1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season

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The 1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers ninth season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

The Flyers recorded the best record in team history (points wise) with a record of 51–13–16 in 1975–76. The LCB line, featuring Reggie Leach at right-wing, Bobby Clarke at center, and Bill Barber at left-wing, set an NHL record for goals by a single line with 141 (Leach 61, Clarke 30, Barber 50). Clarke, on his way to a third Hart Trophy, set a club record for points in one season with 119. Heading into the playoffs, the Flyers squeaked past Toronto in seven games and defeated Boston in five games, Game 5 featuring a five-goal outburst by Leach, the Riverton Rifle, to head to a third straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. However, the Flyers didn't come close to a third straight championship, as they ran into an up-and-coming dynasty in Montreal, and were swept in four straight games. Despite the loss, Leach was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for scoring 19 goals in 16 playoff games.

The highlight of the season had no bearing on the season standings. On January 11 at the Spectrum, the Flyers, as part of the Super Series '76, played a memorable exhibition game against the Soviet Union's dominant Central Red Army team. As the Bullies had put intimidation to good use the past three years, the Flyers' rugged style of play led the Soviets to leave the ice midway through the first period, protesting a hit on Valeri Kharlamov, whom Clarke had slashed on the ankle in the famous Summit Series '72, by Ed Van Impe. After some delay, the Soviets returned after they were warned that they would lose their salary for the entire series. The Flyers went on to win the game rather easily, 4–1, and were the only team to defeat the Red Army outright in the series. Head coach Fred Shero would proclaim, "Yes we are world champions. If they had won, they would have been world champions. We beat the hell out of a machine."^[2]

[edit] Regular season

[edit] Season standings

[edit] Game log

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

[edit] Playoffs

[edit] Game log

      Win       Loss

[edit] Player stats

[edit] Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Flyers. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
^‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

[edit] Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

[edit] Awards and records

[edit] Awards

[edit] Records

[edit] Transactions

[edit] Trades

[edit] Additions and subtractions

[edit] Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft in Montreal, Quebec.^[8]

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	1	Mel Bridgman	Center	Canada	Victoria Cougars (WCHL)
3	54	Bob Ritchie	Left Wing	Canada	Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL)
4	72	Rick St. Croix	Goaltender	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
5	90	Gary Morrison	Forward	United States	U. of Michigan (CCHA)
6	108	Paul Holmgren	Forward	United States	U. of Minnesota (WCHA)
7	126	Dana Decker	Left Wing	United States	Michigan Tech {WCHA)
9	160	Viktor Khatulev	Defenseman	Latvia	Dynamo Riga (USSR)
10	175	Duffy Smith	Defenseman	Canada	Bowling Green State University (CCHA)

[edit] Farm teams

The Flyers were affliated with the Richmond Robins of the AHL and the Philadelphia Firebirds of the NAHL.^[9][10]

[edit] See also

• 1975–76 NHL season
• 1976 Stanley Cup Finals
• Flyers versus Red Army

[edit] References