1972–73 Montreal Canadiens season

	1972–73 Montreal Canadiens
Division	1st East
1972–73 record	52–10–13
Goals for	329
Goals against	184
Team information
General manager	Sam Pollock
Coach	Scotty Bowman
Captain	Henri Richard
Arena	Montreal Forum
Team leaders
Goals	Jacques Lemaire (44)
Assists	Frank Mahovlich (55)
Points	Jacques Lemaire (95)
Penalty minutes	Guy Lapointe (117)
Wins	Ken Dryden (38)
Goals against average	Ken Dryden (2.24)
	← 1971–72 1973–74 →

The 1972–73 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 64th season. The Canadiens finished 1st in the East Division and defeated the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1973 Stanley Cup Finals 4 games to 2 to win their 18th Stanley Cup.

Regular Season[]

Rookie goalie Wayne Thomas left his mark in Canadiens history by becoming only the second goaltender in over 50 seasons to record a shutout (3-0) in his NHL debut against Vancouver on January 14, 1973.^[1]

Final Standings[]

East Division
Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PIM	PTS
Montreal Canadiens	78	52	10	16	329	184	783	120
Boston Bruins	78	51	22	5	330	235	1097	107
New York Rangers	78	47	23	8	297	208	765	102
Buffalo Sabres	78	37	27	14	257	219	940	88
Detroit Red Wings	78	37	29	12	265	243	893	86
Toronto Maple Leafs	78	27	41	10	247	279	716	64
Vancouver Canucks	78	22	47	9	233	339	943	53
New York Islanders	78	12	60	6	170	347	881	30

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log[]

Regular Season Schedule
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 7, 1972	3–0	Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	1–0–0
2	T	October 11, 1972	2–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	1–0–1
3	W	October 12, 1972	3–0	Atlanta Flames (1972–73)	2–0–1
4	W	October 14, 1972	6–1	New York Rangers (1972–73)	3–0–1
5	T	October 18, 1972	4–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	3–0–2
6	W	October 21, 1972	5–3	Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	4–0–2
7	T	October 22, 1972	1–1	@ New York Rangers (1972–73)	4–0–3
8	W	October 24, 1972	4–3	@ New York Islanders (1972–73)	5–0–3
9	W	October 26, 1972	7–0	St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	6–0–3
10	T	October 28, 1972	3–3	Buffalo Sabres (1972–73)	6–0–4
11	W	October 29, 1972	2–1	@ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73)	7–0–4
12	W	November 1, 1972	7–1	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	8–0–4
13	W	November 2, 1972	6–1	@ Atlanta Flames (1972–73)	9–0–4
14	L	November 4, 1972	2–4	Detroit Red Wings (1972–73)	9–1–4
15	W	November 8, 1972	5–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	10–1–4
16	W	November 11, 1972	5–2	Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	11–1–4
17	W	November 12, 1972	5–3	@ Boston Bruins (1972–73)	12–1–4
18	W	November 14, 1972	7–2	@ New York Islanders (1972–73)	13–1–4
19	W	November 16, 1972	6–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	14–1–4
20	L	November 18, 1972	3–5	Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	14–2–4
21	T	November 22, 1972	3–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	14–2–5
22	W	November 24, 1972	9–1	@ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	15–2–5
23	L	November 26, 1972	2–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	15–3–5
24	T	November 29, 1972	3–3	Boston Bruins (1972–73)	15–3–6
25	T	December 2, 1972	4–4	Atlanta Flames (1972–73)	15–3–7
26	L	December 3, 1972	2–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	15–4–7
27	W	December 6, 1972	6–3	Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	16–4–7
28	W	December 9, 1972	2–1	California Golden Seals (1972–73)	17–4–7
29	L	December 10, 1972	2–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73)	17–5–7
