4 games3games

1979 Montreal Canadiens defeat 1979 New York Rangers:  4 games to 3

Game #1 (Montreal Forum)        Canadiens nip Blueshirts in OT
Game #2 (Montreal Forum)        Dryden Ken Do !
Game #3 (Madison Square Garden) Blueshirts get back in Series
Game #4 (Madison Square Garden) Lucid performance by DeBlois
Game #5 (Montreal Forum)        Super Mario !
Game #6 (Madison Square Garden) Young Guns force Game 7
Game #7 (Montreal Forum)        One heck of a Guy

Series Stats: Canadiens and Rangers

	GAME 1: (MTL 6, NYR 5 - ot) - The young Rangers jump out to a 4 goal lead only to see the veteran Habs storm back to tie it and force OT, where Coco, Jacques Lemaire beat JD on the glove side for the win. Both teams got under each other's skin as 6 guys were sent to the box for fighting. Doug Risebrough was the instigator, but he didn't receive any additional time.
	GAME 2: (MTL 4, NYR 2) - The Habs didn't take any chances and scored early and often. When they weren't scoring Ken Dryden was standing on his head saving everything the Blueshirts could throw at him. Espo netted two goals in the 3rd to make it interesting, but New York never seriously challenged Montreal.
	GAME 3: (NYR 5, MTL 2) - The Garden was rocking. Immediately after the puck dropped Pierre Mondou and Mario Marois dropped the gloves and began fighting. Marois gained an advantage in the fight and Canadien captain Serge Savard jumped in to defend his teammate, which cost him a game misconduct. The Rangers fed off the excitement and got 2 goals from Ulf Nilsson and solid net play from JD as they staved off going 3 down in the series. Ron Greschner and Mario Tremblay dropped the gloves late in the third as the Canadien star attempted to get some momentum back for his team that gave up 3 unanswered goals.
	GAME 4: (NYR 5, MTL 2) - Feeding off the momentum that their game 3 victory brought them the Rangers hit the Madison Square Garden ice pumped. Dave Maloney scored the first goal of the game, while New York was shorthanded. Montreal finished off the power play by tying it up as Steve Shutt netted his 3rd of the series. Rookie Don Maloney got his 3rd of the series to put the Rangers up 2-1 to end the first. Tough physical play led to a series of penalties and the normally calm Larry Robinson taking a 5 minute major. The big story on the night was the
	hat trick scored by Ranger defensive forward Lucien DeBlois. Montreal's Ken Dryden was terrible in net. As the series heads back to the Forum tied, rumor has it that Canadien coach Scotty Bowman might tap Bunny Larouque to replace Dryden.
	GAME 5: (MTL 5, NYR 4 - ot) -  Both teams were on edge as the pivotal game 5 headed to the Forum. Lot's of close checking and fisticuffs. The action was fast and furious and when the Rangers tied it up late in the 3rd we were treated to OT. The Forum crowd was tense as was surprise starter in net Bunny Larocque, who replaced the up and down Ken Dryden. At the 8:09 mark of OT Guy Lapointe fed Mario Tremblay who went top shelf on JD to end the contest, as the series will be heading back to MSG for game 6.
	GAME 6: (NYR 10, MTL 6) - The Garden faithful were as loud a ever as they knew this game was do or die for their Broadway Blueshirts. After losing game 5 in OT to the Canadiens the Rangers knew they needed a fast start to keep the crowd involved, but more importantly to prevent the Habs from getting any sort of momentum. When the Canadiens scored in the first minute of the game it looked like the Rangers were in trouble. The Rangers answered back rattling off 7 consecutive goals off of Bunny Larocque, who started in place of Dryden for a second consecutive game. The Habs have talent plus they have the heart of a champion...a 3
	time defending champion. The Rangers decided to go into a defensive shell, which only spurred on the Canadien rush. By the time there was 5 minutes remaining in the game New York's lead evaporated to 1 goal. JD let in 5 unanswered goals. The crowd bengan to get very nervous knowing their team needed this win to force game 7 and stave off elimination for the 39th consecutive year. We'll the Blueshirts went on the offensive and scored 3 quick goals to soundly defeat Montreal 10-6. The decisive game 7 will be held in the Montreal Forum in 2 days. Ulf Nilsson had a hat trick in this slugfest.
	GAME 7: (MTL 6, NYR 5) - Scotty Bowman decided to go back to Dryden in net as Larocque's magic wore out in game 6. New York has ridden the hot glove hand of JD all post season, so there was no doubt he would be back between the pipes. The Canadiens came out flying and torched JD for 3 goals in the first. By the end of the period he was lifted for Wayne Thomas who had not seen action the entire postseason. Thomas was good at first, but once the Rangers were forced to open up their offense he (Thomas) was unable to protect his net. Guy LaFluer
	netted a hat trick during the wild 3rd period where both teams exploded for 5 goals each. The Cinderella dream ended in game 7 for the Rangers, who were unable to break the 39 year Stanley Cup drought/curse. Ulf Nilsson, who in real life was injured (by the dreaded Potvin) was allowed to play in this series, and he showed his value by scoring 10 goals and helping the Rangers push Montreal to its limits. Montreal won it's 4th in a row, ensuring its place amongst the greatest dynasties in the sport.

Composite Team Stats