1973–74 Atlanta Flames season

1973–74 Atlanta Flames
Division 4th West
1973–74 record 30–34–14
Goals for 214
Goals against 238
Team information
General Manager Cliff Fletcher
Coach Bernie Geoffrion
Captain Keith McCreary
Arena Omni Coliseum
Team leaders
Goals Jacques Richard (27)
Assists Tom Lysiak (45)
Points Tom Lysiak (64)
Penalties in minutes Pat Quinn (94)

The 1973–74 Atlanta Flames season was the second season for the franchise.

Regular season

Season standings

West Division[1]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Philadelphia Flyers 78 50 16 12 273 164 +109 112
2 Chicago Black Hawks 78 41 14 23 272 164 +108 105
3 Los Angeles Kings 78 33 33 12 233 231 +2 78
4 Atlanta Flames 78 30 34 14 214 238 −24 74
5 Pittsburgh Penguins 78 28 41 9 242 273 −31 65
6 St. Louis Blues 78 26 40 12 206 248 −42 64
7 Minnesota North Stars 78 23 38 17 235 275 −40 63
8 California Golden Seals 78 13 55 10 195 342 −147 36

Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record Attendance [2]
1TOctober 10, 19731–1 New York Islanders (1973–74) 0–0–1 12,144
2LOctober 12, 19733–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) 0–1–1 13,287
3WOctober 13, 19731–0 @ St. Louis Blues (1973–74) 1–1–1 18,836
4WOctober 17, 19734–3 Boston Bruins (1973–74) 2–1–1 14,498
5WOctober 20, 19734–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) 3–1–1 16,616
6LOctober 23, 19730–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) 3–2–1 15,570
7LOctober 24, 19734–6 @ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) 3–3–1 8,367
8WOctober 26, 19733–1 @ California Golden Seals (1973–74) 4–3–1 N/A
9WNovember 1, 19737–2 California Golden Seals (1973–74) 5–3–1 13,480
10WNovember 3, 19732–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) 6–3–1 17,007
11WNovember 4, 19732–0 Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) 7–3–1 13,659
12TNovember 7, 19732–2 St. Louis Blues (1973–74) 7–3–2 14,217
13TNovember 9, 19733–3 New York Rangers (1973–74) 7–3–3 15,141
14TNovember 10, 19734–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) 7–3–4 11,342
15LNovember 14, 19731–3 Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) 7–4–4 13,123
16LNovember 16, 19731–6 Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) 7–5–4 15,141
17LNovember 18, 19732–5 @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) 7–6–4 15,003
18WNovember 21, 19733–2 Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) 8–6–4 12,889
19WNovember 23, 19734–1 Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) 9–6–4 15,141
20WNovember 25, 19734–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) 10–6–4 15,858
21LNovember 27, 19732–4 @ New York Islanders (1973–74) 10–7–4 12,016
22WNovember 29, 19734–3 Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) 11–7–4 13,128
23TDecember 1, 19732–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) 11–7–5 10,413
24LDecember 2, 19731–3 Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) 11–8–5 13,892
25TDecember 5, 19733–3 @ California Golden Seals (1973–74) 11–8–6 3,137
26WDecember 7, 19732–0 @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) 12–8–6 15,570
27LDecember 8, 19730–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) 12–9–6 10,535
28LDecember 13, 19731–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) 12–10–6 13,220
29WDecember 15, 19733–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) 13–10–6 17,007
30LDecember 16, 19731–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) 13–11–6 12,510
31LDecember 19, 19732–4 @ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) 13–12–6 14,756
32LDecember 21, 19731–2 St. Louis Blues (1973–74) 13–13–6 13,454
33WDecember 23, 19733–1 New York Rangers (1973–74) 14–13–6 13,627
34WDecember 27, 19736–4 Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) 15–13–6 15,141
35TDecember 29, 19733–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) 15–13–7 16,485
36LDecember 30, 19732–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) 15–14–7 14,518
37WJanuary 3, 19743–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) 16–14–7 14,002
38LJanuary 6, 19742–5 @ New York Rangers (1973–74) 16–15–7 17,500
39LJanuary 7, 19742–6 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) 16–16–7 16,485
40WJanuary 9, 19743–0 Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) 17–16–7 12,522
41LJanuary 11, 19746–7 Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) 17–17–7 15,141
42LJanuary 13, 19740–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) 17–18–7 17,007
43LJanuary 15, 19743–4 @ New York Islanders (1973–74) 17–19–7 12,524
44WJanuary 18, 19746–2 California Golden Seals (1973–74) 18–19–7 14,118
45LJanuary 20, 19741–3 St. Louis Blues (1973–74) 18–20–7 14,247
46LJanuary 23, 19741–4 @ New York Rangers (1973–74) 18–21–7 17,500
47TJanuary 25, 19742–2 Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) 18–21–8 14,568
48LJanuary 27, 19742–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) 18–22–8 13,192
49LJanuary 31, 19742–4 @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) 18–23–8 15,003
50WFebruary 1, 19745–3 Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) 19–23–8 15,141
51TFebruary 3, 19742–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) 19–23–9 14,123
52TFebruary 6, 19741–1 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) 19–23–10 N/A
53LFebruary 8, 19740–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) 19–24–10 15,141
54LFebruary 10, 19743–6 Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) 19–25–10 13,652
55WFebruary 12, 19744–1 @ New York Islanders (1973–74) 20–25–10 13,376
56WFebruary 13, 19743–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) 21–25–10 16,581
57LFebruary 16, 19742–7 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) 21–26–10 16,485
58LFebruary 19, 19741–7 @ St. Louis Blues (1973–74) 21–27–10 18,249
59TFebruary 21, 19744–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) 21–27–11 15,858
60WFebruary 23, 19745–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) 22–27–11 15,570
61LFebruary 26, 19745–6 Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) 22–28–11 14,598
62LFebruary 28, 19741–3 Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) 22–29–11 14,064
63WMarch 3, 19745–3 Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) 23–29–11 13,126
64WMarch 5, 19744–1 Boston Bruins (1973–74) 24–29–11 15,141
65WMarch 8, 19743–1 Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) 25–29–11 15,141
66WMarch 10, 19744–0 @ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) 26–29–11 12,193
67LMarch 13, 19741–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) 26–30–11 14,886
68LMarch 15, 19740–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) 26–31–11 15,570
69TMarch 17, 19743–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) 26–31–12 N/A
70TMarch 21, 19745–5 New York Rangers (1973–74) 26–31–13 15,141
71WMarch 23, 19744–3 @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) 27–31–13 15,003
72LMarch 24, 19744–6 New York Islanders (1973–74) 27–32–13 15,141
73TMarch 28, 19743–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) 27–32–14 15,141
74WMarch 30, 19744–1 Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) 28–32–14 15,141
75LMarch 31, 19742–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) 28–33–14 10,518
76LApril 3, 19742–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) 28–34–14 11,519
77WApril 5, 19744–2 @ California Golden Seals (1973–74) 29–34–14 4,867
78WApril 7, 19746–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) 30–34–14 15,141