30	T	December 13, 1972	2–2	@ California Golden Seals (1972–73)	17–5–8
31	W	December 15, 1972	4–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	18–5–8
32	W	December 16, 1972	3–1	@ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	19–5–8
33	W	December 20, 1972	4–2	New York Islanders (1972–73)	20–5–8
34	W	December 23, 1972	6–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	21–5–8
35	W	December 26, 1972	4–1	@ St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	22–5–8
36	L	December 27, 1972	2–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	22–6–8
37	T	December 30, 1972	1–1	Atlanta Flames (1972–73)	22–6–9
38	W	January 3, 1973	8–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	23–6–9
39	W	January 6, 1973	5–0	California Golden Seals (1972–73)	24–6–9
40	T	January 8, 1973	3–3	Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	24–6–10
41	W	January 10, 1973	6–0	@ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73)	25–6–10
42	T	January 12, 1973	3–3	@ California Golden Seals (1972–73)	25–6–11
43	W	January 14, 1973	3–0	@ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	26–6–11
44	W	January 17, 1973	6–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	27–6–11
45	W	January 18, 1973	5–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	28–6–11
46	W	January 20, 1973	6–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	29–6–11
47	W	January 21, 1973	3–2	@ Atlanta Flames (1972–73)	30–6–11
48	W	January 24, 1973	6–1	New York Islanders (1972–73)	31–6–11
49	W	January 27, 1973	4–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	32–6–11
50	L	January 28, 1973	2–4	Detroit Red Wings (1972–73)	32–7–11
51	T	February 1, 1973	3–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	32–7–12
52	W	February 3, 1973	7–1	@ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	33–7–12
53	W	February 4, 1973	6–1	@ California Golden Seals (1972–73)	34–7–12
54	W	February 7, 1973	5–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73)	35–7–12
55	W	February 10, 1973	2–1	Buffalo Sabres (1972–73)	36–7–12
56	T	February 11, 1973	2–2	@ New York Rangers (1972–73)	36–7–13
57	W	February 14, 1973	6–3	New York Rangers (1972–73)	37–7–13
58	L	February 17, 1973	6–7	Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	37–8–13
59	W	February 18, 1973	2–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	38–8–13
60	W	February 21, 1973	4–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	39–8–13
61	T	February 22, 1973	3–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73)	39–8–14
62	W	February 24, 1973	7–3	Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	40–8–14
63	W	February 28, 1973	5–2	Los Angeles Kings (1972–73)	41–8–14
64	W	March 3, 1973	5–1	Boston Bruins (1972–73)	42–8–14
65	W	March 4, 1973	4–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73)	43–8–14
66	W	March 6, 1973	3–2	@ New York Islanders (1972–73)	44–8–14
67	W	March 7, 1973	4–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73)	45–8–14
68	W	March 10, 1973	2–0	Detroit Red Wings (1972–73)	46–8–14
69	L	March 11, 1973	3–5	@ Boston Bruins (1972–73)	46–9–14
70	W	March 14, 1973	5–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73)	47–9–14
71	T	March 17, 1973	3–3	Buffalo Sabres (1972–73)	47–9–15
72	T	March 18, 1973	4–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73)	47–9–16
73	W	March 21, 1973	3–2	Vancouver Canucks (1972–73)	48–9–16
74	W	March 24, 1973	11–4	St. Louis Blues (1972–73)	49–9–16
75	L	March 25, 1973	5–6	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	49–10–16
76	W	March 28, 1973	4–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73)	50–10–16
77	W	March 31, 1973	5–1	New York Rangers (1972–73)	51–10–16
78	W	April 1, 1973	5–3	@ Boston Bruins (1972–73)	52–10–16

