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1990–91 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1990–91 Montreal Canadiens season was the Canadiens' 82nd season. The Canadiens finished second in both the division and the conference to the Boston Bruins. Montreal defeated the Buffalo Sabres in the first round before losing to Boston in the Adams Division Finals in seven games.

Offseason

Co-Captain Chris Chelios was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for Denis Savard, in August 1990. With Chelios' departure, Guy Carbonneau continued as Canadiens captain.

Mats Naslund resumes his playing career in Europe. Veteran forwards Brian Skrudland and Mike McPhee are named alternate captains.

NHL Draft

Montreal's draft picks at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft held at the BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 12 Turner Stevenson  Canada Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
2 39 Ryan Kuwabara  Canada Ottawa 67's (OHL)
3 58 Charles Poulin  Canada Saint-Hyacinthe Laser (QMJHL)
3 60 Robert Guillet  Canada Longueuil College Francais (QMJHL)
4 81 Gilbert Dionne  Canada Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
5 102 Paul DiPietro  Canada Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
6 123 Craig Conroy  United States Northwood School (USHS-NY)
7 144 Stephen Rohr  United States Culver Military Academy (USHS-IN)
8 165 Brent Fleetwood  Canada Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
9 186 Derek Maguire  United States Delbarton School (USHS-NJ)
10 207 Mark Kettelhut  United States East High School (USHS-MN)
11 228 John Uniac  Canada Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
12 249 Sergei Martinyuk  Soviet Union Torpedo Yaroslavl (USSR)
S 23 Bruce Coles  Canada Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC)

Regular season

In terms of injuries, Patrick Roy missed the most games due to injury during the 90–91 season. Backup goalies Andre Racicot and Jean-Claude Bergeron appeared in 25 games.

  • December 12, 1990: Petr Svoboda and Toronto Maple Leafs winger Wendel Clark fell on Patrick Roy's left knee.[1] Roy suffered strained ligaments.
  • January 27, 1991: Donald Dufresne checked Bruins right winger Graeme Townshend. He fell on Patrick Roy's left ankle. Roy suffered a ruptured ligament and missed fourteen games.[2] Roy would re-injure the ankle on March 16.

The Canadiens finished the regular season as the league's most disciplined team, being short-handed only 282 times.[3]

Final standings

Adams Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Boston Bruins 80 44 24 12 299 264 100
Montreal Canadiens 80 39 30 11 273 249 89
Buffalo Sabres 80 31 30 19 292 278 81
Hartford Whalers 80 31 38 11 238 276 73
Quebec Nordiques 80 16 50 14 236 354 46

[4]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Wales Conference[5]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 Boston Bruins ADM 80 44 24 12 299 264 100
2 Montreal Canadiens ADM 80 39 30 11 273 249 89
3 Pittsburgh Penguins PTK 80 41 33 6 342 305 88
4 New York Rangers PTK 80 36 31 13 297 265 85
5 Washington Capitals PTK 80 37 36 7 258 258 81
6 Buffalo Sabres ADM 80 31 30 19 292 278 81
7 New Jersey Devils PTK 80 32 33 15 272 264 79
8 Philadelphia Flyers PTK 80 33 37 10 252 267 76
9 Hartford Whalers ADM 80 31 38 11 238 276 73
10 New York Islanders PTK 80 25 45 10 223 290 60
11 Quebec Nordiques ADM 80 16 50 14 236 354 46

Divisions: PTK – Patrick, ADM – Adams

bold – Qualified for playoffs


Playoffs

The Montreal Canadiens were eliminated in the Adams Division final by the Boston Bruins, four games to three.

