1955–56 Montreal Canadiens season

1955–56 Montreal Canadiens
Stanley Cup Champions
1955–56 record	45–15–10
Goals for	222
Goals against	131
Team information
General Manager	Frank J. Selke
Coach	Toe Blake
Captain	Emile Bouchard
Arena	Montreal Forum
Team leaders
Goals	Jean Beliveau, 47
Assists	Jean Beliveau, 41
Points	Jean Beliveau, 88
Penalties in minutes	Jean Beliveau, 143
Wins	Jacques Plante (42)
Goals against average	Jacques Plante (1.86)
<1954–55	1956–57>

The 1955–56 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 47th season of play. The Canadiens placed first in the regular season standings and won the Stanley Cup for the eighth time in the club's history.

Regular season

Final standings

National Hockey League

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Montreal Canadiens	70	45	15	10	222	131	+91	100
2	Detroit Red Wings	70	30	24	16	183	148	+35	76
3	New York Rangers	70	32	28	10	204	203	+1	74
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	70	24	33	13	153	181	-28 −28	61
5	Boston Bruins	70	23	34	13	147	185	-38 −38	59
6	Chicago Black Hawks	70	19	39	12	155	216	-61 −61	50

Game log

Regular season results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 6, 1955	2–0	Toronto Maple Leafs (1955–56)	1–0–0
2	W	October 8, 1955	2–0	Boston Bruins (1955–56)	2–0–0
3	W	October 9, 1955	5–2	@ Boston Bruins (1955–56)	3–0–0
4	W	October 15, 1955	4–1	New York Rangers (1955–56)	4–0–0
5	T	October 16, 1955	2–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1955–56)	4–0–1
6	L	October 20, 1955	2–3	Boston Bruins (1955–56)	4–1–1
7	W	October 22, 1955	6–0	Chicago Black Hawks (1955–56)	5–1–1
8	L	October 26, 1955	1–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1955–56)	5–2–1
9	L	October 27, 1955	1–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1955–56)	5–3–1
10	W	October 29, 1955	2–1	Detroit Red Wings (1955–56)	6–3–1
11	T	October 30, 1955	2–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1955–56)	6–3–2
12	T	November 3, 1955	3–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1955–56)	6–3–3
13	W	November 5, 1955	4–2	Boston Bruins (1955–56)	7–3–3
14	T	November 6, 1955	3–3	@ Boston Bruins (1955–56)	7–3–4
15	T	November 9, 1955	1–1	@ New York Rangers (1955–56)	7–3–5
16	W	November 12, 1955	3–0	Detroit Red Wings (1955–56)	8–3–5
17	W	November 13, 1955	2–0	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1955–56)	9–3–5
18	W	November 16, 1955	3–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1955–56)	10–3–5
19	W	November 19, 1955	6–1	New York Rangers (1955–56)	11–3–5
20	T	November 20, 1955	1–1	@ New York Rangers (1955–56)	11–3–6
21	L	November 24, 1955	2–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1955–56)	11–4–6
22	W	November 26, 1955	3–1	Boston Bruins (1955–56)	12–4–6
23	T	November 27, 1955	3–3	@ New York Rangers (1955–56)	12–4–7
24	W	December 1, 1955	2–1	@ Boston Bruins (1955–56)	13–4–7
25	W	December 3, 1955	3–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1955–56)	14–4–7
26	W	December 4, 1955	5–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1955–56)	15–4–7
27	W	December 8, 1955	3–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1955–56)	16–4–7
28	W	December 10, 1955	4–2	Detroit Red Wings (1955–56)	17–4–7
29	W	December 11, 1955	4–2	@ Boston Bruins (1955–56)	18–4–7
30	W	December 15, 1955	2–0	New York Rangers (1955–56)	19–4–7
31	W	December 17, 1955	5–0	Chicago Black Hawks (1955–56)	20–4–7
32	L	December 18, 1955	0–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1955–56)	20–5–7
33	W	December 20, 1955	7–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1955–56)	21–5–7
34	W	December 24, 1955	4–2	Detroit Red Wings (1955–56)	22–5–7
35	L	December 25, 1955	1–5	@ New York Rangers (1955–56)	22–6–7
36	L	December 28, 1955	0–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1955–56)	22–7–7
37	W	December 29, 1955	5–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1955–56)	23–7–7
38	W	December 31, 1955	7–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1955–56)	24–7–7
39	L	January 5, 1956	2–5	Detroit Red Wings (1955–56)	24–8–7
40	W	January 7, 1956	3–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1955–56)	25–8–7
41	L	January 11, 1956	1–6	@ New York Rangers (1955–56)	25–9–7
42	L	January 14, 1956	0–2	Boston Bruins (1955–56)	25–10–7
43	L	January 15, 1956	0–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1955–56)	25–11–7
44	W	January 18, 1956	3–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1955–56)	26–11–7
45	W	January 19, 1956	3–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1955–56)	27–11–7
46	W	January 21, 1956	3–1	New York Rangers (1955–56)	28–11–7
47	W	January 22, 1956	6–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1955–56)	29–11–7
48	L	January 26, 1956	1–5	@ Boston Bruins (1955–56)	29–12–7
49	W	January 28, 1956	6–1	Boston Bruins (1955–56)	30–12–7
50	T	January 29, 1956	1–1	@ Detroit Red Wings (1955–56)	30–12–8
51	W	February 2, 1956	2–0	@ Detroit Red Wings (1955–56)	31–12–8
52	W	February 4, 1956	2–1	Detroit Red Wings (1955–56)	32–12–8
53	T	February 5, 1956	3–3	@ New York Rangers (1955–56)	32–12–9
54	T	February 8, 1956	1–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1955–56)	32–12–10
55	W	February 10, 1956	3–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1955–56)	33–12–10
56	W	February 12, 1956	7–1	@ Boston Bruins (1955–56)	34–12–10
57	W	February 16, 1956	8–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1955–56)	35–12–10
58	W	February 18, 1956	9–4	New York Rangers (1955–56)	36–12–10
59	W	February 23, 1956	5–2	New York Rangers (1955–56)	37–12–10
60	W	February 25, 1956	5–1	Detroit Red Wings (1955–56)	38–12–10
61	L	February 29, 1956	1–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1955–56)	38–13–10
62	W	March 2, 1956	3–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1955–56)	39–13–10
63	W	March 3, 1956	3–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1955–56)	40–13–10
64	W	March 4, 1956	6–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1955–56)	41–13–10
65	W	March 8, 1956	4–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1955–56)	42–13–10
66	L	March 10, 1956	0–4	Boston Bruins (1955–56)	42–14–10
67	L	March 11, 1956	1–3	@ Boston Bruins (1955–56)	42–15–10
68	W	March 15, 1956	5–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1955–56)	43–15–10
69	W	March 17, 1956	7–2	New York Rangers (1955–56)	44–15–10
70	W	March 18, 1956	3–1	@ New York Rangers (1955–56)	45–15–10