Playoffs

The Flames made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 1973–74, as they finished in fourth place in the West Division, setting up a first round playoff matchup against the first place Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers finished the season with a 50–16–12 record, earning 112 points, which was 38 more points than Atlanta.

The best of seven series opened up at the Spectrum in Philadelphia in front of a sellout crowd of 17,007, and the Flyers opened the scoring with four seconds remaining in the first period, when Gary Dornhoefer scored a shorthanded goal. The Flyers extended their lead to 2–0 in the second period after Tom Bladon scored on the powerplay. In the third period, Orest Kindrachuk gave Philadelphia a 3–0 lead, however, thirty seconds later, Bob Murray scored the first ever playoff goal for Atlanta, cutting the lead to 3–1. Orest Kindrachuk added a second goal later in the third to give the Flyers a 4–1 opening game victory. Bernie Parent made 31 saves for the victory, while Phil Myre took the loss for Atlanta.

In the second game of the series, the Flyers took an early 1–0 lead on a goal by Terry Crisp. In the second period, Rick MacLeish scored a natural hat-trick, scoring three goals in a row, to give the Flyers a 4–0 lead. Rey Comeau broke the Flyers shutout bid in the third period, however, Jimmy Watson scored for Philadelphia, as the Flyers won the second game 5–1, taking a 2–0 series lead.

The series shifted to the Omni Coliseum for the third game, as the arena was sold out with 15,141 fans for the first ever playoff game in Atlanta. The Flyers opened the scoring with two quick goals in the first period, as Don Saleski and Bobby Clarke scored in the first 5:02 of the game to give Philadelphia a 2–0 lead. In the second period, Larry Romanchych responded for the Flames, cutting the lead to 2–1, however, the Flyers regained their two goal lead when Rick MacLeish scored his fourth goal of the series. In the third period, Bill Barber scored for the Flyers, as they took the third game 4–1, and now had a 3–0 series lead.

