1979 Stanley Cup playoffs

1979 Stanley Cup playoffs

Tournament details
Dates	April 10–May 21, 1979
Teams	12
Defending champions	Montreal Canadiens
Final positions
Champions	Montreal Canadiens
Runner-up	New York Rangers
← 1978 1980 →

The 1979 Stanley Cup playoffs, the 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 champion Montreal Canadiens defeating the New York Rangers 4–1 to win the final series four games to one, for their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup championship. Three Original Six teams made the semifinals, which would not happen again until the 2014 Conference finals.

The top two teams in each division made the playoffs, along with the four next-best regular-season records from teams in the entire league finishing third or lower. All 12 clubs then were seeded 1–12 based on regular season points, regardless of conference or division, as follows:

1. New York Islanders, Patrick Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions, NHL regular season champions – 116 points
2. Montreal Canadiens, Norris Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 115 points
3. Boston Bruins, Adams Division champions – 100 points
4. Philadelphia Flyers – 95 points
5. New York Rangers – 91 points
6. Atlanta Flames – 90 points
7. Buffalo Sabres – 88 points
8. Pittsburgh Penguins – 85 points
9. Toronto Maple Leafs – 81 points
10. Los Angeles Kings – 80 points
11. Chicago Black Hawks, Smythe Division champions – 73 points
12. Vancouver Canucks – 63 points

The four division winners earned a bye to the Quarterfinals, while the other eight teams competed first in the Preliminary Round. The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system: in each round, the highest remaining seed was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth.

Each series in the Preliminary Round was played in a best-of-three format while each series in the other three rounds were played in a best-of-seven format.

	Preliminary Round					Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Stanley Cup Finals
						1	NY Islanders	4
						8	Chicago	0
											1	NY Islanders	2
											4	NY Rangers	4
	1	Philadelphia	2
	8	Vancouver	1
						4	Philadelphia	1
						5	NY Rangers	4
	2	NY Rangers	2
	7	Los Angeles	0
																2	Montreal	4
																4	NY Rangers	1
						2	Montreal	4
						7	Toronto	0
	3	Atlanta	0
	6	Toronto	2
											2	Montreal	4
											3	Boston	3
						3	Boston	4
						6	Pittsburgh	0
	4	Buffalo	1
	5	Pittsburgh	2

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.

April 10	Vancouver Canucks		3–2		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Thomas Gradin (1) – 01:35		Second period			No scoring
Stan Smyl (1) – 00:09 Don Lever (1) – 10:38		Third period			06:30 – Bobby Clarke (1) 19:35 – Reggie Leach (1)
Gary Bromley 28 saves / 30 shots		Goalie stats			Wayne Stephenson 23 saves / 26 shots

April 12	Philadelphia Flyers		6–4		Vancouver Canucks	Pacific Coliseum	Recap
Tom Gorence (1) – 01:47 Reggie Leach (2) – pp – 18:39		First period			14:10 – pp – Don Lever (2) 16:11 – pp – Dennis Kearns (1)
Tom Gorence (2) – 01:12		Second period			01:48 – Thomas Gradin (2)
Ken Linseman (1) – 13:36 Reggie Leach (3) – 19:06 Bill Barber (1) – 19:57		Third period			16:40 – Thomas Gradin (3)
Robbie Moore 17 saves / 21 shots		Goalie stats			Gary Bromley 31 saves / 36 shots

April 14	Vancouver Canucks		2–7		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
Thomas Gradin (4) – 17:34		First period			04:13 – pp – Bobby Clarke (2) 07:20 – Al Hill (1)
No scoring		Second period			00:34 – pp – Reggie Leach (4) 08:53 – pp – Tom Gorence (3) 10:27 – Blake Dunlop (1)
Don Kozak (1) – 15:11		Third period			03:05 – Bill Barber (2) 12:58 – Paul Holmgren (1)
Gary Bromley 21 saves / 28 shots		Goalie stats			Robbie Moore 29 saves / 31 shots

Philadelphia won series 2–1

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.

