1976-77 MONTREAL CANADIENS

Backstory
In 1975-76, the Canadiens, a model of sleekness in a rugged NHL, set league records for wins (58) and points (127) while regaining the Stanley Cup by sweeping the Broad Street Bullies, also known as the Philadelphia Flyers, who had literally beaten the rest of the NHL the previous two seasons.

The regular season
The Canadiens of 1976-77 topped themselves by finishing 60-8-12 with 132 points. The eight losses were also a modern-era low. Montreal set another record with 387 goals, 64 more than the No. 2 scorer in 1976-77, Philadelphia. (Montreal’s goals record was eventually obliterated many times over by Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers.) The Canadiens gave up a league-low 171 goals — 22 fewer than the No. 2 New York Islanders. They also were last in penalty minutes.

Simply put, these Canadiens were the finest hockey team ever assembled.

It was hard to score with three Hall of Fame defensemen — Guy Lapointe, Serge Savard and Larry Robinson, and the NHL’s best defensive forward, Hall of Famer Bob Gainey, fronting Hall-of-Fame goaltender Ken Dryden, who won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie in five of his seven seasons. The leading two scorers were Hall-of-Fame forwards Guy Lafluer and Steve Shutt, followed by Robinson and Lapointe, followed by Hall-of-Fame center Jacques Lemaire.

The postseason
The most shocking event was not Montreal, after a bye, sweeping St. Louis in the second round, or sweeping Boston for the Stanley Cup. It was the New York Islanders winning game five in Montreal in their third-round series. That one loss matched the number of home losses Montreal had the entire regular season.

Postscript
The Canadiens finished 59-10-11, with 129 points, to nearly beat their records in 1977-78. They added a Stanley Cup that year, and another in 1978-79, after which Dryden retired and Hall-of-Fame coach Scotty Bowman left after clashing with management, thus ending the Canadiens’ run. It was Bowman’s 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings (62) that broke the 1976-77 Canadiens’ win record, but the points record still stands.

The greatest regular seasons ever Introduction 1934 Chicago Bears 1971-'72 Los Angeles Lakers 1972 Miami Dolphins 1976-'77 Montreal Canadiens 1979-'80 Philadelphia Flyers 1990-'91 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers 1995-'96 Chicago Bulls 1997-'98 Tennessee Lady Vols 2001 Seattle Mariners 2003-04 Arsenal FC VOTE: Which was most impressive?

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