1975–76 NHL season
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| | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 7, 1975 – May 16, 1976 |
| Number of games | 80 |
| Number of teams | 18 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Montreal Canadiens |
| Season MVP | Bobby Clarke, (Philadelphia Flyers) |
| Top scorer | Guy Lafleur, (Montreal Canadiens) |
| Playoffs | |
| Playoffs MVP | Reggie Leach, (Philadelphia Flyers) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Stanley Cup champions | Montreal Canadiens |
| Runners-up | Philadelphia Flyers |
| NHL seasons | |
| ← 1974–75 1976–77 → | |
The 1975–76 NHL season was the 59th season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup, defeating the defending champion Philadelphia Flyers in the final.
Regular season
The Montreal Canadiens set records in wins with 58 and points with 127, beginning a four-year stretch where they would dominate the league in the regular season and win four straight Stanley Cup titles. The Philadelphia Flyers tied the record set by the 1929-30 Boston Bruins for most consecutive home ice wins, with 20.
During the regular season, between December 28 and January 10, "Super Series '76" took place as two teams from the Soviet Championship League played eight exhibitions against NHL teams. HC CSKA Moscow (the "Red Army Club"), defending Soviet champion, played against the New York Rangers, Montreal, Boston and, on January 11, the defending NHL champion, the Philadelphia Flyers, while Krylya Sovetov Moscow ("the Soviet Wings") played against Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Chicago and the New York Islanders. Super Series site
The blockbuster trade of the year saw the Boston Bruins send superstar center Phil Esposito and star defenceman Carol Vadnais to the New York Rangers for star center Jean Ratelle and superstar defenceman Brad Park. Both Ratelle and Park would excel for the Bruins for years to come, while Esposito's days as the preeminent scorer in the NHL were behind him.
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
Prince of Wales Conference
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 48 | 15 | 17 | 313 | 237 | 113 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 46 | 21 | 13 | 339 | 240 | 105 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 34 | 31 | 15 | 294 | 276 | 83 |
| California Golden Seals | 80 | 27 | 42 | 11 | 250 | 278 | 65 |
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 58 | 11 | 11 | 337 | 174 | 127 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 38 | 33 | 9 | 263 | 265 | 85 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 35 | 33 | 12 | 339 | 303 | 82 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 26 | 44 | 10 | 226 | 300 | 62 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 11 | 59 | 10 | 224 | 394 | 32 |
Clarence Campbell Conference
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 51 | 13 | 16 | 348 | 209 | 118 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 42 | 21 | 17 | 297 | 190 | 101 |
| Atlanta Flames | 80 | 35 | 33 | 12 | 262 | 237 | 82 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 29 | 42 | 9 | 262 | 333 | 67 |
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 32 | 30 | 18 | 254 | 261 | 82 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 33 | 32 | 15 | 271 | 272 | 81 |
| St. Louis Blues | 80 | 29 | 37 | 14 | 249 | 290 | 72 |
| Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 20 | 53 | 7 | 195 | 303 | 47 |
| Kansas City Scouts | 80 | 12 | 56 | 12 | 190 | 351 | 36 |
Playoffs
Playoff bracket
| Preliminary Round | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Stanley Cup Final | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Chicago Black Hawks | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | New York Islanders | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Buffalo Sabres | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 12 | St. Louis Blues | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Buffalo Sabres | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | New York Islanders | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | New York Islanders | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Vancouver Canucks | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Philadelphia Flyers | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Los Angeles Kings | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Los Angeles Kings | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Atlanta Flames | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Semifinals
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (5) New York Islanders
| April 27 | New York Islanders | 2-3 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | ||||
| April 29 | New York Islanders | 3-4 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | ||||
| May 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 3-2 | New York Islanders | Nassau Coliseum | ||||
| May 4 | Montreal Canadiens | 2-5 | New York Islanders | Nassau Coliseum | ||||
| May 6 | New York Islanders | 2-5 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | ||||
| Montreal won series 4-1 | |
(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (3) Boston Bruins
| April 27 | Boston Bruins | 4-2 | Philadelphia Flyers | Philadelphia Spectrum | ||||
| April 29 | Boston Bruins | 1-2 | OT | Philadelphia Flyers | Philadelphia Spectrum | |||
| May 2 | Philadelphia Flyers | 5-2 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | ||||
| May 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4-2 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | ||||
| May 6 | Boston Bruins | 3-6 | Philadelphia Flyers | Philadelphia Spectrum | ||||
| Philadelphia won series 4-1 | |
Finals
Main article: 1976 Stanley Cup Finals
The two-time defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Philadelphia Flyers, once again made it to the finals, but were swept in four games by the Montreal Canadiens.
