1989–90 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1989–90 Montreal Canadiens season was the Canadiens' 81st season. The Canadiens were eliminated in the Adams Division final by the Boston Bruins 4 games to 1.

1989–90 Montreal Canadiens
Division	3rd Adams
Conference	3rd Wales
1989–90 record	41–28–11
Home record	26–8–6
Road record	15–20–5
Goals for	288
Goals against	234
Team information
General manager	Serge Savard
Coach	Pat Burns
Captain	Guy Carbonneau Chris Chelios
Alternate captains	Mats Naslund
Arena	Montreal Forum
Team leaders
Goals	Stephane Richer (51)
Assists	Shayne Corson (44)
Points	Stephane Richer (91)
Penalty minutes	Todd Ewen (158)
Plus/minus	Stephane Richer (+35)
Wins	Patrick Roy (31)
Goals against average	Patrick Roy (2.53)

Offseason

Captain Bob Gainey retired in July 1989. The Canadiens named Guy Carbonneau and Chris Chelios co-captains, in August. Meanwhile, longtime defenceman Larry Robinson signed with the Los Angeles Kings via free-agency.

NHL Draft

Montreal's draft picks at the 1989 NHL Entry Draft held at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	13	Lindsay Vallis	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
2	30	Patrice Brisebois	Canada	Laval Titan (QMJHL)
2	41	Steve Larouche	Canada	Trois-Rivieres Draveurs (QMJHL)
3	51	Pierre Sevigny	Canada	Verdun Junior Canadiens (QMJHL)
4	83	Andre Racicot	Canada	Granby Bisons (QMJHL)
5	104	Marc Deschamps	Canada	Cornell University (ECAC)
7	146	Craig Ferguson	United States	Yale University (ECAC)
8	167	Patrick Lebeau	Canada	Saint-Jean Lynx (QMJHL)
9	188	Roy Mitchell	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
11	230	Justin Duberman	United States	University of North Dakota (WCHA)
12	251	Steve Cadieux	Canada	Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
S	25	Craig Charron	United States	University of Massachusetts Lowell (Hockey East)

Regular season

The Canadiens finished the regular season with only 234 goals allowed, second only to the Boston Bruins. Their power play struggled throughout the season and they finished last in power-play goals scored (54) and power-play percentage (15.88%). Although the Canadiens scored the fewest short-handed goals in the league, with 4, they only allowed 7, good enough for 4th place in the league (tied with the Buffalo Sabres and Edmonton Oilers).

Final standings

Adams Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Boston Bruins	80	46	25	9	289	232	101
Buffalo Sabres	80	45	27	8	286	248	98
Montreal Canadiens	80	41	28	11	288	234	93
Hartford Whalers	80	38	33	9	275	268	85
Quebec Nordiques	80	12	61	7	240	407	31

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Wales Conference

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Boston Bruins	ADM	80	46	25	9	289	232	101
2	Buffalo Sabres	ADM	80	45	27	8	286	248	98
3	Montreal Canadiens	ADM	80	41	28	11	288	234	93
4	Hartford Whalers	ADM	80	38	33	9	275	268	85
5	New York Rangers	PTK	80	36	31	13	279	267	85
6	New Jersey Devils	PTK	80	37	34	9	295	288	83
7	Washington Capitals	PTK	80	36	38	6	284	275	78
8	New York Islanders	PTK	80	31	38	11	281	288	73
9	Pittsburgh Penguins	PTK	80	32	40	8	318	359	72
10	Philadelphia Flyers	PTK	80	30	39	11	290	297	71
11	Quebec Nordiques	ADM	80	12	61	7	240	407	31

Divisions: PTK – Patrick, ADM – Adams

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

1989–90 NHL records Vs. Adams Division

Team	BOS	BUF	HFD	MTL	QUE	Total
Boston	—	4–3–1	4–3–1	4–3–1	6–1–1	18–10–4
Buffalo	3–4–1	—	6–2	4–3–1	7–0–1	20–9–3
Hartford	3–4–1	2–6	—	3–4–1	6–1–1	14–15–3
Montreal	3–4–1	3–4–1	4–3–1	—	7–1	17–12–3
Quebec	1–6–1	0–7–1	1–6–1	1–7	—	3–26–3

