2005–06 Montreal Canadiens season

2005–06 Montreal Canadiens
Division	3rd Northeast
Conference	7th Eastern
2005–06 record	42-31-9
Home record	24-13-4
Road record	18-18-5
Goals for	243
Goals against	247
Team information
General Manager	Bob Gainey
Coach	Claude Julien (Oct-Jan) Bob Gainey (Jan-Apr)
Captain	Saku Koivu
Alternate captains	Alexei Kovalev Craig Rivet Sheldon Souray (Oct-Jan) Richard Zednik (Oct-Jan)
Arena	Bell Centre
Average attendance	21,273 (100%)
Team leaders
Goals	Michael Ryder (30)
Assists	Saku Koivu (45)
Points	Alex Kovalev (65)
Penalties in minutes	Mike Komisarek Sheldon Souray (116)
Plus/minus	Andrei Markov (+13)
Wins	Cristobal Huet (18)
Goals against average	Cristobal Huet (2.20)
<2004–05	2006–07>

The 2005–06 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 97th season, 89th in the National Hockey League. The Canadiens would qualify for the playoffs, eventually being eliminated in the Eastern Conference Quarter-finals by the Carolina Hurricanes 4 games to 2.

Offseason

NHL draft

Regular season

Claude Julien started the season as coach but was fired and replaced on an interim basis by manager Bob Gainey. The Canadiens's number one goaltender Jose Theodore was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. His place was taken by Cristobal Huet. Huet would lead the league in save percentage of 92.9% and placed fourth overall in goals against average of 2.20.

Final standings

Northeast Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Ottawa Senators	82	52	21	9	314	211	113
2	4	Buffalo Sabres	82	52	24	6	281	239	110
3	7	Montreal Canadiens	82	42	31	9	243	247	93
4	9	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	41	33	8	257	270	90
5	13	Boston Bruins	82	29	37	16	230	266	74

^[1] Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime/Shootout loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Game log

Regular season results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 5, 2005	2–1	@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)	1–0–0
2	W	October 6, 2005	4–3 OT	@ New York Rangers (2005–06)	2–0–0
3	W	October 8, 2005	5–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)	3–0–0
4	L	October 11, 2005	2–4	Ottawa Senators (2005–06)	3–1–0
5	W	October 12, 2005	2–0	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)	4–1–0
6	L	October 15, 2005	2–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)	4–2–0
7	W	October 18, 2005	4–3	Boston Bruins (2005–06)	5–2–0
8	W	October 22, 2005	4–3	New York Islanders (2005–06)	6–2–0
9	W	October 25, 2005	3–2 OT	Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)	7–2–0
10	L	October 27, 2005	3–4 OT	@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)	7–2–1
11	L	October 29, 2005	2–5	New York Rangers (2005–06)	7–3–1
12	W	October 31, 2005	4–1	@ New York Rangers (2005–06)	8–3–1
13	W	November 1, 2005	5–4 OT	Florida Panthers (2005–06)	9–3–1
14	W	November 4, 2005	3–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)	10–3–1
15	W	November 5, 2005	3–2	Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)	11–3–1
16	W	November 8, 2005	3–2	Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)	12–3–1
17	L	November 10, 2005	2–3 SO	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)	12–3–2
18	L	November 12, 2005	4–5 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)	12–3–3
19	W	November 15, 2005	4–3 OT	Florida Panthers (2005–06)	13–3–3
20	L	November 18, 2005	3–5	@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06)	13–4–3
21	L	November 19, 2005	1–5	Washington Capitals (2005–06)	13–5–3
22	W	November 22, 2005	3–2 SO	Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)	14–5–3
23	L	November 25, 2005	1–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)	14–6–3
24	L	November 26, 2005	3–4 OT	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)	14–6–4
25	L	November 29, 2005	0–4	@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)	14–7–4
26	L	December 1, 2005	2–3 OT	Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)	14–7–5
27	W	December 3, 2005	3–2	Los Angeles Kings (2005–06)	15–7–5
28	L	December 10, 2005	3–5	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2005–06)	15–8–5
29	W	December 13, 2005	5–2	Phoenix Coyotes (2005–06)	16–8–5
30	L	December 15, 2005	3–5	@ Edmonton Oilers (2005–06)	16–9–5
31	L	December 17, 2005	3–4 OT	@ Minnesota Wild (2005–06)	16–9–6
32	W	December 20, 2005	4–3 SO	Ottawa Senators (2005–06)	17–9–6
33	L	December 23, 2005	2–4	@ Washington Capitals (2005–06)	17–10–6
34	L	December 26, 2005	0–4	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)	17–11–6
35	W	December 28, 2005	4–3	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)	18–11–6
36	L	December 30, 2005	1–2	@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)	18–12–6
37	L	December 31, 2005	3–5	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)	18–13–6
38	L	January 3, 2006	4–6	Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)	18–14–6
39	L	January 5, 2006	4–5	@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06)	18–15–6
40	W	January 7, 2006	4–1	Ottawa Senators (2005–06)	19–15–6
41	L	January 11, 2006	1–2	@ Colorado Avalanche (2005–06)	19–16–6
42	W	January 14, 2006	6–2	San Jose Sharks (2005–06)	20–16–6
43	W	January 16, 2006	4–2	Dallas Stars (2005–06)	21–16–6
44	L	January 19, 2006	2–3	@ Calgary Flames (2005–06)	21–17–6
45	L	January 21, 2006	2–6	@ Vancouver Canucks (2005–06)	21–18–6
46	L	January 23, 2006	3–7	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)	21–19–6
47	W	January 25, 2006	5–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)	22–19–6
48	L	January 26, 2006	0–3	@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)	22–20–6
49	W	January 28, 2006	4–3 OT	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)	23–20–6
50	L	January 31, 2006	2–8	Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)	23–21–6
51	L	February 2, 2006	1–3	@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)	23–22–6
52	W	February 4, 2006	2–0	Boston Bruins (2005–06)	24–22–6
53	W	February 5, 2006	5–0	Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)	25–22–6
54	L	February 7, 2006	2–3 OT	Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)	25–22–7
55	W	February 9, 2006	3–2 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)	26–22–7
56	L	February 11, 2006	1–2 SO	Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)	26–22–8
57	W	February 28, 2006	5–3	@ New York Islanders (2005–06)	27–22–8
58	W	March 2, 2006	1–0	@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)	28–22–8
59	W	March 4, 2006	6–2	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)	29–22–8
60	L	March 6, 2006	4–5 SO	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)	29–22–9
61	L	March 7, 2006	3–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)	29–23–9
62	W	March 9, 2006	3–0	@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)	30–23–9
63	W	March 11, 2006	1–0	New York Rangers (2005–06)	31–23–9
64	L	March 13, 2006	1–2	Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)	31–24–9
65	L	March 16, 2006	1–5	Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)	31–25–9
66	L	March 18, 2006	4–5	Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)	31–26–9
67	W	March 20, 2006	4–2	@ Washington Capitals (2005–06)	32–26–9
68	L	March 21, 2006	1–3	@ New York Islanders (2005–06)	32–27–9
69	W	March 23, 2006	5–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)	33–27–9
70	W	March 25, 2006	6–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)	34–27–9
71	W	March 26, 2006	6–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)	35–27–9
72	W	March 28, 2006	2–0	New York Islanders (2005–06)	36–27–9
73	W	March 30, 2006	3–2 OT	Washington Capitals (2005–06)	37–27–9
74	W	April 1, 2006	2–0	Boston Bruins (2005–06)	38–27–9
75	W	April 4, 2006	5–3	Boston Bruins (2005–06)	39–27–9
76	W	April 6, 2006	5–3	@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)	40–27–9
77	L	April 8, 2006	2–3	New Jersey Devils (2005–06)	40–28–9
78	W	April 10, 2006	3–2	Ottawa Senators (2005–06)	41–28–9
79	L	April 12, 2006	1–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)	41–29–9
80	W	April 13, 2006	4–3	@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)	42–29–9
81	L	April 15, 2006	2–4	Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)	42–30–9
82	L	April 18, 2006	3–4	New Jersey Devils (2005–06)	42–31–9

