1988–89 Montreal Canadiens season

Updated on Nov 19, 2024

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Division 1st Adams 1988–89 record 53–18–9 Road record 23–12–5		Conference 1st Wales Home record 30–6–4 Goals for 315

The 1988–89 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 80th season of play. The Canadiens finished first in the Adams Division, as well as the Prince of Wales Conference, with a 53–18–9 record for 115 points. The team finished second overall in the league behind the Calgary Flames, who had 117 points. Montreal defeated the Hartford Whalers, Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs before meeting the Flames in the Stanley Cup Finals. Calgary took the series 4–2, clinching the Cup in Game 6 on the Canadiens' vaunted home ice, the Montreal Forum. This marked the only time that a visiting team defeated the Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup on Forum ice.

The Canadiens were coached by Pat Burns and captained by Bob Gainey.

Regular season

November 7, 1988 – The Canadiens traded RW John Kordic and a 6th-round choice (Michael Doers) to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for RW Russ Courtnall.

For the third straight season, the Canadiens allowed the fewest goals in the NHL (218), were the least penalized team (326 short-handed situations) and allowed the fewest power-play goals (58).

Final standings

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Forwards

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

Defencemen

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

Adams Division semi-finals

Hartford Whalers vs. Montreal Canadiens

Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 0.

Adams Division finals

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens

Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1.

Conference finals

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Montreal Canadiens

Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 2.

Stanley Cup finals

Montreal Canadiens vs. Calgary Flames

The Stanley Cup Finals was decided between the top two teams during the 1988–89 NHL regular season. Captain Lanny McDonald scored the second Flames goal in Game 6. This turned out to be the last goal in his Hockey Hall of Fame career because he retired during the following off-season. Doug Gilmour scored two goals in the third period, including the eventual game and Cup winner to cement the victory for the Flames.

Calgary wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 2.