In the fourth game, facing elimination, and in front of another sold out crowd, the Flames opened the scoring 3:28 into the game, when Larry Romanchych beat Bernie Parent to give Atlanta a 1–0 lead, their first lead of the series. In the second period, the Flames took a 3–0 lead, after goals by Jean Lemieux and Rey Comeau, however, the Flyers Andre Dupont scored a late period goal to cut the Flames lead to 3–1. Early in the third period, the Flyers Gary Dornhoefer scored on the powerplay to make the score 3–2. On another powerplay, Tom Bladon scored for Philadelphia, tying the game at 3–3. The game went into overtime, and the Flyers completed the comeback, when Dave Schultz beat Phil Myre, as the Flyers won the game 4–3, and eliminated the Flames from the post-season

Philadelphia Flyers 4, Atlanta Flames 0
# Date Visitor Score Home Record Attendance
1 April 9 Atlanta Flames 1–4 Philadelphia Flyers 0–1 17,007
2 April 11 Atlanta Flames 1–5 Philadelphia Flyers 0–2 17,007
3 April 12 Philadelphia Flyers 4–1 Atlanta Flames 0–3 15,141
4 April 14 Philadelphia Flyers 4–3 Atlanta Flames 0–4 15,141

Player statistics

Skaters

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

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player # GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
Tom Lysiak 12 77 19 45 64 54 4 0 2 2 0
Bob Leiter 16 78 26 26 52 10 4 0 0 0 2
Larry Romanchych 21 73 22 29 51 33 4 2 2 4 4
Jacques Richard 15 78 27 16 43 45 4 0 0 0 2
Curt Bennett 5 71 17 24 41 34 4 0 1 1 34
Keith McCreary 9 76 18 19 37 62 4 0 0 0 0
Randy Manery 7 78 8 29 37 75 4 0 2 2 4
Rey Comeau 18 78 11 23 34 16 4 2 1 3 6
John Stewart 17 74 18 15 33 41 4 0 0 0 10
Pat Quinn 3 77 5 27 32 94 4 0 0 0 6
Leon Rochefort 11 56 10 12 22 13 -----
Al McDonough 14 35 10 9 19 15 4 0 0 0 2
Chuck Arnason 14 33 7 6 13 13 -----
Noel Price 4 62 0 13 13 38 4 0 0 0 6
Eric Vail 25 23 2 9 11 30 1 0 0 0 2
Jean Lemieux 6 32 3 5 8 6 3 1 1 2 0
Arnie Brown 19 48 2 6 8 29 4 0 0 0 0
Butch Deadmarsh 10 42 6 1 7 89 4 0 0 0 17
Bryan Hextall Jr. 20 40 2 4 6 55 4 0 1 1 16
Lew Morrison 8 52 1 4 5 0 -----
Doug Mohns 2 28 0 3 3 10 -----
Bob Murray 23 62 0 3 3 34 4 1 0 1 2
Ed Kea 24 3 0 2 2 0 -----
Bob Paradise 6 18 0 1 1 13 -----
Don Martineau 24 4 0 0 0 2 -----
Dwight Bialowas 22 11 0 0 0 4 -----
Phil Myre 1 36 0 0 0 4 3
Dan Bouchard 30 46 0 0 0 10 1 10

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Atlanta. Stats reflect time with the Flames only. Traded mid-season

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player # GP TOI W L T GA SO GAA GP TOI W L GA SO GAA
Dan Bouchard 30 46 2660 19 18 8 123 5 2.77 1 60 0 1 4 0 4.00
Phil Myre 1 36 2020 11 16 6 112 0 3.33 3 186 0 3 13 0 4.19

Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1973–74 season.

Trades

May 29, 1973 To Atlanta Flames
Chuck Arnason
To Montreal Canadiens
1st round pick in 1974 Amateur Draft
(Rick Chartraw)
May 29, 1973 To Atlanta Flames
Bob Murray
To Montreal Canadiens
3rd round pick in 1977 Amateur Draft
(Pierre Lagace)
June 10, 1973 To Atlanta Flames
cash
To California Golden Seals
Ted Tucker
January 4, 1974 To Atlanta Flames
Al McDonough
To Pittsburgh Penguins
Chuck Arnason
Bob Paradise

Free agents

Player Former team
Player New team

Claimed off waivers

Player Former team
C Bryan Hextall Jr. Pittsburgh Penguins

Intra-league Draft

Player Former team
D Doug Mohns Minnesota North Stars
Player New team
D Bill Plager Minnesota North Stars
This sports-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

NHL Amateur Draft

Round Pick Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team
1 2. Tom Lysiak  Canada Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)
1 16. Vic Mercredi  Canada New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
2 21. Eric Vail  Canada Sudbury Wolves (OHA)
4 53. Dean Talafous  United States Wisconsin (NCAA)
5 69. John Flesch  Canada Lake Superior (NCAA)
6 85. Ken Houston  Canada Chatham Maroons (SOJHL)
7 101. Tom Machowski  United States Wisconsin (NCAA)
8 117. Bob Law  Canada North Dakota (NCAA)
9 130. Bob Bilodeau  Canada New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
10 148. Glen Surbey  Canada Loyola College (CIAU)
10 149. Guy Ross  Canada Sherbrooke Beavers (QMJHL)
11 162. Greg Fox  Canada University of Michigan (NCAA)

References

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