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1974–75 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1974–75 Montreal Canadiens season was the 66th season in team history. The Montreal Canadiens were eliminated in the semi-finals against the Buffalo Sabres four games to two. Henri Richard would play his final season with the club.

Offseason

Frank Mahovlich left the Canadiens, signing with the Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association (WHA). Jacques Laperriere retired, he and Scotty Bowman unable to get along.[1] Ken Dryden returned to the club after his law articling.[2]

Regular season

Henri Richard entered his 20th season with the Canadiens, but his health was failing. He played 16 games before fracturing his left ankle on November 13, 1974, in a game against Buffalo and did not play again until the spring.[1]

Guy Lafleur had a break-out season, breaking the Canadiens' goal-scoring record of 50 goals held by Maurice Richard and Bernie Geoffrion. Lafleur finished with 53 goals and 119 points.[2] Lafleur finally realized his potential despite a slow start to the season and missing 10 games in mid-season with an injury.

Final standings

Norris Division[3]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Montreal Canadiens 80 47 14 19 374 225 +149 113
2 Los Angeles Kings 80 42 17 21 269 185 +84 105
3 Pittsburgh Penguins 80 37 28 15 326 289 +37 89
4 Detroit Red Wings 80 23 45 12 259 335 −76 58
5 Washington Capitals 80 8 67 5 181 446 −265 21


