1996–97 Montreal Canadiens season

1996–97 Montreal Canadiens
Division 4th Northeast
Conference 8th Eastern
1996–97 record 31–36–15
Home record 17–17–7
Road record 14–19–8
Goals for 249
Goals against 276
Team information
General Manager Rejean Houle
Coach Mario Tremblay
Captain Pierre Turgeon (Oct)
Vincent Damphousse (Oct-Apr)
Arena Bell Centre
Team leaders
Goals Mark Recchi (34)
Assists Vincent Damphousse (54)
Points Vincent Damphousse (81)
Penalties in minutes Scott Thornton (128)
Plus/minus Peter Popovic (+9)
Wins Jocelyn Thibault (22)
Goals against average Jocelyn Thibault (2.90)
<1995–96 1997–98>

The 1996–97 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 88th season. The Canadiens qualified for the playoffs despite a sub-.500 season. The Canadiens were eliminated in the Eastern Conference quarter-finals (the first round) by the New Jersey Devils 4 games to 1.

Regular season

On Wednesday, October 16, 1996, the Canadiens scored three short-handed goals in a 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames.[1]

The Canadiens finished the regular season 26th in both power-play goals allowed (71) and penalty-killing percentage (79.54%).[2]

Final standings

Northeast Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 2 Buffalo Sabres 82 40 30 12 237 208 92
2 6 Pittsburgh Penguins 82 38 36 8 285 280 84
3 7 Ottawa Senators 82 31 36 15 226 234 77
4 8 Montreal Canadiens 82 31 36 15 249 276 77
5 10 Hartford Whalers 82 32 39 11 226 256 75
6 13 Boston Bruins 82 26 47 9 234 300 61
Eastern Conference[3]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 New Jersey Devils ATL 82 45 23 14 231 182 104
2 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 40 30 12 237 208 92
3 Philadelphia Flyers ATL 82 45 24 13 274 217 103
4 Florida Panthers ATL 82 35 28 19 221 201 89
5 New York Rangers ATL 82 38 34 10 258 231 86
6 Pittsburgh Penguins NE 82 38 36 8 285 280 84
7 Ottawa Senators NE 82 31 36 15 226 234 77
8 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 31 36 15 249 276 77
9 Washington Capitals ATL 82 33 40 9 214 231 75
10 Hartford Whalers NE 82 32 39 11 226 256 75
11 Tampa Bay Lightning ATL 82 32 40 10 217 247 74
12 New York Islanders ATL 82 29 41 12 240 250 70
13 Boston Bruins NE 82 26 47 9 234 300 61

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Schedule and results

# R Date Score Opponent Record
1TOct 5, 19963–3 OT Ottawa Senators0–0–1
2TOct 7, 19966–6 OT Mighty Ducks of Anaheim0–0–2
3WOct 9, 19966–3 Los Angeles Kings1–0–2
4WOct 12, 19965–2 New York Rangers2–0–2
5LOct 15, 19962–3 @ New Jersey Devils2–1–2
6WOct 16, 19964–2 Calgary Flames3–1–2
7LOct 19, 19963–6 @ Ottawa Senators3–2–2
8LOct 24, 19963–6 @ Buffalo Sabres3–3–2
9WOct 26, 19966–5 Philadelphia Flyers4–3–2
10LOct 28, 19964–5 OT Phoenix Coyotes4–4–2
11LOct 30, 19963–5 @ Detroit Red Wings4–5–2
12LNov 2, 19963–4 OT @ San Jose Sharks4–6–2
13TNov 3, 19964–4 OT @ Phoenix Coyotes4–6–3
14WNov 6, 19966–5 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim5–6–3
15LNov 7, 19961–4 @ Los Angeles Kings5–7–3
16LNov 9, 19962–5 @ Colorado Avalanche5–8–3
17WNov 11, 19963–2 OT Edmonton Oilers6–8–3
18LNov 13, 19963–5 Florida Panthers6–9–3
19LNov 15, 19961–3 @ Washington Capitals6–10–3
20WNov 16, 19966–1 Vancouver Canucks7–10–3
21LNov 20, 19961–3 @ Hartford Whalers7–11–3
22WNov 21, 19966–2 @ Boston Bruins8–11–3
23WNov 23, 19964–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs9–11–3
24WNov 25, 19964–2 Tampa Bay Lightning10–11–3
25TNov 27, 19962–2 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins10–11–4
26LNov 30, 19960–2 Washington Capitals10–12–4
27LDec 1, 19962–6 @ New York Rangers10–13–4
28LDec 4, 19963–4 Boston Bruins10–14–4
29WDec 6, 19963–1 @ Chicago Blackhawks11–14–4
30WDec 7, 19963–2 Chicago Blackhawks12–14–4
31LDec 11, 19962–3 OT Buffalo Sabres12–15–4
32TDec 14, 19963–3 OT @ New Jersey Devils12–15–5
33LDec 16, 19962–4 Tampa Bay Lightning12–16–5
34LDec 21, 19962–3 OT New York Rangers12–17–5
35LDec 23, 19960–6 Ottawa Senators12–18–5
36TDec 26, 19963–3 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins12–18–6
37TDec 28, 19964–4 OT @ Tampa Bay Lightning12–18–7
38WDec 29, 19962–1 @ Florida Panthers13–18–7
39WJan 1, 19976–4 @ Dallas Stars14–18–7
40TJan 2, 19972–2 OT @ St. Louis Blues14–18–8
41WJan 4, 19973–1 New York Islanders15–18–8
42WJan 6, 19975–4 Hartford Whalers16–18–8
43LJan 9, 19974–5 @ Boston Bruins16–19–8
44WJan 11, 19976–3 Boston Bruins17–19–8
45LJan 13, 19971–2 Dallas Stars17–20–8
46LJan 14, 19972–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers17–21–8
47WJan 20, 19974–1 Detroit Red Wings18–21–8
48LJan 22, 19971–6 @ Buffalo Sabres18–22–8
49LJan 25, 19971–8 St. Louis Blues18–23–8
50LJan 26, 19972–5 Pittsburgh Penguins18–24–8
51LJan 28, 19971–5 @ Florida Panthers18–25–8
52WJan 30, 19974–1 @ Tampa Bay Lightning19–25–8
53TFeb 1, 19974–4 OT New Jersey Devils19–25–9
54TFeb 3, 19972–2 OT Florida Panthers19–25–10
55LFeb 5, 19973–6 Pittsburgh Penguins19–26–10
56LFeb 6, 19975–9 @ Philadelphia Flyers19–27–10
57WFeb 8, 19973–2 OT Hartford Whalers20–27–10
58WFeb 10, 19974–2 San Jose Sharks21–27–10
59TFeb 12, 19972–2 OT @ Buffalo Sabres21–27–11
60LFeb 15, 19971–4 New Jersey Devils21–28–11
61WFeb 17, 19974–1 @ New York Islanders22–28–11
62LFeb 22, 19971–5 Toronto Maple Leafs22–29–11
63WFeb 25, 19974–2 @ Vancouver Canucks23–29–11
64LFeb 28, 19972–3 @ Calgary Flames23–30–11
65WMar 1, 19975–4 @ Edmonton Oilers24–30–11
66LMar 5, 19973–7 Colorado Avalanche24–31–11
67LMar 7, 19970–2 @ Hartford Whalers24–32–11
68TMar 8, 19973–3 OT Buffalo Sabres24–32–12
69TMar 10, 19972–2 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins24–32–13
70WMar 13, 19973–0 @ Boston Bruins25–32–13
71TMar 15, 19972–2 OT Ottawa Senators25–32–14
72WMar 19, 19975–4 @ New York Rangers26–32–14
73LMar 22, 19971–3 Washington Capitals26–33–14
74WMar 24, 19973–1 Boston Bruins27–33–14
75WMar 26, 19978–5 Pittsburgh Penguins28–33–14
76LMar 29, 19972–5 @ Ottawa Senators28–34–14
77WApr 2, 19974–1 @ Hartford Whalers29–34–14
78LApr 5, 19971–4 Hartford Whalers29–35–14
79WApr 7, 19972–1 New York Islanders30–35–14
80WApr 9, 19973–1 @ New York Islanders31–35–14
81LApr 10, 19972–3 @ Washington Capitals31–36–14
82TApr 12, 19973–3 OT Philadelphia Flyers31–36–15

Playoffs

In the first game of the series against New Jersey, on April 17, 1997, with the Devils up by two goals late in the game, Martin Brodeur fired the puck the length of the ice and into the Canadiens' empty net to ensure a 5-2 victory. It was only the second time in NHL history that a goaltender had scored in the playoffs, and the fifth time overall.[4]

Eastern Conference Quarter-finals vs. New Jersey Devils

Montreal vs. New Jersey
Date Away Home Scores OT
April 17 Montreal New Jersey 5 – 2
April 19 Montreal New Jersey 4 – 1
April 22 New Jersey Montreal 6 – 4
April 24 New Jersey Montreal 4 – 3 3OT
April 26 Montreal New Jersey 4 – 0
New Jersey wins series 4–1

