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1979 Stanley Cup Finals

The 1979 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1978–79 season, and the culmination of the 1979 Stanley Cup playoffs. The New York Rangers challenged the defending champion Montreal Canadiens, who made their fourth straight appearance. It was New York's first foray into the Finals since 1972. The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven series, four games to one, to win their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup championship.[2]

1979 Stanley Cup Finals
12345 Total
Montreal Canadiens 1644*4 4
New York Rangers 4213*1 1
* indicates periods of overtime
Location(s)Montreal: Forum (1, 2, 5)
New York City: Madison Square Garden (3, 4)
CoachesMontreal: Scotty Bowman
New York: Fred Shero
CaptainsMontreal: Yvan Cournoyer[1]
New York: Dave Maloney
DatesMay 13–21, 1979
MVPBob Gainey (Canadiens)
Series-winning goalJacques Lemaire (1:02, second, G5)
Hall of FamersCanadiens:
Yvan Cournoyer (1982; did not play)
Ken Dryden (1983)
Bob Gainey (1992)
Guy Lafleur (1988)
Rod Langway (2002)
Guy Lapointe (1993; did not play)
Jacques Lemaire (1984)
Larry Robinson (1995)
Serge Savard (1986)
Steve Shutt (1993)
Rangers:
Phil Esposito (1984)
Coaches:
Scotty Bowman (1991)
Fred Shero (2013)
NetworksCanada:
(English): CBC
(French): SRC
United States:
(National): NHL Network
(New York City area): WOR
Announcers(CBC) Dan Kelly, Danny Gallivan (2), Gary Dornhoefer (1, 5), Gerry Pinder (2), Bobby Orr (3–4), and Dick Irvin Jr.
(SRC) Rene Lecavalier and Gilles Tremblay
(NHLN) Simulcast of CBC feed
(WOR) Jim Gordon and Bill Chadwick
← 1978 Stanley Cup Finals 1980 →

This was the first of six consecutive Finals involving a team from the New York metropolitan area. The next five Finals would be contested by the Rangers' crosstown rivals the New York Islanders, who would win the first four of those series to forge a dynasty matching that of the Canadiens. By defeating the Rangers, the Canadiens completed the rare accomplishment of winning four consecutive titles in a North American league competition consisting of at least sixteen teams, and remain the only team based outside the New York metropolitan area to do so. Prior to the Canadiens' dynasty, the feat had been achieved only twice before, both times by the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball. The aforementioned Islanders are the only team to accomplish it since. This was also the last Stanley Cup Finals until 2013 where both teams were from the Original Six. An Original Six club would not reach the Finals again until Montreal won their next championship in 1986.

Paths to the Finals

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Further information: 1978–79 NHL season, 1978–79 Montreal Canadiens season, and 1978–79 New York Rangers season

Montreal defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–0 and the Boston Bruins 4–3 (highlighted by the "too many men on the ice" game seven overtime win) to advance to the Final.

New York defeated the Los Angeles Kings 2–0, the Philadelphia Flyers 4–1 and the New York Islanders 4–2 to make it to the finals.

Game summaries

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The Canadiens won the Cup in five games, winning it on home ice for the first time since 1968.[3] After the game Jacques Lemaire, Yvan Cournoyer, and Ken Dryden retired, while head coach Scotty Bowman left the Canadiens to join the Buffalo Sabres, which would mark the end of the Canadiens' dynasty. Montreal Canadiens scored 46 total points during the Stanley Cup Finals, while the New York Rangers scored 26 points in the finals.[4]

This Final marked the second time in four years that Bowman and Fred Shero coached against each other. In 1976, they coached against each other, though Shero was with the Philadelphia Flyers.


