The 1977–78 NHL season was the 61st season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens won their third Stanley Cup in a row, defeating the Boston Bruins four games to two in the final.
League business
Clarence Campbell retired as NHL President, prior to this season. John Ziegler succeeded him.
A trophy for the top defensive forward, the Frank J. Selke Trophy, made its debut this season and went to Bob Gainey, who played left wing for Montreal.
On June 14, 1978, the league approved the merger of the financially struggling Cleveland Barons and Minnesota North Stars franchises, reducing the number of teams to seventeen, with the North Stars (now the Dallas Stars) assuming the Barons' place in the Adams Division. It was the only instance of a league franchise to dissolve since the Brooklyn Americans ceased operations in 1942. The next time the NHL had a team in Ohio would be the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2000–01 season.
The league changed the playoff qualification format for this season. Whereas before the first through third-place teams in every division qualified, the format was changed to only guarantee the first and second-place finisher in each division a playoff spot. The last four qualifiers were from the next-best four regular-season records from third and lower place finishers.
Teams were required to place the last names of players on the back of all jerseys starting with this season. Toronto owner Harold Ballard, believing that the move would cut into sales of programs, briefly attempted to render the names in white to blend in with the Maple Leafs white home jerseys, a plan quickly forbidden by the league.
Regular season
Bobby Orr sat out the season to rest his oft-injured knee in the hope that rest would allow him to return to play in 1978–79.
On December 11, 1977, the Philadelphia Flyers' Tom Bladon became the first defenseman in NHL history to score eight points in one game.[1] He scored four goals and four assists versus the Cleveland Barons. It was 25% of his point total for the entire season.
The Colorado Rockies qualified for the playoffs for the first and only time in franchise history. They would not make the playoffs again until after the team had moved to New Jersey, in 1988. The next time the playoffs came to Colorado would be the Colorado Avalanche's championship season of 1996.
Final standings
GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
Prince of Wales Conference
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Clarence Campbell Conference
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Playoffs
The playoffs were held in four rounds, preliminary, quarterfinals, semifinals and final. In the preliminary round, the Detroit Red Wings were the only lower-placed team to win over the higher-placed team. The Red Wings were then defeated in five games by the first-place Montreal Canadiens. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Los Angeles Kings to advance to the quarterfinals, where the Leafs upset the third-place New York Islanders in seven games, setting up an "Original Six" playoff against Montreal. The upsets ended there as the Canadiens swept the Leafs to advance to the final. In the other groupings, the higher-placed team won each round, and the second-place Boston Bruins advanced to the final to playoff against the first-place Canadiens. In the final, the Canadiens defeated the Bruins in six games to win their third consecutive Stanley Cup.
The Colorado Rockies made their one and only playoff appearance in the preliminary round against the Philadelphia Flyers, and were swept in two games. It would take another ten years before they got to the playoffs again in New Jersey. The Chicago Black Hawks were swept in the other "Original Six" matchup of the playoffs, losing to Boston in the quarterfinals.
Playoff seeds
The twelve teams that qualified for the playoffs are ranked 1–12 based on regular season points.
Note: Only teams that qualified for the playoffs are listed here.
- Montreal Canadiens, Norris Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 129 points
- Boston Bruins, Adams Division champions – 113 points
- New York Islanders, Patrick Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 111 points
- Philadelphia Flyers – 105 points (45 wins)
- Buffalo Sabres – 105 points (44 wins)
- Toronto Maple Leafs – 92 points
- Atlanta Flames – 87 points
- Chicago Black Hawks, Smythe Division champions – 83 points
- Detroit Red Wings – 78 points
- Los Angeles Kings – 77 points
- New York Rangers – 73 points
- Colorado Rockies – 59 points
Playoff bracket
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Preliminary Round |
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Quarterfinals |
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Semifinals |
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Stanley Cup Final |
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1 |
Montreal |
4 |
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8 |
Detroit |
1 |
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4 |
Atlanta |
0 |
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5 |
Detroit |
2 |
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1 |
Montreal |
4 |
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4 |
Toronto |
0 |
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3 |
NY Islanders |
3 |
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6 |
Toronto |
4 |
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3 |
Toronto |
2 |
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6 |
Los Angeles |
0 |
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1 |
Montreal |
4 |
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2 |
Boston |
2 |
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2 |
Boston |
4 |
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7 |
Chicago |
0 |
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2 |
Boston |
4 |
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3 |
Philadelphia |
1 |
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1 |
Philadelphia |
2 |
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8 |
Colorado |
0 |
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4 |
Philadelphia |
4 |
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5 |
Buffalo |
1 |
