The inaugural Ultimate NHL Playoff Champion ’76-’77 Montreal Canadiens.

• Pierre Bouchard (D)
  • 25 GP   2 G   9 A   11 P   +15   58 S   1 GWG   16 PIM   3 Stars
• Yvan Cournoyer (RW)
  • 25 GP   6 G   3 A   9 P   +1   45 S   2 GWG   0 PIM   6 Stars
• Ken Dryden (G)
  • 25 GP   20-3-2   2.08 GAA   .920 SV%   2 SO   13 Stars
• Bob Gainey (LW)
  • 25 GP   2 G   5 A   7 P   +6   44 S   1 GWG   4 PIM   0 Stars
• Rejean Houle (RW)
  • 25 GP   4 G   2 A   6 P   +6   44 S   0 GWG   2 PIM   2 Stars
• Doug Jarvis (C)
  • 25 GP   4 G   7 A   11 P   +7   32 S   1 GWG   4 PIM   5 Stars
• Guy Lafleur (RW)
  • 25 GP   11 G   25 A   36 P   +22   67 S   2 GWG   2 PIM   11 Stars
• Yvon Lambert (LW)
  • 25 GP   8 G   2 A   10 P   +2   42 S   0 GWG   2 PIM   3 Stars
• Guy Lapointe (D)
  • 25 GP   4 G   9 A   13 P   +2   111 S   0 GWG   10 PIM   5 Stars
• Jacques Lemaire (C)
  • 25 GP   10 G   16 A   26 P   +25   83 S   1 GWG   5 PIM   10 Stars
• Pete Mahovlich (C)
  • 25 GP   2 G   11 A   13 P   Even   76 S   1 GWG   8 PIM   4 Stars
• Bill Nyrop (D)
  • 17 GP   0 G   0 A   0 P   +1   3 S   0 GWG   0 PIM   0 Stars
• Doug Risebrough (C)
  • 25 GP   7 G   6 A   13 P   +5   40 S   0 GWG   12 PIM   2 Stars
• Jimmy Roberts (D)
  • 25 GP   0 G   2 A   2 P   Even   1 S   0 GWG   0 PIM   0 Stars
• Larry Robinson (D)
  • 25 GP   6 G   21 A   27 P   +18   104 S   1 GWG   4 PIM   13 Stars
• Serge Savard (D)
  • 25 GP   8 G   18 A   26 P   +32*   79 S   5 GWG*   12 PIM   8 Stars
• Steve Shutt (LW)
  • 25 GP   17 G   20 A   37 P   +25   100 S   5 GWG*   4 PIM   18 Stars
• Mario Tremblay (RW)
  • 20 GP   0 G   4 A   4 P   +2   27 S   0 GWG   4 PIM   1 Stars
• Murray Wilson (LW)
  • 25 GP   3 G   2 A   5 P   -1   42 S   0 GWG   2 PIM   1 Stars

Bold – Team Best

* – Tournament Best

Team Stats:

• Record: 20-3-2
• Goals Scored: 94
• Goals/Game: 3.76
• Goals Allowed: 52
• Goals Allowed/Game: 2.08
• Shots: 1,001
• Shots Allowed: 646
• Shots/Game: 40.0
• Shots Allowed/Game: 25.8
• # of PP’s: 49
• PPG’s: 11
• PP%: 22.5%
• TSH: 35
• PPGA: 3
• PK%: 91.43%
• Penalties in minutes: 91

Bold – Tournament Best

Well, it is not a surprise that this team won. Not only did they set the NHL record for points in a season (132), but they are widely regarded as one of the best teams ever assembled. Just take a look at the roster and you’ll understand. Here is the journey they took to the championship.

1st Round:

Bye

2nd Round:

Swept 33rd-seeded ’83-’84 Quebec Nordiques, 4-0

3rd Round:

Swept 16th-seeded ’03-’04 Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-0

Quarterfinal:

Defeated 9th-seeded ’71-’72 New York Rangers, 4-3

Semifinal:

Defeated 4th-seeded ’73-’74 Boston Bruins, 4-1

Final:

Defeated 19th-seeded ’88-’89 Calgary Flames, 4-1

As I said before, this ’76-’77 Canadiens team holds the record for points in a season. They finished with a record of 60-8-12 under Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman. They finished 1st in the Norris Division and posted the most goals for and the least goals against in the entire league. They ran through the playoffs winning 12 of the 14 games they played. They swept the St. Louis Blues in the Quarterfinals. Then, they defeated the New York Islanders in six games to advance to their second straight Stanley Cup Final. In said Final, they swept their bitter rival the Boston Bruins to win their second straight championship.

This team featured five all-stars that season, Dryden, Lafleur, Robinson and Shutt were First Team All-Stars and Lapointe was a Second Team All-Star. It also featured a couple of league leaders. Lafleur led the league in both assists (80) and points (136) and Shutt lead the league in goals (60). Besides the Stanley Cup and the Prince of Wales Trophy, this team had a full individual award winner cabinet. Lafleur, alone, won four trophies. He won the Art Ross Trophy, for most points, the Conn Smythe trophy, for playoff MVP, the Hart Trophy, for league MVP, and the Lou Marsh Trophy, which goes to Canada’s top athlete. Also, Dryden, along with Michel Larocque, won the Vezina Trophy for the league’s best goaltender.

Next up is the inaugural runners up, the 19th-seeded ’88-’89 Calgary Flames!