When was the montreal canadiens first game

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To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. The NHL season will open on Oct. Day 2 has a four-game slate with a pair of all-Canadian matchups. Their second game will be their first regular season game against an American team in a season when they head to Buffalo to play the Sabres. It also marked a new period for the Canadiens, as rookie Maurice Richard joined the team. With Bill Durnan in goal one of the best in the NHL , the Canadiens of the mids enjoyed a period of unprecedented success.

The —44 season culminated in the team hoisting the Stanley Cup. During the —45 season, the team led the league with most goals scored, fewest goals allowed and most penalty minutes. Maurice Richard also became the league's first player to score 50 goals in a season. Though the Canadiens missed out on the Cup in , and , and did not make the playoffs at all in , they were Stanley Cup champions in The —50 through —52 seasons ended in defeat.

However, in —53, Jacques Plante made his NHL debut as goalie for the team and helped the Canadiens finish in second place in the league. In game six of the Stanley Cup finals, Elmer Lach scored the game-winning goal, breaking a tie in overtime and leading the team to its seventh Stanley Cup. Though they missed out on the Cup in , the team hoped to reclaim it in This was not to be, partly due to events in March During a 13 March game against the Boston Bruins, Richard violently hit Bruins defenceman Hal Laycoe in retaliation for Laycoe high-sticking Richard earlier in the game.

When linesman Cliff Thompson tried to intervene, Richard punched him. Montreal fans protested that the suspension was too long, and was motivated by Richard's French Canadian ethnicity. Richard accepted his punishment and promised to return to the Canadiens the next year, this time finishing with a Cup.

His promise was fulfilled; in —56 the team began an era of success unmatched in the history of professional hockey. They also claimed the NHL's best goalie in Plante. The combination resulted in the team's first point season. They also set a league record for most Cup wins with eight, following up with a ninth in The —58 season marked an emergence of young stars on the team.

That year, the Canadiens marked the league's second "three-peat" Stanley Cup championship. They made it a fourth championship in —59 and a fifth straight win in — The Stanley Cup final game would also be Maurice Richard's last, as the Rocket hung up his jersey for good at the end of the season.

The Montreal Canadiens' monopoly over the Stanley Cup came to an end during the playoffs, with Montreal being knocked out in the semi-finals by Chicago. Though the team played well during the —62 regular season, they, once again, lost in the post-season semifinals to Chicago in , and to Toronto in and The Canadiens' management was overhauled in the summer of , and the Canadiens won their 13th and 14th franchise Stanley Cups in and In —68, the NHL expanded. Facing more competition, the Canadiens initially met with little success and after 33 games, were in last place in the league.

By the end of the season, however, they had reclaimed their spot at the top of the league and the East Division. The Canadiens proved their staying power when they won their 15th Stanley Cup against the St. Louis Blues, one of the new expansion teams. They would repeat the series against St. Louis in , playing their home games in the newly renovated Montreal Forum under coach Claude Ruel. After winning their 16th Stanley Cup, the Canadiens began the —70 season with high hopes. Consequently, the team's standings suffered, and the Canadiens watched the playoffs from the sidelines.

Soon after the victory, MacNeil was replaced by Scotty Bowman as coach. Bowman became a legendary Canadiens coach, leading a team based on speed, scoring, and defence. The Canadiens remained competitive during the s, but as the NHL expanded, their domination came to an end.

Though they were at the top of league scoring thanks to stars like Guy Lafleur , Pierre Larouche, Steve Shutt, and Pierre Mondou, and the return of coach Claude Ruel, the loss of past stars dropped Montreal to third place by the end of the —80 season.

They finished the season without a Cup, the first time in five years. Team general manager Irving Grundman attempted to mix the team up, and drafted Doug Wickenheiser, first overall draft pick, for the next season. Despite a successful season in —81, the Canadiens were swept from the first round of the playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers. Bob Berry replaced Ruel as coach for the —82 season and led the team to their eighth straight year as division champions. However, the division's fourth place team, the Quebec Nordiques , dashed the Canadiens' hopes for a Cup in the first round.

Their eight-year reign as division champions came to an end in the —83 season, when the team finished second in their division and failed to make it past the first round of playoffs for the third year in a row. Subsequently, general manager Irving Grundman was fired, replaced by Serge Savard.

The team fell to fourth place in the division during —84, and coach Berry was replaced by former player Jacques Lemaire at the end of February. It was Montreal's first losing season in 33 years. During the summer of , Savard picked Patrick Roy in the draft; Roy would, however, play only one period during the —85 season. It was truly the end of an era, as Guy Lafleur announced his retirement on 26 November The team recorded a mediocre —86 season and finished second in their division.

The gamble paid off and the Canadiens won their 23rd Stanley Cup in , led by the outstanding goaltending of rookie Roy. The Canadiens did not finish past the second round of the playoffs until the —89 Stanley Cup finals, when the Canadiens, with Pat Burns behind the bench, met the Calgary Flames again.

This time, the Flames were victorious, the first visiting team to win the Stanley Cup on Montreal Forum ice. This did not, however, stop coach Pat Burns from leaving the team to coach the rival Toronto Maple Leafs at the end of the playoffs. Jacques Demers took the reins as coach for the —93 season, and his timing could not have been better. That year's playoff run was remarkable for the 10 straight overtime wins the Canadiens earned.

They were, again, led by the spectacular goaltending of Patrick Roy , who won the Conn Smyth Trophy for the second time in his career. The Cup was the team's last at the Montreal Forum.

Although they made it to the playoffs the next year, they were quickly knocked out by the Boston Bruins. The —95 season was cut short by a lockout, and the Canadians missed the playoffs for the first time in 25 years.

Just a few months into the season, Roy was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. The team's last game in the Montreal Forum, where they had played since , was on 11 March Their next home game, five days later, was played in the Molson Centre now known as the Bell Centre , the largest arena in the NHL at 21, seats.

Their first home game was a success, with the Canadiens beating the New York Rangers 4—2. Their next two playoff runs were short lived, with the team losing in the first round in both and In December , the team played its 5,th game in the NHL.