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59-60Mtlcdns
1959–60 Montreal Canadiens
Division 1st NHL
1959–60 record 40–18–12
Goals for 255
Goals against 178
Team information
General manager Frank J. Selke
Coach Toe Blake
Captain Maurice Richard
Arena Montreal Forum
Team leaders
Goals Jean Beliveau (34)
Assists Henri Richard (43)
Points Jean Beliveau (74)
Penalty minutes Henri Richard (66)
Wins Jacques Plante (40)
Goals against average Jacques Plante (2.54)

The 1959–60 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 51st season of play. The Canadiens finished 1st in the league and defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4 games to 0 in the 1960 Stanley Cup Finals to win the Stanley Cup for the 12th time in team history and fifth year in a row.

Regular Season[]

1Nov1959-Plante mask

A bloodied Jacques Plante displays the mask his wore on November 1, 1959.

The use of the goalie mask was Plante's most enduring contribution to the game, however, occurred as a result of an incident on November 1, 1959. He was hit in the face by a shot from New York Rangers player Andy Bathgate, needing to go to the dressing room for stitches. When he returned, he was wearing the crude home-made goalie mask that he'd been using in practices. His coach, Toe Blake, was livid, but he had no other goalie to call upon, and Plante refused to return to the goal unless he kept the mask. Blake agreed on the condition that Plante discard the mask when the cut healed. Only Camille Henry beat him in that game, which the Canadiens won 3–1. In the ensuing days Plante refused to discard the mask, and as the Canadiens continued to win, Blake became less obstinate. The unbeaten streak stretched to 18 games. Plante didn't wear the mask, at Blake's request, against Detroit on March 8, 1960. The Canadiens lost 3–0, and the mask returned for good the next night. Plante subsequently designed his own mask and masks for other goalies. Although Plante was not the first NHL goalie known to wear a facemask (Montreal Maroons goaltender Clint Benedict had done so thirty years before), Plante introduced the mask as everyday equipment, which continues to this day.

Final Standings[]

National Hockey League
GP W L T Pts GF GA
Montreal Canadiens 70 40 18 12 92 255 178
Toronto Maple Leafs 70 35 26 9 79 199 195
Chicago Black Hawks 70 28 29 13 69 191 180
Detroit Red Wings 70 26 29 15 67 186 197
Boston Bruins 70 28 34 8 64 220 241
New York Rangers 70 17 38 15 49 187 247