1989–90 NHL records Vs. Patrick Division

Team	NJD	NYI	NYR	PHI	PIT	WSH	Total
Boston	1–1–1	1–1–1	0–3	3–0	2–1	2–1	9–7–2
Buffalo	1–2	0–3	2–0–1	2–1	3–0	1–1–1	9–7–2
Hartford	2–1	2–1	1–2	2–1	2–0–1	2–1	11–6–2
Montreal	2–1	2–1	3–0	0–2–1	2–1	1–2	10–7–1
Quebec	0–3	2–1	0–3	1–1–1	1–2	0–3	4–13–1

Vs. Campbell Conference

1989–90 NHL records Vs. Norris Division

Team	CHI	DET	MIN	STL	TOR	Total
Boston	3–0	3–0	2–1	2–1	2–1	12–3–0
Buffalo	1–2	2–1	1–1–1	1–2	2–1	7–7–1
Hartford	1–2	2–0–1	2–1	1–2	1–1–1	7–6–2
Montreal	1–2	1–0–2	2–1	1–0–2	2–1	7–4–4
Quebec	1–2	0–3	1–2	0–3	0–3	2–13–0

1989–90 NHL records Vs. Smythe Division

Team	CGY	EDM	LAK	VAN	WIN	Total
Boston	1–1–1	2–0–1	2–1	1–2	1–1–1	7–5–3
Buffalo	1–1–1	1–2	2–1	2–0–1	3–0	9–4–2
Hartford	0–2–1	1–0–2	2–1	2–1	1–2	6–6–3
Montreal	2–1	1–1–1	1–1–1	2–1	1–1–1	7–5–3
Quebec	0–1–2	0–3	0–3	2–0–1	1–2	3–9–3