May 13 New York Rangers 4–1 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
Steve Vickers (5) - pp - 6:28
Ron Greschner (7) - 14:27 		First period No scoring
Phil Esposito (7) - pp - 9:30
Dave Maloney (3) - sh - 12:32 		Second period 7:07 - Guy Lafleur (9)
No scoring Third period No scoring
John Davidson 31 saves / 32 shots Goalie stats Ken Dryden 9 saves / 13 shots, Michel Larocque 9 saves / 9 shots
May 15 New York Rangers 2–6 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
Anders Hedberg (4) - 1:02
Ron Duguay (4) - 6:21 		First period 8:34 - Yvon Lambert (4)
12:24 - Guy Lafleur (10)
16:27 - Bob Gainey (4)
No scoring Second period 6:51 - Steve Shutt (3)
17:35 - pp - Jacques Lemaire (8)
No scoring Third period 4:38 - Mark Napier (3)
John Davidson 27 saves / 33 shots Goalie stats Ken Dryden 23 saves / 25 shots
May 17 Montreal Canadiens 4–1 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
Steve Shutt (4) - pp - 7:27
Doug Risebrough (1) - 15:44 		First period No scoring
No scoring Second period No scoring
Mario Tremblay (3) - 14:48
Jacques Lemaire (9) - 17:10 		Third period 6:06 - Ron Duguay (5)
Ken Dryden 19 saves / 20 shots Goalie stats John Davidson 19 saves / 23 shots
May 19 Montreal Canadiens 4–3 OT New York Rangers Madison Square Garden Recap  
Rejean Houle (1) - 2:39 First period 1:19 - Pat Hickey (1)
17:03 - Don Murdoch (7)
Yvon Lambert (5) - 18:05 Second period No scoring
Bob Gainey (5) - 6:27 Third period 4:26 - Phil Esposito (8)
Serge Savard (2) - 7:25 First overtime period No scoring
Ken Dryden 18 saves / 21 shots Goalie stats John Davidson 38 saves / 42 shots
May 21 New York Rangers 1–4 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
Carol Vadnais (2) - 16:52 First period 10:36 - Rick Chartraw (2)
No scoring Second period 1:02 - pp - Jacques Lemaire (10)
11:01 - Bob Gainey (6)
18:49 - Jacques Lemaire (11)
No scoring Third period No scoring
John Davidson 27 saves / 31 shots Goalie stats Ken Dryden 14 saves / 15 shots
Montreal won series 4–1


Team rosters

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Montreal Canadiens

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No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
1 Canada  Michel Larocque G L 27 1972 Hull, Quebec
3 Canada  Brian Engblom D L 24 1975 Winnipeg, Manitoba
5 Canada  Guy Lapointe D L 31 1969 Montreal, Quebec
6 Canada  Pierre Mondou C R 23 1975 Sorel, Quebec
8 Canada  Doug Risebrough C L 25 1974 Guelph, Ontario
10 Canada  Guy Lafleur RW R 27 1971 Montreal, Quebec
11 Canada  Yvon Lambert LW L 28 1971 Drummondville, Quebec
12 Canada  Yvan Cournoyer (C) RW L 35 1963 Montreal, Quebec
14 Canada  Mario Tremblay RW R 22 1974 Alma, Quebec
15 Canada  Réjean Houle RW L 29 1969 Rouyn, Quebec
17 United States  Rod Langway D L 22 1977 Formosa, Taiwan
18 Canada  Serge Savard D L 33 1966 Landrienne, Quebec
19 Canada  Larry Robinson D L 27 1971 Winchester, Ontario
20 Canada  Cam Connor RW L 24 1978 Winnipeg, Manitoba
21 Canada  Doug Jarvis C L 24 1975 Brantford, Ontario
22 Canada  Steve Shutt LW L 26 1972 North York, Ontario
23 Canada  Bob Gainey LW L 24 1973 Peterborough, Ontario
24 Canada  Gilles Lupien D L 25 1974 Lachute, Quebec
25 Canada  Jacques Lemaire C L 33 1967 LaSalle, Quebec
27 United States  Rick Chartraw D R 24 1974 Caracas, Venezuela
28 Canada  Pierre Larouche C L 23 1977 Taschereau, Quebec
29 Canada  Ken Dryden G L 31 1964 Hamilton, Ontario
30 Canada  Pat Hughes RW R 24 1975 Calgary, Alberta
31 Canada  Mark Napier LW L 24 1975 North York, Ontario
33 Canada  Richard Sévigny G L 22 1979 Montreal, Quebec