April 10	Los Angeles Kings		1–7		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
Charlie Simmer (1) – pp – 09:17		First period			06:15 – pp – Lucien DeBlois (1) 14:16 – pp – Mike McEwen (1)
No scoring		Second period			06:15 – Steve Vickers (1) 09:08 – Dave Maloney (1) 13:38 – pp – Ron Greschner (1) 15:49 – Walt Tkaczuk (1)
No scoring		Third period			13:02 – Dave Maloney (2)
Mario Lessard 23 saves / 30 shots		Goalie stats			John Davidson 31 saves / 32 shots

April 12	New York Rangers		2–1	OT	Los Angeles Kings	The Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			12:29 – pp – Syl Apps Jr. (1)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Phil Esposito (1) – 01:11		Third period			No scoring
Phil Esposito (2) – 06:11		First overtime period			No scoring
John Davidson 35 saves / 36 shots		Goalie stats			Mario Lessard 41 saves / 43 shots

New York won series 2–0

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.

April 10	Toronto Maple Leafs		2–1		Atlanta Flames	Omni Coliseum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Walt McKechnie (1) – sh – 06:26 Walt McKechnie (2) – 09:14		Second period			16:37 – Jean Pronovost (1)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Mike Palmateer 27 saves / 28 shots		Goalie stats			Dan Bouchard 19 saves / 21 shots

April 12	Atlanta Flames		4–7		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
Jean Pronovost (2) – pp – 10:51		First period			04:04 – Darryl Sittler (1) 04:16 – Darryl Sittler (2) 04:27 – Ron Ellis (1)
Guy Chouinard (1) – pp – 11:41		Second period			03:09 – Pat Boutette (1) 08:38 – pp – Dan Maloney (1) 15:42 – Walt McKechnie (3) 17:32 – Pat Boutette (2)
Bobby Lalonde (1) – pp – 03:57 Willi Plett (1) – 10:02		Third period			No scoring
Dan Bouchard 20 saves / 27 shots Rejean Lemelin 15 saves / 15 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Palmateer 22 saves / 26 shots

Toronto won series 2–0

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.

April 10	Pittsburgh Penguins		4–3		Buffalo Sabres	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium	Recap
Rod Schutt (1) – 11:32		First period			10:49 – Mike Boland (1)
No scoring		Second period			12:48 – Rene Robert (1)
Blair Chapman (1) – 05:21 Gary McAdam (1) – 13:54 Orest Kindrachuk (1) – 15:46		Third period			17:26 – Don Luce (1)
Denis Herron 28 saves / 31 shots		Goalie stats			Bob Sauve 18 saves / 22 shots

April 12	Buffalo Sabres		3–1		Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena	Recap
Rick Dudley (1) – 19:22		First period			No scoring
Jacques Richard (1) – 02:59		Second period			17:19 – Colin Campbell (1)
Rene Robert (2) – 19:11		Third period			No scoring
Bob Sauve 30 saves / 31 shots		Goalie stats			Denis Herron 27 saves / 30 shots

April 14	Pittsburgh Penguins		4–3	OT	Buffalo Sabres	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium	Recap
Jim Hamilton (1) – 13:04		First period			12:59 – pp – Gilbert Perreault (1) 16:35 – Craig Ramsay (1)
Jim Hamilton (2) – 11:47		Second period			17:38 – Jerry Korab (1)
George Ferguson (1) – 04:17		Third period			No scoring
George Ferguson (2) – 00:47		First overtime period			No scoring
Denis Herron 38 saves / 41 shots		Goalie stats			Bob Sauve 20 saves / 24 shots

Pittsburgh won series 2–1

This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. New York won the only previous meeting in a two-game sweep in the 1977 Preliminary Round.

April 16	Chicago Black Hawks		2–6		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
Reg Kerr (1) – 07:36		First period			02:29 – Wayne Merrick (1) 18:41 – Mike Bossy (1)
Bob Murray (1) – 06:46		Second period			02:27 – Bryan Trottier (1) 14:25 – pp – Mike Bossy (2)
No scoring		Third period			03:49 – Denis Potvin (1) 15:27 – Mike Bossy (3)
Tony Esposito 28 saves / 34 shots		Goalie stats			Chico Resch 22 saves / 24 shots

April 18	Chicago Black Hawks		0–1	OT	New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			02:31 – Mike Bossy (4)
Tony Esposito 39 saves / 40 shots		Goalie stats			Billy Smith 22 saves / 22 shots

April 20	New York Islanders		4–0		Chicago Black Hawks	Chicago Stadium	Recap
Billy Harris (1) – pp – 18:08		First period			No scoring
Lorne Henning (1) – 17:47		Second period			No scoring
Clark Gillies (1) – 03:00 Denis Potvin (2) – 11:45		Third period			No scoring
Chico Resch 21 saves / 21 shots		Goalie stats			Tony Esposito 24 saves / 28 shots

April 22	New York Islanders		3–1		Chicago Black Hawks	Chicago Stadium	Recap
Denis Potvin (3) – 15:09		First period			No scoring
Ed Westfall (1) – 01:24		Second period			07:05 – Mike Walton (1)
Mike Bossy (5) – 08:02		Third period			No scoring
Billy Smith 27 saves / 28 shots		Goalie stats			Tony Esposito 21 saves / 24 shots

New York won series 4–0

This was the fifteenth playoff meeting between these two teams; with the teams splitting the fourteen previous series. They met in previous year's Stanley Cup Semifinals, which Montreal won in a four-game sweep.

These teams did not meet again in the playoffs until 2021.

April 16	Toronto Maple Leafs		2–5		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
Lanny McDonald (1) – 09:36		First period			No scoring
Dan Maloney (2) – 03:23		Second period			04:33 – Steve Shutt (1) 13:05 – pp – Guy Lafleur (1)
No scoring		Third period			04:23 – Jacques Lemaire (1) 07:15 – Jacques Lemaire (2) 09:59 – pp – Yvon Lambert (1)
Mike Palmateer 28 saves / 33 shots		Goalie stats			Ken Dryden 26 saves / 28 shots

April 18	Toronto Maple Leafs		1–5		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			02:50 – Bob Gainey (1) 09:33 – Guy Lafleur (2)
No scoring		Second period			07:01 – pp – Jacques Lemaire (3)
Lanny McDonald (2) – 19:43		Third period			13:19 – Bob Gainey (2) 14:36 – Steve Shutt (2)
Mike Palmateer 20 saves / 23 shots Paul Harrison 13 saves / 15 shots		Goalie stats			Ken Dryden 27 saves / 28 shots

April 21	Montreal Canadiens		4–3	2OT	Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
Mark Napier (1) – 02:48		First period			05:06 – pp – Darryl Sittler (3) 08:14 – Lanny McDonald (3)
Larry Robinson (1) – 04:35 Jacques Lemaire (4) – pp – 06:12		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			17:40 – Darryl Sittler (4)
Cam Connor (1) – 05:25		Second overtime period			No scoring
Ken Dryden 38 saves / 41 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Palmateer 40 saves / 44 shots

April 22	Montreal Canadiens		5–4	OT	Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
Yvon Lambert (2) – pp – 06:55 Larry Robinson (2) – 07:57		First period			No scoring
Pierre Mondou (1) – 08:06 Pat Hughes (1) – 10:31		Second period			14:46 – Rocky Saganiuk (1) 16:06 – pp – Darryl Sittler (5)
No scoring		Third period			13:29 – Walt McKechnie (4) 13:58 – Dan Maloney (3)
Larry Robinson (3) – pp – 04:14		First overtime period			No scoring
Ken Dryden 29 saves / 33 shots		Goalie stats			Paul Harrison 30 saves / 35 shots

Montreal won series 4–0

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.

April 16	Pittsburgh Penguins		2–6		Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period			02:29 – Peter McNab (1) 05:21 – Don Marcotte (1) 15:58 – Mike Milbury (1)
Orest Kindrachuk (2) – 06:07		Second period			04:21 – Don Marcotte (2) 16:02 – pp – Bobby Schmautz (1) 17:27 – sh – Dick Redmond (1)
Gregg Sheppard (1) – pp – 12:14		Third period			No scoring
Denis Herron 27 saves / 33 shots		Goalie stats			Gerry Cheevers 19 saves / 21 shots

April 18	Pittsburgh Penguins		3–4		Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
Jim Hamilton (3) – pp – 14:11		First period			15:10 – pp – Jean Ratelle (1) 16:16 – Dwight Foster (1)
Orest Kindrachuk (3) – 14:52		Second period			14:15 – Peter McNab (2)
Orest Kindrachuk (4) – 19:54		Third period			10:10 – Bob Miller (1)
Denis Herron 21 saves / 25 shots		Goalie stats			Gerry Cheevers 24 saves / 27 shots

April 21	Boston Bruins		2–1		Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena	Recap
Peter McNab (3) – 18:43		First period			03:10 – Gary McAdam (2)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Rick Middleton (1) – pp – 05:03		Third period			No scoring
Gerry Cheevers 23 saves / 24 shots		Goalie stats			Denis Herron 29 saves / 31 shots

April 22	Boston Bruins		4–1		Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena	Recap
Bobby Schmautz (2) – 16:53 Jean Ratelle (2) – 18:46		First period			15:20 – Rod Schutt (2)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Jean Ratelle (3) – 08:50 Don Marcotte (3) – 19:19		Third period			No scoring
Gerry Cheevers 24 saves / 25 shots		Goalie stats			Denis Herron 27 saves / 30 shots

Boston won series 4–0

This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. Philadelphia won the only previous meeting in seven games in the 1974 Stanley Cup Semifinals.

April 16	New York Rangers		2–3	OT	Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
Don Maloney (1) – 04:32 Phil Esposito (3) – pp – 09:10		First period			16:52 – pp – Bob Kelly (1)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			15:02 – Bill Barber (3)
No scoring		First overtime period			00:44 – Ken Linseman (2)
John Davidson 29 saves / 32 shots		Goalie stats			Robbie Moore 22 saves / 24 shots

April 18	New York Rangers		7–1		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
Steve Vickers (2) – 02:21 Ron Greschner (2) – sh – 18:22		First period			07:45 – Frank Bathe (1)
Don Maloney (2) – 02:32 Ron Greschner (3) – pp – 06:19 Eddie Johnstone (1) – 10:41		Second period			No scoring
Don Murdoch (1) – pp – 09:44 Mike McEwen (2) – pp – 17:18		Third period			No scoring
John Davidson 32 saves / 33 shots		Goalie stats			Robbie Moore 13 saves / 17 shots Wayne Stephenson 16 saves / 19 shots

April 20	Philadelphia Flyers		1–5		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
Mel Bridgman (1) – 01:38		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			02:15 – Don Maloney (3) 02:41 – Don Maloney (4) 05:39 – sh – Anders Hedberg (1)
No scoring		Third period			14:17 – Ron Duguay (1) 19:48 – Don Murdoch (2)
Wayne Stephenson 20 saves / 24 shots		Goalie stats			John Davidson 32 saves / 33 shots

April 22	Philadelphia Flyers		0–6		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period			03:43 – Don Murdoch (3) 06:33 – Eddie Johnstone (2)
No scoring		Second period			02:00 – Phil Esposito (4) 05:15 – Bobby Sheehan (1)
No scoring		Third period			06:58 – pp – Don Murdoch (4) 11:39 – sh – Eddie Johnstone (3)
Robbie Moore 24 saves / 30 shots		Goalie stats			John Davidson 28 saves / 29 shots

April 24	New York Rangers		8–3		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
Ron Greschner (4) – pp – 09:55 Walt Tkaczuk (2) – sh – 13:26		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Walt Tkaczuk (3) – 02:03 Steve Vickers (3) – 04:13 Ron Duguay (2) – sh – 08:19 Carol Vadnais (1) – 16:50 Eddie Johnstone (4) – 17:24 Anders Hedberg (2) – 19:26		Third period			10:37 – pp – Reggie Leach (5) 12:21 – Bob Dailey (1) 15:27 – Behn Wilson (1)
John Davidson 25 saves / 28 shots		Goalie stats			Wayne Stephenson 15 saves / 21 shots

New York won series 4–1

This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. The Islanders won the only previous meeting 2–1 in the 1975 Preliminary Round.

April 26	New York Rangers		4–1		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
Don Murdoch (5) – pp – 15:01 Eddie Johnstone (5) – 17:57		First period			10:41 – Bryan Trottier (2)
Ron Duguay (3) – 09:43 Bobby Sheehan (2) – 16:34		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
John Davidson 21 saves / 22 shots		Goalie stats			Chico Resch 34 saves / 38 shots

April 28	New York Rangers		3–4	OT	New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
Walt Tkaczuk (4) – 03:12		First period			No scoring
Bobby Sheehan (3) – pp – 08:32		Second period			01:37 – Wayne Merrick (2)
Phil Esposito (5) – 15:48		Third period			05:13 – Bob Lorimer (1) 09:35 – Bobby Nystrom (1)
No scoring		First overtime period			08:02 – Denis Potvin (4)
John Davidson 33 saves / 37 shots		Goalie stats			Billy Smith 34 saves / 37 shots