Schedule and results

#	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
2	W	Oct 7, 1989	5–1	Buffalo Sabres	2–0–0
3	L	Oct 9, 1989	0–2	@ Boston Bruins	2–1–0
4	W	Oct 11, 1989	4–2	Boston Bruins	3–1–0
5	W	Oct 13, 1989	4–3 OT	@ New Jersey Devils	4–1–0
6	L	Oct 14, 1989	1–2 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins	4–2–0
7	L	Oct 16, 1989	3–4 OT	Washington Capitals	4–3–0
8	W	Oct 18, 1989	2–1	Calgary Flames	5–3–0
9	L	Oct 20, 1989	2–6	@ Buffalo Sabres	5–4–0
10	L	Oct 21, 1989	4–5	New Jersey Devils	5–5–0
11	W	Oct 23, 1989	3–2	Hartford Whalers	6–5–0
12	L	Oct 26, 1989	3–5	@ Chicago Blackhawks	6–6–0
13	W	Oct 28, 1989	5–1	Pittsburgh Penguins	7–6–0
14	W	Oct 29, 1989	5–4	Edmonton Oilers	8–6–0
15	W	Oct 31, 1989	3–0	@ New York Islanders	9–6–0
16	L	Nov 2, 1989	3–4	Buffalo Sabres	9–7–0
17	W	Nov 4, 1989	3–2	New York Rangers	10–7–0
18	T	Nov 6, 1989	3–3 OT	St. Louis Blues	10–7–1
19	W	Nov 8, 1989	3–2	@ New York Rangers	11–7–1
20	T	Nov 9, 1989	1–1 OT	@ St. Louis Blues	11–7–2
21	L	Nov 11, 1989	4–5	@ Los Angeles Kings	11–8–2
22	W	Nov 15, 1989	5–1	Winnipeg Jets	12–8–2
23	L	Nov 16, 1989	2–3	@ Boston Bruins	12–9–2
24	W	Nov 18, 1989	4–3 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs	13–9–2
25	W	Nov 20, 1989	3–2	Calgary Flames	14–9–2
26	L	Nov 22, 1989	1–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers	14–10–2
27	W	Nov 25, 1989	5–3	Boston Bruins	15–10–2
28	W	Nov 29, 1989	5–2	Quebec Nordiques	16–10–2
29	W	Nov 30, 1989	6–2	@ Quebec Nordiques	17–10–2
30	L	Dec 2, 1989	3–4	Hartford Whalers	17–11–2
31	W	Dec 6, 1989	4–1	@ Minnesota North Stars	18–11–2
32	T	Dec 8, 1989	6–6 OT	@ Winnipeg Jets	18–11–3
33	L	Dec 9, 1989	4–7	@ Toronto Maple Leafs	18–12–3
34	T	Dec 11, 1989	2–2 OT	Los Angeles Kings	18–12–4
35	L	Dec 13, 1989	1–3	Chicago Blackhawks	18–13–4
36	W	Dec 16, 1989	3–1	Detroit Red Wings	19–13–4
37	W	Dec 17, 1989	2–0	@ New York Rangers	20–13–4
38	T	Dec 22, 1989	2–2 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres	20–13–5
39	L	Dec 23, 1989	3–5	Philadelphia Flyers	20–14–5
40	L	Dec 27, 1989	1–2	@ Vancouver Canucks	20–15–5
41	L	Dec 29, 1989	2–6	@ Edmonton Oilers	20–16–5
42	L	Dec 30, 1989	3–5	@ Calgary Flames	20–17–5
43	W	Jan 6, 1990	6–3	Buffalo Sabres	21–17–5
44	W	Jan 7, 1990	5–3	Vancouver Canucks	22–17–5
45	L	Jan 9, 1990	2–5	@ Quebec Nordiques	22–18–5
46	W	Jan 12, 1990	5–2	@ New Jersey Devils	23–18–5
47	T	Jan 13, 1990	2–2 OT	Philadelphia Flyers	23–18–6
48	W	Jan 15, 1990	4–3	Minnesota North Stars	24–18–6
49	L	Jan 17, 1990	3–6	New York Islanders	24–19–6
50	W	Jan 24, 1990	7–3	Quebec Nordiques	25–19–6
51	L	Jan 26, 1990	3–6	@ Washington Capitals	25–20–6
52	W	Jan 27, 1990	5–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs	26–20–6
53	L	Jan 29, 1990	1–2	Boston Bruins	26–21–6
54	W	Feb 1, 1990	4–2	@ Boston Bruins	27–21–6
55	W	Feb 3, 1990	1–0	Buffalo Sabres	28–21–6
56	W	Feb 4, 1990	2–0	Hartford Whalers	29–21–6
57	L	Feb 7, 1990	1–3	@ Buffalo Sabres	29–22–6
58	W	Feb 10, 1990	7–2	Quebec Nordiques	30–22–6
59	W	Feb 14, 1990	10–1	Vancouver Canucks	31–22–6
60	L	Feb 16, 1990	3–5	@ Buffalo Sabres	31–23–6
61	W	Feb 17, 1990	7–3	Hartford Whalers	32–23–6
62	T	Feb 19, 1990	5–5 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings	32–23–7
63	W	Feb 22, 1990	6–5	@ Quebec Nordiques	33–23–7
64	W	Feb 24, 1990	11–1	Pittsburgh Penguins	34–23–7
65	W	Feb 25, 1990	6–5 OT	St. Louis Blues	35–23–7
66	L	Feb 28, 1990	1–3	@ Hartford Whalers	35–24–7
67	L	Mar 1, 1990	3–5	@ Boston Bruins	35–25–7
68	L	Mar 3, 1990	2–3	@ Minnesota North Stars	35–26–7
69	W	Mar 7, 1990	5–2	@ Los Angeles Kings	36–26–7
70	T	Mar 10, 1990	3–3 OT	Detroit Red Wings	36–26–8
71	W	Mar 13, 1990	4–2	@ New York Islanders	37–26–8
72	T	Mar 14, 1990	3–3 OT	Edmonton Oilers	37–26–9
73	W	Mar 17, 1990	3–2 OT	Chicago Blackhawks	38–26–9
74	W	Mar 18, 1990	8–3	Quebec Nordiques	39–26–9
75	L	Mar 21, 1990	2–3	@ Winnipeg Jets	39–27–9
76	W	Mar 23, 1990	4–2	@ Washington Capitals	40–27–9
77	L	Mar 24, 1990	4–7	@ Hartford Whalers	40–28–9
78	W	Mar 29, 1990	5–2	@ Quebec Nordiques	41–28–9
79	T	Mar 31, 1990	2–2 OT	Boston Bruins	41–28–10
80	T	Apr 1, 1990	1–1 OT	@ Hartford Whalers	41–28–11

