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53-54cdns
1953–54 Montreal Canadiens
Division 2nd NHL
1953–54 record 35-24-11
Goals for 195
Goals against 141
Team information
General manager Frank J. Selke
Coach Dick Irvin
Captain Emile Bouchard
Arena Montreal Forum
Team leaders
Goals Maurice Richard (37)
Assists Bert Olmstead (37)
Points Maurice Richard (67)
Penalty minutes Maurice Richard (112)
Wins Gerry McNeil (28)
Goals against average Jacques Plante (1.59)

The 1953–54 Montreal Canadiens season was the 45th season in franchise history. The team placed first second in the regular season to qualify for the playoffs. The Canadiens lost in 1954 Stanley Cup Finals to Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 3.

Regular Season[]

20Dec1953-Geoffrion Murphy

Bernie Geoffrion clubs Ron Murphy, December 20, 1953.

The December 20, 1953 game between the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens saw stick work between Ron Murphy and Bernie Geoffrion. Geoffrion wanted to fight and had dropped his stick but Murphy wouldn't let go of his. Geoffrion retrieved his stick and swung it at Murphy until he made contact with his head. Murphy was knocked unconscious, suffered a broken jaw and concussion and missed the reason of the season recovering from the attack. Geoffrion was suspended for all remaining games versus the Rangers for the season.

Final Standings[]

National Hockey League
GP W L T Pts GF GA
Detroit Red Wings 70 37 19 14 88 191 132
Montreal Canadiens 70 35 24 11 81 195 141
Toronto Maple Leafs 70 32 24 14 78 152 131
Boston Bruins 70 32 28 10 74 177 181
New York Rangers 70 29 31 10 68 161 182
Chicago Black Hawks 70 12 51 7 31 133 242

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.


Game Log[]

Regular Season Results
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 8, 1953 3–0 Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 1–0–0
2 W October 10, 1953 4–1 Detroit Red Wings (1953–54) 2–0–0
3 L October 11, 1953 1–4 @ Boston Bruins (1953–54) 2–1–0
4 W October 15, 1953 6–1 New York Rangers (1953–54) 3–1–0
5 W October 17, 1953 5–2 Boston Bruins (1953–54) 4–1–0
6 L October 18, 1953 0–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1953–54) 4–2–0
7 W October 22, 1953 3–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 5–2–0
8 W October 24, 1953 1–0 Detroit Red Wings (1953–54) 6–2–0
9 W October 25, 1953 2–1 @ New York Rangers (1953–54) 7–2–0
10 W October 29, 1953 3–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 8–2–0
11 L October 31, 1953 0–1 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 8–3–0
12 L November 1, 1953 1–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1953–54) 8–4–0
13 W November 5, 1953 4–3 New York Rangers (1953–54) 9–4–0
14 W November 7, 1953 5–2 Boston Bruins (1953–54) 10–4–0
15 L November 8, 1953 0–2 @ Boston Bruins (1953–54) 10–5–0
16 L November 11, 1953 1–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 10–6–0
17 W November 12, 1953 4–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 11–6–0
18 L November 14, 1953 2–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 11–7–0
19 T November 15, 1953 2–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 11–7–1
20 W November 19, 1953 1–0 Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 12–7–1
21 W November 21, 1953 1–0 Detroit Red Wings (1953–54) 13–7–1
22 T November 22, 1953 2–2 @ Boston Bruins (1953–54) 13–7–2
23 W November 26, 1953 6–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 14–7–2
24 L November 28, 1953 1–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 14–8–2
25 L November 29, 1953 1–2 @ New York Rangers (1953–54) 14–9–2
26 W December 3, 1953 5–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 15–9–2
27 W December 5, 1953 4–2 Boston Bruins (1953–54) 16–9–2
28 W December 6, 1953 7–2 @ Boston Bruins (1953–54) 17–9–2
29 L December 9, 1953 0–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 17–10–2
30 W December 10, 1953 5–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 18–10–2
31 W December 12, 1953 7–2 New York Rangers (1953–54) 19–10–2
32 L December 13, 1953 3–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1953–54) 19–11–2
33 W December 19, 1953 7–3 Boston Bruins (1953–54) 20–11–2
34 L December 20, 1953 1–3 @ New York Rangers (1953–54) 20–12–2
35 W December 26, 1953 2–0 New York Rangers (1953–54) 21–12–2
36 T December 30, 1953 2–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 21–12–3
37 T December 31, 1953 2–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1953–54) 21–12–4
38 T January 2, 1954 1–1 Boston Bruins (1953–54) 21–12–5
39 L January 3, 1954 3–4 @ New York Rangers (1953–54) 21–13–5
40 W January 7, 1954 7–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 22–13–5
41 W January 9, 1954 12–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 23–13–5
42 L January 10, 1954 1–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1953–54) 23–14–5
43 W January 16, 1954 2–1 Boston Bruins (1953–54) 24–14–5
44 L January 17, 1954 2–3 @ Boston Bruins (1953–54) 24–15–5
45 L January 21, 1954 0–1 Detroit Red Wings (1953–54) 24–16–5
46 W January 23, 1954 5–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 25–16–5
47 L January 24, 1954 3–8 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 25–17–5
48 W January 27, 1954 2–0 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 26–17–5
49 L January 30, 1954 1–2 New York Rangers (1953–54) 26–18–5
50 L February 4, 1954 2–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 26–19–5
51 W February 6, 1954 4–3 New York Rangers (1953–54) 27–19–5
52 W February 7, 1954 4–1 @ New York Rangers (1953–54) 28–19–5
53 T February 11, 1954 2–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 28–19–6
54 T February 13, 1954 2–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 28–19–7
55 L February 14, 1954 1–4 @ Boston Bruins (1953–54) 28–20–7
56 W February 18, 1954 4–2 Detroit Red Wings (1953–54) 29–20–7
57 W February 20, 1954 2–0 Detroit Red Wings (1953–54) 30–20–7
58 L February 22, 1954 0–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1953–54) 30–21–7
59 T February 25, 1954 0–0 Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 30–21–8
60 W February 27, 1954 5–0 New York Rangers (1953–54) 31–21–8
61 L February 28, 1954 0–2 @ New York Rangers (1953–54) 31–22–8
62 T March 4, 1954 1–1 @ Boston Bruins (1953–54) 31–22–9
63 T March 6, 1954 3–3 Boston Bruins (1953–54) 31–22–10
64 T March 7, 1954 2–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1953–54) 31–22–11
65 L March 11, 1954 0–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 31–23–11
66 W March 13, 1954 4–0 Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 32–23–11
67 W March 14, 1954 6–0 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1953–54) 33–23–11
68 L March 17, 1954 1–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1953–54) 33–24–11
69 W March 20, 1954 6–1 Detroit Red Wings (1953–54) 34–24–11
70 W March 21, 1954 3–1 @ New York Rangers (1953–54) 35–24–11

