1985–86 Montreal Canadiens season

1985–86 Montreal Canadiens
1985–86 Montreal Canadiens
Stanley Cup champions
Wales Conference champions
Division	2nd Adams
Conference	5th Wales
1985–86 record	40–33–7
Home record	25–11–4
Road record	15–22–3
Goals for	330
Goals against	280
Team information
General manager	Serge Savard
Coach	Jean Perron
Captain	Bob Gainey
Alternate captains	Mats Naslund (Mar-May) ; Larry Robinson; Mario Tremblay
Arena	Montreal Forum
Team leaders
Goals	Mats Naslund (43)
Assists	Mats Naslund (67)
Points	Mats Naslund (110)
Penalty minutes	Chris Nilan (274)
Plus/minus	Larry Robinson (+29)
Wins	Patrick Roy (23)
Goals against average	Patrick Roy (3.35)
	← 1984–85 1986–87 →

The 1985–86 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 77th season. The team won the Stanley Cup for the first time in seven seasons, and their 23rd overall.

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Adams Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Quebec Nordiques	80	43	31	6	330	289	92
Montreal Canadiens	80	40	33	7	330	280	87
Boston Bruins	80	37	31	12	311	288	86
Hartford Whalers	80	40	36	4	332	302	84
Buffalo Sabres	80	37	37	6	296	291	80

^[1]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

Adams Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Adams Division

1985–86 NHL records^[2]
Team	BOS	BUF	HFD	MTL	QUE	Total
Boston	—	3–3–2	4–3–1	3–4–1	1–5–2	11–15–6
Buffalo	3–3–2	—	2–6	3–5	4–4	12–18–2
Hartford	3–4–1	6–2	—	3–4–1	4–4	16–14–2
Montreal	4–3–1	5–3	4–3−1	—	2–6	15–15–2
Quebec	5–1–2	4–4	4–4	6–2	—	19–11–2

Vs. Patrick Division

1985–86 NHL records
Team	NJD	NYI	NYR	PHI	PIT	WSH	Total
Boston	3–0	0–1–2	1–2	1–2	2–1	0–2–1	7–8–3
Buffalo	2–1	2–1	3–0	2–1	0–2–1	1–1–1	10–6–2
Hartford	2–1	1–2	2–1	0–3	2–1	0–2–1	7–10–1
Montreal	2–1	2–1	0–2–1	1–2	2–0–1	0–2–1	7–8–3
Quebec	1–2	2–1	2–0–1	1–1–1	1–1–1	0–3	7–8–3

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Norris Division

1985–86 NHL records
Team	CHI	DET	MIN	STL	TOR	Total
Boston	1–2	2–1	3–0	1–2	2–0–1	9–5–1
Buffalo	1–2	1–1–1	2–1	2–1	1–2	7–7–1
Hartford	1–2	2–1	1–2	1–1–1	3–0	8–6–1
Montreal	2–0–1	3–0	1–1–1	1–2	2–1	9–4–2
Quebec	2–1	2–1	2–1	1–2	3–0	10–5–0

Vs. Smythe Division

1985–86 NHL records
Team	CGY	EDM	LAK	VAN	WIN	Total
Boston	2–1	1–2	3–0	1–0–2	3–0	10–3–2
Buffalo	1–1–1	2–1	1–2	2–1	2–1	8–6–1
Hartford	2–1	0–3	2–1	3–0	2–1	9–6–0
Montreal	2–1	0–3	2–1	3–0	2–1	9–6–0
Quebec	2–1	1–2	2–1	1–1–1	1–2	7–7–1

Schedule and results

1985–86 regular season^[3]

