1975–76 NHL season Information & 1975–76 NHL season Links at HealthHaven.com

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

[edit] 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 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.

[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	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

[edit] Leading goaltenders

[edit] Playoffs

[edit] 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

[edit] 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.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Date	Visitors	Score	Home	Score
May 9	Philadelphia	3	Montreal	4
May 11	Philadelphia	1	Montreal	2
May 13	Montreal	3	Philadelphia	2
May 16	Montreal	5	Philadelphia	3

[edit] NHL awards

Prince of Wales Trophy:	Montreal Canadiens
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:	Philadelphia Flyers
Art Ross 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):

Willi Plett, Atlanta Flames
Dennis Maruk, California Golden Seals
Bob Murray, Chicago Blackhawks
Doug Jarvis, Montreal Canadiens
Doug Risebrough, Montreal Canadiens
Mario Tremblay, Montreal Canadiens
Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders
Mel Bridgman, Philadelphia Flyers

[edit] 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
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.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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