[1]

Playoffs[]

Montreal Canadiens 4, Boston Bruins 0[]

The teams met the previous year in the 1953 Stanley Cup Finals where Montreal prevailed 4 games to 1. The Canadiens won in convincing fashion, never trailing in a game and despite Maurice Richard not registering a point in the series. Jacques Plante was brilliant, allowing only 4 goals in 4 games and posting 2 shutouts. At the end of the playoffs, after managing the Bruins since their first season in 1924-25, Art Ross announced his retirement and was replaced by Lynn Patrick.

23Mar1954-Plante stops Klukay

Jacques Plante stops Joe Klukay in Game 1 of the Semi-finals, March 23, 1954.

Game 1 at the Montreal Forum saw the Canadiens pepper Bruins goalie Jim Henry with 43 shots. After Canadiens Lorne Davis opened the scoring at 4:25 in the second period it appeared Boston had tied it up when a Doug Mohns shot eluded Plante and skittered towards the open net. Doug Harvey batted it out and the goal judge declared the puck hadn't crossed the line. The Bruins couldn't solve Plante and Bernie Geoffrion scored in the third period for a 2-0 Montreal win.

Game 2 in Montreal saw the Canadiens dominate from the opening faceoff as Dickie Moore scored 10 seconds into the game. Montreal scored three more in the first period then Moore potted his second for a 5-0 lead. After Jean Béliveau scored his first career playoff goal early in the second, the game got chippy. Fleming Mackell scored Boston's only goal of the game at 13:02 and then several fights broke out. The fighting continued in the third period as 94 minutes in penalties were called in the game. Paul Meger and Beliveau added goals for a 8-1 Canadiens romp and 2-0 series lead.

Game 3 at the Boston Garden was the closest game of the series. After a scoreless first period, Butch Bouchard and Cal Gardner traded goals in the first minute of the second period. Geoffrion and Bouchard made it 3-1 going into the third period. The Bruins fought back hard and goals by Doug Mohns and Milt Schmidt (the last of his career) tied it up with four minutes left. Dickie Moore scored with 1:30 left to win it 4-3 for Montreal.

Game 4 in Boston saw Montreal sweep the series on goals by Floyd Curry and Dickie Moore's 4th of the series.

# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 March 23 Boston Bruins 0-2 Montreal Canadiens 0-1
2 March 25 Boston Bruins 1-8 Montreal Canadiens 0-2
3 March 28 Montreal Canadiens 4-3 Boston Bruins 3-0
4 March 30 Montreal Canadiens 2-0 Boston Bruins 4-0

Detroit Red Wings 4, Montreal Canadiens 3[]

For more details on this topic, see 1954 Stanley Cup Finals.
[2]

Player Stats[]

Regular Season[]

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Richard, MauriceMaurice Richard RW 70 37 30 67 112
Geoffrion, BernieBernie Geoffrion RW 54 29 25 54 87
Olmstead, BertBert Olmstead LW 70 15 37 52 85
Mosdell, KenKen Mosdell C 67 22 24 46 64
Harvey, DougDoug Harvey D 68 8 29 37 110
Beliveau, JeanJean Beliveau C 44 13 21 34 22
Masnick, PaulPaul Masnick C 50 5 21 26 57
Lach, ElmerElmer Lach C 48 5 20 25 28
MacKay, CalumCalum MacKay LW 47 10 13 23 54
Curry, FloydFloyd Curry RW 70 13 8 21 22
Mazur, EddieEddie Mazur D/LW 67 7 14 21 95
Johnson, TomTom Johnson D 70 7 11 18 85
McCormack, JohnJohn McCormack C 51 5 10 15 12
St. Laurent, DollardDollard St. Laurent D 53 3 12 15 43
Meger, PaulPaul Meger LW 44 4 9 13 24
Gamble, DickDick Gamble LW 32 4 8 12 18
Bouchard, ButchButch Bouchard D 70 1 10 11 89
Davis, LorneLorne Davis RW 37 6 4 10 2
Moore, DickieDickie Moore LW 13 1 4 5 12
MacPherson, BudBud MacPherson D 41 0 5 5 41
Corriveau, AndreAndre Corriveau RW 3 0 1 1 0
Burchell, FredFred Burchell C 2 0 0 0 2
Desaulniers, GerardGerard Desaulniers C 3 0 0 0 0
Litzenberger, EdEd Litzenberger C/RW 3 0 0 0 0
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante G 17 0 0 0 0
McNeil, GerryGerry McNeil G 53 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
McNeil, GerryGerry McNeil 3180 53 28 19 6 114 2.15 6
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante 1020 17 7 5 5 27 1.59 5
Team: 4200 70 35 24 11 141 2.01 11

Playoffs[]

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Moore, DickieDickie Moore LW 11 5 8 13 8
Geoffrion, BernieBernie Geoffrion RW 11 6 5 11 18
Beliveau, JeanJean Beliveau C 10 2 8 10 4
Curry, FloydFloyd Curry RW 11 4 0 4 4
Masnick, PaulPaul Masnick C 10 0 4 4 4
Richard, MauriceMaurice Richard RW 11 3 0 3 22
Bouchard, ButchButch Bouchard D 11 2 1 3 4
Johnson, TomTom Johnson D 11 1 2 3 30
St. Laurent, DollardDollard St. Laurent D 10 1 2 3 8
Mazur, EddieEddie Mazur D/LW 11 0 3 3 7
Davis, LorneLorne Davis RW 11 2 0 2 8
Harvey, DougDoug Harvey D 10 0 2 2 12
Lach, ElmerElmer Lach C 4 0 2 2 0
Meger, PaulPaul Meger LW 6 1 0 1 4
Mosdell, KenKen Mosdell C 11 1 0 1 4
MacKay, CalumCalum MacKay LW 3 0 1 1 0
McCormack, JohnJohn McCormack C 7 0 1 1 0
Olmstead, BertBert Olmstead LW 11 0 1 1 19
Stewart, GayeGaye Stewart LW 3 0 0 0 0
MacPherson, BudBud MacPherson D 3 0 0 0 4
McNeil, GerryGerry McNeil G 3 0 0 0 0
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante G 8 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante 480 8 5 3 15 1.88 2
McNeil, GerryGerry McNeil 190 3 2 1 3 0.95 1
Team: 670 11 7 4 18 1.61 3

[3]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals

MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; SO = Shutouts

Awards and Records[]

Transactions[]

Gallery[]

Video[]

Nearly 25 minutes of highlights featuring all goals and many penalties from all seven games of the 1954 Finals.

Narrated highlights of all seven games of the 1954 Finals featuring nearly all goals.

See Also[]

References[]

  1. 1953–54 Montreal Canadiens Games. Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-06-04.
  2. Montreal Canadiens 1954-55 Game Log and Scores. Databasehockey.com. Retrieved on 2008-12-08.
  3. 1953-54 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com. hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-28.
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