1959–60 Montreal Canadiens season

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1959–60 Montreal Canadiens
Stanley Cup Champions
Conference 1st
1959–60 record 40–18–12
Goals for 255
Goals against 178
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)
Penalties in minutes Henri Richard (66)

The 1959–60 Montreal Canadiens season involved the team winning the Stanley Cup for the fifth consecutive season, and the 12th in franchise history.

Contents:
Regular seasonPlayoffsPlayer statsAwards and records - Transactions
Draft picksFarm teamsSee alsoReferences


[edit] Offseason

[edit] Regular season

On November 1, 1959, at 3:06 of the first period, Jacques Plante was hit in the face by a shot fired by Andy Bathgate. Plante came back in the game wearing a mask (the second goaltender in NHL history to wear a mask after Clint Benedict) starting a trend where all NHL goaltenders today wear a mask.

[edit] Season standings

National Hockey League GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Montreal Canadiens 70 40 18 12 92 255 178 756
Toronto Maple Leafs 70 35 26 9 79 199 195 859
Chicago Black Hawks 70 28 29 13 69 191 180 970
Detroit Red Wings 70 26 29 15 67 186 197 538
Boston Bruins 70 28 34 8 64 220 241 932
New York Rangers 70 17 38 15 49 187 247 850

[edit] Jacques Plante

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.

[edit] Player stats

[edit] Forwards

Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points

Player GP G AST PTS PIM

[edit] Defencemen

Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points

Player GP G AST PTS PIM

[edit] Goaltending

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

Player GP W L T SO GAA

[edit] The Stanley Cup Finals

Montreal swept the Maple Leafs, outscoring them 15–5, en route to being the first team since the 1952 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.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens

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

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

[edit] 1960 Montreal Canadiens

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)

[edit] References