1976 Stanley Cup Finals

The 1976 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1975–76 season, and the culmination of the 1976 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers, making their third consecutive finals appearance, and the Montreal Canadiens. This was the Canadiens first appearance in the Final since their Cup win in 1973. The Canadiens swept the series to win their 19th Stanley Cup in franchise history, denying the Flyers a three-peat.

1976 Stanley Cup Finals
1234 Total
Montreal Canadiens 4235 4
Philadelphia Flyers 3123 0
Location(s)Montreal: Montreal Forum (1, 2)
Philadelphia: Spectrum (3, 4)
CoachesMontreal: Scotty Bowman
Philadelphia: Fred Shero
CaptainsMontreal: Yvan Cournoyer
Philadelphia: Bobby Clarke
National anthemsMontreal: Roger Doucet
Philadelphia: Kate Smith
RefereesRon Wicks (1)
Dave Newell (2)
Wally Harris (3)
Lloyd Gilmour (4)
DatesMay 9–16, 1976
MVPReggie Leach (Flyers)
Series-winning goalGuy Lafleur (14:18, third, G4)
Hall of FamersCanadiens:
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)
Flyers:
Bill Barber (1990)
Bobby Clarke (1987)
Bernie Parent (1984)
Coaches:
Scotty Bowman (1991)
Fred Shero (2013)
NetworksCanada:
(English): CBC
(French): SRC
United States:
(English): NHL Network
Announcers(CBC) Danny Gallivan and Dick Irvin Jr.
(SRC) Rene Lecavalier and Gilles Tremblay
(NHLN) Marv Albert (1, 3–4), Ted Darling (2), Stan Mikita (1), Garry Unger (2), Chico Resch (3), and Curt Bennett (4)
← 1975 Stanley Cup Finals 1977 →

This marked the first of what is currently six consecutive losses in the Cup Final for the Flyers, as they would lose in the Final again in 1980, 1985, 1987, 1997, and 2010.

Paths to the Finals

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Montreal defeated the Chicago Black Hawks 4–0 and the New York Islanders 4–1 to advance to the final.

Philadelphia defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 and the Boston Bruins 4–1 to make it to the final.

Game summaries

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Guy Lafleur scored the first two finals goals in his career, both game-winners.

Reggie Leach scored four goals in the Finals, and nineteen times in total in the playoffs to win the Conn Smythe Trophy even though the Flyers lost the Cup to the Canadiens. He is one of the only two non-goaltenders in NHL history to be named MVP of the playoffs in an unsuccessful cause, and the third of only six as of 2024. His accomplishment followed Roger Crozier (Detroit Red Wings, in 1966) and Glenn Hall (St. Louis Blues, 1968) and preceded Ron Hextall (Philadelphia, 1987), Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 2003) and Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers, 2024).


May 9 Philadelphia Flyers 3–4 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
Reggie Leach (16) - 00:21
Ross Lonsberry (4) - 13:22
First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 4:04 - Jimmy Roberts (3)
6:30 - Larry Robinson (3)
Larry Goodenough (3) - pp - 5:17 Third period 10:02 - Jacques Lemaire (2)
18:38 - Guy Lapointe (3)
Wayne Stephenson Goalie stats Ken Dryden
May 11 Philadelphia Flyers 1–2 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 15:19 - sh - Jacques Lemaire (3)
Dave Schultz (2) - 17:35 Third period 2:41 - Guy Lafleur (6)
Wayne Stephenson Goalie stats Ken Dryden
May 13 Montreal Canadiens 3–2 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum Recap  
Steve Shutt (5) - pp - 3:17 First period 8:40 - pp - Reggie Leach (17)
18:14 - Reggie Leach (18)
Steve Shutt (6) - pp - 1:09 Second period No scoring
Pierre Bouchard (1) - 9:16 Third period No scoring
Ken Dryden Goalie stats Wayne Stephenson
May 16 Montreal Canadiens 5–3 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum Recap  
Steve Shutt (7) - pp - 5:35
Pierre Bouchard (2) - pp - 11:48
First period 00:40 - Reggie Leach (19)
18:20 - pp - Bill Barber (6)
Yvan Cournoyer (3) - pp - 19:49 Second period 13:59 - pp - Andre Dupont (2)
Guy Lafleur (7) - 14:18
Peter Mahovlich (4) - 15:16
Third period No scoring
Ken Dryden Goalie stats Wayne Stephenson
Montreal won series 4–0


Reggie Leach won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Team rosters

