1979 Stanley Cup Finals
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The 1979 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the New York Rangers and the defending champion Montreal Canadiens, making their fourth straight appearance. It was New York's first appearance since 1972. The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven series four games to one, to win their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup.[1]
This was the last Stanley Cup Final until 2013 where both teams were from the Original Six, and 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, a feat that had been achieved only twice before (both times by the New York Yankees) and has been achieved only once since (by the aforementioned Islanders).
Paths to the Final
Montreal defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–0 and the Boston Bruins 4–3 (highlighted by the "too many men on the ice" game 7 overtime win) to advance to the finals.
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.
The series
The Canadiens won the Cup in five games, winning it on home ice for the first time since 1968.[2] After the game Jacques Lemaire, Yvan Cournoyer and Ken Dryden retired, while head coach Scotty Bowman would leave the Canadiens to join the Buffalo Sabres, which would mark the end of the Canadiens' dynasty.
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.
| Date | Visitors | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, May 13 | New York | 4 | Montreal | 1 | |
| Tue, May 15 | New York | 2 | Montreal | 6 | |
| Thu, May 17 | Montreal | 4 | New York | 1 | |
| Sat, May 19 | Montreal | 4 | New York | 3 | OT |
| Mon, May 21 | New York | 1 | Montreal | 4 |
Montreal wins the series 4–1.
Game 1
| May 13 | New York Rangers | 4 – 1 2 – 0, 2 – 1, 0 – 0 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum Attendance: 17,005 |
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| John Davidson | Goalies | Ken Dryden Bunny Larocque | |||||||||||||||
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| 22 | Shots | 32 | |||||||||||||||
Montreal Canadiens 1979 Stanley Cup champions
Roster
- 10 Guy Lafleur
- 11 Yvon Lambert
- 12 Yvan Cournoyer (Captain)
- 14 Mario Tremblay
- 15 Rejean Houle
- 20 Cam Connor
- 22 Steve Shutt
- 23 Bob Gainey
- 30 Pat Hughes
- 31 Mark Napier
- 3 Brian Engblom
- 5 Guy Lapointe
- 17 Rod Langway
- 18 Serge Savard (Acting Captain)†
- 19 Larry Robinson
- 24 Gilles Lupien
- 27 Rick Chartraw
- 29 Ken Dryden
- 1 Michel Bunny Larocque
- 33 Richard Sevigny(spare dressed in finals)††
- Coaching and administrative staff
- Jacques Courtois (President), Sam Pollock (Director)
- Irving Grundman (Vice President/General Manager), Jean Beliveau (Vice President - Director of Cooperate Affairs)
- William Scotty Bowman (Head Coach), Claude Ruel (Director of Player Development)
- Al MacNeil (Director of Player Personnel), Morgan McCammon (Director)
- Ron Caron (Asst. General Manager/Director of Communication), Eddy Palchak (Trainer)
- Pierre Meilleur (Asst. Trainer)
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 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 would join 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 quarter-finals, 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 China.
Members of Montreal Canadiens 1976 to 1979 dynasty
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,(15 Players), Jacques Courtois, Sam Pollock, Jean Beliveau, Scotty Bowman, Claude Ruel, Eddie Palchak, Pierre Meilleur, Ron Caron, Floyd Curry (9 Non-Players)
Broadcasting
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 provided play-by-play, while Dick Irvin, Jr. and Gary Dornhoefer served as color commentators, Dave Hodge as host, and Howie Meeker as studio analyst. ABC was contracted to televise Game 7.[3][4] Since the Finals ended in five games, the contract was void.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ "Canadiens do it again". St Petersburg Times (Page 21). May 22, 1979. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
- ↑ Jenish, D’Arcy (2009). The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory. Doubleday. p. 234. ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0.
- ↑ Associated Press (May 13, 1979). "NHL, ABC-TV Agree". Reading Eagle. p. 89.
- ↑ "May 26 Selected For a 7th Game". New York Times. May 13, 1979. p. S4.
- ↑ Ramsay, Donald (May 22, 1979). "Montreal win kills ABC TV deal but Ziegler feels pact is on way". The Globe and Mail. p. P35.
- 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 1978 |
Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup Champions 1979 |
Succeeded by New York Islanders 1980 |
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