The top-seeded ’76-’77 Montreal Canadiens have really displayed some great offense over their two appearances in the Ultimate NHL Playoff. However, what they did here was win with defense, as well. The 16th-seeded ’02-’03 Dallas Stars were only able to average 17.6 shots on goal per game.

As the title suggests, the offense for Montreal was led by defenseman Larry Robinson. He finished the series with 10 points while his fellow defenseman Guy Lapointe was second with seven points. Steve Shutt was the third and final Canadien average at least a point per game with his six points. Shutt did lead Montreal in goal scoring with four while Guy Lafleur was right behind him in second with three goals. Robinson and Bob Gainey were the only other Canadiens to score more than once in the series with their two goals apiece. Robinson and Lapointe were the top two playmakers as well for Montreal with eight and six assists, respectively. In goal, Ken Dryden was not busy whatsoever. However, he wasn’t all that great when he did have work to do. He posted a 4-0-1 record with a 1.60 goals against, but also a subpar .909 save percentage.

This was a series to forget about for the Stars and more specifically, their offense. Mike Modano finished as their leading scorer with five points while his longtime teammate, Jere Lehtinen, was second with four points. Only five other players for Dallas registered more than one point, including Bill Guerin and defensemen Darryl Sydor and Sergei Zubov. Only five players scored a goal for Dallas and only Modano and Lehtinen scored more than once with three and two goals, respectively. Sydor and fellow defenseman Derian Hatcher and Brenden Morrow were responsible for the other three goals. There was a five-way tie for the team lead in assists at two, which included Guerin, Modano and Lehtinen. Only four other players tallied an assist for the Stars, which included Jason Arnott, Morrow and Pierre Turgeon. Goaltender Marty Turco was behind the 8-ball really from the get go as his team provided him no offensive support. He finished the series with a 1-4-0 record to go along with a 3.40 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.

Here are this series’ links:

• Game Boxscores/Results
• Team Stats
• Canadiens Skater Stats
• Stars Skater Stats
• Montreal Goalie Stats
• Stars Goalie Stats

Three Stars of the Series:

1. MTL – D – Larry Robinson – 5 GP   2 G   8 A   10 P   +8   34 S   0 PIM   9 Star Points
2. MTL – LW – Steve Shutt – 5 GP   4 G   2 A   6 P   +5   12 S   1 GWG   0 PIM   5 Star Points
3. DAL – G – Marty Turco – 5 GP   5 GS   1-4-0   3.40 GAA   .903 SV%   3 Star Points

GAME 1:

GAME SUMMARY:  ‘76-’77 MTL – 5   ‘02-’03 DAL – 1   (1-0   ‘76-’77 MTL)

1st Period:

• 1 – 0 MTL – 5:47 – MTL: P. Bouchard (2) assisted by Y. Cournoyer (2), M. Wilson (1)

2nd Period:

• 2 – 0 MTL – 2:22 – MTL: Y. Lambert (1) assisted by L. Robinson (11), M. Tremblay (1)

3rd Period:

• 3 – 0 MTL – 6:38 – MTL: B. Gainey (1) assisted by G. Lapointe (9), R. Houle (1)
• 4 – 0 MTL – 10:59 – MTL: G. Lafleur (4) assisted by J. Lemaire (5), L. Robinson (12)
• 5 – 0 MTL – 14:54 – MTL: R. Houle (2) assisted by L. Robinson (13), G. Lapointe (10)
• 5 – 1 MTL – 19:01 – DAL: J. Lehtinen (5) assisted by D. Sydor (2), P. Boucher (1)

TEAM STATS:

STARS OF THE GAME:

• 1st Star: Larry Robinson (MTL)
• 2nd Star: Rejean Houle (MTL)
• 3rd Star: Guy Lapointe (MTL)

GAME 2:

GAME SUMMARY:  ‘76-’77 MTL – 3   ‘02-’03 DAL – 1   (2-0   ‘76-’77 MTL)

1st Period:

• 1 – 0 DAL – 4:50 – DAL: J. Lehtinen (6) assisted by M. Modano (7), P. Boucher (2)
• 1 – 1 tie – 11:48 – MTL: Y. Cournoyer (7) assisted by P. Mahovlich (7), G. Lapointe (11)

2nd Period:

• 2 – 1 MTL – 0:41 – MTL: S. Shutt (8) assisted by G. Lafleur (4), J. Lemaire (6)
• 3 – 1 MTL – 13:51 – PP – MTL: S. Shutt (9) assisted by L. Robinson (14), J. Lemaire (6)