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Montreal Canadiens

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No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
1   Michel Larocque G L 24 1972 Hull, Quebec
2   Bill Nyrop D L 23 1972 Washington, D.C.
3   John Van Boxmeer D R 23 1972 Petrolia, Ontario
5   Guy Lapointe D L 28 1969 Montreal, Quebec
6   Jimmy Roberts RW R 36 1971 Toronto, Ontario
8   Doug Risebrough C L 22 1974 Guelph, Ontario
10   Guy Lafleur RW R 24 1971 Thurso, Quebec
11   Yvon Lambert LW L 25 1971 Drummondville, Quebec
12   Yvan Cournoyer (C) RW L 32 1963 Montreal, Quebec
14   Mario Tremblay RW R 19 1974 Alma, Quebec
17   Murray Wilson C L 24 1971 Toronto, Canada
18   Serge Savard D L 30 1966 Landrienne, Quebec
19   Larry Robinson D L 24 1971 Winchester, Ontario
20   Peter Mahovlich C L 29 1969 Timmins, Ontario
21   Doug Jarvis C L 21 1975 Brantford, Ontario
22   Steve Shutt LW L 23 1972 North York, Ontario
23   Bob Gainey LW L 21 1973 Peterborough, Ontario
24   Don Awrey D L 32 1975 Kitchener, Ontario
25   Jacques Lemaire C L 30 1967 LaSalle, Quebec
26   Pierre Bouchard D L 28 1965 Longueuil, Quebec
27   Rick Chartraw D R 21 1974 Caracas, Venezuela
29   Ken Dryden G L 28 1964 Hamilton, Ontario

Philadelphia Flyers

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No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
1   Bernie Parent G L 31 1973 Montreal, Quebec
3   Tom Bladon D R 23 1972 Edmonton, Alberta
5   Larry Goodenough D R 23 1973 Toronto, Ontario
6   Andre Dupont D L 26 1972 Trois-Rivières, Quebec
7   Bill Barber LW L 23 1972 Callander, Ontario
8   Dave Schultz LW L 26 1969 Waldheim, Saskatchewan
9   Bob Kelly LW L 25 1970 Oakville, Ontario
10   Mel Bridgman C L 21 1975 Trenton, Ontario
11   Don Saleski RW R 26 1972 Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
12   Gary Dornhoefer RW R 33 1967 Kitchener, Ontario
14   Joe Watson D L 32 1967 Smithers, British Columbia
15   Terry Crisp C L 32 1973 Parry Sound, Ontario
16   Bobby Clarke (C) C L 26 1969 Flin Flon, Manitoba
18   Ross Lonsberry LW L 29 1972 Watson, Saskatchewan
20   Jim Watson D L 23 1972 Smithers, British Columbia
25   Terry Murray D L 25 1975 Shawville, Quebec
26   Orest Kindrachuk C L 25 1972 Nanton, Alberta
27   Reggie Leach RW R 26 1974 Riverton, Manitoba
29   Jack McIlhargey D L 24 1975 Edmonton, Alberta
35   Wayne Stephenson G L 31 1974 Fort William, Ontario

Stanley Cup engraving

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The 1976 Stanley Cup was presented to Canadiens captain Yvan Cournoyer by NHL President Clarence Campbell following the Canadiens 5–3 win over the Flyers in game four.

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

1975–76 Montreal Canadiens

Players

† left off cup, but qualified to be on it.

Coaching and administrative staff

Stanley Cup engraving

  • Don Awrey played 72 regular-season games, and John van Boxmeer played 46 games. As neither player played in the playoffs, their names were not included on the Stanley Cup. The official rules says that players must play in the playoffs to be included on the Stanley Cup, but this rule was not followed very well. Players who played in playoffs were often left off, and many players who did not play in the playoffs were still engraved on it. The NHL changed the rules to say that any player who played at least 40 games (half the regular season game total) or more for the winning team, or one game in the Stanley Cup Finals must be included. However, Awrey and Van Boxmeer were not added to the cup for 1976. Awrey's name is on the Cup in 1970, 1972 with Boston. Van Boxmeer's name does not appear on the Stanley Cup.
  • Murray Wilson's name was misspelled in 1973, 1976, 1977 as MURRY WILSON missing an "A". Murray Wilson was spelled correctly on the Stanley Cup in 1978. Wilson's name was also spelled correctly all 4 times on the Replica Cup.
  • Between 1976 and 1985, an "A" (alternate captain) was no longer marked on players' sweaters. Only the captain was marked with a "C."
  • American Rick Chartraw was born in Venezuela, and was first South America born player to win the Stanley Cup.

See also

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Notes

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References

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External videos
  1976 Stanley Cup Final, Game 4 on YouTube
  • Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Stanley Cup. NHL.
  • Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7.
Preceded by Montreal Canadiens
Stanley Cup champions

1976
Succeeded by