1971-72 NHL season
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The 1971-72 NHL season was the 55th season of the National Hockey League. Fourteen teams each played 78 games. The Boston Bruins beat the New York Rangers four games to two for the Stanley Cup in the finals.
Five players were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this year. They were Busher Jackson, Gordon Roberts, Terry Sawchuk, Cooney Weiland, and Arthur Wirtz.
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[edit] Regular season
The Minnesota North Stars left Gump Worsley open in the intra-league draft and nobody took him. Gump had one of best seasons with a 2.12 goals against average in 34 games with the North Stars.
There was a new player in the NHL this year, destined for greatness. The Canadiens had traded Carol Vadnais in 1968-69 to the Oakland (California) Seals to secure the Seals #1 draft choice in 1971. With it the Canadiens drafted Guy Lafleur, and he scored 29 goals this season.
There were other new stars. Rick Martin set a new record for goals by a rookie with 44 with Buffalo. There was an uproar when Ken Dryden won the Calder Memorial Trophy from those who felt he wasn't a true rookie because of his extended service in the playoffs the previous spring. However the NHL voted Dryden Rookie of the Year, maintaining that he should be considered a rookie as he played enough games to be considered as such. Gilles Meloche was another fine rookie who played for the California Golden Seals. He recorded four shutouts for the weak Seals. It was not without pain, however. On November 21rst, Meloche was the victim of 9 goals as the Rangers clobbered the Seals 12-1, as Jean Ratelle had 4 goals. Meloche was mercifully yanked at 11:03 of the third period for Lyle Carter. Meloche wept openly on the bench, feeling that his NHL career was over. However, it was not all his fault: the Rangers outshot the Seals 52-16 and the defence wasn't sharp in front of him.
On November 9, the NHL announced that Atlanta had been granted a franchise, and on December 31, Long Island was granted a franchise.
Gerry Cheevers set an NHL record with 33 straight games undefeated.
On January 6th, 1972, the St. Louis Blues played a rough game in which Brian Lavender and Serge Bernier of Philadelphia engaged in a fight and the Philadelphia crowd became unruly. Barclay Plager, Bob Plager and Blues coach Al Arbour got into fights with fans. Barclay Plager and coach Arbour were arrested by police, and, amazingly, Bob Plager escaped arrest. Gary Sabourin scored the winner in a 3-2 win for the Blues, their last in Philadelphia for years.
On February 8, Philadelphia goaltender Bruce Gamble suffered a heart attack during a 3-1 win in Vancouver and was forced to retire from hockey.
On February 10, Lafleur had the hat trick in a 7-1 conquest of Chicago to become the first rookie to score three hat tricks in a season (modern era).
On February 12, it was Gordie Howe Day in Detroit as his famous #9 was retired in pre-game ceremonies. The Red Wings tied the Chicago Black Hawks 3-3 in the game at the Detroit Olympia.
On March 25, Bobby Hull scored his 600th NHL goal in a 5-5 tie with Boston at the Boston Garden. The next day, Tony Esposito recorded his 8th shutout of the season as Hull scored two goals in a 4-0 win at Chicago Stadium over the St. Louis Blues. Garry Unger gave Esposito anxious moments on Blues power plays, but Chicago held tough, killing off a two-man-short situation in the game as Chicago killed penalties well.
Once again the Boston Bruins had the best record in the league and once again the Chicago Black Hawks had the best record in the West Division.
[edit] Final standings
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
| East Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 78 | 54 | 13 | 11 | 119 | 330 | 204 | 1112 |
| New York Rangers | 78 | 48 | 17 | 13 | 109 | 317 | 192 | 1010 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 78 | 46 | 16 | 16 | 108 | 307 | 205 | 783 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 78 | 33 | 31 | 14 | 80 | 209 | 208 | 887 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 78 | 33 | 35 | 10 | 76 | 261 | 262 | 850 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 16 | 43 | 19 | 51 | 203 | 289 | 831 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 78 | 20 | 50 | 8 | 48 | 203 | 297 | 1092 |
| West Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Black Hawks | 78 | 46 | 17 | 15 | 107 | 256 | 166 | 844 |
| Minnesota North Stars | 78 | 37 | 29 | 12 | 86 | 212 | 191 | 853 |
| St. Louis Blues | 78 | 28 | 39 | 11 | 67 | 208 | 247 | 1150 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 78 | 26 | 38 | 14 | 66 | 220 | 258 | 978 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 78 | 26 | 38 | 14 | 66 | 200 | 236 | 1233 |
| California Golden Seals | 78 | 21 | 39 | 18 | 60 | 216 | 288 | 1007 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 78 | 20 | 49 | 9 | 49 | 206 | 305 | 719 |
[edit] Scoring leaders
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Esposito | Boston Bruins | 76 | 66 | 67 | 133 | 76 |
| Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | 76 | 37 | 80 | 117 | 106 |
| Jean Ratelle | New York Rangers | 63 | 46 | 63 | 109 | 4 |
| Vic Hadfield | New York Rangers | 78 | 50 | 56 | 106 | 142 |
| Rod Gilbert | New York Rangers | 73 | 43 | 54 | 97 | 64 |
| Frank Mahovlich | Montreal Canadiens | 76 | 43 | 53 | 96 | 36 |
| Bobby Hull | Chicago Blackhawks | 78 | 59 | 43 | 93 | 24 |
| Yvan Cournoyer | Montreal Canadiens | 73 | 47 | 36 | 83 | 15 |
| Johnny Bucyk | Boston Bruins | 78 | 32 | 51 | 83 | 4 |
| Bobby Clarke | Philadelphia Flyers | 78 | 35 | 46 | 81 | 87 |
[edit] Leading goaltenders
[edit] Stanley Cup playoffs
The New York Rangers finally did something that was seemingly impossible: they beat the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs. Next, they shockingly swept the Chicago Black Hawks in four straight games. Chicago had beaten the Pittsburgh Penguins in four straight games.
Boston easily handled the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games. That the Leafs were able to win one game was just short of miraculous.
The Minnesota North Stars met the St. Louis Blues. Game one was a shutout for Gump Worsley 3-0 in a rough game in which Barclay Plager and Dennis Hextall slugged it out. Dennis O'Brien also got into a fight with Jack Egers. Game two was a shootout that Minnesota won in overtime 6-5 and Cesare Maniago was in goal. The Blues beat the North Stars in game three 2-1, then beat them again 3-2. Worsley was in goal for game five as Minnesota overcame a 3-2 deficit to win 4-3 on third period goals by J.P. Parise and Jude Drouin. In game six, Bob Plager came charging down the slot and ran into Worsley, knocking him backwards and hitting his head on the crossbar. Oxygen had to be used to revive him and Worsley had played his last playoff game. Maniago replaced him and the North Stars lost 4-2. The seventh and deciding game ended 1-1 at the end of regulation time. After ten minutes of overtime, Danny O'Shea of St. Louis slipped a pass to brother Kevin O'Shea who scored the series winning goal.
Boston played St. Louis and set a record with the most goals in a four game series by pounding the Blues 6-1, 10-2, 7-2 before St.Louis finally made it closer in game 4 by losing 5-3.
[edit] Playoff bracket
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston Bruins | 4 | |||||||||||
| E4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston Bruins | 4 | |||||||||||
| W3 | St. Louis Blues | 0 | |||||||||||
| W2 | Minnesota North Stars | 3 | |||||||||||
| W3 | St. Louis Blues | 4 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston Bruins | 4 | |||||||||||
| E2 | New York Rangers | 2 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4 | |||||||||||
| W4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 0 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 0 | |||||||||||
| E2 | New York Rangers | 4 | |||||||||||
| E2 | New York Rangers | 4 | |||||||||||
| E3 | Montreal Canadiens | 2 | |||||||||||
[edit] Stanley Cup finals
The Rangers and Bruins were the finalists. Game one in Boston saw both teams play poorly and Boston prevailed 6-5 on Ken Hodge's hat trick. Gary Doak of the Rangers was ejected from the game after a heated argument with referee Bill Friday over a penalty he received at 18:50 of the first period. Game two had Gilles Villemure replace Ed Giacomin in goal for the Rangers.He played well, but the Bruins did too and won 2-1. In New York, Giacomin was back in goal for game three as the Rangers won 5-2. Brad Park opened the scoring with a power play goal and scored another in the first period. Rod Gilbert also had two goals in the game. Giacomin was having trouble with a knee he injured during the Chicago series and lost game four 3-2. Game five in Boston had Villemure again replace Giacomin and Bobby Rousseau's goal at 12:45 of the third period was the winner in a 3-2 win for the Rangers. Game six in New York saw Boston play flawlessly and Gerry Cheevers picked up a shutout, 3-0. Bobby Orr played just magnificent with a goal and an assist. Wayne Cashman scored two goals, one of which trickled in behind Gilles Villemure. Johnny Bucyk accepted the Stanley Cup from NHL president Clarence Campbell. All dates in 1972
New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 30 | New York Rangers | 5 | Boston Bruins | 6 | |
| May 2 | New York Rangers | 1 | Boston Bruins | 2 | |
| May 4 | Boston Bruins | 2 | New York Rangers | 5 | |
| May 7 | Boston Bruins | 3 | New York Rangers | 2 | |
| May 9 | New York Rangers | 3 | Boston Bruins | 2 | |
| May 11 | Boston Bruins | 3 | New York Rangers | 0 |
Boston Bruins win the best-of-seven series 4 games to 2 for the Stanley Cup
[edit] NHL awards
| Prince of Wales Trophy: | Boston Bruins |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: | Chicago Black Hawks |
| Art Ross Memorial Trophy: | Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: | Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: | Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens |
| Conn Smythe Trophy: | Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: | Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: | Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: | Jean Ratelle, New York Rangers |
| Lester B. Pearson Award: | Jean Ratelle, New York Rangers |
| NHL Plus/Minus Award: | Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins |
| Vezina Trophy: | Tony Esposito & Gary Smith, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Lester Patrick Trophy: | Clarence S. Campbell, John A. "Snooks" Kelly, Ralph "Cooney" Weiland, James D. Norris |
[edit] See also
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- 1971 NHL Amateur Draft
- 25th National Hockey League All-Star Game
- National Hockey League All-Star Game
- Ice hockey at the 1972 Winter Olympics
- 1971 in sports
- 1972 in sports
[edit] References
| NHL seasons |
|---|
|
1967-68 | 1968-69 | 1969-70 | 1970-71 | 1971-72 | 1972-73 | 1973-74 | 1974-75 | 1975-76 |
Current teams: Anaheim • Atlanta • Boston • Buffalo • Calgary • Carolina • Chicago • Colorado • Columbus • Dallas • Detroit • Edmonton • Florida • Los Angeles • Minnesota • Montreal • Nashville • New Jersey • NY Islanders • NY Rangers • Ottawa • Philadelphia • Phoenix • Pittsburgh • San Jose • St. Louis • Tampa Bay • Toronto • Vancouver • Washington
Trophies and awards: Stanley Cup • Prince of Wales • Clarence S. Campbell • Presidents' Trophy • Adams • Art Ross • Calder • Conn Smythe • Crozier • Hart • Jennings • King Clancy • Lady Byng • Masterton • Norris • Patrick • Pearson • Plus/Minus • Rocket Richard • Selke • Vezina
Defunct and relocated teams: Atlanta Flames • California/Oakland Golden Seals • Cleveland Barons • Colorado Rockies • Hamilton Tigers • Hartford Whalers • Kansas City Scouts • Minnesota North Stars • Montreal Maroons • Montreal Wanderers • New York/Brooklyn Americans • Ottawa Senators (orginal) • Philadelphia Quakers • Pittsburgh Pirates • Quebec Bulldogs • Quebec Nordiques • St. Louis Eagles • Winnipeg Jets