Schedule and results

1990–91 regular season[6]
October
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
1 T October 4, 1990 3–3 OT @ Buffalo Sabres 0–0–1
2 W October 6, 1990 6–5 Buffalo Sabres 1–0–1
4 L October 12, 1990 0–3 @ New York Rangers 2–1–1
5 L October 13, 1990 2–5 @ Hartford Whalers 2–2–1
6 W October 15, 1990 3–1 Washington Capitals 3–2–1
7 W October 17, 1990 4–3 @ Buffalo Sabres 4–2–1
8 L October 18, 1990 2–5 @ Detroit Red Wings 4–3–1
9 L October 20, 1990 3–5 Philadelphia Flyers 4–4–1
10 W October 23, 1990 5–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 5–4–1
11 W October 24, 1990 8–2 New York Islanders 6–4–1
12 L October 27, 1990 0–3 @ St. Louis Blues 6–5–1
13 L October 28, 1990 1–2 OT @ Chicago Blackhawks 6–6–1
14 W October 31, 1990 4–2 @ Hartford Whalers 7–6–1
November
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
15 W November 3, 1990 5–2 Detroit Red Wings 8–6–1
16 T November 4, 1990 2–2 OT Minnesota North Stars 8–6–2
17 L November 7, 1990 0–2 Boston Bruins 8–7–2
18 W November 10, 1990 3–1 New Jersey Devils 9–7–2
19 W November 11, 1990 5–4 OT Quebec Nordiques 10–7–2
20 L November 13, 1990 3–6 @ New Jersey Devils 10–8–2
21 L November 15, 1990 1–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers 10–9–2
22 T November 17, 1990 1–1 OT @ Boston Bruins 10–9–3
23 W November 19, 1990 5–2 @ Quebec Nordiques 11–9–3
24 L November 24, 1990 2–4 Los Angeles Kings 11–10–3
25 W November 25, 1990 4–3 Winnipeg Jets 12–10–3
26 L November 28, 1990 1–2 Buffalo Sabres 12–11–3
27 W November 30, 1990 4–3 @ Washington Capitals 13–11–3
December
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
28 L December 1, 1990 3–5 Calgary Flames 13–12–3
29 L December 3, 1990 2–4 Hartford Whalers 13–13–3
30 W December 5, 1990 4–3 @ Hartford Whalers 14–13–3
31 W December 6, 1990 6–4 @ Boston Bruins 15–13–3
32 W December 8, 1990 7–1 Boston Bruins 16–13–3
33 L December 12, 1990 1–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 16–14–3
34 L December 15, 1990 2–4 @ Winnipeg Jets 16–15–3
35 L December 18, 1990 4–6 @ Quebec Nordiques 16–16–3
36 T December 19, 1990 1–1 OT Quebec Nordiques 16–16–4
37 W December 22, 1990 3–1 New York Rangers 17–16–4
38 T December 23, 1990 4–4 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers 17–16–5
39 W December 27, 1990 7–5 @ Vancouver Canucks 18–16–5
40 W December 29, 1990 3–2 @ Los Angeles Kings 19–16–5
41 L December 31, 1990 2–7 @ Calgary Flames 19–17–5
January
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
42 W January 2, 1991 3–0 @ Edmonton Oilers 20–17–5
43 W January 5, 1991 3–0 Quebec Nordiques 21–17–5
44 W January 6, 1991 6–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 22–17–5
45 W January 9, 1991 4–3 OT New York Islanders 23–17–5
46 W January 12, 1991 4–1 Washington Capitals 24–17–5
47 L January 13, 1991 1–3 St. Louis Blues 24–18–5
48 W January 15, 1991 5–1 @ Minnesota North Stars 25–18–5
49 W January 17, 1991 4–2 @ St. Louis Blues 26–18–5
50 W January 23, 1991 7–3 Toronto Maple Leafs 27–18–5
51 W January 26, 1991 4–1 Buffalo Sabres 28–18–5
52 L January 27, 1991 1–3 Boston Bruins 28–19–5
53 W January 30, 1991 8–4 Winnipeg Jets 29–19–5
54 L January 31, 1991 2–5 @ Boston Bruins 29–20–5
February
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
55 T February 2, 1991 3–3 OT @ New York Islanders 29–20–6
56 W February 4, 1991 5–3 Minnesota North Stars 30–20–6
57 L February 6, 1991 3–8 Chicago Blackhawks 30–21–6
58 W February 7, 1991 5–1 @ Quebec Nordiques 31–21–6
59 W February 9, 1991 6–4 New York Rangers 32–21–6
60 L February 13, 1991 4–7 Boston Bruins 32–22–6
61 T February 15, 1991 2–2 OT @ Buffalo Sabres 32–22–7
62 L February 16, 1991 1–2 Hartford Whalers 32–23–7
63 L February 20, 1991 3–5 @ Hartford Whalers 32–24–7
64 T February 23, 1991 3–3 OT Toronto Maple Leafs 32–24–8
65 L February 27, 1991 3–5 @ Detroit Red Wings 32–25–8
March
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
66 W March 1, 1991 7–1 @ Vancouver Canucks 33–25–8
67 W March 2, 1991 3–1 @ Edmonton Oilers 34–25–8
68 L March 4, 1991 2–3 OT @ Calgary Flames 34–26–8
69 W March 6, 1991 5–3 @ Chicago Blackhawks 35–26–8
70 W March 9, 1991 4–2 Vancouver Canucks 36–26–8
71 T March 10, 1991 4–4 OT Los Angeles Kings 36–26–9
72 T March 12, 1991 4–4 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins 36–26–10
73 L March 14, 1991 2–3 @ Boston Bruins 36–27–10
74 W March 16, 1991 6–4 Buffalo Sabres 37–27–10
75 L March 17, 1991 2–4 Edmonton Oilers 37–28–10
76 L March 20, 1991 2–3 OT @ Buffalo Sabres 37–29–10
77 T March 23, 1991 3–3 OT New Jersey Devils 37–29–11
78 W March 25, 1991 3–2 OT Hartford Whalers 38–29–11
79 W March 30, 1991 4–3 Quebec Nordiques 39–29–11
80 L March 31, 1991 1–4 @ Quebec Nordiques 39–30–11