| May 9 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3-4 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Reggie Leach 16 (Bobby Clarke, Jack McIlhargey) - 0:21 Ross Lonsberry 4 (Mel Bridgman, Tom Bladon) - 13:22 |
First period | No Scoring | ||||||
| No Scoring | Second period | 4:04 - Roberts 3 (Gainey, Risenbrough) 6:30 - Larry Robinson 3 (Mahovlich, Lafleur) | ||||||
| Larry Goodenough 3 (Gary Dornhoefer) - 5:17 | Third period | 10:02 - Lemaire 2 (Nyrop) Lapointe 3 (Shutt) - 18:38 | ||||||
| Wayne Stephenson ( 32 saves / 36 shots ) | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden ( 17 saves / 20 shots ) | ||||||
| May 11 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1-2 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No Scoring | First period | No Scoring | ||||||
| No Scoring | Second period | 15:19 - sh - Lemaire 3 | ||||||
| Dave Schultz 2 (Tom Bladon) - 17:35 | Third period | 2:41 - Guy Lafleur 6 | ||||||
| Wayne Stephenson ( 17 saves / 19 shots ) | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden ( 25 saves / 26 shots ) | ||||||
| May 13 | Montreal Canadiens | 3-2 | Philadelphia Flyers | Philadelphia Spectrum | Recap | |||
| Shutt 5 (Lafleur) - pp - 3:17 | First period | 8:40 - pp - Reggie Leach 17 (Bobby Clarke, Larry Goodenough) 18:14 - Reggie Leach 18 | ||||||
| Shutt 6 (Lafleur, Mahovlich) - pp - 1:09 | Second period | No Scoring | ||||||
| Bouchard 1 (Wilson) - 9:16 | Third period | No Scoring | ||||||
| Ken Dryden ( 20 saves / 22 shots ) | Goalie stats | Wayne Stephenson ( 22 saves / 25 shots ) | ||||||
| May 16 | Montreal Canadiens | 5-3 | Philadelphia Flyers | Philadelphia Spectrum | Recap | |||
| Shutt 7 (Cournoyer, Mahvolich) - pp - 5:35 Bouchard 2 (Risebrough) - pp - 11:48 |
First period | 0:41 - Reggie Leach 19 (Mel Bridgman) 18:20 - pp - Bill Barber 6 (Tom Bladon, Andre Dupont) | ||||||
| Cournoyer 3 (Robinson, Lafleur) - pp - 19:49 | Second period | 13:59 - pp - Andre Dupont 2 (Bill Barber, Bobby Clarke) | ||||||
| Lafleur 7 (Mahovlich, Shutt) - 14:18 Mahovlich 4 (Lafleur, Shutt) - 15:16 |
Third period | No Scoring | ||||||
| Ken Dryden ( 21 saves / 24 shots ) | Goalie stats | Wayne Stephenson ( 25 saves / 30 shots ) | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4-0 | |
Awards
| 1976 NHL awards | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (Wales Conference regular season champion) | Montreal Canadiens |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: (Campbell Conference regular season champion) | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer, regular season) | Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: (Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) | Rod Gilbert, New York Rangers |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: (Top first-year player) | Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders |
| Conn Smythe Trophy: (Most valuable player, playoffs) | Reggie Leach, Philadelphia Flyers |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: (Most valuable player, regular season) | Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers |
| Jack Adams Award: (Best coach) | Don Cherry, Boston Bruins |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: (Best defenceman) | Denis Potvin, New York Islanders |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Jean Ratelle, New York Rangers/Boston Bruins |
| Lester B. Pearson Award: (Outstanding player, regular season) | Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens |
| Vezina Trophy: (Goaltender(s) of team(s) with best goaltending record) | Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens |
| Lester Patrick Trophy: (Service to hockey in the U.S.) | Stan Mikita, George A. Leader, Bruce A. Norris |