New York Rangers

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No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
1 Canada  Wayne Thomas G L 31 1977 Ottawa, Ontario
3 Canada  Dave Farrish D L 22 1976 Wingham, Ontario
4 Canada  Ron Greschner D L 24 1974 Goodsoil, Saskatchewan
5 Canada  Carol Vadnais D L 33 1975 Montreal, Quebec
6 United States  Bobby Sheehan C L 30 1979 Weymouth, Massachusetts
8 Canada  Steve Vickers LW L 28 1971 Toronto, Ontario
10 Canada  Ron Duguay C R 21 1977 Sudbury, Ontario
11 Sweden  Ulf Nilsson C R 29 1978 Nynäshamn, Sweden
12 Canada  Don Maloney LW L 20 1978 Lindsay, Ontario
14 Canada  Don Murdoch RW R 22 1976 Cranbrook, British Columbia
15 Sweden  Anders Hedberg RW L 28 1978 Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
16 Canada  Pat Hickey LW L 25 1973 Brantford, Ontario
17 Canada  Ed Johnstone RW R 25 1974 Brandon, Manitoba
18 West Germany  Walt Tkaczuk C L 33 1967 Emsdetten, West Germany
19 United States  Nick Fotiu LW L 26 1976 Staten Island, New York
23 Canada  Lucien DeBlois RW R 21 1977 Joliette, Quebec
24 Canada  Pierre Plante RW L 27 1978 Valleyfield, Quebec
25 Canada  Mario Marois D R 21 1977 L'Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec
26 Canada  Dave Maloney (C) D L 22 1974 Kitchener, Ontario
27 Canada  Mike McEwen D L 22 1976 Hornepayne, Ontario
30 Canada  John Davidson G L 26 1975 Ottawa, Ontario
77 Canada  Phil Esposito C L 37 1975 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Stanley Cup engraving

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The 1979 Stanley Cup was presented to Canadiens acting captain Serge Savard by NHL President John Ziegler following the Canadiens 4–1 win over the Rangers in game five.

The following Canadiens players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup

1978–79 Montreal Canadiens

Players

  Goaltenders

Coaching and administrative staff

Stanley Cup engraving

  • †Yvan Cournoyer played only 18 regular season games. He missed the rest of the season due to a back injury. His name was still put on the cup, even though he did not qualify. Serge Savard served as interim captain while Cournoyer was injured.
  • ††Richard Sevigny's name was engraved on the Stanley Cup, before he played his first NHL game. He was dressed in the finals when Michel Larocque was injured in pre-game warm-up for game two. Sevigny joined Montreal full-time, the next season after Ken Dryden retired.
  • #26 Dan Newman played 16 regular season games, but did not qualify to be on the cup. He was dressed for one game in the quarterfinals, but did not play
  • Floyd Curry changed roles from Assistant Manager to Director of Scouting. Name was left off the Stanley Cup.
  • American Rod Langway was born in Taiwan. This makes Langway first and only player to win the Stanley Cup born in Taiwan (Republic of China).

Members of Montreal Canadiens 1976 to 1979 dynasty

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  • Players: Rick Chartraw, Yvan Cournoyer, Ken Dryden, Bob Gainey, Doug Jarvis, Guy Lafleur, Yvon Lambert, Guy Lapointe, Michel Larocque, Jacques Lemaire, Doug Risebrough, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Steve Shutt, Mario Tremblay
  • Non players: Jacques Courtois, Sam Pollock, Jean Beliveau, Scotty Bowman, Claude Ruel, Eddie Palchak, Pierre Meilleur, Ron Caron, Floyd Curry

Broadcasting

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The Stanley Cup Finals were produced by CBC, who carried the game in Canada and were shown in the United States on the NHL's syndicated package. Dan Kelly called the play-by-play for Games 1, 3, 4, and 5 entirely and split game 2 with Danny Gallivan. Gary Dornhoefer served as color commentator for Games 1 and 5, Gerry Pinder served as color commentator for Game 2 only, Bobby Orr served as color commentator from Madison Square Garden. Meanwhile, Dick Irvin Jr. served as color commentator for the entire Finals and hosted the games in Montreal, Dave Hodge and Howie Meeker hosted the games in New York City. ABC was contracted to televise game seven.[5][6] Since the Finals ended in five games, the contract was void.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Due to injury, Cournoyer didn't play in any playoff games. Serge Savard served as acting captain.
  2. ^ "Canadiens do it again". St Petersburg Times (Page 21). May 22, 1979. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  3. ^ Jenish, D'Arcy (2009). The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory. Doubleday. p. 234. ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0.
  4. ^ "1979 NHL Stanley Cup Final: MTL vs. NYR". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  5. ^ "NHL, ABC-TV Agree". Reading Eagle. Associated Press. May 13, 1979. p. 89.
  6. ^ "May 26 Selected For a 7th Game". The New York Times. May 13, 1979. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  7. ^ Ramsay, Donald (May 22, 1979). "Montreal win kills ABC TV deal but Ziegler feels pact is on way". The Globe and Mail. p. 35.
Bibliography
  • Total Stanley Cup. NHL. 2000.
  • Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7.
Preceded by Montreal Canadiens
Stanley Cup Champions
1979 		Succeeded by
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