3rd Period:

TEAM STATS:

STARS OF THE GAME:

• 1st Star: Steve Shutt (MTL)
• 2nd Star: Jacques Lemaire (MTL)
• 3rd Star: Yvan Cournoyer (MTL)

GAME 3:

GAME SUMMARY:  ‘76-’77 MTL – 5   ‘02-’03 DAL – 3   (3-0   ‘76-’77 MTL)

1st Period:

• 1 – 0 MTL – 3:24 – MTL: G. Lafleur (5) assisted by P. Bouchard (3), J. Lemaire (8)
• 1 – 1 tie – 5:25 – PP – DAL: M. Modano (3) assisted by B. Guerin (4), S. Zubov (8)
• 2 – 1 MTL – 19:25 – MTL: S. Shutt (10) assisted by L. Robinson (15), G. Lapointe (12)

2nd Period:

• 3 – 1 MTL – 0:03 – MTL: S. Shutt (11) assisted by G. Lapointe (13), L. Robinson (16)
• 4 – 1 MTL – 0:25 – MTL: G. Lapointe (4) assisted by L. Robinson (17), S. Shutt (5)
• 4 – 2 MTL – 12:47 – DAL: D. Hatcher (2) assisted by M. Modano (8), J. Lehtinen (2)

3rd Period:

• 4 – 3 MTL – 8:18 – DAL: M. Modano (4) assisted by J. Lehtinen (3), S. Zubov (9)
• 5 – 3 MTL – 15:29 – MTL: L. Robinson (1) assisted by P. Mahovlich (8), Y. Cournoyer (3)

TEAM STATS:

STARS OF THE GAME:

• 1st Star: Larry Robinson (MTL)
• 2nd Star: Steve Shutt (MTL)
• 3rd Star: Mike Modano (DAL)

GAME 4:

GAME SUMMARY:  ‘02-’03 DAL – 2   ‘76-’77 MTL – 1   (OT)   (3-1   ‘76-’77 MTL)

1st Period:

2nd Period:

3rd Period:

• 1 – 0 DAL – 8:06 – DAL: B. Morrow (4) assisted by P. Turgeon (4)
• 1 – 1 tie – 12:15 – MTL: G. Lafleur (6) assisted by S. Shutt (6), S. Savard (4)

Overtime:

• 2 – 1 DAL – 2:30 – DAL: D. Sydor (1) assisted by J. Arnott (2)

TEAM STATS:

STARS OF THE GAME:

• 1st Star: Marty Turco (DAL)
• 2nd Star: Brenden Morrow (DAL)
• 3rd Star: Guy Lafleur (MTL)

GAME 5:

GAME SUMMARY:  ‘76-’77 MTL – 3   ‘02-’03 DAL – 1   (4-1   ‘76-’77 MTL)

1st Period:

• 1 – 0 MTL – 10:21 – MTL: L. Robinson (2) assisted by S. Savard (5)

2nd Period:

• 2 – 0 MTL – 3:42 – MTL: M. Wilson (1) assisted by L. Robinson (18), P. Mahovlich (9)

3rd Period:

• 3 – 0 MTL – 2:37 – MTL: B. Gainey (2) assisted by G. Lapointe (14), P. Bouchard (4)
• 3 – 1 MTL – 9:58 – PP – DAL: M. Modano (5) assisted by B. Guerin (5), B. Morrow (6)

TEAM STATS:

STARS OF THE GAME:

• 1st Star: Larry Robinson (MTL)
• 2nd Star: Murray Wilson (MTL)
• 3rd Star: Bob Gainey (MTL)

The ’76-’77 Canadiens are in their second Ultimate NHL Playoff after missing out on the tourney last year. However, in their appearance in the inaugural UNP, they won it all and they are looking to keep the UNP Championship with the franchise as last year’s representative won it all as well. In the Quarterfinal, the ’76-’77 Canadiens will face either the 24th-seeded ’84-’85 Capitals or the 25th-seeded ’09-’10 San Jose Sharks. For the third year in a row the ’02-’03 Stars are representing the Dallas franchise in the UNP and for the third year in a row the ’02-’03 Stars have been eliminated in the Third Round. Also, for the second year in a row, they have been eliminated by the top seed.

Up next in the Third Round, the 6th-seeded ’82-’83 Edmonton Oilers face the 22nd-seeded ’09-’10 Vancouver Canucks!