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1975-76 NHL season

From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.

The 1975-76 NHL season was the 59th season of the National Hockey League. Eighteen teams each played 80 games.

Dave Forbes, charged with aggravated assault the previous January, was cleared of the charges when his trial ended in a hung jury.

Ron Stewart was named coach of the New York Rangers, as Emile Francis decided to step down and continue on as general manager.

Doug Barkley was hired as coach of the Detroit Red Wings as Alex Delvecchio decided to concentrate on his job as general manager.

Bernie Parent injured his neck and would be out for quite some time. In his absence, Wayne Stephenson would play in goal for the Flyers.

Contents

1 Regular season

1.1 Final standings

1.1.1 Prince of Wales Conference
1.1.2 Clarence Campbell Conference

1.2 Scoring leaders
1.3 Leading goaltenders

2 Stanley Cup playoffs

[edit]

Regular season

On October 8th St. Louis tied Detroit 1-1 as Chuck Lefley scored for the Blues on a two on one break. Bill Lochead tied the game at 18:05 of the third period to secure the tie. That same night, Montreal pounded Los Angeles 9-0 as Guy Lafleur, Jim Roberts and Bob Gainey each scored two goals. Ken Dryden stopped 28 shots for the shutout.

On October 11th, the Canadiens continued their display of offense as Pete Mahovlich and Doug Risebrough had two goals as Montreal walloped St. Louis 7-2. Ed Johnston started in goal for the Blues, but gave way to Yves Belanger. That same night, Philadelphia walked right into Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington, Minnesota and beat the North Stars 9-5 as Bill Barber and Rick MacLeish both scored two goals. Rookie Paul Harrison started in goal for Minnesota and looked shaky.

The New York Rangers started badly this year, and on October 22nd, were humiliated by the Buffalo Sabres 9-1. Rick Martin scored a natural hat trick of three consecutive goals in eleven minutes and John Davidson looked weak in goal for the Rangers. On October 26th, the Philadelphia Flyers walked right into Madison Square Garden and humiliated the Rangers 7-2. The fans viciously booed goaltender Eddie Giacomin and the Rangers and Bill Barber had two goals for the Flyers in the onslaught.

On October 25th, the Toronto Maple Leafs managed to tie the California Golden Seals 2-2 on a disputed goal by Ian Turnbull with 51 seconds left. Goaltender Gary Simmons claimed that Stan Weir was in the crease, but the goal counted. Dennis Maruk scored his first NHL goal in this game.

With the Rangers off to their worst start in ten years, an angry Emile Francis read the riot act to his players, saying all of them were on waivers. Following this angry outburst, Francis went to work on player deals to shake up the team. First, Derek Sanderson was traded to the St. Louis Blues for a first round draft choice. Sanderson reacted angrily to the trade, criticizing the Rangers management. Next, Francis made a deal to trade Gilles Villemure to Chicago for defenceman Doug Jarrett. The next move angered Rangers fans everywhere: Eddie Giacomin was put on waivers and Detroit claimed him. Perhaps as fallout from this deal, when the Red Wings visited Madison Square Garden November 2nd, the Red Wings were cheered and the Rangers booed and cheers of “Eddie!...Eddie!...Eddie” drowned out the national anthem. Giacomin was overcome by emotion at the fans cheers and tears rolled down his cheeks, but his Red Wings team won 6-4.

On November 5th, Toronto defeated Detroit 7-3, but unfortunately the incident that stood out in this game was when Toronto's Brian Glennie started a fight with Detroit's Dan Maloney. After the fight, a still enraged Maloney sucker-punched Glennie and then wound up on top of him and then grabbed Glennie by the hair and slammed his head on the ice a number of times. Glennie was taken to hospital with a concussion and Maloney was ejected from the game. He was charged with assault, but was later cleared of the charges. Maloney was suspended for three games by NHL president Clarence Campbell.

On November 7th, Emile Francis made the biggest player deal of his career as a manager: Jean Ratelle, Brad Park and minor league defenceman Joe Zanussi were traded to the Boston Bruins for Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais. However, the Rangers continued to lose and goals were given up in droves by the error-prone defence and goaltenders.