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Stephane Richer	RW	75	51	40	91	46	35	9	0	8
Shayne Corson	LW	76	31	44	75	144	33	7	0	6
Russ Courtnall	RW	80	27	32	59	27	14	3	0	2
Guy Carbonneau	C	68	19	36	55	37	21	1	1	3
Brian Skrudland	C	59	11	31	42	56	21	4	0	1
Mike McPhee	LW	56	23	18	41	47	28	0	1	1
Mats Naslund	LW	72	21	20	41	19	3	6	0	3
Petr Svoboda	D	60	5	31	36	98	20	2	0	2
Stephan Lebeau	C	57	15	20	35	11	13	5	0	3
Chris Chelios	D	53	9	22	31	136	20	1	2	1
Bobby Smith	C	53	12	14	26	35	-4	4	0	2
Brent Gilchrist	LW	57	9	15	24	28	3	1	0	0
Mike Keane	RW	74	9	15	24	78	0	1	0	1
Ryan Walter	C/LW	70	8	16	24	59	4	1	0	1
Mathieu Schneider	D	44	7	14	21	25	2	5	0	1
Jyrki Lumme	D	54	1	19	20	41	17	0	0	0
Claude Lemieux	RW	39	8	10	18	106	-8	3	0	1
Eric Desjardins	D	55	3	13	16	51	1	1	0	0
Craig Ludwig	D	73	1	15	16	108	24	0	0	0
Sylvain Lefebvre	D	68	3	10	13	61	18	0	0	0
J.J. Daigneault	D	36	2	10	12	14	11	0	0	1
Todd Ewen	RW	41	4	6	10	158	1	0	0	2
Jocelyn Lemieux	RW	34	4	2	6	61	-1	0	0	1
Patrick Roy	G	54	0	5	5	0	0	0	0	0
Tom Chorske	LW	14	3	1	4	2	2	0	0	0
Donald Dufresne	D	18	0	4	4	23	1	0	0	0
Andrew Cassels	C	6	2	0	2	2	1	0	0	1
Martin Desjardins	C	8	0	2	2	2	-4	0	0	0
Lyle Odelein	D	8	0	2	2	33	-1	0	0	0
Mark Pederson	LW	9	0	2	2	2	0	0	0	0
Ed Cristofoli	RW	9	0	1	1	4	-1	0	0	0
Brian Hayward	G	29	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0
Steve Martinson	LW	13	0	0	0	64	-2	0	0	0
Andre Racicot	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Patrick Roy	3173	54	31	16	5	134	2.53	3	1524	1390	.912
Brian Hayward	1674	29	10	12	6	94	3.37	1	770	676	.878
Andre Racicot	13	1	0	0	0	3	13.85	0	6	3	.500
Team:	4860	80	41	28	11	231	2.85	4	2300	2069	.900

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Stephane Richer	RW	9	7	3	10	2	1	0	1
Shayne Corson	LW	11	2	8	10	20	0	0	0
Brian Skrudland	C	11	3	5	8	30	0	0	1
Russ Courtnall	RW	11	5	1	6	10	0	0	0
Guy Carbonneau	C	11	2	3	5	6	0	0	0
Bobby Smith	C	11	1	4	5	6	0	0	0
Petr Svoboda	D	10	0	5	5	7	0	0	0
Claude Lemieux	RW	11	1	3	4	38	0	0	1
Mathieu Schneider	D	9	1	3	4	31	1	0	0
Stephan Lebeau	C	2	3	0	3	0	0	0	1
Brent Gilchrist	LW	8	2	0	2	2	0	0	0
Mike McPhee	LW	9	1	1	2	16	0	0	0
Mats Naslund	LW	3	1	1	2	0	0	0	1
Ryan Walter	C/LW	11	0	2	2	0	0	0	0
Chris Chelios	D	5	0	1	1	8	0	0	0
Donald Dufresne	D	10	0	1	1	18	0	0	0
Mike Keane	RW	11	0	1	1	8	0	0	0
Craig Ludwig	D	11	0	1	1	16	0	0	0
Patrick Roy	G	11	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
J.J. Daigneault	D	9	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Eric Desjardins	D	6	0	0	0	10	0	0	0
Todd Ewen	RW	10	0	0	0	4	0	0	0
Brian Hayward	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sylvain Lefebvre	D	6	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Mark Pederson	LW	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Patrick Roy	641	11	5	6	26	2.43	1	292	266	.911
Brian Hayward	33	1	0	0	2	3.64	0	18	16	.889
Team:	674	11	5	6	28	2.49	1	310	282	.910

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

References

• Canadiens on Hockey Database
• Canadiens on NHL Reference