May 1	New York Islanders		1–3		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Bob Bourne (1) – 14:04		Second period			03:14 – Bobby Sheehan (4) 16:23 – Phil Esposito (6)
No scoring		Third period			13:55 – Steve Vickers (4)
Chico Resch 29 saves / 32 shots		Goalie stats			John Davidson 16 saves / 17 shots

May 3	New York Islanders		3–2	OT	New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
John Tonelli (1) – 01:53		Second period			01:18 – Don Maloney (5)
Billy Harris (2) – 02:56		Third period			06:50 – Don Maloney (6)
Bobby Nystrom (2) – 03:40		First overtime period			No scoring
Billy Smith 28 saves / 30 shots		Goalie stats			John Davidson 23 saves / 26 shots

May 5	New York Rangers		4–3		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
Don Maloney (7) – 15:29		First period			17:48 – sh – Lorne Henning (2)
Lucien DeBlois (2) – 07:29		Second period			No scoring
Ron Greschner (5) – 09:04 Anders Hedberg (3) – 17:47		Third period			04:20 – Mike Kaszycki (1) 09:33 – Bobby Nystrom (3)
John Davidson 25 saves / 28 shots		Goalie stats			Billy Smith 26 saves / 30 shots

May 8	New York Islanders		1–2		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
Mike Bossy (6) – pp – 08:56		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			05:03 – Don Murdoch (6) 08:45 – pp – Ron Greschner (6)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Chico Resch 25 saves / 27 shots		Goalie stats			John Davidson 21 saves / 22 shots

New York Rangers won series 4–2

This was the 18th playoff series meeting between these two teams, which Montreal led 15–2 in previous meetings. This series served as the final chapter in this rivalry for the late 1970s following Montreal's Cup Finals victories over Boston in 1977 and 1978 in four and six games respectively.

This series is best remembered for its dramatic conclusion in the late stages of game seven. Boston's Rick Middleton scored the go-ahead goal with four minutes remaining in regulation. Montreal's dynasty and success over Boston in the playoffs were suddenly in serious jeopardy. However, with time winding down to less than three minutes remaining, Boston committed a series-defining penalty for having too many men on the ice. With Montreal on the power play, Guy Lafleur scored the game-tying goal with 1:14 remaining to force overtime. Approaching the midway point of the first overtime, Yvon Lambert would score the series-winning goal to send the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Finals for the fourth straight year. This marked the 14th straight playoff meeting between the two teams that ended with the Canadiens defeating the Bruins.

April 26	Boston Bruins		2–4		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			13:52 – Jacques Lemaire (5)
Jean Ratelle (4) – pp – 03:37 Don Marcotte (4) – 05:34		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			03:44 – Guy Lafleur (3) 12:17 – Pierre Larouche (1) 19:33 – Doug Jarvis (1)
Gerry Cheevers 17 saves / 20 shots		Goalie stats			Ken Dryden 19 saves / 21 shots

April 28	Boston Bruins		2–5		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Rick Middleton (2) – 07:42 Peter McNab (4) – 10:34		Second period			17:41 – Jacques Lemaire (6) 18:11 – Bob Gainey (3) 19:05 – Mario Tremblay (1)
No scoring		Third period			04:50 – Guy Lafleur (4) 15:43 – Rick Chartraw (1)
Gerry Cheevers 15 saves / 20 shots		Goalie stats			Ken Dryden 21 saves / 23 shots

May 1	Montreal Canadiens		1–2		Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period			12:19 – Stan Jonathan (1)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Larry Robinson (4) – 13:23		Third period			16:48 – Brad Park (1)
Ken Dryden 29 saves / 31 shots		Goalie stats			Gilles Gilbert 17 saves / 18 shots

May 3	Montreal Canadiens		3–4	OT	Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
Pierre Mondou (2) – pp – 18:59		First period			15:15 – Jean Ratelle (5)
Guy Lafleur (5) – 07:58		Second period			13:21 – Jean Ratelle (6)
Guy Lapointe (1) – 17:54		Third period			16:18 – Peter McNab (5)
No scoring		First overtime period			03:46 – Jean Ratelle (7)
Ken Dryden 28 saves / 32 shots		Goalie stats			Gilles Gilbert 21 saves / 24 shots

May 5	Boston Bruins		1–5		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			08:35 – Guy Lafleur (6) 09:00 – Guy Lafleur (7) 19:02 – Larry Robinson (5)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Wayne Cashman (1) – pp – 18:32		Third period			10:03 – pp – Serge Savard (1) 12:00 – Mario Tremblay (2)
Gilles Gilbert 35 saves / 40 shots		Goalie stats			Ken Dryden 21 saves / 22 shots