On November 8th, Lanny McDonald had two goals as the Toronto Maple Leafs tied St. Louis 3-3. The Blues led 3-2, but Don Ashby’s third period goal tied the game. Wayne Thomas looked shaky in the Toronto goal.

St. Louis looked really sharp November 15th as they clobbered the hapless Washington Capitals 9-2. Bernie Wolfe started in goal for the Caps, but gave way to Ron Low, who had taken a deep cut in the head a few days earlier. Low wore a helmet with his mask to protect the cut. Garry Unger and Wayne Merrick had two goals for the Blues.

November 18th was Seals center Dennis Maruk's 20th birthday and he celebrated with four goals as California beat Pittsburgh 5-3.

With Detroit doing badly, coach Doug Barkley was fired on the spot in Vancouver. Alex Delvecchio took over briefly before Billy Dea took over as coach.

On December 4th, the New York Islanders clobbered the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-1 and rookie Bryan Trottier assisted on three of the Isles goals. Trottier was now getting attention for the Calder Trophy. That same night, the Islanders rivals, the Rangers, managed a 6-6 tie with Buffalo as Phil Esposito scored two goals for the Rangers. The Montreal Canadiens also won that night, beating St. Louis 4-1. It was the Habs seventh win in eight games and the Blues fifth straight loss.

With the Blues slumping, it was decided to fire coach Garry Young. Lynn Patrick would take over until a replacement could be named.

On December 17th, Syl Apps and Bob "Battleship" Kelly each had the hat trick as Pittsburgh hammered the Seals 9-2.

Dunc Wilson, Rangers goaltender, came down with appendicitis and had to undergo an appendectomy. The Rangers fortunes went from bad to worse when their top goaltender John Davidson fractured his fibula and would be out at least six weeks. Doug Soetaert was recalled to replace him.

With the Rangers entrenched in last place, on January 6th, Emile Francis was fired as general manager of the team as team president William Jennings made the following statement: “Gentlemen, I have come to the most difficult decision of my life: I have decided to dismiss Emile Francis as general manager of the Rangers. It was a most difficult decision, as Francis and the Rangers have been together so long. It was with great reluctance and after careful consideration that we decided it was in the best interests of the team to bring in another general manager. Francis built the Rangers from perpetual cellar dwellers into a contender. Nevertheless, there comes a time when a change is necessary, and we have decided that this is the time.” In a game against St. Louis that night, the Rangers started 20 year old Doug Soetaert and the Blues ruined his debut as Claude Larose scored two goals in a 5-2 Blues win. Leo Boivin was named coach of the Blues before this game. Referee Bruce Hood took a deep cut in the chin and had to retire for nine stitches. Linesman John D’Amico served as referee during the time Hood was absent.

John Ferguson was named general manager of the Rangers and his first move was to fire Ron Stewart as coach and go behind the bench himself.

The Kansas City Scouts introduced goaltender Bill Oleschuk January 23rd and he was welcomed by a shower of rubber as the Seals set a team record with 52 shots as California beat Kansas City 4-1.

On February 1rst, Gilbert Perreault had two goals and five assists as Buffalo beat California 9-5. Danny Gare had the hat trick in this game and Rene Robert had five points.

The California Golden Seals visited St. Louis February 3th and tied the Blues 4-4, but the highlight of the game was the Seals Wayne Merrick scoring a goal against his former mates and he got an ovation from the fans who did not like his being traded for Larry Patey and Dave Hreckosy.

On February 7th, Dave Reese started in goal for the Boston Bruins as they played the Toronto Maple Leafs at Maple Leaf Gardens. Darryl Sittler of the Leafs made the fans overjoyed as he set an NHL record with six goals and four assists for a ten point night as Toronto clobbered the Bruins 11-4. No player had ever scored that many points in a game before. On the same night, Bernie Parent started in goal for the first time this season as the Philadelphia Flyers pasted the St. Louis Blues 8-2. Ross Lonsberry led the way with two goals. Parent was replaced in goal in the third period by Jerome Mrazek who made his only appearance in the NHL this night.