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, 1959 4–1 Boston Bruins (1959–60) 1–0–0
2 T October 10, 1959 1–1 Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 1–0–1
3 L October 11, 1959 4–8 @ Boston Bruins (1959–60) 1–1–1
4 W October 15, 1959 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 2–1–1
5 L October 17, 1959 2–4 New York Rangers (1959–60) 2–2–1
6 W October 18, 1959 6–5 @ New York Rangers (1959–60) 3–2–1
7 W October 22, 1959 4–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 4–2–1
8 W October 24, 1959 5–1 Boston Bruins (1959–60) 5–2–1
9 W October 25, 1959 2–1 @ Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 6–2–1
10 W October 27, 1959 2–1 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 7–2–1
11 T October 28, 1959 1–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 7–2–2
12 T October 31, 1959 2–2 Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 7–2–3
13 W November 1, 1959 3–1 @ New York Rangers (1959–60) 8–2–3
14 W November 5, 1959 8–2 New York Rangers (1959–60) 9–2–3
15 T November 7, 1959 2–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 9–2–4
16 W November 12, 1959 3–0 Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 10–2–4
17 W November 14, 1959 8–1 Boston Bruins (1959–60) 11–2–4
18 W November 15, 1959 4–1 @ Boston Bruins (1959–60) 12–2–4
19 W November 21, 1959 4–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 13–2–4
20 W November 22, 1959 3–1 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 14–2–4
21 W November 26, 1959 4–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 15–2–4
22 W November 28, 1959 1–0 Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 16–2–4
23 W November 29, 1959 4–2 @ Boston Bruins (1959–60) 17–2–4
24 L December 2, 1959 0–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 17–3–4
25 L December 3, 1959 4–7 New York Rangers (1959–60) 17–4–4
26 T December 5, 1959 2–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 17–4–5
27 T December 6, 1959 4–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 17–4–6
28 L December 12, 1959 2–3 Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 17–5–6
29 T December 13, 1959 4–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 17–5–7
30 W December 17, 1959 8–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 18–5–7
31 W December 19, 1959 5–3 New York Rangers (1959–60) 19–5–7
32 L December 20, 1959 5–6 @ New York Rangers (1959–60) 19–6–7
33 W December 26, 1959 9–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 20–6–7
34 W December 27, 1959 3–1 @ Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 21–6–7
35 W December 30, 1959 3–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 22–6–7
36 W January 2, 1960 6–5 Boston Bruins (1959–60) 23–6–7
37 L January 3, 1960 3–8 @ New York Rangers (1959–60) 23–7–7
38 W January 9, 1960 2–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 24–7–7
39 L January 10, 1960 0–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 24–8–7
40 W January 14, 1960 3–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 25–8–7
41 W January 16, 1960 8–2 Boston Bruins (1959–60) 26–8–7
42 W January 17, 1960 3–1 @ Boston Bruins (1959–60) 27–8–7
43 W January 21, 1960 11–2 New York Rangers (1959–60) 28–8–7
44 W January 23, 1960 4–2 Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 29–8–7
45 W January 24, 1960 3–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 30–8–7
46 T January 27, 1960 2–2 @ New York Rangers (1959–60) 30–8–8
47 W January 28, 1960 4–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 31–8–8
48 T January 30, 1960 2–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 31–8–9
49 L January 31, 1960 5–6 @ Boston Bruins (1959–60) 31–9–9
50 W February 4, 1960 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 32–9–9
51 W February 6, 1960 5–3 Boston Bruins (1959–60) 33–9–9
52 L February 7, 1960 1–4 @ New York Rangers (1959–60) 33–10–9
53 W February 10, 1960 4–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 34–10–9
54 L February 13, 1960 6–7 @ Boston Bruins (1959–60) 34–11–9
55 L February 14, 1960 0–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 34–12–9
56 T February 18, 1960 3–3 Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 34–12–10
57 T February 20, 1960 3–3 New York Rangers (1959–60) 34–12–11
58 W February 21, 1960 6–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 35–12–11
59 L February 24, 1960 1–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 35–13–11
60 W February 27, 1960 3–2 New York Rangers (1959–60) 36–13–11
61 W March 3, 1960 5–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 37–13–11
62 T March 5, 1960 2–2 Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 37–13–12
63 L March 6, 1960 2–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 37–14–12
64 L March 8, 1960 0–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1959–60) 37–15–12
65 W March 9, 1960 9–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 38–15–12
66 W March 12, 1960 5–0 Chicago Black Hawks (1959–60) 39–15–12
67 L March 13, 1960 2–3 @ Boston Bruins (1959–60) 39–16–12
68 L March 17, 1960 2–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1959–60) 39–17–12
69 W March 19, 1960 5–1 Boston Bruins (1959–60) 40–17–12
70 L March 20, 1960 1–3 @ New York Rangers (1959–60) 40–18–12

[1]

Playoffs[]

Montreal Canadiens 4, Chicago Black Hawks 0[]

The Canadiens placed first in the standings and met the Chicago Black Hawks in the first round of the playoffs. The Canadiens would sweep the Hawks 4–0 to move on to the finals against Toronto.

Montreal Canadiens 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 0[]

For more details on this topic, see 1960 Stanley Cup Finals.
Montreal swept the Maple Leafs, outscoring them 15–5, en route to being the first team since the 1951–52 Detroit Red Wings to go without a loss in the playoffs.

After the series Rocket Richard retired. He went out with style, finishing with his 34th finals goal in game three.