Playoffs

Stanley Cup Final

For more details on this topic, see 1956 Stanley Cup Final.

This was the first finals for Henri Richard and Toe Blake's first finals as coach.

Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Canadiens

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
March 31	Detroit	4	Montreal	6
April 3	Detroit	1	Montreal	5
April 5	Montreal	1	Detroit	3
April 8	Montreal	3	Detroit	0
April 10	Detroit	1	Montreal	3

Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1

Player stats

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Beliveau, JeanJean Beliveau	C	70	47	41	88	143
Richard, MauriceMaurice Richard	RW	70	38	33	71	89
Olmstead, BertBert Olmstead	LW	70	14	56	70	94
Geoffrion, BernieBernie Geoffrion	RW	59	29	33	62	66
Moore, DickieDickie Moore	LW	70	11	39	50	55
Harvey, DougDoug Harvey	D	62	5	39	44	60
Richard, HenriHenri Richard	C	64	19	21	40	46
Curry, FloydFloyd Curry	RW	70	14	18	32	10
Mosdell, KenKen Mosdell	C	67	13	17	30	48
Provost, ClaudeClaude Provost	RW	60	13	16	29	30
Leclair, JackieJackie Leclair	C	54	6	8	14	30
Talbot, Jean-GuyJean-Guy Talbot	D	66	1	13	14	80
St. Laurent, DollardDollard St. Laurent	D	46	4	9	13	58
Johnson, TomTom Johnson	D	64	3	10	13	75
Marshall, DonDon Marshall	LW	66	4	1	5	10
Turner, BobBob Turner	D	33	1	4	5	35
Gamble, DickDick Gamble	LW	12	0	3	3	8
Bouchard, ButchButch Bouchard	D	36	0	0	0	22
Broden, ConnieConnie Broden	C	3	0	0	0	2
Clune, WallyWally Clune	D	5	0	0	0	6
Deslauriers, JacquesJacques Deslauriers	D	2	0	0	0	0
Perreault, BobBob Perreault	G	6	0	0	0	0
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante	G	64	0	0	0	10