On February 10th, Montreal defeated St. Louis 6-1. Pete Mahovlich had two goals and Guy Lafleur a goal and two assists. The Canadiens outshot the Blues 37-18 in the game. That same night, Vancouver beat the New York Islanders 3-2. The Islanders had a 2-1 lead at the end of the second period on goals by Bob Nystrom and J.P. Parise, but the Canucks rallied in the third period as Bob Dailey and scored at 6:25, tapping in a Dennis Ververgaert pass. The winning goal was on a face-off as Chris Oddleifson won a face-off from Jude Drouin and John Gould put home his pass past goaltender Glenn Resch into the Islander net. Ken Lockett was in goal for the Canucks in place of Gary Smith.

Garry Unger of the St. Louis Blues broke Andy Hebenton's record of consecutive games played when he played in his 631rst NHL game February 18th in a 2-2 tie with the Los Angeles Kings. Unger was nursing a bad back and only played sporatically.

On February 29th, the St. Louis Blues walked right into the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh and beat the Penguins 5-3 as Ted Irvine had the hat trick. Even goaltender Yves Belanger had an assist. He assisted on Irvine’s first goal. That same night, the New York Rangers managed to play a good game as they tied Montreal 1-1. John Davidson was the difference in goal for the Rangers as he stopped 40 shots. Ken Dryden stopped 34 shots in the Canadiens net.

On March 4th, Bryan Trottier set two NHL records in a 3-3 tie with Vancouver with his 53rd assist, breaking his teammate Jude Drouin’s record of 52 assists, and his 79th point broke Marcel Dionne’s record for points by a rookie.

On March 18th, Detroit outstanding rookie Michel Bergeron scored four goals as the Red Wings beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3.

There was a well-founded rumor that Emile Francis was to take over as general manager of the St. Louis Blues. Negotiations were already underway between Francis and officials of the team.

On March 25th, the St. Louis Blues defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2, but the highlight of the game was Jean Pronovost tying the NHL record for the fastest goal from the start of the game, scoring six seconds from the opening face-off on goaltender Ed Staniowski in the Blues net. Chuck Lefley scored his 40th goal of the season at 6:14 of the second period and then he added a goal in the third period. That same night, the Philadelphia Flyers set an NHL record with their 34th home victory by beating the New York Rangers 4-1. Andre “Moose” Dupont scored what proved to be the winning goal at 10:36 of the second period with a 20 ft. slap shot that went past John Davidson low on the stick side.

On March 27th, St. Louis beat the Minnesota North Stars 6-3 as Red Berenson had the hat trick for the Blues. That same night, the New York Rangers walked right into Chicago Stadium and beat the Black Hawks 6-5. Steve Vickers scored the winning goal in the second period and Carol Vadnais got his 20th goal for the Rangers. Neither John Davidson nor Tony Esposito had much support from their defences, as Davidson handled 41 shots and Esposito handled 37 shots.

The Montreal Canadiens were easily the best team in the league as they set records in wins with 58 and points with 127.

[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

[edit]

Prince of Wales Conference

Adams Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Boston Bruins	80	48	15	17	113	313	237	1195
Buffalo Sabres	80	46	21	13	105	339	240	943
Toronto Maple Leafs	80	34	31	15	83	294	276	1368
California Golden Seals	80	27	42	11	65	250	278	1058

Norris Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Montreal Canadiens	80	58	11	11	127	337	174	977
Los Angeles Kings	80	38	33	9	85	263	265	1022
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	35	33	12	82	339	303	1004
Detroit Red Wings	80	26	44	10	62	226	300	1922
Washington Capitals	80	11	59	10	32	224	394	951

[edit]

Clarence Campbell Conference

Patrick Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Philadelphia Flyers	80	51	13	16	118	348	209	1980
New York Islanders	80	42	21	17	101	297	190	1277
Atlanta Flames	80	35	33	12	82	262	237	928
New York Rangers	80	29	42	9	67	262	333	911

Smythe Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Chicago Black Hawks	80	32	30	18	82	254	261	944
Vancouver Canucks	80	33	32	15	81	271	272	1122
St. Louis Blues	80	29	37	14	72	249	290	1274
Minnesota North Stars	80	20	53	7	47	195	303	1191
Kansas City Scouts	80	12	56	12	36	190	351	984

[edit]

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	Bruins/Rangers	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

Goal scoring leader: Reggie Leach 61

[edit]

Leading goaltenders

[edit]

Stanley Cup playoffs

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 in what was widely heralded as a triumph of skill over physical play.

