1979 Stanley Cup Finals

1979 Stanley Cup Finals
12345 Total
Montreal Canadiens 16444 4
New York Rangers 42131 1
* indicates periods of overtime
Location(s) Montreal, QC (Montreal Forum) (1,2,5)
New York, NY (Madison Square Garden) (3,4)
Coaches Montreal: Scotty Bowman
New York: Fred Shero
Captains Montreal: Yvan Cournoyer
New York: Dave Maloney
Dates May 13 to 21, 1979
MVP Bob Gainey (Canadiens)
Series-winning goal Jacques Lemaire (1:02, second, G5)
Networks CBC (Canada-English), NHL Network (United States)
Announcers Dan Kelly, Danny Gallivan, Dick Irvin, and Gary Dornhoefer (CBC and NHL Network)

The 1979 Stanley Cup Finals NHL championship series was contested by the New York Rangers and the defending champion Montreal Canadiens, making their fourth straight appearance. It was New York's first appearance since 1972. The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven series four games to one, to win their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup.[1]

This was the last Stanley Cup Final until 2013 where both teams were from the Original Six, and the first of six consecutive Finals involving a team from the New York metropolitan area. The next five Finals would be contested by the Rangers' crosstown rivals the New York Islanders, who would win the first four of those series to forge a dynasty matching that of the Canadiens. By defeating the Rangers, the Canadiens completed the rare accomplishment of winning four consecutive titles in a North American league competition consisting of at least sixteen teams, a feat that had been achieved only twice before (both times by the New York Yankees) and has been achieved only once since (by the aforementioned Islanders).

Paths to the Finals

Montreal defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–0 and the Boston Bruins 4–3 (highlighted by the "too many men on the ice" game seven overtime win) to advance to the Final.

New York defeated the Los Angeles Kings 2–0, the Philadelphia Flyers 4–1 and the New York Islanders 4–2 to make it to the finals.

Game summaries

The Canadiens won the Cup in five games, winning it on home ice for the first time since 1968.[2] After the game Jacques Lemaire, Yvan Cournoyer and Ken Dryden retired, while head coach Scotty Bowman would leave the Canadiens to join the Buffalo Sabres, which would mark the end of the Canadiens' dynasty.

This Final marked the second time in four years that Bowman and Fred Shero coached against each other. In 1976, they coached against each other, though Shero was with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Date Visitors Score Home Score Notes
Sun, May 13 New York4 Montreal 1
Tue, May 15 New York2 Montreal 6
Thu, May 17 Montreal4New York 1
Sat, May 19 Montreal4 New York 3 OT
Mon, May 21 New York1 Montreal 4

Montreal wins the series 4–1.

Game one

May 13New York Rangers4 – 1
2 – 0, 2 – 1, 0 – 0
Montreal CanadiensMontreal Forum
Attendance: 17,005

Montreal Canadiens 1979 Stanley Cup champions

Players

  Centres
  Wingers
  Defencemen
  Goaltenders

Coaching and administrative staff:

Stanley Cup engraving

Members of Montreal Canadiens 1976 to 1979 dynasty

Rick Chartraw, Yvan Cournoyer, Ken Dryden, Bob Gainey, Doug Jarvis, Guy Lafleur, Yvon Lambert, Guy Lapointe, Michel Larocque, Jacques Lemaire, Doug Risebrough, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Steve Shutt, Mario Tremblay,(15 Players), Jacques Courtois, Sam Pollock, Jean Beliveau, Scotty Bowman, Claude Ruel, Eddie Palchak, Pierre Meilleur, Ron Caron, Floyd Curry (9 Non-Players)

Broadcasting

The Stanley Cup Finals were produced by CBC, who carried the game in Canada, and were shown in the United States on the NHL's syndicated package. Danny Gallivan and Dan Kelly split play-by-play, while Dick Irvin, Jr. and Gary Dornhoefer served as color commentators, Dick Irvin, Jr. as host in Montreal Dave Hodge as host in New York, and Howie Meeker as studio analyst. ABC was contracted to televise game seven.[3][4] Since the Finals ended in five games, the contract was void.[5]

See also

References

  1. "Canadiens do it again". St Petersburg Times (Page 21). May 22, 1979. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  2. Jenish, D’Arcy (2009). The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory. Doubleday. p. 234. ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0.
  3. Associated Press (May 13, 1979). "NHL, ABC-TV Agree". Reading Eagle. p. 89.
  4. "May 26 Selected For a 7th Game". New York Times. May 13, 1979. p. S4.
  5. Ramsay, Donald (May 22, 1979). "Montreal win kills ABC TV deal but Ziegler feels pact is on way". The Globe and Mail. p. P35.
Bibliography
Preceded by
Montreal Canadiens
1978
Montreal Canadiens
Stanley Cup Champions

1979
Succeeded by
New York Islanders
1980
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