Record vs. opponents

Norris Division record vs. opponents


Schedule and results

1974–75 regular season[5]
October
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
1 T October 9, 1974 5–5 New York Islanders (1974–75) 0–0–1
2 T October 12, 1974 4–4 Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) 0–0–2
3 L October 15, 1974 3–6 @ New York Islanders (1974–75) 0–1–2
4 L October 17, 1974 2–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1974–75) 0–2–2
5 W October 19, 1974 5–1 California Golden Seals (1974–75) 1–2–2
6 T October 20, 1974 2–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) 1–2–3
7 W October 23, 1974 3–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) 2–2–3
8 W October 26, 1974 4–2 Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) 3–2–3
9 L October 27, 1974 2–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) 3–3–3
10 T October 30, 1974 4–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) 3–3–4
11 W October 31, 1974 3–0 @ Washington Capitals (1974–75) 4–3–4
November
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
12 L November 2, 1974 0–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) 4–4–4
13 W November 4, 1974 6–1 Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) 5–4–4
14 T November 6, 1974 4–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) 5–4–5
15 W November 9, 1974 4–3 Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) 6–4–5
16 W November 10, 1974 11–1 @ Washington Capitals (1974–75) 7–4–5
17 L November 13, 1974 6–8 Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) 7–5–5
18 W November 14, 1974 4–1 @ Boston Bruins (1974–75) 8–5–5
19 T November 16, 1974 4–4 New York Rangers (1974–75) 8–5–6
20 W November 18, 1974 9–4 Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) 9–5–6
21 T November 20, 1974 3–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) 9–5–7
22 W November 22, 1974 7–6 @ Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) 10–5–7
23 L November 24, 1974 4–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) 10–6–7
24 W November 27, 1974 3–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) 11–6–7
25 W November 30, 1974 7–1 St. Louis Blues (1974–75) 12–6–7
December
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
26 W December 2, 1974 2–0 Atlanta Flames (1974–75) 13–6–7
27 T December 4, 1974 4–4 Boston Bruins (1974–75) 13–6–8
28 W December 7, 1974 5–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) 14–6–8
29 T December 8, 1974 3–3 @ New York Rangers (1974–75) 14–6–9
30 W December 10, 1974 5–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) 15–6–9
31 T December 12, 1974 3–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) 15–6–10
32 W December 14, 1974 5–3 California Golden Seals (1974–75) 16–6–10
33 W December 18, 1974 4–3 @ California Golden Seals (1974–75) 17–6–10
34 W December 20, 1974 6–1 @ Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) 18–6–10
35 T December 21, 1974 2–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) 18–6–11
36 W December 27, 1974 7–1 Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) 19–6–11
37 W December 28, 1974 7–2 Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) 20–6–11
January
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
38 T January 2, 1975 1–1 @ Atlanta Flames (1974–75) 20–6–12
39 W January 4, 1975 10–0 Washington Capitals (1974–75) 21–6–12
40 W January 5, 1975 6–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) 22–6–12
41 T January 8, 1975 4–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) 22–6–13
42 W January 11, 1975 6–0 Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) 23–6–13
43 W January 12, 1975 7–2 @ Washington Capitals (1974–75) 24–6–13
44 W January 15, 1975 5–3 Boston Bruins (1974–75) 25–6–13
45 L January 18, 1975 3–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) 25–7–13
46 L January 19, 1975 3–6 Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) 25–8–13
47 W January 23, 1975 7–0 @ Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) 26–8–13
48 L January 25, 1975 6–7 Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) 26–9–13
49 W January 26, 1975 7–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) 27–9–13
50 W January 28, 1975 3–1 @ Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) 28–9–13
February
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
51 W February 1, 1975 5–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) 29–9–13
52 W February 2, 1975 5–1 @ California Golden Seals (1974–75) 30–9–13
53 W February 5, 1975 8–5 Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) 31–9–13
54 W February 8, 1975 7–1 New York Rangers (1974–75) 32–9–13
55 T February 9, 1975 4–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) 32–9–14
56 T February 12, 1975 2–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) 32–9–15
57 W February 15, 1975 12–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) 33–9–15
58 W February 16, 1975 6–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) 34–9–15
59 T February 18, 1975 4–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1974–75) 34–9–16
60 W February 20, 1975 6–3 @ Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) 35–9–16
61 L February 22, 1975 6–7 New York Islanders (1974–75) 35–10–16
62 W February 26, 1975 4–3 Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) 36–10–16
March
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
63 L March 1, 1975 3–4 St. Louis Blues (1974–75) 36–11–16
64 W March 3, 1975 4–2 California Golden Seals (1974–75) 37–11–16
65 W March 5, 1975 4–3 @ Atlanta Flames (1974–75) 38–11–16
66 W March 7, 1975 8–4 Washington Capitals (1974–75) 39–11–16
67 W March 9, 1975 5–3 @ New York Rangers (1974–75) 40–11–16
68 T March 12, 1975 3–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) 40–11–17
69 W March 15, 1975 3–0 Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) 41–11–17
70 W March 17, 1975 5–1 Atlanta Flames (1974–75) 42–11–17
71 W March 19, 1975 2–1 Boston Bruins (1974–75) 43–11–17
72 L March 22, 1975 4–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) 43–12–17
73 L March 23, 1975 1–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) 43–13–17
74 T March 25, 1975 3–3 @ New York Islanders (1974–75) 43–13–18
75 L March 26, 1975 4–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) 43–14–18
76 W March 29, 1975 4–1 Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) 44–14–18
77 T March 30, 1975 2–2 @ Boston Bruins (1974–75) 44–14–19
April
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
78 W April 2, 1975 6–0 Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) 45–14–19
79 W April 5, 1975 10–2 Washington Capitals (1974–75) 46–14–19
80 W April 6, 1975 4–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) 47–14–19

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Guy Lafleur RW 70 53 66 119 37 52 15 2 11
Pete Mahovlich C 80 35 82 117 64 41 13 1 3
Jacques Lemaire C 80 36 56 92 20 25 12 0 8
Guy Lapointe D 80 28 47 75 88 46 11 1 0
Yvan Cournoyer RW 76 29 45 74 32 15 11 0 2
Yvon Lambert LW 80 32 35 67 74 26 10 0 3
Steve Shutt LW 77 30 35 65 40 40 3 0 5
Larry Robinson D 80 14 47 61 76 61 1 0 2
Serge Savard D 80 20 40 60 64 71 7 1 2
Doug Risebrough C 64 15 32 47 198 27 2 0 2
Murray Wilson LW 73 24 18 42 44 13 4 0 6
Mario Tremblay RW 63 21 18 39 108 23 0 0 1
Bob Gainey LW 80 17 20 37 49 23 1 0 2
Jim Roberts D/RW 79 5 13 18 52 18 0 2 0
Glen Sather LW 63 6 10 16 44 14 0 1 0
Henri Richard C 16 3 10 13 4 9 0 0 0
Pierre Bouchard D 79 3 9 12 65 24 0 0 0
Don Awrey D 56 1 11 12 58 21 0 0 0
Claude Larose RW 8 1 2 3 6 −2 0 0 0
Chuck Lefley LW 18 1 2 3 4 0 0 0 0
Ken Dryden G 56 0 3 3 2 0 0 0 0
John Van Boxmeer D 9 0 2 2 0 −1 0 0 0
Glenn Goldup RW 9 0 1 1 2 −1 0 0 0
Michel Larocque G 25 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Ron Andruff C 5 0 0 0 2 −1 0 0 0
Rick Chartraw D/RW 12 0 0 0 6 −4 0 0 0