[edit]

Playoff bracket

{{4RoundBracket-Byes | RD1=Preliminary Round | RD2=Quarterfinals | RD3=Semifinals | RD4=Finals | RD1-seed05=4 | RD1-team05=Buffalo Sabres | RD1-score05=2 | RD1-seed06=12 | RD1-team06=St. Louis Blues | RD1-score06=1 | RD1-seed07=5 | RD1-team07=New York Islanders | RD1-score07=2 | RD1-seed08=11 | RD1-team08=Vancouver Canucks | RD1-score08=0 | RD1-seed11=7 | RD1-team11=Toronto Maple Leafs | RD1-score11=2 | RD1-seed12=8 | RD1-team12=Pittsburgh Penguins | RD1-score12=1 | RD1-seed15=6 | RD1-team15=Los Angeles Kings | RD1-score15=2 | RD1-seed16=9 | RD1-team16=Atlanta Flames | RD1-score16=0 | RD2-seed01=1 | RD2-team01=Montreal Canadiens | RD2-score01=4 | RD2-seed02=10 | RD2-team02=Chicago Black Hawks | RD2-score02=0 | RD2-seed03=4 | RD2-team03=Buffalo Sabres | RD2-score03=2 | RD2-seed04=5 | RD2-team04=New York Islanders | RD2-score04=4 | RD2-seed05=2 | RD2-team05=Philadelphia Flyers | RD2-score05=4 | RD2-seed06=7 | RD2-team06=Toronto Maple Leafs | RD2-score06=3 | RD2-seed07=3 | RD2-team07=Boston Bruins | RD2-score07=4 | RD2-seed08=6 | RD2-team08=Los Angeles Kings | RD2-score08=3 | RD3-seed01=1 | RD3-team01=Montreal Canadiens | RD3-score01=4 | RD3-seed02=5 | RD3-team02=New York Islanders | RD3-score02=1 | RD3-seed03=2 | RD3-team03=Philadelphia Flyers | RD3-score03=4 | RD3-seed04=3 | RD3-team04=Boston Bruins | RD3-score04=1 | RD4-seed01=1 | RD4-team01=Montreal Canadiens | RD4-score01=4 | RD4-seed02=2 | RD4-team02=Philadelphia Flyers | RD4-score02=0 }}

[edit]

NHL awards

Prince of Wales Trophy:	Montreal Canadiens
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:	Philadelphia Flyers
Art Ross Memorial Trophy:	Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	Rod Gilbert, New York Rangers
Calder Memorial Trophy:	Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders
Conn Smythe Trophy:	Reggie Leach, Philadelphia Flyers
Hart Memorial Trophy:	Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers
Jack Adams Award:	Don Cherry, Boston Bruins
James Norris Memorial Trophy:	Denis Potvin, New York Islanders
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:	Jean Ratelle, New York Rangers/Boston Bruins
Lester B. Pearson Award:	Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens
NHL Plus/Minus Award:	Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers
Vezina Trophy:	Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens
Lester Patrick Trophy:	Stan Mikita, George A. Leader, Bruce A. Norris

[edit]

All-Star teams

First Team	Position	Second Team
Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens	G	Glenn Resch, New York Islanders
Denis Potvin, New York Islanders	D	Borje Salming, Toronto Maple Leafs
Brad Park, Boston Bruins	D	Guy Lapointe, Montreal Canadiens
Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers	C	Gilbert Perreault, Buffalo Sabres
Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens	RW	Reggie Leach, Philadelphia Flyers
Bill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers	LW	Rick Martin, Buffalo Sabres

[edit]

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):