All-Star teams
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guy Lafleur | Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 56 | 69 | 125 | 36 |
| Bobby Clarke | Philadelphia Flyers | 76 | 30 | 89 | 119 | 136 |
| Gilbert Perreault | Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 44 | 69 | 113 | 36 |
| Bill Barber | Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 50 | 62 | 112 | 104 |
| Pierre Larouche | Pittsburgh Penguins | 76 | 53 | 58 | 111 | 33 |
| Jean Ratelle | New York Rangers/Boston Bruins | 80 | 36 | 69 | 105 | 18 |
| Pete Mahovlich | Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 34 | 71 | 105 | 76 |
| Jean Pronovost | Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 52 | 52 | 104 | 24 |
| Darryl Sittler | Toronto Maple Leafs | 79 | 41 | 59 | 100 | 90 |
| Syl Apps, Jr. | Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 32 | 67 | 99 | 24 |
Source: NHL.[2]
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Min - Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
| Player | Team | GP | MIN | GA | GAA | W | L | T | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Dryden | Montreal Canadiens | 62 | 3580 | 121 | 2.03 | 42 | 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Chico Resch | N.Y. Islanders | 44 | 2546 | 88 | 2.07 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 7 |
| Dan Bouchard | Atlanta Flames | 47 | 2671 | 113 | 2.54 | 19 | 17 | 8 | 2 |
| Wayne Stephenson | Philadelphia Flyers | 66 | 3819 | 164 | 2.58 | 40 | 10 | 13 | 1 |
| Billy Smith | N.Y. Islanders | 39 | 2254 | 98 | 2.61 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 3 |
| Gilles Gilbert | Boston Bruins | 55 | 3123 | 151 | 2.90 | 33 | 8 | 10 | 3 |
| Tony Esposito | Chicago Black Hawks | 68 | 4003 | 198 | 2.97 | 30 | 23 | 13 | 4 |
| Rogatien Vachon | L.A. Kings | 51 | 3060 | 160 | 3.14 | 26 | 20 | 5 | 5 |
| Wayne Thomas | Toronto Maple Leafs | 64 | 3684 | 196 | 3.19 | 28 | 24 | 12 | 2 |
| Gary Simmons | California Seals | 40 | 2360 | 131 | 3.33 | 15 | 19 | 5 | 2 |
Other statistics
- Plus-minus: Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1975–76 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Willi Plett, Atlanta Flames
- Dennis Maruk, California Golden Seals
- Bob Murray, Chicago Blackhawks
- Gary Sargent, Los Angeles Kings
- Doug Jarvis, Montreal Canadiens
- Doug Risebrough, Montreal Canadiens
- Mario Tremblay, Montreal Canadiens
- Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders
- Mel Bridgman, Philadelphia Flyers
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1975–76 (listed with their last team):
- Gary Bergman, Kansas City Scouts
- Bryan Hextall Jr., Minnesota North Stars
- Chico Maki, Chicago Black Hawks
- Bob Nevin, Los Angeles Kings
- Noel Price, Atlanta Flames
- Mickey Redmond, Detroit Red Wings
- Bill White, Chicago Black Hawks
- Terry Crisp, Philadelphia Flyers
- Andre Boudrias, Vancouver Canucks
- Tommy Williams, Washington Capitals
NOTE: Boudrias and Williams would finish their major professional careers in the World Hockey Association.
See also
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- 1975 NHL Amateur Draft
- 29th National Hockey League All-Star Game
- National Hockey League All-Star Game
- List of WHA seasons
- Ice hockey at the 1976 Winter Olympics
- 1975 in sports
- 1976 in sports
References
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, NY: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
- Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
- Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
- Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
- Notes
External links
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