The Rangers made the Finals twice in the 1970s, but lost both times to two ' 70s powerhouses ; in six games to the Boston Bruins in, who were led by such stars as Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, Johnny Bucyk, and Wayne Cashman ; and in five games to the Canadiens in, who had Bob Gainey, Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Ken Dryden, Guy Lapointe, and Serge Savard.

They would defeat the defending-champion Canadiens in the first round and the Chicago Blackhawks in the second, but lost to the Bruins in the finals.

Making their debut in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Canucks lost the opening series of the 1975 post-season in five games to the Montreal Canadiens.

The Canadiens placed first in the league, but lost in the first playoff round to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Maple Leafs.

The Canadiens lost game two, game three and game four before winning game five to prolong the series.

The Canadiens lost in the Final to the Red Wings in seven games.

Henderson scored the game-winning goal in the first game of the series against the Montreal Canadiens, however after winning the first two games in Montreal, Detroit lost four straight to lose the series.

The Whalers lost Game 1 by a score of 2-0 and Game 2 by a score of 5-2 so it looked like the Canadiens would sweep the Whalers out of the first round, as they did in the 1989 playoffs.

The Canadiens had lost their top goalie Georges Vezina and placed last.

The Canadiens then went on to play the Victoria Cougars for the Stanley Cup but lost.

The Canadiens still had a good season, going 45-24-9, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the New York Rangers in six games.

Despite Ryder's effort, the Canadiens eventually lost the game 6 – 5.

The following season Vézina again led the NHA with the fewest goals against, the fourth time in seven years he did so, helping the Canadiens to again reach the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Seattle Metropolitans.

After winning 13 games in 1922 – 23, Vézina led the Canadiens into the NHL playoffs, where they lost the two-game, total-goal series to the Ottawa Senators, who would win the Stanley Cup.

Facing the Victoria Cougars, the Canadiens lost the series three games to one.

By the time of the Canadiens first game on against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he had lost 35 pounds in a span of six weeks, and had a fever of 102 Fahrenheit.

Smith also performed live at Flyers home games on May 13, 1975, when the Flyers beat the New York Islanders 4-1 to win Game 7 of the Stanley Cup semi-finals., and on May 16, 1976, before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, when the Flyers lost to the Montreal Canadiens 5-3 and were swept in that series.

Beginning with the 1992 – 93 season, Melrose coached the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, leading them to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final, which they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.

In four playoff games with Detroit, Bowness was held off the scoresheet as the Red Wings lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the quarter-finals.

In a playoff game against the Montreal Canadiens on March 26, 1931, Ross had goaltender Tiny Thompson go to the bench for a sixth skater in the final minute of play ; even so, the Bruins lost the game 1 – 0.

In the 1985 – 86 season, he coached the Flames to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost 4 games to 1 to the Montreal Canadiens.

The Kings ending went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, the first time in the franchise's history, where they eventually lost to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.

But in the next four games, Huet and the Canadiens lost by scores of 2 – 1, 3 – 2, 2 – 1 and 2 – 1 and the series in goaltender duels with rookie Cam Ward, who had taken Martin Gerber's starting spot in the series, and who would later go on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.

The Flames reached the final for the first time in franchise history, but lost to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.

, the Red Wings have won the most Stanley Cup championships ( 11 ) of any NHL franchise based in the United States, and are third overall in total NHL championships, behind the Montreal Canadiens ( 24 ) and Toronto Maple Leafs ( 13 ).

This victory propelled the Kings into the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history, where they faced the Montreal Canadiens.

* May 5 – The Montreal Canadiens defeat the Detroit Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup.

** The Montréal Canadiens defeat the New York Rangers 4 games to 1 in the best-of-seven series, winning the Stanley Cup.

In 1976 and 1977, the Islanders were knocked out in the semifinals by eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Montreal Canadiens.

Unlike the 1976 – 79 Montreal Canadiens, who needed to win three series in the 1976 and 1977 playoffs under the playoff format in place at that time, the Islanders had to win four series in each of their Stanley Cup seasons.

The Flyers then defeated the defending Stanley Cup Champion Canadiens in a fiery six game series ( notable for a famous bench-clearing brawl during the Game 6 warmup ) to win the Wales Conference and return to the Stanley Cup Finals.

In 1919, the Spanish influenza epidemic forced the Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Metropolitans to cancel their series, marking the first time the Stanley Cup was not awarded.

Adams had fallen in love with hockey while watching the 1924 Stanley Cup Finals between the NHL champion Montreal Canadiens and the WCHL champion Calgary Tigers.

By 1931, they reached their first Stanley Cup Final, with goal-scorer Johnny Gottselig, Cy Wentworth on defense, and Charlie Gardiner in goal, but fizzled in the final two games against the Montreal Canadiens.

With second-year goalie Tony Esposito ( Phil's younger brother and winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy for Rookie of the Year the previous season ), Hull, his younger brother Dennis, Mikita, and sterling defensemen Stapleton and Bill White, the Hawks reached the Stanley Cup final before bowing out to the Canadiens.

His brother Henri " The Pocket Rocket " Richard joined him with the Canadiens in 1955 and would go on to win eleven Stanley Cups with the team, an NHL record.

The Red Wings and Canadiens faced off in four Stanley Cup finals during the 1950s.

He had one of his career highlights that season when, on March 23, 1944, Richard scored all five goals for the Canadiens in a 5 – 1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs en route to the Stanley Cup Finals and was awarded all three stars for his efforts.

The Canadiens would win the Stanley Cup, sweeping Chicago in four games.

The Canadiens again placed first, and won the Stanley Cup.

Sugar Jim Henry and a bloodied Richard shaking hands after the Canadiens ' 1952 Stanley Cup semi-final win

In 1950, the Rocket followed this up with 42 goals in the season, and the Canadiens made it to the Stanley Cup Final again, losing to Toronto.

But the new team approach of Blake worked and the Canadiens won the first of five straight Stanley Cups.

The Red Wings and Canadiens faced off in four Stanley Cup finals during the 1950s.

He played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1953 to 1963 ; during his tenure, the team won the Stanley Cup six times, including five consecutive wins.