October

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 10, 1985	5–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins	1–0–0
2	W	October 12, 1985	6–3	Chicago Black Hawks	2–0–0
3	L	October 13, 1985	2–7	@ Boston Bruins	2–1–0
4	L	October 16, 1985	0–6	Buffalo Sabres	2–2–0
5	L	October 19, 1985	6–11	@ Hartford Whalers	2–3–0
6	L	October 21, 1985	2–3	Quebec Nordiques	2–4–0
7	W	October 23, 1985	5–4	@ Buffalo Sabres	3–4–0
8	W	October 26, 1985	5–3	Hartford Whalers	4–4–0
9	L	October 29, 1985	4–6	@ Quebec Nordiques	4–5–0
10	L	October 30, 1985	4–5	Philadelphia Flyers	4–6–0

November

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
11	T	November 2, 1985	4–4 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins	4–6–1
12	W	November 5, 1985	8–3	@ Hartford Whalers	5–6–1
13	T	November 6, 1985	3–3 OT	@ Minnesota North Stars	5–6–2
14	W	November 9, 1985	6–0	@ Los Angeles Kings	6–6–2
15	W	November 12, 1985	3–2	@ New York Islanders	7–6–2
16	L	November 13, 1985	2–5	@ New York Rangers	7–7–2
17	T	November 16, 1985	2–2 OT	New York Rangers	7–7–3
18	W	November 18, 1985	6–2	Boston Bruins	8–7–3
19	L	November 20, 1985	4–5 OT	Edmonton Oilers	8–8–3
20	W	November 23, 1985	4–3	Calgary Flames	9–8–3
21	L	November 27, 1985	3–5	@ Washington Capitals	9–9–3
22	W	November 29, 1985	5–2	@ Buffalo Sabres	10–9–3
23	W	November 30, 1985	10–1	Detroit Red Wings	11–9–3

December

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
24	W	December 2, 1985	7–0	Vancouver Canucks	12–9–3
25	L	December 5, 1985	6–8	@ Boston Bruins	12–10–3
26	W	December 7, 1985	6–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs	13–10–3
27	W	December 11, 1985	3–1	@ Hartford Whalers	14–10–3
28	L	December 12, 1985	3–6	@ Philadelphia Flyers	14–11–3
29	W	December 14, 1985	6–3	Chicago Black Hawks	15–11–3
30	T	December 16, 1985	4–4 OT	Hartford Whalers	15–11–4
31	W	December 18, 1985	3–2	Quebec Nordiques	16–11–4
32	L	December 19, 1985	4–5 OT	@ Quebec Nordiques	16–12–4
33	W	December 21, 1985	3–1	Buffalo Sabres	17–12–4
34	W	December 27, 1985	7–3	@ New Jersey Devils	18–12–4
35	W	December 28, 1985	8–3	New Jersey Devils	19–12–4

January

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
36	L	January 1, 1986	2–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs	19–13–4
37	W	January 3, 1986	7–3	@ Winnipeg Jets	20–13–4
38	W	January 4, 1986	6–5	@ Calgary Flames	21–13–4
39	W	January 6, 1986	9–2	St. Louis Blues	22–13–4
40	W	January 8, 1986	5–3	Boston Bruins	23–13–4
41	L	January 10, 1986	4–6	@ New York Rangers	23–14–4
42	L	January 11, 1986	3–6	Edmonton Oilers	23–15–4
43	W	January 15, 1986	4–0	Winnipeg Jets	24–15–4
44	L	January 17, 1986	4–5 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres	24–16–4
45	W	January 18, 1986	3–0	New York Islanders	25–16–4
46	L	January 20, 1986	2–3 OT	@ Quebec Nordiques	25–17–4
47	T	January 22, 1986	3–3 OT	@ Chicago Black Hawks	25–17–5
48	W	January 23, 1986	5–2	@ Minnesota North Stars	26–17–5
49	W	January 25, 1986	3–2 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs	27–17–5
50	W	January 27, 1986	4–1	Buffalo Sabres	28–17–5
51	W	January 29, 1986	5–3	Quebec Nordiques	29–17–5