May 8	Montreal Canadiens		2–5		Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
Larry Robinson (6) – 08:05 Pierre Mondou (3) – 12:48		First period			10:02 – Stan Jonathan (2) 12:21 – Don Marcotte (5)
No scoring		Second period			16:30 – Wayne Cashman (2)
No scoring		Third period			07:23 – Stan Jonathan (3) 15:24 – Stan Jonathan (4)
Ken Dryden 18 saves / 23 shots		Goalie stats			Gilles Gilbert 25 saves / 27 shots

May 10	Boston Bruins		4–5	OT	Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
Rick Middleton (3) – pp – 10:09		First period			14:19 – pp – Jacques Lemaire (7)
Wayne Cashman (3) – 00:27 Wayne Cashman (4) – 16:12		Second period			No scoring
Rick Middleton (4) – 16:01		Third period			06:10 – Mark Napier (2) 08:16 – pp – Guy Lapointe (2) 18:46 – pp – Guy Lafleur (8)
No scoring		First overtime period			09:33 – Yvon Lambert (3)
Gilles Gilbert 47 saves / 52 shots		Goalie stats			Ken Dryden 26 saves / 30 shots

Montreal won series 4–3

This was the 12th playoff series (and only Finals) meeting between these two teams. New York led 6–5 in previous meetings. Their last encounter was won by New York in six games in the 1974 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals.

Prior to 2013, this was the last time two Original Six clubs met in the finals. Both teams would next appear in the Stanley Cup Finals as follows: Canadiens winning in 1986 and 1993, Rangers winning in 1994.

May 13	New York Rangers		4–1		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
Steve Vickers (5) – pp – 06:28 Ron Greschner (7) – 14:27		First period			No scoring
Phil Esposito (7) – pp – 09:30 Dave Maloney (3) – sh – 12:32		Second period			07:07 – Guy Lafleur (9)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
John Davidson 31 saves / 32 shots		Goalie stats			Ken Dryden 9 saves / 13 shots Michel Larocque 9 saves / 9 shots

May 15	New York Rangers		2–6		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
Anders Hedberg (4) – 01:02 Ron Duguay (4) – 06:21		First period			08:34 – Yvon Lambert (4) 12:24 – Guy Lafleur (10) 16:27 – Bob Gainey (4)
No scoring		Second period			06:51 – Steve Shutt (3) 17:35 – pp – Jacques Lemaire (8)
No scoring		Third period			04:38 – Mark Napier (3)
John Davidson 27 saves / 33 shots		Goalie stats			Ken Dryden 23 saves / 25 shots

May 17	Montreal Canadiens		4–1		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
Steve Shutt (4) – pp – 07:27 Doug Risebrough (1) – 15:44		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Mario Tremblay (3) – 14:48 Jacques Lemaire (9) – 17:10		Third period			06:06 – Ron Duguay (5)
Ken Dryden 19 saves / 20 shots		Goalie stats			John Davidson 19 saves / 23 shots

May 19	Montreal Canadiens		4–3	OT	New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
Rejean Houle (1) – 02:39		First period			01:19 – Pat Hickey (1) 17:03 – Don Murdoch (7)
Yvon Lambert (5) – 18:05		Second period			No scoring
Bob Gainey (5) – 06:27		Third period			04:26 – Phil Esposito (8)
Serge Savard (2) – 07:25		First overtime period			No scoring
Ken Dryden 18 saves / 21 shots		Goalie stats			John Davidson 38 saves / 42 shots

May 21	New York Rangers		1–4		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
Carol Vadnais (2) – 16:52		First period			10:36 – Rick Chartraw (2)
No scoring		Second period			01:02 – pp – Jacques Lemaire (10) 11:01 – Bob Gainey (6) 18:49 – Jacques Lemaire (11)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
John Davidson 27 saves / 31 shots		Goalie stats			Ken Dryden 14 saves / 15 shots

Montreal won series 4–1

• 1978–79 NHL season
• List of NHL seasons
• List of Stanley Cup champions

Bibliography

• Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Stanley Cup. Total Sports Canada. ISBN 1-892129-07-8.

Preceded by 1978 Stanley Cup playoffs

Stanley Cup playoffs

Succeeded by 1980 Stanley Cup playoffs