1972–73 Montreal Canadiens season

1972–73 Montreal Canadiens
Stanley Cup champions
East Division champions
Division1st East
1972–73 record52–10–13
Goals for329
Goals against184
Team information
General managerSam Pollock
CoachScotty Bowman
CaptainHenri Richard
Alternate captainsYvan Cournoyer
Frank Mahovlich
ArenaMontreal Forum
Team leaders
GoalsJacques Lemaire (44)
AssistsFrank Mahovlich (55)
PointsJacques Lemaire (95)
Penalty minutesGuy Lapointe (117)
WinsKen Dryden (38)
Goals against averageKen Dryden (2.24)

The 1972–73 Montreal Canadiens season, the club's 64th season, led to the Canadiens winning their 18th Stanley Cup in club history.

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[2]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Montreal Canadiens 78 52 10 16 329 184 +145 120
2 Boston Bruins 78 51 22 5 330 235 +95 107
3 New York Rangers 78 47 23 8 297 208 +89 102
4 Buffalo Sabres 78 37 27 14 257 219 +38 88
5 Detroit Red Wings 78 37 29 12 265 243 +22 86
6 Toronto Maple Leafs 78 27 41 10 247 279 −32 64
7 Vancouver Canucks 78 22 47 9 233 339 −106 53
8 New York Islanders 78 12 60 6 170 347 −177 30


Record vs. opponents


Schedule and results

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

[4]

Playoffs

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

Finals

Further information: 1973 Stanley Cup Finals

Chicago Black Hawks vs. Montreal Canadiens

Date Visitors Score Home Score Notes
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

Montreal wins the series 4–2.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Jacques Lemaire C 77 44 51 95 16 59 9 0 5
Frank Mahovlich LW 78 38 55 93 51 42 8 2 5
Yvan Cournoyer RW 67 40 39 79 18 50 6 0 4
Pete Mahovlich C 61 21 38 59 49 21 3 4 3
Guy Lafleur RW 69 28 27 55 51 16 9 0 7
Guy Lapointe D 76 19 35 54 117 51 3 0 2
Marc Tardif LW 76 25 25 50 48 18 3 0 4
Rejean Houle W 72 13 35 48 36 24 3 0 1
Chuck Lefley LW 65 21 25 46 22 35 1 1 7
Henri Richard C 71 8 35 43 21 34 0 0 2
Serge Savard D 74 7 32 39 58 70 2 1 0
Claude Larose RW 73 11 23 34 30 29 0 0 0
Jim Roberts D/RW 77 14 18 32 28 33 0 1 3
Murray Wilson LW 52 18 9 27 16 14 0 0 3
Bob Murdoch D 69 2 22 24 55 39 0 0 2
Jacques Laperriere D 57 7 16 23 34 78 2 0 0
Steve Shutt LW 50 8 8 16 24 5 1 0 2
Pierre Bouchard D 41 0 7 7 69 11 0 0 0
Larry Robinson D 36 2 4 6 20 3 0 0 1
Ken Dryden G 54 0 4 4 2 0 0 0 0
Chuck Arnason RW 19 1 1 2 2 −1 1 0 0
Dave Gardner C 5 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0
Randy Rota C/LW 2 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 1
Dale Hoganson D 25 0 2 2 2 4 0 0 0
Wayne Thomas G 10 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Yvon Lambert LW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Michel Plasse G 17 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Ken Dryden 3165 54 33 7 13 119 2.26 6
Michel Plasse 932 17 11 2 3 40 2.58 0
Wayne 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
Yvan Cournoyer RW 17 15 10 25 2 3 0 3
Frank Mahovlich LW 17 9 14 23 6 1 0 0
Jacques Lemaire C 17 7 13 20 2 3 0 1
Guy Lapointe D 17 6 7 13 20 2 0 1
Pete Mahovlich C 17 4 9 13 22 2 1 0
Marc Tardif LW 14 6 6 12 6 2 0 2
Serge Savard D 17 3 8 11 22 0 0 0
Henri Richard C 17 6 4 10 14 0 0 2
Rejean Houle W 17 3 6 9 0 0 0 0
Guy Lafleur RW 17 3 5 8 9 2 0 1
Chuck Lefley LW 17 3 5 8 6 0 0 0
Claude Larose RW 17 3 4 7 6 0 0 0
Murray Wilson LW 16 2 4 6 6 0 0 1
Larry Robinson D 11 1 4 5 9 0 0 1
Pierre Bouchard D 17 1 3 4 13 0 0 0
Jacques Laperriere D 10 1 3 4 2 0 0 0
Bob Murdoch D 13 0 3 3 10 0 0 0
Jim Roberts D/RW 17 0 2 2 22 0 0 0
Ken Dryden G 17 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Steve Shutt LW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

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

[5]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 4 Steve Shutt  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
1 6 Michel Larocque  Canada Ottawa 67's (OMJHL)
1 8 Dave Gardner  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
1 14 John Van Boxmeer  Canada Guelph CMC's (SOJHL)
3 46 Ed Gilbert  Canada Hamilton Red Wings (OMJHL)
4 62 Dave Elenbaas  Canada Cornell University (ECAC)
5 66 Bill Nyrop  United States University of Notre Dame (WCHA)
6 94 D'Arcy Ryan  Canada Yale University (ECAC)
7 110 Yves Archambault  Canada Sorel Eperviers (QMJHL)
8 126 Graham Parsons  Canada Red Deer Rustlers (AJHL)
9 142 Eddie Bumbacco  Canada University of Notre Dame (WCHA)
10 151 Fred Riggall  Canada Dartmouth College (ECAC)
11 152 Ron LeBlanc  Canada Universite de Moncton (CIAU)

See also

Citations

  1. ^ "Wayne Thomas 1972-74".
  2. ^ "1972–1973 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  3. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "1972–73 Montreal Canadiens Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
  5. ^ "1972-73 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  6. ^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 222, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.

References