February

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
52	W	February 1, 1986	2–1	Boston Bruins	30–17–5
53	L	February 5, 1986	2–3	@ Quebec Nordiques	30–18–5
54	L	February 7, 1986	2–3	@ Washington Capitals	30–19–5
55	W	February 8, 1986	5–3	@ Detroit Red Wings	31–19–5
56	L	February 10, 1986	3–4 OT	Minnesota North Stars	31–20–5
57	L	February 13, 1986	3–4	@ New Jersey Devils	31–21–5
58	W	February 15, 1986	5–3	Philadelphia Flyers	32–21–5
59	L	February 17, 1986	2–3 OT	Los Angeles Kings	32–22–5
60	T	February 19, 1986	4–4 OT	Washington Capitals	32–22–6
61	W	February 22, 1986	6–3	Hartford Whalers	33–22–6
62	L	February 24, 1986	2–3	@ Edmonton Oilers	33–23–6
63	W	February 26, 1986	4–2	@ Vancouver Canucks	34–23–6

March

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
64	W	March 1, 1986	6–4	@ Los Angeles Kings	35–23–6
65	L	March 4, 1986	3–6	@ New York Islanders	35–24–6
66	L	March 6, 1986	4–7	St. Louis Blues	35–25–6
67	W	March 8, 1986	8–3	Boston Bruins	36–25–6
68	L	March 10, 1986	2–5	Hartford Whalers	36–26–6
69	W	March 12, 1986	3–2	Vancouver Canucks	37–26–6
70	L	March 13, 1986	2–3	@ Boston Bruins	37–27–6
71	L	March 15, 1986	3–5	Calgary Flames	37–28–6
72	L	March 17, 1986	6–8	Quebec Nordiques	37–29–6
73	L	March 19, 1986	4–6	@ Winnipeg Jets	37–30–6
74	L	March 22, 1986	2–3	@ St. Louis Blues	37–31–6
75	L	March 26, 1986	0–3	@ Hartford Whalers	37–32–6
76	T	March 27, 1986	3–3 OT	@ Boston Bruins	37–32–7
77	W	March 29, 1986	4–3	Pittsburgh Penguins	38–32–7

April

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
78	W	April 2, 1986	6–3	Detroit Red Wings	39–32–7
79	L	April 4, 1986	2–4	@ Buffalo Sabres	39–33–7
80	W	April 5, 1986	4–2	Buffalo Sabres	40–33–7

Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Mats Naslund	LW	80	43	67	110	16	11	19	0	7
Bobby Smith	C	79	31	55	86	55	10	5	0	7
Larry Robinson	D	78	19	63	82	39	29	10	0	1
Kjell Dahlin	RW	77	32	39	71	4	10	14	0	3
Guy Carbonneau	C	80	20	36	56	57	18	1	2	3
Ryan Walter	C/LW	69	15	34	49	45	-9	9	0	1
Bob Gainey	LW	80	20	23	43	20	10	0	2	4
Mike McPhee	LW	70	19	21	40	69	8	0	2	3
Mario Tremblay	RW	56	19	20	39	55	4	3	0	3
Stephane Richer	RW	65	21	16	37	50	1	5	0	2
Chris Nilan	RW	72	19	15	34	274	10	2	0	1
Chris Chelios	D	41	8	26	34	67	4	2	0	0
Lucien DeBlois	C	61	14	17	31	48	3	2	0	1
Tom Kurvers	D	62	7	23	30	36	9	3	0	1
Gaston Gingras	D	34	8	18	26	12	-10	7	0	0
Brian Skrudland	C	65	9	13	22	57	3	0	2	0
Petr Svoboda	D	73	1	18	19	93	24	0	0	0
Sergio Momesso	LW	24	8	7	15	46	-4	3	0	3
Mike Lalor	D	62	3	5	8	56	-4	0	0	0
Randy Bucyk	C	17	4	2	6	8	5	0	0	0
Craig Ludwig	D	69	2	4	6	63	7	0	0	0
Rick Green	D	46	3	2	5	20	-9	0	0	0
Steve Rooney	LW	38	2	3	5	114	-4	1	0	0
Serge Boisvert	RW	9	2	2	4	2	1	0	0	0
Claude Lemieux	RW	10	1	2	3	22	-6	1	0	0
Patrick Roy	G	47	0	3	3	4	0	0	0	0
John Kordic	RW	5	0	1	1	12	1	0	0	0
Dominic Campedelli	D	2	0	0	0	0	-2	0	0	0
Kent Carlson	D	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Shayne Corson	LW	3	0	0	0	2	-3	0	0	0
David Maley	LW	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Steve Penney	G	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Doug Soetaert	G	23	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	0
Alfie Turcotte	C	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Patrick Roy	2651	47	23	18	3	148	3.35	1	1185	1037	.875
Doug Soetaert	1215	23	11	7	2	56	2.77	3	533	477	.895
Steve Penney	990	18	6	8	2	72	4.36	0	447	375	.839
Team:	4856	80	40	33	7	276	3.41	4	2165	1889	.873

