1978–79 NHL season
The 1978–79 NHL season was the 62nd season of the National Hockey League. The 17 teams of the league played an 80-game season.
The Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals four games to one for their fourth Cup in a row.
Regular season
Final standings
GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
Prince of Wales Conference
| Adams Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 43 | 23 | 14 | 100 | 316 | 270 | 1222 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 36 | 28 | 16 | 88 | 280 | 263 | 1026 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 34 | 33 | 13 | 81 | 267 | 252 | 1440 |
| Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 28 | 40 | 12 | 68 | 257 | 289 | 1102 |
| Norris Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 52 | 17 | 11 | 115 | 337 | 204 | 803 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 36 | 31 | 13 | 85 | 281 | 279 | 1039 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 34 | 34 | 12 | 80 | 292 | 286 | 1134 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 24 | 41 | 15 | 63 | 273 | 338 | 1312 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 23 | 41 | 16 | 62 | 252 | 295 | 1359 |
Clarence Campbell Conference
| Patrick Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Islanders | 80 | 51 | 15 | 14 | 116 | 358 | 214 | 1077 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 40 | 25 | 15 | 95 | 281 | 248 | 1548 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 40 | 29 | 11 | 91 | 316 | 292 | 1214 |
| Atlanta Flames | 80 | 41 | 31 | 8 | 90 | 327 | 280 | 1158 |
| Smythe Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 29 | 36 | 15 | 73 | 244 | 277 | 1254 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 25 | 42 | 13 | 63 | 217 | 291 | 1134 |
| St. Louis Blues | 80 | 18 | 50 | 12 | 48 | 249 | 348 | 1055 |
| Colorado Rockies | 80 | 15 | 53 | 12 | 42 | 210 | 331 | 838 |
Scoring leaders
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Trottier | New York Islanders | 76 | 47 | 87 | 134 | 50 |
| Marcel Dionne | Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 59 | 71 | 130 | 30 |
| Guy Lafleur | Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 52 | 77 | 129 | 28 |
| Mike Bossy | New York Islanders | 80 | 69 | 57 | 126 | 25 |
| Bob MacMillan | Atlanta Flames | 79 | 37 | 71 | 108 | 14 |
| Guy Chouinard | Atlanta Flames | 80 | 50 | 57 | 107 | 14 |
| Denis Potvin | New York Islanders | 73 | 31 | 70 | 101 | 58 |
| Bernie Federko | St. Louis Blues | 74 | 31 | 64 | 95 | 14 |
| Dave Taylor | Los Angeles Kings | 78 | 43 | 48 | 91 | 124 |
| Clark Gillies | New York Islanders | 75 | 35 | 56 | 91 | 68 |
Stanley Cup playoffs
All dates in 1979
Playoff bracket
| Preliminary Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Atlanta Flames | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Buffalo Sabres | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | New York Rangers | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | New York Islanders | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Chicago Black Hawks | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | New York Islanders | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | New York Rangers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Vancouver Canucks | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | New York Rangers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | New York Rangers | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Los Angeles Kings | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Preliminary round
Vancouver Canucks vs. Philadelphia Flyers
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 10 | Vancouver | 3 | Philadelphia | 2 | |
| April 12 | Philadelphia | 6 | Vancouver | 4 | |
| April 14 | Vancouver | 2 | Philadelphia | 7 |
Philadelphia wins best-of-three series 2 games to 1
Los Angeles Kings vs. New York Rangers
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 10 | Los Angeles | 1 | New York | 7 | |
| April 12 | New York | 2 | Los Angeles | 1 | (OT) |
NY Rangers win best-of-three series 2 games to 0
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Atlanta Flames
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 10 | Toronto | 2 | Atlanta | 1 | |
| April 12 | Atlanta | 4 | Toronto | 7 |
Toronto wins best-of-three series 2 games to 0
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Buffalo Sabres