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
Russ Courtnall RW 79 26 50 76 29 5 5 1 5
Stephane Richer RW 75 31 30 61 53 0 9 0 4
Denis Savard C 70 28 31 59 52 -1 7 2 0
Stephan Lebeau C 73 22 31 53 24 4 8 0 2
Shayne Corson LW 71 23 24 47 138 9 7 0 2
Guy Carbonneau C 78 20 24 44 63 -1 4 1 3
Mike McPhee LW 64 22 21 43 56 6 2 0 4
Mike Keane RW 73 13 23 36 50 6 2 1 2
Brian Skrudland C 57 15 19 34 85 12 1 1 2
Mathieu Schneider D 69 10 20 30 63 7 5 0 3
Petr Svoboda D 60 4 22 26 52 5 3 0 1
Eric Desjardins D 62 7 18 25 27 7 0 0 1
Andrew Cassels C 54 6 19 25 20 2 1 0 3
Mark Pederson LW 47 8 15 23 18 3 4 0 2
Sylvain Lefebvre D 63 5 18 23 30 -11 1 0 1
Tom Chorske LW 57 9 11 20 32 -8 3 0 1
J.J. Daigneault D 51 3 16 19 31 -2 2 0 0
Brent Gilchrist LW 51 6 9 15 10 -3 1 0 1
Donald Dufresne D 53 2 13 15 55 5 0 0 0
Sylvain Turgeon LW 19 5 7 12 20 -2 1 0 1
John LeClair LW 10 2 5 7 2 1 0 0 1
Alain Cote D 28 0 6 6 26 8 0 0 0
Todd Ewen RW 28 3 2 5 128 4 0 0 0
Benoit Brunet LW 17 1 3 4 0 -1 0 0 0
Gerald Diduck D 32 1 2 3 39 3 0 0 0
Patrick Lebeau LW 2 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0
Patrice Brisebois D 10 0 2 2 4 1 0 0 0
Lyle Odelein D 52 0 2 2 259 7 0 0 0
Patrick Roy G 48 0 2 2 6 0 0 0 0
Jean-Claude Bergeron G 18 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Andre Racicot G 21 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Ryan Walter C/LW 25 0 1 1 12 -3 0 0 0
Frederic Chabot G 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gilbert Dionne LW 2 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0
Luc Gauthier D 3 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
Mario Roberge LW 5 0 0 0 21 -2 0 0 0

Goaltending

Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Patrick Roy 2835 48 25 15 6 128 2.71 1 1362 1234 .906
Jean-Claude Bergeron 941 18 7 6 2 59 3.76 0 426 367 .862
Andre Racicot 975 21 7 9 2 52 3.20 1 479 427 .891
Frederic Chabot 108 3 0 0 1 6 3.33 0 45 39 .867
Team: 4859 80 39 30 11 245 3.03 2 2312 2067 .894

Playoffs

Scoring

Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Shayne Corson LW 13 9 6 15 36 4 1 3
Stephane Richer RW 13 9 5 14 6 1 0 1
Brian Skrudland C 13 3 10 13 42 1 0 0
Denis Savard C 13 2 11 13 35 1 0 0
Russ Courtnall RW 13 8 3 11 7 2 2 1
Mathieu Schneider D 13 2 7 9 18 1 0 0
Brent Gilchrist LW 13 5 3 8 6 0 0 1
Mike McPhee LW 13 1 7 8 12 1 0 0
Guy Carbonneau C 13 1 5 6 10 0 0 1
Mike Keane RW 12 3 2 5 6 0 0 0
Eric Desjardins D 13 1 4 5 8 1 0 0
Stephan Lebeau C 7 2 1 3 2 0 0 0
Andrew Cassels C 8 0 2 2 2 0 0 0
Alain Cote D 11 0 2 2 26 0 0 0
Sylvain Lefebvre D 11 1 0 1 6 0 0 0
J.J. Daigneault D 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Donald Dufresne D 10 0 1 1 21 0 0 0
Petr Svoboda D 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 0
Sean Hill D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
John LeClair LW 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lyle Odelein D 12 0 0 0 54 0 0 0
Andre Racicot G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mario Roberge LW 12 0 0 0 24 0 0 0
Patrick Roy G 13 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Sylvain Turgeon LW 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Ryan Walter C/LW 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0

Goaltending

Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Patrick Roy 785 13 7 5 40 3.06 0 394 354 .898
Andre Racicot 12 2 0 1 2 10.00 0 14 12 .857
Team: 797 13 7 6 42 3.16 0 408 366 .897

[7]

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;

Transactions

  • In November 1990, Brian Hayward was traded to the Minnesota North Stars for defenseman Jayson More.[2]

References

  1. ^ Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.279, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
  2. ^ a b Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.278, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, ISBN 978-0-470-15616-2
  3. ^ "1990-91 NHL Summary".
  4. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  5. ^ "1990–1991 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  6. ^ "1990-91 Montreal Canadiens Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  7. ^ "1990-91 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.