The
1996–97 Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
season was the club's
88th season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
. The Canadiens qualified for the playoffs despite a sub-.500 season. The Canadiens were eliminated in the
Eastern Conference quarterfinals (the first round) by the
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
4 games to 1.
Offseason
Regular season
On Wednesday, October 16, 1996, the Canadiens scored three short-handed goals in a 4–2 win over the Calgary Flames.
The Canadiens finished the regular season 26th in both power-play goals allowed (71) and penalty-killing percentage (79.54%).
Final standings
Schedule and results
Playoffs
In the first game of the series against New Jersey, on April 17, 1997, with the Devils up by two goals late in the game, Martin Brodeur fired the puck the length of the ice and into the Canadiens' empty net to ensure a 5-2 victory. It was only the second time in NHL history that a
goaltender had scored in the playoffs, and the fifth time overall.
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. New Jersey Devils
Player statistics
Regular season
;Scoring
;Goaltending
Playoffs
;Scoring
;Goaltending
Awards and records
Transactions
Draft picks
See also
*
1996–97 NHL season
The 1996–97 NHL season was the 80th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Philadelphia Flyers in four games and won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 42 years.
T ...
References
Canadiens on Hockey Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:1996-97 Montreal Canadiens Season
Montreal Canadiens seasons
Montreal Canadiens season, 1996-97
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...