^[2]

Playoffs[]

Montreal Canadiens 4, Buffalo Sabres 2[]

The Canadiens met the Buffalo Sabres making their playoff debut in the first round, defeating the Sabres four games to two.

Montreal Canadiens 4, Philadelphia Flyers 1[]

In the second round, the Canadiens defeated the Philadelphia Flyers who had beaten the Minnesota North Stars, winning the series four games to one to advance to the finals against the Chicago Black Hawks.

Montreal Canadiens 4, Chicago Black Hawks 2[]

For more details on this topic, see 1973 Stanley Cup Finals.

Date	Visitors	Score	Home	Score
April 29	Chicago	3	Montreal	8
May 1	Chicago	1	Montreal	4
May 3	Montreal	4	Chicago	7
May 6	Montreal	4	Chicago	0
May 8	Chicago	8	Montreal	7
May 10	Montreal	6	Chicago	4

Player Stats[]

Regular Season[]

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Lemaire, JacquesJacques Lemaire	C	77	44	51	95	16	59	9	0	5
Mahovlich, FrankFrank Mahovlich	LW	78	38	55	93	51	42	8	2	5
Cournoyer, YvanYvan Cournoyer	RW	67	40	39	79	18	50	6	0	4
Mahovlich, PetePete Mahovlich	C	61	21	38	59	49	21	3	4	3
Lafleur, GuyGuy Lafleur	RW	69	28	27	55	51	16	9	0	7
Lapointe, GuyGuy Lapointe	D	76	19	35	54	117	51	3	0	2
Tardif, MarcMarc Tardif	LW	76	25	25	50	48	18	3	0	4
Houle, RejeanRejean Houle	W	72	13	35	48	36	24	3	0	1
Lefley, ChuckChuck Lefley	LW	65	21	25	46	22	35	1	1	7
Richard, HenriHenri Richard	C	71	8	35	43	21	34	0	0	2
Savard, SergeSerge Savard	D	74	7	32	39	58	70	2	1	0
Larose, ClaudeClaude Larose	RW	73	11	23	34	30	29	0	0	0
Roberts, JimmyJimmy Roberts	D/RW	77	14	18	32	28	33	0	1	3
Wilson, MurrayMurray Wilson	LW	52	18	9	27	16	14	0	0	3
Murdoch, BobBob Murdoch	D	69	2	22	24	55	39	0	0	2
Laperriere, JacquesJacques Laperriere	D	57	7	16	23	34	78	2	0	0
Shutt, SteveSteve Shutt	LW	50	8	8	16	24	5	1	0	2
Bouchard, PierrePierre Bouchard	D	41	0	7	7	69	11	0	0	0
Robinson, LarryLarry Robinson	D	36	2	4	6	20	3	0	0	1
Dryden, KenKen Dryden	G	54	0	4	4	2	0	0	0	0
Arnason, ChuckChuck Arnason	RW	19	1	1	2	2	-1	1	0	0
Gardner, DaveDave Gardner	C	5	1	1	2	0	0	1	0	0
Rota, RandyRandy Rota	C/LW	2	1	1	2	0	2	0	0	1
Hoganson, DaleDale Hoganson	D	25	0	2	2	2	4	0	0	0
Thomas, WayneWayne Thomas	G	10	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0
Lambert, YvonYvon Lambert	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Plasse, MichelMichel Plasse	G	17	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Dryden, KenKen Dryden	3165	54	33	7	13	119	2.26	6
Plasse, MichelMichel Plasse	932	17	11	2	3	40	2.58	0
Thomas, WayneWayne Thomas	583	10	8	1	0	23	2.37	1
Team:	4680	78	52	10	16	182	2.33	7

Playoffs[]

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Cournoyer, YvanYvan Cournoyer	RW	17	15	10	25	2	3	0	3
Mahovlich, FrankFrank Mahovlich	LW	17	9	14	23	6	1	0	0
Lemaire, JacquesJacques Lemaire	C	17	7	13	20	2	3	0	1
Lapointe, GuyGuy Lapointe	D	17	6	7	13	20	2	0	1
Mahovlich, PetePete Mahovlich	C	17	4	9	13	22	2	1	0
Tardif, MarcMarc Tardif	LW	14	6	6	12	6	2	0	2
Savard, SergeSerge Savard	D	17	3	8	11	22	0	0	0
Richard, HenriHenri Richard	C	17	6	4	10	14	0	0	2
Houle, RejeanRejean Houle	W	17	3	6	9	0	0	0	0
Lafleur, GuyGuy Lafleur	RW	17	3	5	8	9	2	0	1
Lefley, ChuckChuck Lefley	LW	17	3	5	8	6	0	0	0
Larose, ClaudeClaude Larose	RW	17	3	4	7	6	0	0	0
Wilson, MurrayMurray Wilson	LW	16	2	4	6	6	0	0	1
Robinson, LarryLarry Robinson	D	11	1	4	5	9	0	0	1
Bouchard, PierrePierre Bouchard	D	17	1	3	4	13	0	0	0
Laperriere, JacquesJacques Laperriere	D	10	1	3	4	2	0	0	0
Murdoch, BobBob Murdoch	D	13	0	3	3	10	0	0	0
Roberts, JimmyJimmy Roberts	D/RW	17	0	2	2	22	0	0	0
Shutt, SteveSteve Shutt	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dryden, KenKen Dryden	G	17	0	0	0	2	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Dryden, KenKen Dryden	1039	17	12	5	50	2.89	1
Team:	1039	17	12	5	50	2.89	1

^[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
Vezina Trophy: Ken Dryden
Conn Smythe Trophy: Yvan Cournoyer
James Norris Memorial Trophy: Guy Lapointe, Runner-up ^[4]
Frank Mahovlich, Left Wing, NHL First Team All-Star
Guy Lapointe, Defense, NHL First Team All-Star
Ken Dryden, Goalie, NHL First Team All-Star
Yvan Cournoyer, Right Wing, NHL Second Team All-Star

Transactions[]

Montreal Canadiens 1973 Stanley Cup Champions[]

Roster

Centers

Wingers

Defensemen

Goaltenders

† left off cup, but included on the team picture.

Non-players

Jacques Courtois (President), Jean Beliveau (Vice President)
Peter Bronfman (Chairman/Owner), Sam Pollock (Vice President/General Manager)
Edward Bronfman (Executive Director/Owner), William Scotty Bowman (Head Coach)
Bob Williams (Trainer), Eddy Palchak (Ass't Trainer)
Floyd Curry & Ron Caron (Ass't General Managers)

Stanley Cup Engraving

Murray Wilson's name was misspelled in 1973, 1976, 1977 as MURRY WILSON missing an "A". Murray Wilson was spelled correctly on the Stanley Cup in 1978. Wilson's name was also spelled correctly all 4 times on the Replica Cup.

