1978 Stanley Cup Finals

1978 Stanley Cup Finals
1 2 3 4 5 6 Total
Montreal Canadiens 4 3* 0 3* 4 4 4
Boston Bruins 1 2* 4 4* 1 1 2
* indicates periods of overtime
Location(s) Montreal: Montreal Forum (1, 2, 5)
Boston: Boston Garden (3, 4, 6)
Coaches Montreal: Scotty Bowman
Boston: Don Cherry
Captains Montreal: Yvan Cournoyer
Boston: Wayne Cashman
Dates May 13 – May 25
MVP Larry Robinson (Canadiens)
Series-winning goal Mario Tremblay (9:20, first, G6)
Hall of Famers Canadiens:
Yvan Cournoyer (1982)
Ken Dryden (1983)
Bob Gainey (1992)
Guy Lafleur (1988)
Guy Lapointe (1993)
Jacques Lemaire (1984)
Larry Robinson (1995)
Serge Savard (1986)
Steve Shutt (1993)
Bruins:
Johnny Bucyk (1981)
Gerry Cheevers (1985)
Brad Park (1988)
Jean Ratelle (1985)
Coaches:
Scotty Bowman (1991)
Networks Canada:
(English): CBC
(French): SRC
United States:
(English): NHL Network
Announcers (CBC) Danny Gallivan (1–2, 5), Dan Kelly (3–4, 6), Chico Resch, and Dick Irvin Jr.
(SRC) René Lecavalier and Gilles Tremblay
(NHLN) Simulcast of CBC feed
Stanley Cup Finals

The 1978 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1977–78 season, and the culmination of the 1978 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Boston Bruins and the defending champion Montreal Canadiens, making their third straight appearance in the Finals. The series was a rematch of the 1977 Stanley Cup Finals. The Canadiens won the best-of-seven series, four games to two, to win their third consecutive Stanley Cup championship and their 21st overall. This was the last time that both the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens met in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Canadiens eventually joined the Bruins in the Adams Division in 1982.

Paths to the Finals

Montreal defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4–1 and the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–0 to advance to the final.

Boston defeated the Chicago Black Hawks 4–0 and the Philadelphia Flyers 4–1 to make it to the final.

Game summaries

Defenceman Larry Robinson of Montreal led all players with 17 assists, and finished tied with teammate Guy Lafleur with 21 points, to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.


May 13 Boston Bruins 1–4 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
Brad Park (6) – pp – 02:31 First period 04:31 – ppGuy Lafleur (8)
09:53 – ppYvon Lambert (2)
No scoring Second period 13:54 – Steve Shutt (7)
No scoring Third period 03:55 – Yvan Cournoyer (7)
Gerry Cheevers 23 saves / 27 shots Goalie stats Ken Dryden 15 saves / 16 shots
May 16 Boston Bruins 2–3 OT Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Brad Park (7) – 03:57 Second period 07:00 – Steve Shutt (8)
Rick Smith (1) – 15:48 Third period 12:12 – Bob Gainey (2)
No scoring First overtime period 13:09 – Guy Lafleur (9)
Gerry Cheevers 32 saves / 35 shots Goalie stats Ken Dryden 30 saves / 32 shots
May 18 Montreal Canadiens 0–4 Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
No scoring First period 00:59 – Gary Doak (1)
05:11 – Rick Middleton (5)
No scoring Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period 02:54 – Peter McNab (7)
15:39 – Terry O'Reilly (5)
Ken Dryden 32 saves / 36 shots Goalie stats Gerry Cheevers 16 saves / 16 shots
May 21 Montreal Canadiens 3–4 OT Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
Doug Risebrough (2) – 03:26 First period 00:25 – Gregg Sheppard (2)
Larry Robinson (3) – 07:00 Second period No scoring
Guy Lafleur (10) – 19:27 Third period 09:19 – Peter McNab (8)
13:20 – Brad Park (8)
No scoring First overtime period 06:22 – Bobby Schmautz (7)
Ken Dryden 20 saves / 24 shots Goalie stats Gerry Cheevers 27 saves / 30 shots
May 23 Boston Bruins 1–4 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
No scoring First period 07:46 – Larry Robinson (4)
11:10 – ppPierre Mondou (3)
No scoring Second period 13:04 – pp Pierre Larouche (2)
18:42 – Jacques Lemaire (6)
Don Marcotte (5) – pp – 11:22 Third period No scoring
Gerry Cheevers 21 saves / 25 shots
Ron Grahame 5 saves / 5 shots
Goalie stats Ken Dryden 29 saves / 30 shots
May 25 Montreal Canadiens 4–1 Boston Bruins Boston Garden Recap  
Steve Shutt (9) – 07:01
Mario Tremblay (1) – 09:20
First period 04:05 – ppBrad Park (9)
Mario Tremblay (2) – 13:37
Rejean Houle (3) – 17:46
Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Ken Dryden 15 saves / 16 shots Goalie stats Gerry Cheevers 20 saves / 24 shots
Montreal won series 4–2