Playoffs

The Canadiens placed 3rd in the Northeast division, and seventh in the Eastern Conference. The Canadiens played the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in the first round and lost four games to two. The Canadiens were winning 2-0 in the series when Saku Koivu sustained a serious injury to his left eye. Hurricanes forward Justin Williams attempted to lift Koivu's stick but instead struck him in the eye. Koivu was rushed to the hospital, where he would remain overnight and for the remainder of the playoffs. Koivu remained out of the lineup for the rest of the series and underwent surgery to repair a detached retina during the off-season.

Date	Home	Score	Visitors	Score	Notes
April 22	Carolina Hurricanes	1	Montreal Canadiens	6
April 24	Carolina Hurricanes	5	Montreal Canadiens	6	(OT)
April 26	Montreal Canadiens	1	Carolina Hurricanes	2	(OT)
April 28	Montreal Canadiens	2	Carolina Hurricanes	3
April 30	Carolina Hurricanes	2	Montreal Canadiens	1
May 2	Montreal Canadiens	1	Carolina Hurricanes	2	(OT)

Player stats

Scoring leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Kovalev, AlexAlex Kovalev	69	23	42	65	76
Koivu, SakuSaku Koivu	72	17	45	62	70
Ryder, MichaelMichael Ryder	81	30	25	55	40
Ribeiro, MikeMike Ribeiro	79	16	35	51	36
Markov, AndreiAndrei Markov	67	10	36	46	74
Bulis, JanJan Bulis	73	20	20	40	50
Souray, SheldonSheldon Souray	75	12	27	39	116
Higgins, ChristopherChristopher Higgins	80	23	15	38	26
Rivet, CraigCraig Rivet	82	7	27	34	109
Zednik, RichardRichard Zednik	67	16	14	30	48

Goaltending

Player	GP	W	L	T	SO	GAA
Huet, CristobalCristobal Huet	36	18	11	4	7	2.20
Theodore, JoseJose Theodore	38	17	15	5	0	3.46
Aebischer, DavidDavid Aebischer	7	4	3	0	0	3.73
Danis, YannYann Danis	6	3	2	0	1	2.69

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

Roster

Goaltenders: 30 David Aebischer  39 Cristobal Huet  75 Yann Danis		Defensemen 8 Mike Komisarek  25 Mathieu Dandenault  28 Todd Simpson  32 Mark Streit  44 Sheldon Souray  51 Francis Bouillon  52 Craig Rivet  - A 64 Jean-Philippe Cote  79 Andrei Markov		Wingers 3 Raitis Ivanans  20 Richard Zednik  21 Christopher Higgins  26 Pierre Dagenais  27 Alexei Kovalev  - A 37 Niklas Sundstrom  42 Alexander Perezhogin  46 Andrei Kostitsyn  47 Aaron Downey  73 Michael Ryder  86 Jonathan Ferland		Centres 11 Saku Koivu  - C 14 Radek Bonk  22 Steve Begin  35 Tomas Plekanec  38 Jan Bulis  40 Maxim Lapierre  57 Garth Murray  71 Mike Ribeiro  General Manager and Head Coach: Bob Gainey •

Draft picks

Farm teams

See also

• 2005–06 NHL season

References

• Canadiens on Hockey Database
• Canadiens on NHL Reference

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