1992–93 Montreal Canadiens season

NHLTeamSeason
Season=1992–93
Team=Montreal Canadiens
Conference=Wales
ConferenceRank=4th
Division=Adams
DivisionRank=3rd
Record=48–30–6
HomeRecord=27–13–2
RoadRecord=21–17–4
GoalsFor=326 (9th)
GoalsAgainst=280 (T-7th)
GeneralManager=Serge Savard
Coach=Jacques Demers
Captain=Guy Carbonneau
AltCaptain=Denis Savard
Brian Skrudland (Oct-Mar)
Kirk Muller (Mar-Apr)
Arena=Montreal Forum
Attendance=17,018
GoalsLeader=Brian Bellows (40)
AssistsLeader=Vincent Damphousse (58)
PointsLeader=Vincent Damphousse (97)
PlusMinusLeader=
PIMLeader=Lyle Odelein (205)
WinsLeader=Patrick Roy (31)
GAALeader=Patrick Roy (3.20)
ConferenceWin=Yes
StanleyCup=Yes

The 1992–93 Montreal Canadiens season was the Canadiens 76th season in the NHL, and they were coming off of a disappointing 2nd round playoff exit against the Boston Bruins during the 1991–92 season, the 3rd straight season the Bruins had defeated the Habs in the playoffs.

In the off-season, the Canadiens would replace head coach Pat Burns and hire former Quebec Nordiques, St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings head coach Jacques Demers to take his spot. The team also made some trades during the summer, acquiring Vincent Damphousse from the Edmonton Oilers, and Brian Bellows from the Minnesota North Stars.

The Canadiens would get off to a quick start, sitting on top of the Adams Division with a 16–5–3 record in their opening 24 games. The team would slump to a 8–9–2 record in their next 19 games, and fall behind their provincial rivals, the Quebec Nordiques, in the standings. Montreal would get hot, going 17–4–1, to take a commanding lead in the division, but a late season slump, as Montreal would have a record of 7–11–0 in their final 18 games, falling behind the Boston Bruins and Nordiques to finish 3rd in the division with 102 points, as they had a 48–30–6 record.

Vincent Damphousse led the club offensively in his 1st season with the team, scoring 39 goals and earning a team high 97 points. Brian Bellows, also in his 1st season in Montreal, had a team high 40 goals, and finished with 88 points. Kirk Muller scored 37 goals and had 94 points, while Stephan Lebeau had a breakout season, earning 80 points. Eric Desjardins led the blueline with 13 goals and 45 points, while Mathieu Schneider also recorded 13 goals from the blueline, and finished with 44 points.

In goal, Patrick Roy played the majority of the games, leading the club with 31 wins and a 3.20 GAA in 62 games, and earn 2 shutouts along the way. Andre Racicot backed up Roy, and won 17 games in 26 games, while posting a 3.39 GAA, and a shutout.

In the playoffs, the Canadiens would open up against their Battle of Quebec rivals, the Quebec Nordiques. Quebec finished in 2nd place in the division, 2 points ahead of the Habs. Quebec opened up the series with 2 wins on home ice, sending the series back to Montreal. The Canadiens responded in the 3rd game with a 2–1 overtime win, to cut the Nordiques series lead to 2–1. Montreal followed that up with a solid 3–2 win in game 4 to even the series as it shifted back to Quebec City. Game 5 couldn't be settled in regulation time, as the Habs and Nordiques were tied 4–4, and Montreal would stun the Nordiques home crowd with an overtime goal to win the game 5–4, and take control of the series with a 3–2 lead, heading back to the Forum for the 6th game. Montreal then closed out the series at home, defeating the Nordiques 6–2, and advance to the 2nd round of the playoffs for the 10th straight season.

Up next was the Buffalo Sabres, who had upset the division winning Boston Bruins in the opening round. Montreal finished 16 points ahead of the Sabres during the regular season. The Canadiens, who ended their series with Quebec with 4 straight wins, continued their hot streak, defeating the Sabres by identical 4–3 scores in the opening 2 games, with the 2nd game being won in overtime. The series would move to Buffalo, but Montreal recorded another 4–3 overtime victory, to take a commanding 3–0 series lead. The Habs would sweep Buffalo, with yet another 4–3 overtime win in game 4, moving to the Conference final for the first time since 1989.

The Canadiens next opponent would be the surprising New York Islanders, who had just defeated the heavily favoured Pittsburgh Penguins to earn a spot in the Conference finals. The Islanders had 87 points in the regular season, which was 15 less than Montreal. The Canadiens stayed red hot, with a 4–1 victory in game 1, before winning 4–3 in double overtime to take a 2–0 series lead, and extend their winning streak to 10 games. Game 3 on Long Island would again head into overtime, with Montreal winning again, by a score of 2–1, to win their 11th straight playoff game, tying the NHL record which was set by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1992 playoffs. The Islanders would hold off the Canadiens in game 4 to avoid the sweep, and end the Canadiens winning streak, however, Montreal would close out the series in the 5th game, and move to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 4 years.

Montreal's final opponent of the playoffs would be the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings, led by Wayne Gretzky, had defeated the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, and Toronto Maple Leafs to earn their first ever trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. Los Angeles finished the season with 88 points, 14 less than Montreal. Game 1, held at the Forum, would belong to the Kings, as they stunned the Montreal crowd with a 4–1 victory. Montreal rebounded in game 2, as a late penalty call on Marty McSorley for using an illegal stick gave the Canadiens a late powerplay, on which they scored on to tie the game up at 2–2. The game would head into overtime, and Montreal once again prevailed, winning the game 3–2 to tie the series up. The series moved to Los Angeles for the 3rd game, and Montreal continued their overtime magic, with a 4–3 OT victory to take a 2–1 series lead. The 4th game would again head into overtime, and again, the Canadiens won, their NHL record 10th straight overtime victory, to take a 3–1 series lead with the series headed back to Montreal for the 5th game. The Canadiens would have no problems with a tired Kings team in the 5th game, winning 4–1, and earning their 24th Stanley Cup in team history. Patrick Roy would be named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy. It would be their last Stanley Cup championship to this date.

eason standings

Montreal Canadiens 4, Buffalo Sabres 0

eason stats

coring leaders

Goaltending

Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 1992 NHL Entry Draft

References

* [http://www.shrpsports.com SHRP Sports]
* [http://www.hockeydb.com The Internet Hockey Database]
*National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007