1976–77 Montreal Canadiens season
The 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens season was the Canadiens' 68th season. The team is regarded to be the greatest NHL team ever composed. The Canadiens won their 20th Stanley Cup in 1976–77, taking the NHL championship. Montreal set new records for most wins (60) and points (132) in a season. Those records were not broken until the re-introduction of regular season overtime and the extension of the schedule to 82 games. The 1976–77 Canadiens continue to hold the all-time records for regulation wins as well as points per game (1.650). They outscored their opponents by 216 goals (also a league record), a differential average of 2.7 goals per game.
| 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens | |
|---|---|
Stanley Cup champions | |
Wales Conference champions | |
Norris Division champions | |
| Division | 1st Norris |
| Conference | 1st Wales |
| 1976–77 record | 60–8–12 |
| Home record | 33–1–6 |
| Road record | 27–7–6 |
| Goals for | 387 |
| Goals against | 171 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Sam Pollock |
| Coach | Scotty Bowman |
| Captain | Yvan Cournoyer |
| Alternate captains | None |
| Arena | Montreal Forum |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Steve Shutt (60) |
| Assists | Guy Lafleur (80) |
| Points | Guy Lafleur (136) |
| Penalty minutes | Doug Risebrough (132) |
| Wins | Ken Dryden (41) |
| Goals against average | Michel Larocque (2.09) |
Of the 24 players on the roster, 14 were drafted by the Canadiens: Pierre Bouchard, Rick Chartraw, Brian Engblom, Bob Gainey, Réjean Houle, Guy Lafleur, Michel Larocque, Pierre Mondou, Bill Nyrop, Doug Risebrough, Larry Robinson, Steve Shutt, Mario Tremblay, and Murray Wilson. The only player on the roster not developed by the Canadiens was Peter Mahovlich.
Montreal lost only eight games, a modern-era record that has never been tied or broken even when counting only regulation losses and including lockout and pandemic-shortened seasons. They earned at least a point in 72 games, which also still stands as an all-time record.
The Canadiens earned their 100th point in the 62nd game of the season with a victory over the Atlanta Flames on February 23, 1977. This was an NHL record for fastest team to 100 points for 45 seasons.