The 1978–79 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 70th season. The franchise won 52 games and had 11 ties for a total of 115 points, but they finished second overall in the league as the New York Islanders finished first overall by one point.The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.234, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup for the fourth consecutive time, the 15th time in the past 24 seasons, and their 22nd overall. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup on home ice for the first time since 1968.
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Schedule and results
|1||W||October 11, 1978||5–2 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) ||1–0–0
|2||W||October 14, 1978||5–2 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1978–79) ||2–0–0
|3||W||October 15, 1978||3–2 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) ||3–0–0
|4||L||October 17, 1978||1–3 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1978–79) ||3–1–0
|5||L||October 20, 1978||5–7 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) ||3–2–0
|6||W||October 22, 1978||8–4 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) ||4–2–0
|7||T||October 25, 1978||4–4 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) ||4–2–1
|8||L||October 28, 1978||1–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1978–79) ||4–3–1
|9||L||October 29, 1978||1–4 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) ||4–4–1
|10||W||November 1, 1978||4–1 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) ||5–4–1
|11||W||November 2, 1978||4–2 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1978–79) ||6–4–1
|12||W||November 4, 1978||4–2 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1978–79) ||7–4–1
|13||T||November 5, 1978||1–1 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) ||7–4–2
|14||W||November 8, 1978||6–0 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) ||8–4–2
|15||W||November 9, 1978||8–3 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) ||9–4–2
|16||W||November 11, 1978||3–2 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) ||10–4–2
|17||W||November 15, 1978||6–1 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) ||11–4–2
|18||L||November 16, 1978||3–6 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) ||11–5–2
|19||W||November 18, 1978||4–2 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) ||12–5–2
|20||W||November 22, 1978||3–2 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) ||13–5–2
|21||W||November 23, 1978||8–4 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) ||14–5–2
|22||L||November 25, 1978||3–8 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) ||14–6–2
|23||W||November 28, 1978||3–0 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) ||15–6–2
|24||W||December 2, 1978||8–1 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) ||16–6–2
|25||W||December 3, 1978||4–1 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) ||17–6–2
|26||T||December 6, 1978||2–2 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) ||17–6–3
|27||T||December 8, 1978||3–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) ||17–6–4
|28||W||December 10, 1978||4–3 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1978–79) ||18–6–4
|29||W||December 12, 1978||6–0 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) ||19–6–4
|30||W||December 13, 1978||3–2 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) ||20–6–4
|31||W||December 16, 1978||5–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) ||21–6–4
|32||W||December 20, 1978||5–3 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) ||22–6–4
|33||W||December 21, 1978||5–1 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) ||23–6–4
|34||W||December 23, 1978||3–2 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1978–79) ||24–6–4
|35||W||December 27, 1978||5–2 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) ||25–6–4
|36||T||December 28, 1978||3–3 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) ||25–6–5
|37||W||December 30, 1978||6–1 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1978–79) ||26–6–5
|38||L||January 3, 1979||2–6 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1978–79) ||26–7–5
|39||L||January 4, 1979||4–5 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) ||26–8–5
|40||W||January 6, 1979||2–0 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) ||27–8–5
|41||W||January 8, 1979||3–1 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) ||28–8–5
|42||L||January 10, 1979||2–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) ||28–9–5
|43||W||January 13, 1979||5–2 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) ||29–9–5
|44||T||January 16, 1979||2–2 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) ||29–9–6
|45||W||January 17, 1979||7–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) ||30–9–6
|46||T||January 20, 1979||5–5 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) ||30–9–7
|47||W||January 23, 1979||6–3 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) ||31–9–7
|48||W||January 25, 1979||6–0 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1978–79) ||32–9–7
|49||W||January 27, 1979||3–1 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1978–79) ||33–9–7
|50||W||January 29, 1979||7–3 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) ||34–9–7
|51||W||January 31, 1979||4–1 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) ||35–9–7
|52||W||February 3, 1979||6–3 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) ||36–9–7
|53||W||February 4, 1979||8–4 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) ||37–9–7
|54||T||February 15, 1979||2–2 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) ||37–9–8
|55||W||February 17, 1979||2–0 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1978–79) ||38–9–8
|56||W||February 18, 1979||5–2 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) ||39–9–8
|57||L||February 21, 1979||1–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) ||39–10–8
|58||W||February 22, 1979||12–0 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) ||40–10–8
|59||W||February 24, 1979||6–4 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1978–79) ||41–10–8