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante	3840	64	42	12	10	119	1.86	7
Perreault, BobBob Perreault	360	6	3	3	0	12	2.00	1
Team:	4200	70	45	15	10	131	1.87	8

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Beliveau, JeanJean Beliveau	C	10	12	7	19	22
Geoffrion, BernieBernie Geoffrion	RW	10	5	9	14	6
Richard, MauriceMaurice Richard	RW	10	5	9	14	24
Olmstead, BertBert Olmstead	LW	10	4	10	14	8
Moore, DickieDickie Moore	LW	10	3	6	9	12
Richard, HenriHenri Richard	C	10	4	4	8	21
Harvey, DougDoug Harvey	D	10	2	5	7	10
Provost, ClaudeClaude Provost	RW	10	3	3	6	12
Curry, FloydFloyd Curry	RW	10	1	5	6	12
Leclair, JackieJackie Leclair	C	8	1	1	2	4
Mosdell, KenKen Mosdell	C	9	1	1	2	2
Johnson, TomTom Johnson	D	10	0	2	2	8
Talbot, Jean-GuyJean-Guy Talbot	D	9	0	2	2	4
Marshall, DonDon Marshall	LW	10	1	0	1	0
Turner, BobBob Turner	D	10	0	1	1	10
Bouchard, ButchButch Bouchard	D	1	0	0	0	0
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante	G	10	0	0	0	2
St. Laurent, DollardDollard St. Laurent	D	4	0	0	0	2

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante	600	10	8	2	18	1.80	2
Team:	600	10	8	2	18	1.80	2

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;

Awards and records

• Prince of Wales Trophy: || Montreal Canadiens
• Art Ross Memorial Trophy: || Jean Beliveau
• Hart Memorial Trophy: || Jean Beliveau
• James Norris Memorial Trophy: || Doug Harvey
• Vezina Trophy: || Jacques Plante, Montreal Canadiens
• Jean Beliveau, Centre, NHL First Team All-Star
• Doug Harvey, Defenceman, NHL First Team All-Star
• Tom Johnson, Defenceman, NHL Second Team All-Star
• Bert Olmstead, Left Wing. NHL Second Team All-Star
• Jacques Plante, Goaltender, NHL First Team All-Star
• Maurice Richard, Right Wing, NHL First Team All-Star

Montreal Canadiens 1956 Stanley Cup champions

Roster

  Centres

• 4 Jean Beliveau
• 8 Jack LeClair (A. capt.)
• 16 Henri Richard
• 18 Kenny Mosdell

  Wingers

• 5 Bernie Geoffrion
• 6 Floyd Curry
• 9 Maurice "Rocket" Richard (A. capt.)
• 12 Dickie Moore
• 14 Claude Provost
• 15 Bert Olmstead
• 22 Don Marshall

  Defencemen

• 2 Doug Harvey (A. Capt.)
• 3 Emile "Butch" Bouchard (captain)
• 10 Tom Johnson
• 17 Jean-Guy Talbot
• 19 Dollard St. Laurent
• 24 Bob Turner

  Goaltenders

• 1 Jacques Plante
• 1 Charlie Hodge (spare, did not play)

  Coaching and Administrative Staff

• Donat Raymond (President/Owner), Frank Selke Sr. (Manager)
• Dalton Coleman, William Northey (Vice Presidents/Owners)
• Ken Reardon (Ass't Manager), Hector Toe Blake (Coach)
• Hector Dubois (Trainer), Gaston Bettez (Ass't Trainer)
• Camile DesRoches^, Frank Selke Jr.^ (Publicity Directors)
• ^- on the team picture, but missing from the Stanley Cup.

Stanley Cup engraving

• Emile "Butch" Bouchard was engraved on the Stanley Cup in 1944, 1946, 1953 as EMILE BOUCHARD. He was then engraved on the Stanley Cup as BUTCH BOUCHARD in 1956.
• Mistake Bob Turner is listed as Trainer on Stanley Cup. He was a defenseman. Hector Dubois and Gaston Bettez were the trainers, but no position was listed.
• Mistake Claude Provost name was misspelt C. PREVOST with an "E" instead an "O". Turner and Provost mistakes were not corrected on the Replica Cup created in 1992–93.
• Mistake Gaston Bettez was spelt wrong G BETTEX when cup was redone in 1957–58 with an "X" instead of "Z", and mistake was repeated on the Replica Cup. His name was spelt correctly on the original ring as G. BETTEZ.

See also

• 1955–56 NHL season

References

• Canadiens on Hockey Database
• Canadiens on NHL Reference