On the Replica Stanley Cup created in 1992–93 Bob Murdoch's name was spelled BOB MURDOCK with a "K" instead of a "H". His name was correct on the original engraving in 1973.

Draft Picks[]

See also: 1972 NHL Amateur Draft

Trivia[]

Canadiens who recorded a Hat trick this season include:
- Jacques Lemaire during the 4-3 win over the New York Islanders on October 24, 1972.
- Rejean Houle during the 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on January 17, 1973.
- Yvan Cournoyer during the 7-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres, Game 2 of the 1973 Quarter-finals, April 5, 1973.

Video[]

Over eight minutes of highlights of the January 18, 1973 Canadiens-Penguins game.

NHL Films - Canadiens vs Penguins - Jan.18,1973

Ten minutes of highlights of Game 1 of the 1973 Stanley Cup Finals.

'73 Stanley cup final - Chicago vs Montreal game 1 highlights

References[]

↑ http://habsgoalies.blogspot.com/2007/06/wayne-thomas-1972-74.html
↑ 1972–73 Montreal Canadiens Games. Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-07-13.
↑ 1972-73 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com. hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-28.
↑ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 222, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.

[1] ttp://habsgoalies.blogspot.com/2007/06/wayne-thomas-1972-74.html

[2] 1972–73 Montreal Canadiens Games. Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-07-13.

[3] 1972-73 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com. hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-28.

[4] National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 222, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Montreal Canadiens Seasons
1900s	1909–10
1910s	1910–11 • 1911–12 • 1912–13 • 1913–14 • 1914–15 • 1915–16 • 1916–17 • 1917–18 • 1918–19 • 1919–20
1920s	1920–21 • 1921–22 • 1922–23 • 1923–24 • 1924–25 • 1925–26 • 1926–27 • 1927–28 • 1928–29 • 1929–30
1930s	1930–31 • 1931–32 • 1932–33 • 1933–34 • 1934–35 • 1935–36 • 1936–37 • 1937–38 • 1938–39 • 1939–40
1940s	1940–41 • 1941–42 • 1942–43 • 1943–44 • 1944–45 • 1945–46 • 1946–47 • 1947–48 • 1948–49 • 1949–50
1950s	1950–51 • 1951–52 • 1952–53 • 1953–54 • 1954–55 • 1955–56 • 1956–57 • 1957–58 • 1958–59 • 1959–60
1960s	1960–61 • 1961–62 • 1962–63 • 1963–64 • 1964–65 • 1965–66 • 1966–67 • 1967–68 • 1968–69 • 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 • 1971–72 • 1972–73 • 1973–74 • 1974–75 • 1975–76 • 1976–77 • 1977–78 • 1978–79 • 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 • 1981–82 • 1982–83 • 1983–84 • 1984–85 • 1985–86 • 1986–87 • 1987–88 • 1988–89 • 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 • 1991–92 • 1992–93 • 1993–94 • 1994–95 • 1995–96 • 1996–97 • 1997–98 • 1998–99 • 1999–00
2000s	2000–01 • 2001–02 • 2002–03 • 2003–04 • 2004–05 • 2005–06 • 2006–07 • 2007–08 • 2008–09 • 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 • 2011–12 • 2012–13 • 2013–14 • 2014–15 • 2015–16 • 2016–17 • 2017–18 • 2018–19 • 2019–20
Bold indicates Stanley Cup Championship

Montreal Canadiens
Franchise	Franchise • Original Six • Players • Coaches • General Managers • Seasons • Records • Draft Picks • Award Winners
Arenas	Jubilee Arena • Montreal Arena • Mount Royal Arena • Montreal Forum • Bell Centre
Affiliates	Laval Rocket (AHL)

1972–73 NHL season by team
East	Boston • Buffalo • Detroit • Montreal • NY Islanders • NY Rangers • Toronto • Vancouver
West	Atlanta • California • Chicago • Los Angeles • Minnesota • Philadelphia • Pittsburgh • St. Louis
See also	1972 NHL Amateur Draft • All-Star Game • 1973 Stanley Cup Finals

1972–73 Montreal Canadiens season

Contents

Regular Season[]

Final Standings[]

Game Log[]

Playoffs[]

Montreal Canadiens 4, Buffalo Sabres 2[]

Montreal Canadiens 4, Philadelphia Flyers 1[]

Montreal Canadiens 4, Chicago Black Hawks 2[]

Player Stats[]

Regular Season[]

Playoffs[]

Awards and Records[]

Transactions[]

Montreal Canadiens 1973 Stanley Cup Champions[]

Roster

Stanley Cup Engraving

Draft Picks[]

Trivia[]

Video[]

See Also[]

References[]