1948–49 Montreal Canadiens season



The 1948–49 Montreal Canadiens season was the 40th season in club history. The Canadiens finished 3rd in the league and lost in the Semi-finals to the Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 3.

Regular Season
A league record of ten major penalties was set November 25, 1948 when 11,000 fans at the Montreal Forum witnessed a donnybrook. It started when the Habs' Ken Mosdell elbowed Maple Leaf Gus Mortson. Mortson retaliated by knocking Elliot de Grey down with his stick. Montreal's Maurice Richard then sprang onto Mortson's back, they fought and then all hands joined in. Mortson, Richard, Toronto's Howie Meeker and Mosdell were assessed major penalties. Play had scarcely resumed when the Habs Ken Reardon and the Leafs Joe Klukay began fencing. Bill Barilko went at Reardon, while Klukay got into it with Billy Reay, and in another fight, Hal Laycoe got into it with Garth Boesch. Turk Broda quietly picked up his first shutout of the year as the Leafs beat the Canadiens 2-0.

Bill Durnan set a long-standing modern NHL record between February 26 and March 6, 1949, when he amassed four consecutive shutouts, not allowing a goal over a span of 309 minutes, 21 seconds. This record was not surpassed until 2004, when Brian Boucher, then of the Phoenix Coyotes, broke it.

Detroit Red Wings 4, Montreal Canadiens 3
The Canadiens met the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs.

Regular Season

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

Playoffs

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

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

 * Vezina Trophy: Bill Durnan
 * Maurice Richard, Right Wing, NHL First Team All-Star
 * Bill Durnan, Goaltender, NHL First Team All-Star
 * Glen Harmon, Defense, NHL Second Team All-Star
 * Ken Reardon, Defense, NHL Second Team All-Star

Farm Teams

 * Montreal Junior Canadiens, Junior Amateur Hockey Association
 * Montreal Junior Royals, Junior Amateur Hockey Association (won Memorial Cup)
 * Montreal Nationale, Junior Amateur Hockey Association
 * Montreal Royals, Quebec Senior Hockey League