Date Away Score Home Score Notes
April 7 Toronto Maple Leafs 2 Montreal Canadiens 4
April 9 Toronto Maple Leafs 1 Montreal Canadiens 2
April 12 Montreal Canadiens 5 Toronto Maple Leafs 2
April 14 Montreal Canadiens 4 Toronto Maple Leafs 0

Player Stats[]

Regular Season[]

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Beliveau, JeanJean Beliveau C 60 34 40 74 57
Richard, HenriHenri Richard C 70 30 43 73 66
Geoffrion, BernieBernie Geoffrion RW 59 30 41 71 36
Moore, DickieDickie Moore LW 62 22 42 64 54
Bonin, MarcelMarcel Bonin W 59 17 34 51 59
Provost, ClaudeClaude Provost RW 70 17 29 46 42
Goyette, PhilPhil Goyette C 65 21 22 43 4
Marshall, DonDon Marshall LW 70 16 22 38 4
Richard, MauriceMaurice Richard RW 51 19 16 35 50
Pronovost, AndreAndre Pronovost LW 69 12 19 31 61
Johnson, TomTom Johnson D 64 4 25 29 59
Backstrom, RalphRalph Backstrom C 64 13 15 28 24
Harvey, DougDoug Harvey D 66 6 21 27 45
McDonald, AbAb McDonald LW 68 9 13 22 26
Langlois, AlbertAlbert Langlois D 67 1 14 15 48
Talbot, Jean-GuyJean-Guy Talbot D 69 1 14 15 60
Hicke, BillBill Hicke RW 43 3 10 13 17
Turner, BobBob Turner D 54 0 9 9 40
Tremblay, J.C.J.C. Tremblay D 11 0 1 1 0
Fleming, ReggieReggie Fleming D/LW 3 0 0 0 2
Hoekstra, CecCec Hoekstra C 4 0 0 0 0
Hodge, CharlieCharlie Hodge G 1 0 0 0 0
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante G 69 0 0 0 2
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante 4140 69 40 17 12 175 2.54 3
Hodge, CharlieCharlie Hodge 60 1 0 1 0 3 3.00 0
Team: 4200 70 40 18 12 178 2.54 3

Playoffs[]

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Richard, HenriHenri Richard C 8 3 9 12 9
Geoffrion, BernieBernie Geoffrion RW 8 2 10 12 4
Moore, DickieDickie Moore LW 8 6 4 10 4
Beliveau, JeanJean Beliveau C 8 5 2 7 6
Bonin, MarcelMarcel Bonin W 8 1 4 5 12
Marshall, DonDon Marshall LW 8 2 2 4 0
Richard, MauriceMaurice Richard RW 8 1 3 4 2
Harvey, DougDoug Harvey D 8 3 0 3 6
Goyette, PhilPhil Goyette C 8 2 1 3 4
Hicke, BillBill Hicke RW 7 1 2 3 0
Pronovost, AndreAndre Pronovost LW 8 1 2 3 0
Backstrom, RalphRalph Backstrom C 7 0 3 3 2
Langlois, AlbertAlbert Langlois D 8 0 3 3 18
Provost, ClaudeClaude Provost RW 8 1 1 2 0
Talbot, Jean-GuyJean-Guy Talbot D 8 1 1 2 8
Johnson, TomTom Johnson D 8 0 1 1 4
Turner, BobBob Turner D 8 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 489 8 8 0 11 1.35 3
Team: 489 8 8 0 11 1.35 3

[2]

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[]

Farm Teams[]

Minor Pro[]

Junior A[]

Transactions[]

Roster[]

Jacques Plante, Charlie Hodge, Doug Harvey, Tom Johnson, Bob Turner, Jean-Guy Talbot, Albert Langlois, Ralph Backstrom, Jean Beliveau, Marcel Bonin, Bernie Geoffrion, Phil Goyette, Bill Hicke, Don Marshall, Ab McDonald, Dickie Moore, Andre Pronovost, Claude Provost, Henri Richard, Maurice Richard (captain), Frank Selke (manager), Toe Blake (coach), Hector Dubois, Larry Aubut (trainers).

Gallery[]

Video[]

Colour highlights and interviews from the 1960 Stanley Cup Finals.

See Also[]

References[]

  1. 1959–60 Montreal Canadiens Games. Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-06-04.
  2. 1959-60 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com. hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-28.
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