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2 |
Buffalo |
2 |
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7 |
NY Rangers |
1 |
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- Division winners earned a bye to the Quarterfinals
- Teams were re-seeded based on regular season record after the Preliminary and Quarterfinal rounds
Preliminary Round
(1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (8) Colorado Rockies
| Philadelphia won series 2–0 |
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(2) Buffalo Sabres vs. (7) New York Rangers
(3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (6) Los Angeles Kings
| April 13 |
Toronto Maple Leafs |
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4–0 |
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Los Angeles Kings |
The Forum |
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(4) Atlanta Flames vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings
Quarterfinals
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (8) Detroit Red Wings
(2) Boston Bruins vs. (7) Chicago Black Hawks
(3) New York Islanders vs. (6) Toronto Maple Leafs
(4) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (5) Buffalo Sabres
| April 17 |
Buffalo Sabres |
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1–4 |
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Philadelphia Flyers |
Spectrum |
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| April 19 |
Buffalo Sabres |
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2–3 |
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Philadelphia Flyers |
Spectrum |
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| April 25 |
Buffalo Sabres |
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2–4 |
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Philadelphia Flyers |
Spectrum |
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| Philadelphia won series 4-1 |
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Semifinals
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) Toronto Maple Leafs
(2) Boston Bruins vs. (3) Philadelphia Flyers
Game five was Fred Shero's last game as head coach of the Flyers and Gerry Cheevers left the ice without shaking hands with any of the Flyers.[3]
Stanley Cup Finals
Awards
The league introduced the Frank J. Selke trophy this season. It rewards the forward judged to be the best at defensive abilities.
| 1978 NHL awards |
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Prince of Wales Trophy:
(Wales Conference regular season champion) | Montreal Canadiens |
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:
(Campbell Conference regular season champion) | New York Islanders |
Art Ross Trophy:
(Top scorer, regular season) | Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens |
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:
(Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) | Butch Goring, Los Angeles Kings |
Calder Memorial Trophy:
(Top first-year player) | Mike Bossy, New York Islanders |
Conn Smythe Trophy:
(Most valuable player, playoffs) | Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens |
Frank J. Selke Trophy:
(Best defensive forward) | Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens |
Hart Memorial Trophy:
(Most valuable player, regular season) | Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens |
Jack Adams Award:
(Best coach) | Bobby Kromm, Detroit Red Wings |
James Norris Memorial Trophy:
(Best defenceman) | Denis Potvin, New York Islanders |
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:
(Excellence and sportsmanship) | Butch Goring, Los Angeles Kings |
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 & Michel Larocque, Montreal Canadiens |
Lester Patrick Trophy:
(Service to hockey in the U.S.) | Phil Esposito, Tom Fitzgerald, William Thayer Tutt, William W. Wirtz |
All-Star teams
| First Team | Position | Second Team |
| Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens |
G |
Don Edwards, Buffalo Sabres |
| Denis Potvin, New York Islanders |
D |
Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens |
| Brad Park, Boston Bruins |
D |
Borje Salming, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders |
C |
Darryl Sittler, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens |
RW |
Mike Bossy, New York Islanders |
| Clark Gillies, New York Islanders |
LW |
Steve Shutt, Montreal Canadiens |
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Player statistics
Scoring leaders
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Source: NHL.
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Min - Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
Other statistics
- Plus-minus
- Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1977–78 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Doug Wilson, Chicago Black Hawks
- Barry Beck, Colorado Rockies
- Dale McCourt, Detroit Red Wings
- Vaclav Nedomansky, Detroit Red Wings
- Dave Taylor, Los Angeles Kings
- Mike Bossy, New York Islanders
- Ron Duguay, New York Rangers
- Glen Hanlon, Vancouver Canucks
- Murray Bannerman, Vancouver Canucks
- Robert Picard, Washington Capitals
Nedomansky began his major professional career in the World Hockey Association.
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1977–78 (listed with their last team):
- Johnny Bucyk, Boston Bruins
- Eddie Johnston, Chicago Black Hawks
- Jim Neilson, Cleveland Barons
- Dennis Hull, Detroit Red Wings
- Ed Giacomin, Detroit Red Wings
- Bill Goldsworthy, New York Rangers
- Dallas Smith, New York Rangers
- Ken Hodge, New York Rangers
- Rod Gilbert, New York Rangers
- Gary Dornhoefer, Philadelphia Flyers
- Derek Sanderson, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Claude Larose, St. Louis Blues
- Bob Plager, St. Louis Blues
- Jim Roberts, St. Louis Blues
- Red Berenson, St. Louis Blues
- Cesare Maniago, Vancouver Canucks
NOTE: Goldsworthy and Neilson would finish their major professional careers in the World Hockey Association.
See also
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
- ↑ Hockey’s Book of Firsts, p.27, James Duplacey, JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9
- 1 2 3 4 Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
- ↑ DropYourGloves.com
External links
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