Goaltending

Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Ken Dryden 3320 56 30 9 16 149 2.69 4
Michel Larocque 1480 25 17 5 3 74 3.00 3
Team: 4800 80 47 14 19 223 2.79 7

Playoffs

Scoring

Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Guy Lafleur RW 11 12 7 19 15 4 0 4
Pete Mahovlich C 11 6 10 16 10 1 0 1
Jacques Lemaire C 11 5 7 12 4 1 0 0
Yvan Cournoyer RW 11 5 6 11 4 2 0 0
Guy Lapointe D 11 6 4 10 4 3 1 0
Doug Risebrough C 11 3 5 8 37 0 0 0
Serge Savard D 11 1 7 8 2 0 0 0
Steve Shutt LW 9 1 6 7 4 0 0 0
Yvon Lambert LW 11 4 2 6 0 2 0 0
Bob Gainey LW 11 2 4 6 4 0 0 1
Don Awrey D 11 0 6 6 12 0 0 0
Jim Roberts D/RW 11 2 2 4 2 0 0 0
Larry Robinson D 11 0 4 4 27 0 0 0
Henri Richard C 6 1 2 3 4 0 0 0
Murray Wilson LW 5 0 3 3 4 0 0 0
Glen Sather LW 11 1 1 2 4 0 0 0
Pierre Bouchard D 10 0 2 2 10 0 0 0
Mario Tremblay RW 11 0 1 1 7 0 0 0
Ken Dryden G 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Ken Dryden 688 11 6 5 29 2.53 2
Team: 688 11 6 5 29 2.53 2

[6]

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;

Playoffs

The Canadiens' first round opponent was the Vancouver Canucks and the Canadiens won the series in five games to advance to the semi-finals against the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres defeated the Canadiens in six games to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Sabres' checkers were able to shut down the Canadiens' top scorers, while the Canadiens' checkers were not able to contain the Sabres' French Connection line.[2]

Awards and records

Transactions

Following the 1975 playoffs, Henri Richard retired after 20 NHL seasons. Having been the Canadiens captain since 1971, he was succeeded in that post by Yvan Cournoyer.

Draft picks

NHL Draft

See also: 1974 NHL Entry Draft
= NHL All-Star = Hall of Famer
Round Pick Player Nationality College/junior/club team
1 5 Cam Connor  Canada Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
1 7 Doug Risebrough  Canada Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
1 10 Rick Chartraw  United States Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
1 12 Mario Tremblay  Canada Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (OMJHL)
1 15 Gord McTavish  Canada Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)
2 30 Gary MacGregor  Canada Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
2 33 Gilles Lupien  Canada Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL)
3 51 Marty Howe  United States Houston Aeros (WHA)
4 61 Barry Legge  Canada Winnipeg Clubs (WCHL)
4 69 Mike McKegney  Canada Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
6 105 John Stewart  Canada Bowling Green University (CCHA)
7 123 Joe Micheletti  United States University of Minnesota (WCHA)
8 140 Jamie Hislop  Canada University of New Hampshire (ECAC)
9 157 Gordon Stewart  Canada Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL)
10 172 Chuck Luksa  Canada Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
11 187 Cliff Cox  Canada University of New Hampshire (ECAC)
12 199 Dave Lumley  Canada University of New Hampshire (ECAC)
13 209 Mike Hobin  Canada Hamilton Fincups (OMJHL)

Citations

  1. ^ a b Jenish(2008), p. 220.
  2. ^ a b c Jenish(2008), p. 221.
  3. ^ "1974-1975 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  4. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  5. ^ "1974-75 Montreal Canadiens Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  6. ^ "1974-75 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.

References