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Mats Naslund	LW	20	8	11	19	4	4	0	0
Claude Lemieux	RW	20	10	6	16	68	4	0	4
Bobby Smith	C	20	7	8	15	22	3	0	3
Larry Robinson	D	20	0	13	13	22	0	0	0
Guy Carbonneau	C	20	7	5	12	35	0	2	1
Chris Chelios	D	20	2	9	11	49	1	0	0
Bob Gainey	LW	20	5	5	10	12	0	1	3
Mike McPhee	LW	20	3	4	7	45	0	1	1
Brian Skrudland	C	20	2	4	6	76	0	0	1
Stephane Richer	RW	16	4	1	5	23	3	0	1
Kjell Dahlin	RW	16	2	3	5	4	0	0	0
Gaston Gingras	D	11	2	3	5	4	1	0	0
Rick Green	D	18	1	4	5	8	0	0	0
David Maley	LW	7	1	3	4	2	0	0	0
Mike Lalor	D	17	1	2	3	29	0	0	1
Chris Nilan	RW	18	1	2	3	141	1	0	0
Serge Boisvert	RW	8	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
Craig Ludwig	D	20	0	1	1	48	0	0	0
Ryan Walter	C/LW	5	0	1	1	2	0	0	0
Randy Bucyk	C	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lucien DeBlois	C	11	0	0	0	7	0	0	0
John Kordic	RW	18	0	0	0	53	0	0	0
Patrick Roy	G	20	0	0	0	10	0	0	0
Petr Svoboda	D	8	0	0	0	21	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Patrick Roy	1218	20	15	5	39	1.92	1	506	467	.923
Team:	1218	20	15	5	39	1.92	1	506	467	.923

^[4]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Playoffs

Stanley Cup

Calgary Flames vs. Montreal Canadiens

Date	Visitors	Score	Home	Score	Notes
May 16	Montreal	2	Calgary	5
May 18	Montreal	3	Calgary	2	OT
May 20	Calgary	3	Montreal	5
May 22	Calgary	0	Montreal	1
May 24	Montreal	4	Calgary	3

Montreal wins the series 4–1.

Awards and records

Kjell Dahlin, rookie scoring leader, 71 points
Kjell Dahlin, NHL All-Rookie Team
Mats Naslund, NHL Second Team All-Star^[5]
Patrick Roy, Conn Smythe Trophy
Patrick Roy, NHL All-Rookie Team

Transactions

1986 Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup Champions

Bob Gainey, Doug Soetaert, Patrick Roy, Rick Green, David Maley, Ryan Walter, Serge Boisvert, Mario Tremblay, Bobby Smith, Craig Ludwig, Tom Kurvers, Kjell Dahlin, Larry Robinson, Guy Carbonneau, Chris Chelios, Petr Svoboda, Mats Naslund, Lucien DeBlois, Steve Rooney, Gaston Gingras, Mike Lalor, Chris Nilan, John Kordic, Claude Lemieux, Mike McPhee, Brian Skrudland, Stephane Richer, Serge Savard (general manager), Jean Perron (coach), Jacques Laperriere (assistant coach), Eddy Palchak (trainer).

Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 1985 NHL Entry Draft held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/junior/club team
1	12	Jose Charbonneau (RW)	Canada	Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
1	16	Tom Chorske (LW)	United States	Minneapolis Southwest H.S.
2	33	Todd Richards (D)	United States	Plymouth Armstrong High School (USHS-MN)
3	47	Rocky Dundas (RW)	Canada	Kelowna Wings (WHL)
4	75	Martin Desjardins (C)	Canada	Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL)
4	79	Brent Gilchrist (C)	Canada	Kelowna Wings (WHL)
5	96	Tom Sagissor (C)	United States	Hastings High School (USHS-MN)
6	117	Donald Dufresne (D)	Canada	Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL)
7	142	Ed Cristofoli (RW)	Canada	Penticton Knights (BCJHL)
8	163	Mike Claringbull (D)	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
9	184	Roger Beedon (G)	Canada	Sarnia Legionnaires (OPJHL)
10	198	Maurizio Mansi (F)	Canada	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC)
10	205	Chad Arthur (LW)	United States	Stratford Cullitons (OPJHL)
11	226	Mike Bishop (D)	Canada	Sarnia Legionnaires (OPJHL)
12	247	John Ferguson Jr. (LW)	Canada	Winnipeg South Blues (MJHL)

References

^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
^ "1985-86 Montreal Canadiens Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
^ "1985-86 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 237, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.

[nhl-gd-standings-1] Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.

[2] "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

[Gamelog-3] "1985-86 Montreal Canadiens Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 6, 2025.

[4] "1985-86 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.

[5] National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 237, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e Montreal Canadiens seasons
1900s	1909–10
1910s	1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920s	1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930s	1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940s	1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950s	1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960s	1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

v t e Montreal Canadiens
Founded in 1909 Based in Montreal, Quebec
Franchise	Team General managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks Seasons Current season
History	History Original Six Centennial Records Award winners Retired numbers Broadcasters
Personnel	Owner(s) Molson family (Geoff Molson, chairman) General manager Kent Hughes Head coach Martin St. Louis Team captain Nick Suzuki Current roster
Arenas	Jubilee Arena Montreal Arena Mount Royal Arena Montreal Forum Bell Centre
Rivalries	Boston Bruins Quebec Nordiques Toronto Maple Leafs
Affiliates	AHL Laval Rocket ECHL Trois-Rivières Lions
Media	TV TSN2 (English) RDS (French) Radio TSN Radio 690 (English) 98,5 FM (French)
Culture and lore	Youppi! The Hockey Sweater Pour toujours, les Canadiens! Ginette Reno Tour des Canadiens The Punch Line Richard Riot 1938 European tour "Fix You" Good Friday Massacre 2003 Heritage Classic 2011 Heritage Classic 2016 Winter Classic 100 Classic Bell Sports Complex
Category Commons

v t e 1985–86 NHL season
Patrick	New Jersey NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Pittsburgh Washington
Adams	Boston Buffalo Hartford Montreal Quebec
Norris	Chicago Detroit Minnesota St. Louis Toronto
Smythe	Calgary Edmonton Los Angeles Vancouver Winnipeg
See also	Draft Waiver draft All-Star Game Monday Night Miracle Stanley Cup playoffs Stanley Cup Finals

1985–86 Montreal Canadiens season

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Campbell Conference

Schedule and results

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Goaltending

Playoffs

Scoring

Goaltending

Playoffs

Stanley Cup

Calgary Flames vs. Montreal Canadiens

Awards and records

Transactions

1986 Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup Champions

Draft picks

See also

References