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 10 | Pittsburgh | 4 | Buffalo | 3 | |
| April 12 | Buffalo | 3 | Pittsburgh | 1 | |
| April 14 | Pittsburgh | 4 | Buffalo | 3 | (OT) |
Pittsburgh wins best-of-three series 2 games to 1
Quarterfinals
Chicago Black Hawks vs. New York Islanders
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 16 | Chicago | 2 | New York | 6 | |
| April 18 | Chicago | 0 | New York | 1 | (OT) |
| April 20 | New York | 4 | Chicago | 0 | |
| April 22 | New York | 3 | Chicago | 1 |
NY Islanders win best-of-seven series 4 games to 0
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 16 | Toronto | 2 | Montreal | 5 | |
| April 18 | Toronto | 1 | Montreal | 5 | |
| April 21 | Montreal | 4 | Toronto | 3 | |
| April 22 | Montreal | 5 | Toronto | 4 | (OT) |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 0
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Boston Bruins
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 16 | Pittsburgh | 2 | Boston | 6 | |
| April 18 | Pittsburgh | 3 | Boston | 4 | |
| April 21 | Boston | 2 | Pittsburgh | 1 | |
| April 22 | Boston | 4 | Pittsburgh | 1 |
Boston wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 0
New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 16 | New York | 2 | Philadelphia | 3 | (OT) |
| April 18 | New York | 7 | Philadelphia | 1 | |
| April 20 | Philadelphia | 1 | New York | 5 | |
| April 22 | Philadelphia | 0 | New York | 6 | |
| April 24 | New York | 8 | Philadelphia | 3 |
NY Rangers win best-of-seven series 4 games to 1
Semi-finals
New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 26 | Rangers | 4 | Islanders | 1 | |
| April 28 | Rangers | 3 | Islanders | 4 | (OT) |
| May 1 | Islanders | 1 | Rangers | 3 | |
| May 3 | Islanders | 3 | Rangers | 2 | (OT) |
| May 5 | Rangers | 4 | Islanders | 3 | |
| May 8 | Islanders | 1 | Rangers | 2 |
NY Rangers win best-of-seven series 4 games to 2
Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 26 | Boston | 2 | Montreal | 4 | |
| April 28 | Boston | 2 | Montreal | 5 | |
| May 1 | Montreal | 1 | Boston | 2 | |
| May 3 | Montreal | 3 | Boston | 4 | (OT) |
| May 5 | Boston | 1 | Montreal | 5 | |
| May 8 | Montreal | 2 | Boston | 5 | |
| May 10 | Boston | 4 | Montreal | 5 | (OT) |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 3
Finals
New York Rangers vs. Montreal Canadiens
As of 2008, it is the last time two Pre-war clubs met in the Finals.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 13 | New York | 4 | Montreal | 1 | |
| May 15 | New York | 2 | Montreal | 6 | |
| May 17 | Montreal | 4 | New York | 1 | |
| May 19 | Montreal | 4 | New York | 3 | (OT) |
| May 21 | New York | 1 | Montreal | 4 |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1
NHL awards
| Prince of Wales Trophy: | Montreal Canadiens |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: | New York Islanders |
| Art Ross Memorial Trophy: | Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: | Serge Savard, Montreal Canadiens |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: | Bobby Smith, Minnesota North Stars |
| Conn Smythe Trophy: | Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy: | Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: | Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders |
| Jack Adams Award: | Al Arbour, New York Islanders |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: | Denis Potvin, New York Islanders |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: | Bob MacMillan, Atlanta Flames |
| Lester B. Pearson Award: | Marcel Dionne, Los Angeles Kings |
| NHL Plus/Minus Award: | Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders |
| Vezina Trophy: | Ken Dryden & Michel Larocque, Montreal Canadiens |
| Lester Patrick Trophy: | Bobby Orr |
All-Star teams
| First Team | Position | Second Team |
|---|---|---|
| Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens | G | Glenn Resch, New York Islanders |
| Denis Potvin, New York Islanders | D | Borje Salming, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens | D | Serge Savard, Montreal Canadiens |
| Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders | C | Marcel Dionne, Los Angeles Kings |
| Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens | RW | Mike Bossy, New York Islanders |
| Clark Gillies, New York Islanders | LW | Bill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers |