1976–77 New York Rangers season

1976–77 New York Rangers
Division	4th Patrick
Conference	5th Clarence Campbell
1976–77 record	29-37-14
Goals for	272
Goals against	310
Team information
General Manager	John Ferguson
Coach	John Ferguson
Captain	Phil Esposito
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Team leaders
Goals	Phil Esposito (34)
Assists	Rod Gilbert (48)
Points	Phil Esposito (80)
Penalties in minutes	Nick Fotiu (174)
Wins	John Davidson (14)
Goals against average	Doug Soetaert (2.95)

<1975–76	1977–78>

The 1976–77 New York Rangers season was the fifty-first season of the New York Rangers franchise in the National Hockey League. The Rangers placed fourth in the Patrick Division and did not qualify for the playoffs. The Rangers had a better regular season record than two playoff teams and the league would change the rules in the following season to place the top twelve teams in the playoffs, regardless of division.

1 Offseason
2 Regular season
- 2.1 Season Standings
- 2.2 Schedule and Results
3 Playoffs
4 Player stats
- 4.1 Skaters
- 4.2 Goaltenders
5 Draft picks
6 References

Offseason

Regular season

Season Standings

Patrick Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Philadelphia Flyers	80	48	16	16	323	213	112
New York Islanders	80	47	21	12	288	193	106
Atlanta Flames	80	34	34	12	264	265	80
New York Rangers	80	29	37	14	272	310	72

^[1]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Schedule and Results

1976-77 Game Log

October: 5-7-1 (Home: 2-5-0; Road: 3-2-1)

November: 5-4-3 (Home: 2-3-0; Road: 3-1-3)

December: 5-4-6 (Home: 3-2-3; Road: 2-2-3)

January: 3-6-3 (Home: 2-2-1; Road: 1-4-2)

February: 5-7-0 (Home: 3-2-0; Road: 2-5-0)

March: 6-7-1 (Home: 5-3-1; Road: 1-4-0)

April: 0-2-0 (Home: 0-1-0; Road: 0-1-0)

Playoffs

The Rangers failed to qualify for the 1977 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Player stats

Skaters

Regular season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Esposito, PhilPhil Esposito	80	34	46	80	52
Gilbert, RodRod Gilbert	77	27	48	75	50
Hodge, KenKen Hodge	78	21	41	62	43
Murdoch, DonDon Murdoch	59	32	24	56	47
Vickers, SteveSteve Vickers	75	22	31	53	26
Tkaczuk, WaltWalt Tkaczuk	80	12	38	50	38
Vadnais, CarolCarol Vadnais	74	11	37	48	131
Greschner, RonRon Greschner	80	11	36	47	89
Dillon, WayneWayne Dillon	78	17	29	46	33
McEwen, MikeMike McEwen	80	14	29	43	38
Hickey, PatPat Hickey	80	23	17	40	35
Polis, GregGreg Polis	77	16	23	39	44
Goldsworthy, BillBill Goldsworthy^†	61	10	12	22	43
Maloney, DaveDave Maloney	66	3	18	21	100
Farrish, DaveDave Farrish	80	2	17	19	102
Newman, DanDan Newman	41	9	8	17	37
Stemkowski, PetePete Stemkowski	61	2	13	15	8
Fotiu, NickNick Fotiu	70	4	8	12	174
Fairbairn, BillBill Fairbairn^‡	9	1	2	3	0
Heaslip, MarkMark Heaslip	19	1	0	1	31
Huras, LarryLarry Huras	2	0	0	0	0
Sacharuk, LarryLarry Sacharuk	2	0	0	0	0
Bednarski, JohnJohn Bednarski	5	0	0	0	0
Holst, GregGreg Holst	5	0	0	0	0
Beverley, NickNick Beverley^‡	9	0	0	0	2
Jarrett, DougDoug Jarrett	9	0	0	0	4

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	Min	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Gratton, GillesGilles Gratton	41	2034	11	18	7	143	4.22	0
Davidson, JohnJohn Davidson	39	2116	14	14	6	125	3.54	1
Soetaert, DougDoug Soetaert	12	570	3	4	1	28	2.95	1
Tataryn, DaveDave Tataryn	2	80	1	1	0	10	7.50	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
^‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.

^[2]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	6	Don Murdoch	RW	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)
2	24	Dave Farrish	D	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OHA)
3	42	Mike McEwen	D	Canada	Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
4	60	Claude Periard	LW	Canada	Trois Rivieres Draveurs (QMJHL)
5	78	Doug Caines	C	Canada	St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
6	96	Barry Scully	RW	Canada	Kingston Canadians (OHA)
7	112	Remi Levesque	C	Canada	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)

References

Rangers on Hockey Database

^ Dinger, Ralph, ed (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
^ "1976-77 New York Rangers". hockeydb.com. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000481977.html. Retrieved 2010-08-08.

1976–77 NHL season by team

Patrick	Atlanta • NY Islanders • NY Rangers • Philadelphia

Adams	Boston • Buffalo • Cleveland • Toronto

Norris	Detroit • Los Angeles • Montreal • Pittsburgh • Washington

Smythe	Chicago • Colorado • Minnesota • St. Louis • Vancouver

See also	1976 NHL Amateur Draft • All-Star Game • 1977 Stanley Cup Finals • Transactions

New York Rangers

The franchise

Franchise • History • Seasons • Records • General managers • Head coaches • Players • Award winners • Draft picks • Broadcasters

Arenas

Madison Square Garden III • Madison Square Garden IV

Culture and lore

Original Six • Curse of 1940 • "It's a power play goal!" • GAG line • Messier's Guarantee • George Kalinsky • Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award • 2011 NHL Premiere • 2012 NHL Winter Classic • Hockey Night Live!

Rivalries

Philadelphia Flyers • New Jersey Devils • New York Islanders

Key personnel

Owner: Madison Square Garden, Inc. • Managing Partner: James Dolan • President and General Manager: Glen Sather • Head Coach: John Tortorella • Team Captain: Ryan Callahan

Media

Networks

TV	MSG Network

Radio	WEPN

Broadcasters

TV	Sam Rosen • Joe Micheletti

Radio	Kenny Albert • Dave Maloney

Minor league affiliates

Connecticut Whale (AHL) • Greenville Road Warriors (ECHL)

New York Rangers seasons

1920s	1926–27 · 1927–28 · 1928–29 · 1929–30

1930s	1930–31 · 1931–32 · 1932–33 · 1933–34 · 1934–35 · 1935–36 · 1936–37 · 1937–38 · 1938–39 · 1939–40

1940s	1940–41 · 1941–42 · 1942–43 · 1943–44 · 1944–45 · 1945–46 · 1946–47 · 1947–48 · 1948–49 · 1949–50

1950s	1950–51 · 1951–52 · 1952–53 · 1953–54 · 1954–55 · 1955–56 · 1956–57 · 1957–58 · 1958–59 · 1959–60

1960s	1960–61 · 1961–62 · 1962–63 · 1963–64 · 1964–65 · 1965–66 · 1966–67 · 1967–68 · 1968–69 · 1969–70

1970s	1970–71 · 1971–72 · 1972–73 · 1973–74 · 1974–75 · 1975–76 · 1976–77 · 1977–78 · 1978–79 · 1979–80

1980s	1980–81 · 1981–82 · 1982–83 · 1983–84 · 1984–85 · 1985–86 · 1986–87 · 1987–88 · 1988–89 · 1989–90

1990s	1990–91 · 1991–92 · 1992–93 · 1993–94 · 1994–95 · 1995–96 · 1996–97 · 1997–98 · 1998–99 · 1999–00

2000s	2000–01 · 2001–02 · 2002–03 · 2003–04 · 2004–05 · 2005–06 · 2006–07 · 2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2009–10

2010s	2010–11 · 2011–12

Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

1976–77 New York Rangers season

Contents

Offseason

Regular season

Season Standings

Schedule and Results

Playoffs

Player stats

Skaters

Goaltenders

Draft picks

References