2007–08 Montreal Canadiens season

NHLTeamSeason
Season=2007–08
Team=Montreal Canadiens
Conference=Eastern
ConferenceRank=1st
Division=Northeast
DivisionRank=1st
Record=47–25–10
HomeRecord=22–13–6
RoadRecord=25–12–4
GoalsFor=262
GoalsAgainst=222
GeneralManager=Bob Gainey
Coach=Guy Carbonneau
Captain=Saku Koivu
AltCaptain=Christopher Higgins
Alexei Kovalev
Arena=Bell Centre
Attendance=21,273 (100%)
GoalsLeader= Alexei Kovalev (35)
AssistsLeader= Alexei Kovalev
Mark Streit (49)
PointsLeader= Alexei Kovalev (84)
PIMLeader= Tom Kostopoulos (113)
WinsLeader= Carey Price (24)
GAALeader= Jaroslav Halak (2.11)
DivisionWin=Yes
PlusMinusLeader=Alexei Kovalev (+18) The 2007–08 Montreal Canadiens season began on October 3, 2007. It was the Canadiens' 98th season of play and 90th in the National Hockey League. The Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 4 games to 3 in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals before being eliminated 4 games to 1 by the Philadelphia Flyers in the Semifinals.

Offseason events

Key dates prior to the start of the season:

* The 2007 NHL Entry Draft took place in Columbus, Ohio, on June 22–23.
* The free agency period began on July 1.

Regular season

* On November 19, 2007, the number 19 of legendary defenceman Larry Robinson, a former member of the Big Three, was retired.
* On January 11, 2008, Superstar defenceman Andrei Markov was named to the All-Star Game starting roster. [cite web |url=http://www.nhl.com/allstar/2008/east_roster.html |date=January 11, 2008 |title=2008 Eastern Conference All-Stars |publisher=NHL.com |accessdate=2008-01-11]
* On February 19, 2008, the Montreal Canadiens came back from a 0–5 deficit against the New-York Rangers to win the game in a shootout 6–5. This marks the first time in the franchise's 99 year history that they have ever come back to win a game after going down 0–5. This game was compared to some of the greatest games in team history.
* On February 23, 2008, the number 23 of legendary defensive forward Bob Gainey was retired.
* On March 1, 2008, the Montreal Canadiens took the 1st place in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1993 with a 2–1 win over the New Jersey Devils.
* On March 22, 2008, the Montreal Canadiens won their 11th consecutive win against the Boston Bruins since March 2007, and beat their previous win streak over the Boston Bruins of 10-0 from the 1956–57 NHL season.
* On April 1, 2008, the Montreal Canadiens won their first division title since the 1991–1992 season.
* On April 6, 2008, the Montreal Canadiens finished on top of the Eastern Conference (formerly Wales Conference) for the first time since the 1988-89 season.

Riots

The 2008 NHL Quarterfinals Riot occurred in Downtown Montreal after the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins in seven games and advanced to play in the semi-finals.

Roster changes

Fan support

Plans for the future

Season results

Divisional standings

Conference standings

Game log

* Green background indicates win (2 points).
* White background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point).
* Red background indicates regulation loss (0 point).

October

Record: 6–2–3; Home: 2–1–2; Road: 4–1–1

January

Monthly record: 8–2–2 Home: 4–1–1 Road: 4–1–1
Season record: 27–15–9 Home: 10–8–5; Road: 17–7–4 * Unsuccessful Penalty Shot for Christopher Higgins vs Toronto Maple Leafs on March 29, 2008.

April

Monthly record: 3–0–0 Home: 2–0–0 Road: 1–0–0
Season record: 47–25–10 Home: 22–13–6; Road: 25–12–4

Eastern Conference Semifinals: vs. (6) Philadelphia Flyers

"* Player scoring winning goal is shown in italics."

Roster

"*The team has also allowed 6 game losing shootout goals and 6 empty net goals. These goals do not count towards a goalie's personal statistics.

Playoffs

Skaters

"Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes"

National Hockey League awards

* Guy Carbonneau: Jack Adams Trophy nominee
* Andrei Markov: All-Star starting defenceman [cite web |url=http://www.nhl.com/allstar/2008/east_roster.html |date=January 11, 2008 |title=2008 Eastern Conference All-Stars |publisher=NHL.com |accessdate=2008-01-11]

Records

* February 19 win against the New York Rangers was the largest comeback in franchise history after being down 0–5. [cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2008/02/21/canadiens-penguins-nhl-preview.html|title=Habs' confidence soaring after historic win|accessdate=2008-02-21]

Milestones

Players lost to free agency

Draft picks

Montreal's picks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio. [2007 NHL Entry Draft Results [http://www.nhl.com/futures/2007draft/ nhl.com] ]

Farm teams

Hamilton Bulldogs

The Hamilton Bulldogs remain Montreal's top affiliate in the American Hockey League in 2007–08.

Cincinnati Cyclones

Montreal has a joint affiliation with the Nashville Predators for the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL in 2007–08.

ee also

*2007–08 NHL season

References