Montreal Canadiens

Hockey Digest, July-August, 2004 by Chris Dolack

* The Canadiens clinched a spot in the playoffs this season, marking the 74th time in 87 years they have accomplished that feat. The next closest team is the Toronto Maple Leafs with 64 postseason appearances.

* They have won the Stanley Cup championship 23 times--most recently in 1993.

* The Canadiens have reached the Stanley Cup finals 32 times, 10 more than the next-closest Detroit Red Wings.

* In 1993, the Canadiens won 11 consecutive games in the playoffs, a record they share with the 1992 Chicago Blackhawks and the 1992 Pittsburgh Penguins. Patrick Roy was the goaltender for an 11 victories.

* Newsy Lalonde, who played for the Canadiens in their infancy, and Maurice Richard, the most prolific goal-scorer in franchise history with 544 goals, are among the only five players to score five goals in one playoff game. Lalonde accomplished the feat on March 1, 1919, and Richard matched him March 23, 1944. Darryl Sittler of Toronto, Reggie Leach of Philadelphia, and Mario Lemieux of Pittsburgh are the other three to achieve this mark.

* The Canadiens have retired the numbers of only seven players, and each is a legendary player and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame:

1: Jacques Plante, a goaltender from 1952 to 1963, won a Hart Trophy and six Vezina Trophys.

2: Doug Harvey, a defenseman from 1947 to 1961, won four consecutive Norris Trophys.

4: Jean Beliveau, a center from 1953 to 1971, won two Hart Trophys, an Art Ross Trophy, and a Conn Smythe.

7: Howie Morenz, a center from 1923 to 1937, won three Hart Trophys. He died following injuries sustained in a game against Chicago on January 28, 1937.

9: Maurice "Rocket" Richard, a right wing from 1942 to 1960, won a Hart Trophy. Upon his death in 2000, more than 150,000 fans paid their respect to Richard as he hay in state at the Molson Centre. Since 1998, the top goal-scorer in the NHL each season is awarded the Rocket Richard Trophy.

10: Guy Lafleur, a right wing from 1971 to 1984, won the Hart Trophy twice, the Art Ross Trophy three times, and the Conn Smythe Trophy once. He owns the franchise record for career points with 1,246 (518 goals, 728 assists).

16: Henri Richard, a center from 1955 to 1975, won a record 11 Stanley Cup titles.