2001–02 Montreal Canadiens season


The 2001–02 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 93rd season. After missing the playoffs in the three preceding seasons, the Canadiens returned to the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Canadiens were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals by the Carolina Hurricanes by a series score of 4–2.

Off-season

Regular season

The 93rd season for the Canadiens began with a shocking announcement that team captain Saku Koivu was suffering from intra-abdominal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer. This condition kept him out of all but three games in the regular season. On October 5, to respond to Koivu's absence, General Manager Andre Savard signed veteran forward Doug Gilmour to address the absence. The team began the season hovering around the.500 mark, but a five-game winning streak to end November, highlighted by spectacular performances by goaltender Jose Theodore, allowed the Canadiens to climb into the playoff mix. Around this time, Savard added offensive power to the team by acquiring Donald Audette and Shaun Van Allen from the Dallas Stars in exchange for Martin Rucinsky and Benoit Brunet. Head Coach Michel Therrien and the Canadiens had a rough December, posting a record of 4–8–2–1 while the newly acquired Audette had his forearm tendons sliced by the skate of New York Rangers forward Radek Dvorak. His season was jeopardized. Despite the inconsistency of the team, Theodore was spectacular in net. In January, the Canadiens played more.500 hockey, which prompted Savard to make a change. He traded forward Brian Savage to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Sergei Berezin. The regular season went on hold for two weeks while the 2002 Winter Olympics were taking place. When play resumed, Jose Theodore took matters into his own hands and carried the Habs into the playoffs, finishing the regular season with a record of 30–24–10, seven shutouts and a goals against average of 2.11. In the 80th game of the regular season, captain Saku Koivu returned from treatment and played his first game of the season against the Ottawa Senators. He played for the team for the rest of the season. The Canadiens made the playoffs with a record of 36–31–12–3 behind the play of eventual Hart Memorial Trophy winner Jose Thoedore.
The Canadiens finished the regular season having allowed the fewest power play goals, with just 38.

Final standings

Schedule and results

Playoffs

In the first round of the playoffs, the Canadiens were matched against the Boston Bruins, who finished first overall in the Eastern Conference. Donald Audette lead the way with three goals and Saku Koivu had a goal and an assist to win game one 5–2 for Montreal. Game 2 would prove to be a back-and-forth affair, as both teams traded momentum. Boston won the game by a score of 6–4 despite a four-point performance from the Canadien Richard Zednik. The series shifted to Montreal, and the Canadiens won Game 3 5–3 through by a four-point performance by Koivu. This gave Montreal a 2–1 series lead. The Bruins responded in Game 4 as they won easily, 5–2. Theodore rose to the occasion in Game 5, stopping 43 of 44 shots for a 2–1 win to give the Canadiens a 3–2 series lead going back to the Molson Centre. Theodore was spectacular again in Game 6, and Yanic Perreault scored the game-winning goal to give the Canadiens a 2–1 victory. The Canadiens won the series in six games, upsetting the Conference's top seed.
The Canadiens faced the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the playoffs. The Hurricanes won Game 1 2–0 as Hurricanes goaltender Kevin Weekes was awarded the shutout. The Carolina Hurricanes dominated the Canadiens outshooting them 46 to 16, but Theodore only yielded one goal and Koivu had a goal and an assist and the Canadiens won Game 2 4–1 to tie the series. Game 3 went to overtime and due to the heroics of Theodore, he kept his team in the game. The Habs would win Game 3 just over two minutes into overtime on a goal by Donald Audette, giving the Canadiens the series lead. The Habs had momentum in Game 4, establishing a 3–0 lead early in the third period of Game 4. The Hurricanes, however, would score three-straight goals to send the game to overtime, where 'Canes defenceman Niclas Wallin ended the game in overtime to tie the series at 2–2. With newly gained series momentum, the Hurricanes would win the next two games to win take the series at 4–2, outscoring Montreal 13–3 in the process.

Player statistics

Regular season

;Scoring
PlayerPosGPGAPtsPIM+/-PPGSHGGWG
C8227295640-3607
RW8222224459-3403
RW7524174112-4316
C7010314148-7502
C708283610-3101
RW7915183324-3232
D7142933259211
LW4714152930-14702
D8281725761000
D565192424-1201
LW758152327-7012
C53910198-2103
C438101812-11300
D756101687-7101
C546915205011
D8057123216001
D561101114-25100
LW29461043301
RW35549557000
RW364481043000
D3435862-5100
LW1826812-1100
RW1315681001
D2523514-7200
D2805533-5000
C2805566000
LW1031422000
RW13134230000
LW25112630001
LW160224-4000
C302200000
G6702220000
C81018-1000
C201102000
C200000000
G200000000
G500000000
G1500020000
D100002000
G100000000

;Goaltending
PlayerMINGPWLT/OTGAGAASOSASVSV%
3864673024101362.11719721836.931
71715552383.180395357.904
2615140194.370147128.871
109201073.8506053.883
18100000.00014141.000
Team:4969823634122002.41725882388.923

Playoffs

;Scoring
PlayerPosGPGAPtsPIMPPGSHGGWG
RW12641010202
C12461016100
C1246104101
RW44486200
C113580201
RW121562001
C121456000
RW112242000
D121348001
D1213412000
RW121236000
D120334000
LW61120100
D101122000
D121128000
RW1210147000
RW30110000
LW120119000
D1201116000
C70112000
C60006000
G10000000
D20004000
G120000000

;Goaltending
PlayerMINGPWLGAGAASOSASVSV%
6861266353.060413378.915
3810034.7401916.842
Team:7241266383.150432394.912

Awards and records

Roster

Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 2001 NHL Entry Draft held at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida.
Round#PlayerNationalityCollege/Junior/Club Team
17Mike KomisarekUniversity of Michigan
125Alexander PerezhoginAvangard Omsk
237Duncan MilroySwift Current Broncos
371Tomas PlekanecRabat Kladno
4109Martti JarventieTPS
6171Eric HimelfarbSarnia Sting
7203Andrew ArcherGuelph Storm
9266Viktor UjcikSlavia Prague

Farm teams