The 2020–21 Montreal Canadiens season was the 112th for the club that was established on December 4, 1909, and their 104th season as a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Due to the Canada–U.S. border restrictions brought in as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadiens were re-aligned with the other six Canadian franchises into the newly formed North Division. The league's 56 game season was played entirely within the new divisions, meaning that Montreal and the other Canadian teams played an all-Canadian schedule for the 2020–21 regular season as well as the first two rounds of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs.

On May 10, 2021, the Canadiens clinched a playoff berth after a 4–3 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers. In the first round, the Canadiens successfully overcame a 3–1 series deficit to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games. In the second round, the Canadiens swept the Winnipeg Jets in four games. Since they were the lowest-remaining team from the second round, they played against the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup semifinals, defeating them in six games. The Canadiens won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, for the first, and, barring future playoff format changes, only time in their franchise history, and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1993, subsequently ending a 10-year Canadian team Finals appearance drought, the Vancouver Canucks (in 2011) being the previous team to reach such juncture. In the 2021 Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Canadiens lost the first three games of the series, finally earning a win in game four. However, the Canadiens were defeated in five games.

Due to their clutch playing and unexpected comeback against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Canadiens were widely considered to have one of the most improbable playoff runs in NHL history, which has been cited as one of the greatest cinderella runs in league history, despite, as mentioned, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the Stanley Cup Final.

Standings

Divisional standings

Schedule and results

Regular season The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020. 2020–21 game logJanuary: 5–1–2 (Home: 1–1–0; Road: 4–0–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 January 13 Montreal 4–5 Toronto OT Price 0 0–0–1 1 2 January 16 Montreal 5–1 Edmonton Price 0 1–0–1 3 3 January 18 Montreal 3–1 Edmonton Allen 0 2–0–1 5 4 January 20 Montreal 5–6 Vancouver SO Price 0 2–0–2 6 5 January 21 Montreal 7–3 Vancouver Allen 0 3–0–2 8 6 January 23 Montreal 5–2 Vancouver Price 0 4–0–2 10 7 January 28 Calgary 2–4 Montreal Price 0 5–0–2 12 8 January 30 Calgary 2–0 Montreal Allen 0 5–1–2 12 February: 4–5–3 (Home: 2–4–0; Road: 2–1–3) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 9 February 1 Vancouver 2–6 Montreal Price 0 6–1–2 14 10 February 2 Vancouver 3–5 Montreal Allen 0 7–1–2 16 11 February 4 Ottawa 3–2 Montreal Price 0 7–2–2 16 12 February 6 Montreal 2–1 Ottawa Allen 0 8–2–2 18 13 February 10 Toronto 4–2 Montreal Price 0 8–3–2 18 14 February 11 Edmonton 3–0 Montreal Allen 0 8–4–2 18 15 February 13 Montreal 2–1 Toronto Price 0 9–4–2 20 16 February 20 Toronto 5–3 Montreal Price 0 9–5–2 20 17 February 21 Montreal 2–3 Ottawa OT Allen 0 9–5–3 21 18 February 23 Montreal 4–5 Ottawa SO Price 0 9–5–4 22 19 February 25 Montreal 3–6 Winnipeg Price 0 9–6–4 22 20 February 27 Montreal 1–2 Winnipeg OT Allen 0 9–6–5 23 March: 6–2–4 (Home: 4–0–2; Road: 2–2–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 21 March 2 Ottawa 1–3 Montreal Price 0 10–6–5 25 22 March 4 Winnipeg 4–3 Montreal OT Allen 0 10–6–6 26 23 March 6 Winnipeg 1–7 Montreal Price 0 11–6–6 28 24 March 8 Montreal 1–2 Vancouver SO Price 0 11–6–7 29 25 March 10 Montreal 5–1 Vancouver Price 0 12–6–7 31 26 March 11 Montreal 1–2 Calgary Allen 0 12–7–7 31 27 March 13 Montreal 1–3 Calgary Price 0 12–8–7 31 28 March 15 Montreal 4–2 Winnipeg Price 0 13–8–7 33 29 March 17 Montreal 3–4 Winnipeg OT Price 0 13–8–8 34 30 March 19 Vancouver 3–2 Montreal OT Allen 0 13–8–9 35 31 March 20 Vancouver 4–5 Montreal SO Price 0 14–8–9 37 — March 22 Edmonton Montreal Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for March 30. — March 24 Edmonton Montreal Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for May 10. — March 26 Edmonton Montreal Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for May 12. — March 28 Ottawa Montreal Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for April 17. 32 March 30 Edmonton 0–4 Montreal Price 0 15–8–9 39 April: 7–10–0 (Home: 4–6–0; Road: 3–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 33 April 1 Montreal 4–1 Ottawa Allen 0 16–8–9 41 34 April 3 Ottawa 6–3 Montreal Price 0 16–9–9 41 35 April 5 Edmonton 2–3 Montreal OT Price 0 17–9–9 43 36 April 7 Montreal 2–3 Toronto Allen 0 17–10–9 43 37 April 8 Winnipeg 4–2 Montreal Allen 0 17–11–9 43 38 April 10 Winnipeg 5–0 Montreal Allen 0 17–12–9 43 39 April 12 Toronto 2–4 Montreal Allen 0 18–12–9 45 40 April 14 Calgary 4–1 Montreal Allen 0 18–13–9 45 41 April 16 Calgary 1–2 Montreal Allen 0 19–13–9 47 42 April 17 Ottawa 4–0 Montreal Price 0 19–14–9 47 43 April 19 Montreal 1–4 Edmonton Allen 0 19–15–9 47 44 April 21 Montreal 4–3 Edmonton Allen 0 20–15–9 49 45 April 23 Montreal 2–4 Calgary Allen 0 20–16–9 49 46 April 24 Montreal 2–5 Calgary Primeau 0 20–17–9 49 47 April 26 Montreal 2–1 Calgary Allen 0 21–17–9 51 48 April 28 Toronto 4–1 Montreal Allen 0 21–18–9 51 49 April 30 Winnipeg 3–5 Montreal Allen 0 22–18–9 53 May: 2–3–2 (Home: 2–0–2; Road: 0–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 50 May 1 Ottawa 2–3 Montreal OT Primeau 0 23–18–9 55 51 May 3 Toronto 2–3 Montreal OT Allen 0 24–18–9 57 52 May 5 Montreal 1–5 Ottawa Allen 0 24–19–9 57 53 May 6 Montreal 2–5 Toronto Primeau 0 24–20–9 57 54 May 8 Montreal 2–3 Toronto Allen 0 24–21–9 57 55 May 10 Edmonton 4–3 Montreal OT Allen 0 24–21–10 58 56 May 12 Edmonton 4–3 Montreal OT Primeau 0 24–21–11 59 Legend:

Playoffs

2021 Stanley Cup playoffsNorth Division First Round vs. (N1) Toronto Maple Leafs: Montreal won 4–3 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 May 20 Montreal 2–1 Toronto Price 0 1–0 2 May 22 Montreal 1–5 Toronto Price 0 1–1 3 May 24 Toronto 2–1 Montreal Price 0 1–2 4 May 25 Toronto 4–0 Montreal Price 0 1–3 5 May 27 Montreal 4–3 Toronto OT Price 0 2–3 6 May 29 Toronto 2–3 Montreal OT Price 5,112 3–3 7 May 31 Montreal 3–1 Toronto Price 550 4–3 North Division Second Round vs. (N3) Winnipeg Jets: Montreal won 4–0 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 June 2 Montreal 5–3 Winnipeg Price 500 1–0 2 June 4 Montreal 1–0 Winnipeg Price 500 2–0 3 June 6 Winnipeg 1–5 Montreal Price 5,326 3–0 4 June 7 Winnipeg 2–3 Montreal OT Price 5,539 4–0 Stanley Cup semifinals vs. (W2) Vegas Golden Knights: Montreal won 4–2 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 June 14 Montreal 1–4 Vegas Price 17,884 0–1 2 June 16 Montreal 3–2 Vegas Price 17,920 1–1 3 June 18 Vegas 2–3 Montreal OT Price 6,178 2–1 4 June 20 Vegas 2–1 Montreal OT Price 6,391 2–2 5 June 22 Montreal 4–1 Vegas Price 17,969 3–2 6 June 24 Vegas 2–3 Montreal OT Price 6,603 4–2 Stanley Cup Final vs. (C3) Tampa Bay Lightning: Tampa Bay won 4–1 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 June 28 Montreal 1–5 Tampa Bay Price 15,911 0–1 2 June 30 Montreal 1–3 Tampa Bay Price 17,166 0–2 3 July 2 Tampa Bay 6–3 Montreal Price 7,456 0–3 4 July 5 Tampa Bay 2–3 Montreal OT Price 7,669 1–3 5 July 7 Montreal 0–1 Tampa Bay Price 18,110 1–4 Legend:

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular season Player 52 28 16 44 0 24 55 12 30 42 +6 20 56 15 26 41 −5 26 50 10 20 30 0 8 52 17 7 24 −10 38 53 5 19 24 +9 24 35 14 9 23 +10 16 44 2 21 23 −8 20 49 9 12 21 −4 39 56 5 15 20 −1 12 48 6 13 19 −4 33 46 5 11 16 +5 12 41 7 7 14 +10 10 47 7 6 13 −2 6 55 3 10 13 +28 25 47 3 10 13 +2 29 46 2 6 8 +3 20 41 1 6 7 −16 50 54 1 5 6 +1 21 10 4 1 5 −1 2 † 21 2 1 3 −10 2 14 0 3 3 +3 6 † 5 0 2 2 +1 0 2 0 1 1 −1 0 6 0 0 0 −1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 −3 0 † 13 0 0 0 −11 4 1 0 0 0 0 0

Playoffs Player 22 7 9 16 −6 2 22 5 9 14 −6 6 20 4 8 12 −5 0 22 4 6 10 −5 25 19 5 3 8 −5 14 21 5 3 8 −1 10 21 2 6 8 −2 6 22 5 1 6 −1 12 22 3 3 6 0 10 22 2 4 6 0 4 22 1 5 6 +4 28 20 0 6 6 −2 6 22 0 6 6 −3 10 17 3 1 4 −1 4 22 1 3 4 −1 6 16 1 2 3 +3 0 22 1 1 2 −6 16 7 1 1 2 +3 4 4 1 0 1 −2 0 13 0 1 1 −4 4 5 0 1 1 −2 2 13 0 0 0 −4 0

Goaltenders Regular season Player 25 25 1,478:45 12 7 5 65 2.64 659 .901 1 0 0 0 29 27 1,702:36 11 12 5 76 2.68 817 .907 0 0 0 2 4 4 201:54 1 2 1 14 4.16 93 .849 0 0 0 0

Playoffs Player 22 22 1,341:38 13 9 51 2.28 673 .924 1 0 0 0 †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Canadiens. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only. ‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Suspensions/fines Player Explanation Length Salary Date issued Ref Joel Edmundson Dangerous trip against Leafs forward John Tavares N/A $1,000.00 May 9, 2021 Shea Weber Cross-checking Leafs forward Wayne Simmonds N/A $5,000.00 May 23, 2021 Shea Weber Slashing Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov N/A $5,000.00 June 29, 2021

Awards and honours

Awards Regular season Player Award Awarded Ref NHL First Star of the Week January 25, 2021 NHL Third Star of the Week February 8, 2021

Milestones

Regular season Player Milestone Reached Ref Alexander Romanov 1st career NHL game1st career NHL assist1st career NHL point January 13, 2021 Alexander Romanov 1st career NHL goal January 18, 2021 Joel Armia 300th career NHL game January 21, 2021 Artturi Lehkonen 300th career NHL game February 1, 2021 Corey Perry 800th career NHL point February 1, 2021 Shea Weber 1000th career NHL game February 2, 2021 Paul Byron 100th career NHL assist February 25, 2021 Jeff Petry 700th career NHL game February 27, 2021 Tomas Tatar 600th career NHL game March 11, 2021 Carey Price 700th career NHL game March 15, 2021 Nick Suzuki 100th career NHL game March 17, 2021 Jake Allen 300th career NHL game March 19, 2021 Jeff Petry 200th career NHL assist March 19, 2021 Josh Anderson 300th career NHL game April 7, 2021 Ben Chiarot 400th career NHL game April 16, 2021 Tomas Tatar 200th career NHL assist April 21, 2021 Cole Caufield 1st career NHL game April 26, 2021 Cole Caufield 1st career NHL goal1st career NHL point May 1, 2021 Jon Merrill 400th career NHL game May 3, 2021 Alex Belzile 1st career NHL game1st career NHL assist1st career NHL point May 8, 2021 Paul Byron 200th career NHL point May 10, 2021 Cole Caufield 1st career NHL assist May 12, 2021 Jesse Ylonen 1st career NHL game May 12, 2021

Playoffs Player Milestone Reached Cole Caufield 1st career playoff game May 24, 2021 Cole Caufield 1st career playoff assist1st career playoff point May 27, 2021 Corey Perry 100th career playoff point May 27, 2021 Jake Evans 1st career playoff goal June 2, 2021 Erik Gustafsson 1st career playoff goal June 7, 2021 Alexander Romanov 1st career playoff game June 7, 2021 Cole Caufield 1st career playoff goal June 14, 2021 Ben Chiarot 1st career playoff goal June 28, 2021 Alexander Romanov 1st career playoff goal1st career playoff point July 5, 2021

Transactions The Canadiens had been involved in the following transactions during the 2020–21 season.

Trades