Canadiens stars Guy Lafleur (left) and Steve Shutt wave to fans during Montreal's1976-77 Stanley Cup parade. Hockey Hall of Fame photo
The Canadiens' .825 point percentage that season remains third-best in NHL history, behind only the 1929-30 Bruins (.875 in 44 games) and 1943-44 Canadiens (.830 in 50 games).
"What I remember about the season was that our defense corps scored, I'm guessing, about 60 goals," Bowman said. "They were so prolific offensively. And strong defending, obviously."
In fact, Bowman's defensemen scored 63 of the Canadiens' 387 goals: Guy Lapointe had 25, Robinson 19, Serge Savard nine, Pierre Bouchard four, and Rick Chartraw and Bill Nyrop three each.
Bowman's 1995-96 Red Wings rolled to a 62-13-7 record in a 26-team NHL, their 131 points missing the 1976-77 Canadiens' record by one. The Red Wings would win six- and seven-game playoff series before being eliminated in a six-game conference final against the Colorado Avalanche.
Bowman recalls that edition of the Red Wings for the Oct. 24, 1995 trade with the San Jose Sharks for Igor Larianov, who joined countrymen Sergei Fedorov, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Viacheslav Fetisov and Vladimir Konstantinov to form the legendary Russian Five.
Fedorov won the Selke Trophy that season as the best defensive forward in the NHL, goalies Chris Osgood and Mike Vernon shared the William M. Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed and Bowman again won the Adams.