The 1978 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

's (NHL) 1977–78 season, and the culmination of the 1978 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making ...

and the defending champion

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

, making their third straight appearance in the Finals. The series was a rematch of the 1977 Stanley Cup Finals. The Canadiens won the best-of-seven series, four games to two, to win their third consecutive

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

championship. This was the last time that both the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens met in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Canadiens eventually joined the Bruins in the Adams Division in 1982.

Paths to the Finals

Montreal defeated the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and are ...

4–1 and the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

4–0 to advance to the final. Boston defeated the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

4–0 and the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

4–1 to make it to the final.

Game summaries

Defenceman

Larry Robinson Larry Clark Robinson (born June 2, 1951) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach, executive and player. His coaching career includes head coaching positions with the New Jersey Devils (which he held on two occasions), as well as the Los Angeles Ki ...

of Montreal led all players with 17 assists, and finished tied with teammate

Guy Lafleur Guy Damien Lafleur (September 20, 1951 – April 22, 2022), nicknamed "the Flower" and "Le Démon Blond", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was the first player in National Hockey League (NHL) history to score 50 goals in six c ...

with 21 points, to win the

Conn Smythe Trophy The Conn Smythe Trophy (french: Trophée Conn Smythe) is awarded annually to the most valuable player (MVP) of his team during the National Hockey League's (NHL) Stanley Cup playoffs. It is named after Conn Smythe, the longtime owner, general ma ...

Team rosters

Boston Bruins

Montreal Canadiens

Stanley Cup engraving

The 1978 Stanley Cup was presented to Canadiens captain Yvan Cournoyer by NHL President John Ziegler following the Canadiens 4–1 win over the Bruins in game six. The following Canadiens players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup 1977–78 Montreal Canadiens

References

* * {{Navboxes, list1= {{Stanley Cup Finals {{1977–78 NHL season by team {{Boston Bruins {{Montreal Canadiens {{Hockey Night in Canada {{The NHL Network (1975–79)

Stanley Cup Finals Boston Bruins games Montreal Canadiens games

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America ...

Sports competitions in Montreal Sports competitions in Boston 1970s in Montreal

Boston Garden