Team rosters

Boston Bruins

No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
6 Dennis O'Brien D L 28 1975 Port Hope, Ontario
7 Sean Shanahan RW R 27 1978 Toronto, Ontario
8 Peter McNab C L 26 1976 Vancouver, British Columbia
10 Jean Ratelle C L 37 1975 Lac Saint-Jean, Quebec
11 Bobby Schmautz RW R 33 1973 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
12 Wayne Cashman (C) LW R 32 1965 Kingston, Ontario
14 Bob Miller C L 21 1976 Medford, Massachusetts
16 Rick Middleton RW R 24 1976 Toronto, Ontario
17 Stan Jonathan LW L 22 1975 Ohsweken, Ontario
18 John Wensink LW L 25 1976 Cornwall, Ontario
19 Gregg Sheppard C L 29 1972 North Battleford, Saskatchewan
20 Al Sims D L 25 1973 Toronto, Ontario
21 Don Marcotte LW L 31 1967 Arthabaska, Quebec
22 Brad Park D L 29 1975 Toronto, Ontario
23 Rick Smith D L 29 1972 Kingston, Ontario
24 Terry O'Reilly RW R 26 1971 Niagara Falls, Ontario
25 Gary Doak D R 32 1972 Goderich, Ontario
26 Mike Milbury D L 25 1975 Brighton, Massachusetts
30 Gerry Cheevers G L 37 1976 St. Catharines, Ontario
31 Ron Grahame G L 27 1977 Victoria, British Columbia

Montreal Canadiens

No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
1 Michel Larocque G L 26 1972 Hull, Quebec
2 Bill Nyrop D L 25 1972 Washington, D.C.
3 Brian Engblom D L 23 1975 Winnipeg, Manitoba
5 Guy Lapointe D L 30 1969 Montreal, Quebec
6 Pierre Mondou C R 22 1975 Sorel, Quebec
8 Doug Risebrough C L 24 1974 Guelph, Ontario
10 Guy Lafleur RW R 26 1971 Montreal, Quebec
11 Yvon Lambert LW L 27 1971 Drummondville, Quebec
12 Yvan Cournoyer (C) RW L 34 1963 Montreal, Quebec
14 Mario Tremblay RW R 21 1974 Alma, Quebec
15 Réjean Houle RW L 28 1969 Rouyn, Quebec
17 Murray Wilson C L 26 1971 Toronto, Canada
18 Serge Savard D L 32 1966 Landrienne, Quebec
19 Larry Robinson D L 26 1971 Winchester, Ontario
21 Doug Jarvis C L 23 1975 Brantford, Ontario
22 Steve Shutt LW L 25 1972 North York, Ontario
23 Bob Gainey LW L 23 1973 Peterborough, Ontario
24 Gilles Lupien D L 24 1974 Lachute, Quebec
25 Jacques Lemaire C L 32 1967 LaSalle, Quebec
26 Pierre Bouchard D L 30 1965 Longueuil, Quebec
27 Rick Chartraw D R 23 1974 Caracas, Venezuela
28 Pierre Larouche C L 22 1977 Taschereau, Quebec
29 Ken Dryden G L 30 1964 Hamilton, Ontario

Stanley Cup engraving

The 1978 Stanley Cup was presented to Canadiens captain Yvan Cournoyer by NHL President John Ziegler following the Canadiens 4–1 win over the Bruins in game six.

The following Canadiens players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup

1977–78 Montreal Canadiens

Players

  Centres
  Wingers
  Defencemen
  Goaltenders

Coaching and administrative staff

Stanley Cup engraving

  • †Murray Wilson only played 12 games due to spinal fusion surgery. His name was engraved on the Cup in 1978, even though he did not qualify.

See also