
Montreal's draft picks at the1971 NHL amateur draft held at theQueen Elizabeth Hotel inMontreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Guy Lafleur | Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) | |
| 1 | 7 | Chuck Arnason | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) | |
| 1 | 11 | Murray Wilson | Ottawa 67's (OHA) | |
| 2 | 20 | Larry Robinson | Kitchener Rangers (OHA) | |
| 2 | 24 | Michel DeGuise | Sorel Eperviers (QMJHL) | |
| 2 | 25 | Terry French | Ottawa 67's (OHA) | |
| 3 | 31 | Jim Cahoon | University of North Dakota (WCHA) | |
| 4 | 45 | Ed Sidebottom | Estevan Bruins (WCHL) | |
| 4 | 53 | Greg Hubick | University of Minnesota Duluth (WCHA) | |
| 5 | 67 | Mike Busniuk | University of Denver (WCHA) | |
| 6 | 81 | Ross Butler | Winnipeg Jets (WCHL) | |
| 7 | 95 | Peter Sullivan | Oshawa Generals (OHA) |