The 1979 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

's (NHL) 1978–79 season, and the culmination of the

1979 Stanley Cup playoffs The 1979 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Stanley Cup playoffs, playoff tournament of the National Hockey League, (NHL) began on April 10, after the conclusion of the 1978–79 NHL season. The playoffs concluded on May 21, with the three-time defending ...

. The

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

challenged the defending champion

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

, who made their fourth straight appearance. It was New York's first foray into the Finals since . The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven series, four games to one, to win their fourth consecutive

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () 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, and the International Ic ...

championship. This was the first of six consecutive Finals involving a team from the

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. The next five Finals would be contested by the Rangers' crosstown rivals the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

, who would win the first four of those series to forge a dynasty matching that of the Canadiens. By defeating the Rangers, the Canadiens completed the rare accomplishment of winning four consecutive titles in a North American league competition consisting of at least sixteen teams, and remain the only team based outside the New York metropolitan area to do so. Prior to the Canadiens' dynasty, the feat had been achieved only twice before, both times by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

. The aforementioned Islanders are the only team to accomplish it since. This was also the last Stanley Cup Final until

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

where both teams were from the

Original Six The Original Six () are the teams that composed the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1942 and 1967. The six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. ...

. An Original Six club would not reach the Finals again until Montreal won their next championship in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

Paths to the Finals

Montreal defeated 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. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

4–0 and 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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

4–3 (highlighted by the "too many men on the ice" game seven overtime win) to advance to the Final. New York defeated the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

2–0, 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 and the

4–2 to make it to the finals.

Game summaries

The Canadiens won the Cup in five games, winning it on home ice for the first time since . After the game

Jacques Lemaire Jacques Gérard Lemaire (born September 7, 1945) is a Canadian former ice hockey forward and head coach who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. He spent his entire twelve-year National Hockey League (NHL) playing career with the ...

Yvan Cournoyer Yvan Serge Cournoyer (born November 22, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens for 16 seasons, from 1963 to 1978, winning the Stanley Cup 10 times. In 19 ...

, and

Ken Dryden Kenneth Wayne Dryden (born August 8, 1947) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender, politician, lawyer, businessman, and author. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was ...

retired, while head coach

Scotty Bowman William Scott Bowman (born September 18, 1933) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey head coach. He holds the record for most wins in National Hockey League (NHL) history, with 1,244 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup ...

left the Canadiens to join the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

, which would mark the end of the Canadiens' dynasty. Montreal Canadiens scored 46 total points during the Stanley Cup Final, while the New York Rangers scored 26 points in the finals. This Final marked the second time in four years that Bowman and

Fred Shero Frederick Alexander Shero (October 23, 1925November 24, 1990) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, and general manager. Nicknamed The Fog, he played for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), but spent most ...

coached against each other. In , they coached against each other, though Shero was with the

Team rosters

Montreal Canadiens

New York Rangers

Stanley Cup engraving

The 1979 Stanley Cup was presented to Canadiens acting captain Serge Savard by NHL President John Ziegler following the Canadiens 4–1 win over the Rangers in game five. The following Canadiens players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup 1978–79 Montreal Canadiens

Members of Montreal Canadiens 1976 to 1979 dynasty

*''Players'': Rick Chartraw, Yvan Cournoyer, Ken Dryden, Bob Gainey, Doug Jarvis, Guy Lafleur, Yvon Lambert, Guy Lapointe, Michel Larocque, Jacques Lemaire, Doug Risebrough, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Steve Shutt, Mario Tremblay *''Non players'': Jacques Courtois, Sam Pollock, Jean Beliveau, Scotty Bowman, Claude Ruel, Eddie Palchak, Pierre Meilleur, Ron Caron, Floyd Curry

Broadcasting

The Stanley Cup Final were produced by

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

, who carried the game in Canada and were shown in the United States on the NHL's syndicated package. Dan Kelly called the play-by-play for Games 1, 3, 4, and 5 entirely and split game 2 with

Danny Gallivan Daniel Leo Gallivan (April 11, 1917 February 25, 1993) was a Canadian radio and television broadcaster and sportscaster. Early life Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Gallivan was an avid athlete and was a baseball pitcher on the St. Theresa's parish ...

Gary Dornhoefer Gerhardt Otto Dornhoefer (born February 2, 1943), better known as Gary Dornhoefer, is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), right winger who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston ...

served as color commentator for Games 1 and 5,

Gerry Pinder Allan Gerald "Mouse" Pinder (born September 15, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 353 games in the World Hockey Association and 223 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Chicago Black Hawks, Ca ...

served as color commentator for Game 2 only,

Bobby Orr Robert Gordon Orr (born March 20, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time. Orr used his skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the ...

served as color commentator from Madison Square Garden. Meanwhile,

Dick Irvin Jr. Dick Irvin Jr. (or III), (born March 4, 1932) is a Canadian retired sports broadcaster and author. In 1988, the Hockey Hall of Fame presented him with the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, for his contributions to hockey broadcasting. In 2004, he wa ...

served as color commentator for the entire Finals and hosted the games in Montreal,

Dave Hodge Dave Hodge (born January 8, 1945) is a Canadian sports announcer. Hodge worked for TSN, the CBC and CFRB 1010 radio in Toronto. Early years Born in Montreal, Hodge began his career as a sportswriter with the ''Chatham Daily News'' in 1965, t ...

and

Howie Meeker Howard William Meeker (November 4, 1923 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian professional hockey player in the National Hockey League, youth coach and educator in ice hockey, and a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament. He became best ...

hosted the games in New York City.

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

was contracted to televise game seven. Since the Finals ended in five games, the contract was void.

References

;Bibliography * * {{Navboxes, list1= {{Montreal Canadiens {{New York Rangers {{1978–79 NHL season by team {{Hockey Night in Canada {{The NHL Network (1975–79)

Stanley Cup Finals Montreal Canadiens games New York Rangers games

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

Ice hockey competitions in Montreal 1979 in Montreal

Stanley Cup Final The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...

Ice hockey competitions in New York City

1970s in Manhattan