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Damphousse, VincentVincent Damphousse C 82 27 54 81 82-6723
Recchi, MarkMark Recchi RW 82 34 46 80 58-1723
Savage, BrianBrian Savage LW 81 23 37 60 39-14502
Koivu, SakuSaku Koivu C 50 17 39 56 387503
Rucinsky, MartinMartin Rucinsky LW 70 28 27 55 621633
Richer, StephaneStephane Richer RW 63 22 24 46 320202
Bure, ValeriValeri Bure RW 64 14 21 35 64402
Malakhov, VladimirVladimir Malakhov D 65 10 20 30 433501
Brunet, BenoitBenoit Brunet LW 39 10 13 23 146202
Quintal, StephaneStephane Quintal D 71 7 15 22 1001100
Stevenson, TurnerTurner Stevenson RW 65 8 13 21 97-14100
Corson, ShayneShayne Corson LW 47 6 15 21 80-5202
Thornton, ScottScott Thornton LW 73 10 10 20 128-19111
Tucker, DarcyDarcy Tucker RW 73 7 13 20 110-5103
Bureau, MarcMarc Bureau C 43 6 9 15 164112
Wilkie, DavidDavid Wilkie D 61 6 9 15 63-9300
Brisebois, PatricePatrice Brisebois D 49 2 13 15 24-7001
Popovic, PeterPeter Popovic D 78 1 13 14 329000
Bordeleau, SebastienSebastien Bordeleau C 28 2 9 11 2-3000
Turgeon, PierrePierre Turgeon C 9 1 10 11 24000
Cullimore, JassenJassen Cullimore D 49 2 6 8 424011
Murray, ChrisChris Murray RW 56 4 2 6 114-8000
Baron, MurrayMurray Baron D 60 1 5 6 107-16000
Rivet, CraigCraig Rivet D 35 0 4 4 547000
Manson, DaveDave Manson D 9 1 1 2 23-1000
Houde, EricEric Houde C 13 0 2 2 21000
Fitzpatrick, RoryRory Fitzpatrick D 6 0 1 1 6-2000
Brashear, DonaldDonald Brashear LW 10 0 0 0 38-2000
Brown, BradBrad Brown D 8 0 0 0 22-1000
Groleau, FrancoisFrancois Groleau D 5 0 0 0 40000
Jablonski, PatPat Jablonski G 17 0 0 0 00000
Ling, DavidDavid Ling RW 2 0 0 0 00000
Ryan, TerryTerry Ryan LW 3 0 0 0 00000
Sevigny, PierrePierre Sevigny LW 13 0 0 0 50000
Theodore, JoseJose Theodore G 16 0 0 0 00000
Thibault, JocelynJocelyn Thibault G 61 0 0 0 00000
Vokoun, TomasTomas Vokoun G 1 0 0 0 00000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Thibault, JocelynJocelyn Thibault 3397 61 22 24 11 164 2.90 118151651.910
Theodore, JoseJose Theodore 821 16 5 6 2 53 3.87 0508455.896
Jablonski, PatPat Jablonski 754 17 4 6 2 50 3.98 0438388.886
Vokoun, TomasTomas Vokoun 20 1 0 0 0 4 12.00 01410.714
Team: 4992 82 31 36 15 271 3.26 127752504.902

Playoffs

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Recchi, MarkMark Recchi RW 5 4 2 6 2000
Brunet, BenoitBenoit Brunet LW 4 1 3 4 4010
Koivu, SakuSaku Koivu C 5 1 3 4 10000
Brisebois, PatricePatrice Brisebois D 3 1 1 2 24001
Savage, BrianBrian Savage LW 5 1 1 2 0000
Stevenson, TurnerTurner Stevenson RW 5 1 1 2 2000
Corson, ShayneShayne Corson LW 5 1 0 1 4010
Thornton, ScottScott Thornton LW 5 1 0 1 2000
Bure, ValeriValeri Bure RW 5 0 1 1 2000
Quintal, StephaneStephane Quintal D 5 0 1 1 6000
Rivet, CraigCraig Rivet D 5 0 1 1 14000
Cullimore, JassenJassen Cullimore D 2 0 0 0 2000
Damphousse, VincentVincent Damphousse C 5 0 0 0 2000
Malakhov, VladimirVladimir Malakhov D 5 0 0 0 6000
Manson, DaveDave Manson D 5 0 0 0 17000
Popovic, PeterPeter Popovic D 3 0 0 0 2000
Richer, StephaneStephane Richer RW 5 0 0 0 0000
Rucinsky, MartinMartin Rucinsky LW 5 0 0 0 4000
Theodore, JoseJose Theodore G 2 0 0 0 0000
Thibault, JocelynJocelyn Thibault G 3 0 0 0 0000
Tucker, DarcyDarcy Tucker RW 4 0 0 0 0000
Wilkie, DavidDavid Wilkie D 2 0 0 0 2000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Theodore, JoseJose Theodore 168 2 1 1 7 2.50 0108101.935
Thibault, JocelynJocelyn Thibault 179 3 0 3 13 4.36 010188.871
Team: 347 5 1 4 20 3.46 0209189.904

[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;

Draft picks

Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club Team
1 18 Matt Higgins Center  Canada Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
2 44 Mathieu Garon Goalie  Canada Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
3 71 Arron Asham Right Wing  Canada Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
4 92 Kim Staal Left Wing  Denmark Malmö IF (Sweden)
4 99 Etienne Drapeau Center  Canada Beauport Harfangs (QMJHL)
5 127 Daniel Archambault Defence  Canada Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL)
6 154 Brett Clark Defenceman  Canada University of Maine (NCAA)
7 181 Timo Vertala Left Wing  Finland JYP (Finland)
8 207 Mattia Baldi Left Wing   Switzerland Ambri-Piotta (Swiss)
9 233 Michel Tremblay Left Wing  Canada Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/199610160MTL.html
  2. ↑ http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1997.html
  3. ↑ "1996-1997 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  4. ↑ "Martin Brodeur - Facts". MartinBrodeur.net. Retrieved 2006-12-31.
  5. ↑ "1996-97 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
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