The 1976 Stanley Cup Final 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 . The Canadiens swept the series to win their 19th Stanley Cup in franchise history, denying the Flyers a three-peat.
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 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 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 today. His accomplishment followed Roger Crozier (Detroit Red Wings, in ) and Glenn Hall (St. Louis Blues, ) and preceded Ron Hextall (Philadelphia, ), Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, ) and Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers, ).
Game one
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st PHI Reggie Leach (16) Bobby Clarke (12) and Jack McIlhargey (3) 00:21 1–0 PHI PHI Ross Lonsberry (4) Mel Bridgman (7) and Tom Bladon (4) 13:22 2–0 PHI 2nd MTL Jim Roberts (3) Bob Gainey (3) and Doug Risebrough (2) 04:04 2–1 PHI MTL Larry Robinson (3) Pete Mahovlich (5) and Guy Lafleur (6) 06:30 2–2 3rd PHI Larry Goodenough (3) – pp Gary Dornhoefer (4) 05:17 3–2 PHI MTL Jacques Lemaire (2) Bill Nyrop (3) 10:02 3–3 MTL Guy Lapointe (3) Steve Shutt (6) 18:38 4–3 MTL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st PHI Tom Bladon Elbowing 02:32 2:00 MTL Pete Mahovlich Roughing 09:28 2:00 PHI Gary Dornhoefer Tripping 11:05 2:00 MTL Mario Tremblay Roughing 14:34 2:00 PHI Dave Schultz Roughing – double minor 14:34 4:00 MTL Pete Mahovlich Roughing 17:09 2:00 PHI Bobby Clarke Roughing 17:09 2:00 2nd MTL Yvon Lambert Roughing – double minor 05:59 4:00 PHI Don Saleski Roughing 05:59 2:00 MTL Bob Gainey High-sticking 11:50 2:00 PHI Jimmy Watson Slashing 11:50 2:00 PHI Joe Watson Holding 13:44 2:00 MTL Bob Gainey Elbowing 16:26 2:00 PHI Mel Bridgman Roughing 16:26 2:00 3rd MTL Pierre Bouchard Holding 04:09 2:00 PHI Dave Schultz Hooking 06:29 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 4 8 8 20 11 16 9 36
Game two
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd MTL Jacques Lemaire (3) – sh Unassisted 15:19 1–0 MTL 3rd MTL Guy Lafleur (6) Unassisted 02:41 2–0 MTL PHI Dave Schultz (2) Tom Bladon (5) 17:35 2–1 MTL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st MTL Guy Lafleur Tripping 08:44 2:00 PHI Jimmy Watson Hooking 11:44 2:00 MTL Guy Lapointe High-sticking 16:54 2:00 2nd PHI Bill Barber Charging 07:46 2:00 PHI Andre Dupont Hooking 11:29 2:00 MTL Guy Lapointe Holding 14:17 2:00 MTL Mario Tremblay Fighting – major 14:17 5:00 PHI Andre Dupont Fighting – major 14:17 5:00 3rd MTL Larry Robinson Boarding 11:20 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 9 8 9 26 6 8 5 19
Game three
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st MTL Steve Shutt (5) – pp Guy Lafleur (7) 03:17 1–0 MTL PHI Reggie Leach (17) – pp Bobby Clarke (13) and Larry Goodenough (11) 08:40 1–1 PHI Reggie Leach (18) Unassited 18:14 2–1 PHI 2nd MTL Steve Shutt (6) – pp Guy Lafleur (8) and Pete Mahovlich (6) 01:09 2–2 3rd MTL Pierre Bouchard (1) Murray Wilson (1) 09:16 3–2 MTL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st PHI Bill Barber Elbowing 01:52 2:00 MTL Doug Risebrough High-sticking 08:02 2:00 MTL Bob Gainey Elbowing 09:18 2:00 PHI Mel Bridgman Hooking 15:45 2:00 PHI Gary Dornhoefer Elbowing 19:59 2:00 2nd MTL Bill Nyrop Interference 02:38 2:00 PHI Jack McIlhargey Tripping 05:47 2:00 MTL Larry Robinson Roughing 09:57 2:00 MTL Bob Gainey Roughing 09:57 2:00 PHI Bob Kelly Roughing 09:57 2:00 PHI Jack McIlhargey Roughing 09:57 2:00 3rd None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 5 13 7 25 9 6 7 22
Game four
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st PHI Reggie Leach (19) Mel Bridgman (8) 00:40 1–0 PHI MTL Steve Shutt (7) – pp Yvan Cournoyer (6) and Pete Mahovlich (7) 05:35 1–1 MTL Pierre Bouchard (2) – pp Doug Risebrough (3) 11:48 2–1 MTL PHI Bill Barber (6) – pp Tom Bladon (6) and Andre Dupont (2) 18:20 2–2 2nd PHI Andre Dupont (2) – pp Bill Barber (7) and Bobby Clarke (14) 13:59 3–2 PHI MTL Yvan Cournoyer (3) – pp Larry Robinson (6) and Guy Lafleur (9) 19:49 3–3 3rd MTL Guy Lafleur (7) Pete Mahovlich (8) and Steve Shutt (7) 14:18 4–3 MTL MTL Pete Mahovlich (4) Guy Lafleur (10) and Steve Shutt (8) 15:16 5–3 MTL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st MTL Serge Savard Roughing 00:29 2:00 PHI Dave Schultz Roughing – double minor 00:29 4:00 PHI Don Saleski Interference 03:44 2:00 PHI Bill Barber High-sticking 09:54 2:00 PHI Guy Lapointe Holding 17:32 2:00 2nd MTL Bob Gainey Slashing 00:21 2:00 PHI Bobby Clarke Slashing 00:21 2:00 MTL Guy Lapointe Tripping 12:43 2:00 MTL Jacques Lemaire Tripping 17:20 2:00 PHI Gary Dornhoefer Hooking 17:53 2:00 3rd PHI Larry Goodenough Interference 09:03 2:00 MTL Bob Gainey Holding 11:26 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 11 7 12 30 7 9 8 24
Team rosters Montreal Canadiens
Philadelphia Flyers
Stanley Cup engraving 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
See also 1975–76 NHL season
Notes
References