|60||W||February 25, 1979||8–5 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) ||42–10–8
|61||L||February 27, 1979||3–7 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1978–79) ||42–11–8
|62||W||March 1, 1979||2–1 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) ||43–11–8
|63||L||March 3, 1979||3–5 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) ||43–12–8
|64||T||March 5, 1979||2–2 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) ||43–12–9
|65||W||March 8, 1979||11–1 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) ||44–12–9
|66||L||March 10, 1979||3–6 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1978–79) ||44–13–9
|67||T||March 12, 1979||3–3 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) ||44–13–10
|68||L||March 14, 1979||3–4 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) ||44–14–10
|69||L||March 17, 1979||1–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) ||44–15–10
|70||W||March 18, 1979||3–1 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) ||45–15–10
|71||L||March 22, 1979||3–5 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1978–79) ||45–16–10
|72||W||March 24, 1979||3–1 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1978–79) ||46–16–10
|73||W||March 25, 1979||1–0 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1978–79) ||47–16–10
|74||W||March 27, 1979||6–4 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) ||48–16–10
|75||W||March 29, 1979||5–2 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1978–79) ||49–16–10
|76||W||March 31, 1979||5–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) ||50–16–10
|77||T||April 1, 1979||3–3 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) ||50–16–11
|78||W||April 4, 1979||4–1 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) ||51–16–11
|79||W||April 7, 1979||10–3 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1978–79) ||52–16–11
|80||L||April 8, 1979||0–1 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) ||52–17–11
Legend:
Playoffs
| 1 || April 16 || Maple Leafs || 5–2 || Montreal Forum || MTL 1–0
| 2 || April 18 || Maple Leafs || 5–1 || Montreal Forum || MTL 2–0
| 3 || April 21 || @Maple Leafs || 4–3 (2OT) || Maple Leaf Gardens || MTL 3–0
| 4 || April 22 || @Maple Leafs || 5–4 (OT) || Maple Leaf Gardens || MTL 4–0
| 1 || April 26 || Bruins || 4–2 || Montreal Forum || MTL 1–0
| 2 || April 28 || Bruins || 5–2 || Montreal Forum || MTL 2–0
| 3 || May 1 || @Bruins || 1–2 || Boston Garden || MTL 2–1
| 4 || May 3 || @Bruins || 3–4 || Boston Garden || Tie 2–2
| 5 || May 5 || Bruins || 5–1 || Montreal Forum || MTL 3–2
| 6 || May 8 || @Bruins || 2–5 || Boston Garden || Tie 3–3
| 7 || May 10 || Bruins || 5–4 (OT) || Montreal Forum || MTL 4–3
| 1 || May 13 || Rangers || 1–4 || Montreal Forum || NYR 1–0
| 2 || May 15 || Rangers || 6–2 || Montreal Forum || Tie 1–1
| 3 || May 17 || @Rangers || 4–1 || Madison Square Garden || MTL 2–1
| 4 || May 19 || @Rangers || 4–3 (OT) || Madison Square Garden || MTL 3–1
| 5 || May 21 || Rangers || 4–1 || Montreal Forum || MTL 4–1
Legend:
Player statistics
Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG RW 80 52 77 129 285613012 LW 72 37 40 77 31371006 C 77 31 41 72 2659617 LW 79 26 40 66 2630517 D 67 16 45 61 3350401 RW 76 30 29 59 7423304 C 50 24 31 55 109614 D 69 13 42 55 4327601 W 66 17 34 51 4316604 LW 79 20 18 38 4411111 D 80 7 26 33 3046120 RW 54 11 20 31 1117200 C 48 10 15 25 6222002 C 80 10 13 23 165011 C 36 9 13 22 43400 RW 41 9 8 17 227101 D/RW 62 5 11 16 2914001 D 62 3 11 14 6021000 D 72 1 9 10 12433000 D 45 3 4 7 305000 RW 15 2 5 7 25000 RW 23 1 3 4 392000 G 47 0 3 3 40000 G 34 0 3 3 20000 LW 16 0 2 2 4-1000 RW 3 0 0 0 00000 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LTGAGAA SO 2814 47 30 10 7 108 2.30 5 1986 34 22 7 4 94 2.84 3 Team: 4800 80 52 17 11 202 2.52 8
Playoffs Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG C 16 11 12 23 6602 RW 16 10 13 23 0202 LW 16 6 10 16 10001 D 16 6 9 15 8101 LW 16 5 6 11 16201 LW 11 4 7 11 6100 C 16 3 6 9 4100 D 16 2 7 9 6101 D 10 2 6 8 10100 RW 13 3 4 7 13001 C 15 1 6 7 32001 W 7 1 5 6 2000 RW 12 3 2 5 2000 C 12 1 3 4 4000 C 6 1 3 4 0001 D/RW 16 2 1 3 24000 RW 8 1 2 3 4000 G 16 0 3 3 2000 RW 8 1 0 1 0001 D 16 0 1 1 11000 D 8 0 0 0 16000 G 1 0 0 0 0000 D 13 0 0 0 2000 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LGAGAA SO 990 16 12 4 41 2.48 0 20 1 0 0 0 0.00 0 Team: 1010 16 12 4 41 2.44 0
Awards and records Prince of Wales Trophy Ken Dryden and Michel Larocque, Vezina Trophy Bob Gainey, Conn Smythe Trophy Bob Gainey, Selke Trophy Serge Savard, Bill Masterton Memorial TrophyNational Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.220, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, Draft picks Montreal's draft picks at the 1978 NHL amateur draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)18Dan Geoffrion Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)117Dave Hunter Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)230Dale Yakiwchuk Portland Winterhawks (WCHL)236Ron Carter Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)342Richard David Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL)469Kevin Reeves Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)586Mike Boyd Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)6103Keith Acton Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)7120Jim Lawson Brown University (ECAC)8137Larry Landon Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC)9154Kevin Constantine Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC)10171John Swan McGill University (CIAU)11186Daniel Metivier Hull Olympiques (QMJHL)12201Viacheslav Fetisov CSKA Moscow (Russia)13212Jeff Mars University of Michigan (WCHA)14222Greg Tignanelli Northern Michigan University (CCHA)15225George Goulakos St. Lawrence University (ECAC)16227Ken Moodie Colgate University (ECAC)17229Serge LeBlanc University of Vermont (ECAC)18230Bob Magnuson Merrimack College (ECAC)19231Chris Nilan Northeastern University (ECAC)20232Rick Wilson St. Lawrence University (ECAC)21233Louis Sleigher Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)22234Doug Robb Billings Bighorns (WCHL)
See also 1978–79 NHL season 1979 Stanley Cup Final The Game
References Canadiens on Hockey Database Canadiens on NHL Reference