1977–78 NHL season
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 Stanley Cup Finals.
| 1977–78 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 12, 1977 – May 25, 1978 |
| Number of games | 80 |
| Number of teams | 18 |
| TV partner(s) | CBC, SRC (Canada) NHL Network (United States) |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Dale McCourt |
| Picked by | Detroit Red Wings |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Montreal Canadiens |
| Season MVP | Guy Lafleur (Canadiens) |
| Top scorer | Guy Lafleur (Canadiens) |
| Playoffs | |
| Playoffs MVP | Larry Robinson (Canadiens) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Montreal Canadiens |
| Runners-up | Boston Bruins |
League business
Prior to the start of the season, Clarence Campbell retired as NHL President. John Ziegler succeeded him in that capacity.
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 17, with the North Stars (now the Dallas Stars) assuming the Barons' place in the Adams Division. It was the first instance of a franchise dissolving 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 top three teams in every division qualified, the format was changed to guarantee the top two teams in each division a playoff spot. The last four qualifiers were from the next-best four regular-season records from teams finishing third or lower.
Teams were required to place the last names of players on the back of all jerseys starting with this season, but Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard initially refused, fearing that he would not be able to sell programs at his team's games. The NHL responded by threatening to levy a fine on the team in February 1978, so Ballard complied by making the letters the same color as the background they were on, which for the team's road jerseys was blue. The League threatened further sanctions, and despite playing more than one game with their "unreadable" sweaters, Ballard's Maple Leafs finally complied in earnest by making the letters white on the blue road jerseys. (Blue letter names would not come to the white home jerseys until the following year.)[1]
Officials began wearing their surnames on the back of their sweaters instead of being identified by numbers, as they were previously. The NHL returned to using uniform numbers for officials for the 1994-95 season.
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; he would return for that season, only playing in six games before retiring. However, defenseman Doug Wilson proved to be an excellent replacement for the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Detroit Red Wings made changes, adding rookie Dale McCourt and Andre St. Laurent, who led the Wings to their first playoff appearance since 1970.
On December 11, 1977, the Philadelphia Flyers' Tom Bladon became the first defenceman in NHL history to score eight points in one game.[2] 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 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
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 51 | 18 | 11 | 333 | 218 | 113 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 44 | 19 | 17 | 288 | 215 | 105 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 41 | 29 | 10 | 271 | 237 | 92 |
| Cleveland Barons | 80 | 22 | 45 | 13 | 230 | 325 | 57 |
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 59 | 10 | 11 | 359 | 183 | 129 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 32 | 34 | 14 | 252 | 266 | 78 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 31 | 34 | 15 | 243 | 245 | 77 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 25 | 37 | 18 | 254 | 321 | 68 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 17 | 49 | 14 | 195 | 321 | 48 |
Clarence Campbell Conference
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Islanders | 80 | 48 | 17 | 15 | 334 | 210 | 111 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 45 | 20 | 15 | 296 | 200 | 105 |
| Atlanta Flames | 80 | 34 | 27 | 19 | 274 | 252 | 87 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 30 | 37 | 13 | 279 | 280 | 73 |
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 32 | 29 | 19 | 230 | 220 | 83 |
| Colorado Rockies | 80 | 19 | 40 | 21 | 257 | 305 | 59 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 20 | 43 | 17 | 239 | 320 | 57 |
| St. Louis Blues | 80 | 20 | 47 | 13 | 195 | 304 | 53 |
| Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 18 | 53 | 9 | 218 | 325 | 45 |
Playoffs
The playoffs were held in four rounds, preliminary, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. In the preliminary round, the Detroit Red Wings was 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 finals. In the other groupings, the higher-placed team won each round, and the second-place Boston Bruins advanced to the finals against the first-place Canadiens. In the finals, 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
| Preliminary Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Detroit | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Atlanta | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Detroit | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Toronto | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | NY Islanders | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Toronto | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Toronto | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Los Angeles | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Montreal | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Boston | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Chicago | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Philadelphia | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Colorado | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Buffalo | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Buffalo | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | NY Rangers | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
- Division winners earned a bye to the Quarterfinals
- Teams were re-seeded based on regular season record after the Preliminary and Quarterfinal rounds
(1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (8) Colorado Rockies
This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams. It was the Rockies' only playoff appearance in their first eight seasons before moving to New Jersey in 1982 (including two years in Kansas City and six in Denver).
| April 11 | Colorado Rockies | 2–3 | OT | Philadelphia Flyers | Spectrum | Recap | ||
| Denis Dupere (1) – pp – 17:45 | First period | 11:57 – pp – Rick MacLeish (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 19:31 – Bobby Clarke (1) | ||||||
| Dave Hudson (1) – 01:48 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 00:23 – Mel Bridgman (1) | ||||||
| Doug Favell | Goalie stats | Bernie Parent | ||||||
| April 13 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3–1 | Colorado Rockies | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| Reggie Leach (1) – 02:41 | First period | 06:59 – Dennis Owchar (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Don Saleski (1) – 01:13 Bob Kelly (1) – 10:36 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bernie Parent | Goalie stats | Doug Favell | ||||||
| Philadelphia won series 2–0 | |
(2) Buffalo Sabres vs. (7) New York Rangers
This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.
| April 11 | New York Rangers | 1–4 | Buffalo Sabres | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 16:41 – Gilbert Perrault (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 12:28 – Richard Martin (1) | ||||||
| Steve Vickers (1) – 02:35 | Third period | 08:33 – Jocelyn Guevremont (1) 17:50 – Gary McAdam (1) | ||||||
| Wayne Thomas | Goalie stats | Don Edwards | ||||||
| April 13 | Buffalo Sabres | 3–4 | OT | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | ||
| Rene Robert (1) – 03:06 Derek Smith (1) – 16:29 |
First period | 14:36 – Steve Vickers (2) 19:59 – Pat Hickey (1) | ||||||
| Danny Gare (1) – pp – 18:04 | Second period | 15:07 – pp – Ron Duguay (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 01:37 – Don Murdoch (1) | ||||||
| Don Edwards | Goalie stats | John Davidson | ||||||
| April 15 | New York Rangers | 1–4 | Buffalo Sabres | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Pat Hickey (2) – pp – 19:18 | Second period | 08:04 – Gilbert Perreault (2) 14:23 – pp – Craig Ramsay (1) 15:56 – Danny Gare (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 10:32 – Rene Robert (2) | ||||||
| Wayne Thomas | Goalie stats | Don Edwards | ||||||
| Buffalo won series 2–1 | |
(3) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (6) Los Angeles Kings
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. The only previous meeting was in the 1975 Preliminary Round, in which Toronto won the series 2–1.
| April 11 | Los Angeles Kings | 3–7 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 06:35 – pp – Stan Weir (1) 15:53 – Jerry Butler (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 12:48 – Tiger Williams (1) 13:24 – Borje Salming (1) | ||||||
| Pete Stemkowski (1) – 09:41 Darryl Edestrand (1) – 17:52 Glenn Goldup (1) – 19:13 |
Third period | 02:18 – George Ferguson (1) 04:48 – George Ferguson (2) 09:51 – George Ferguson (3) | ||||||
| Rogie Vachon | Goalie stats | Mike Palmateer | ||||||
| April 13 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4–0 | Los Angeles Kings | The Forum | Recap | |||
| Ron Ellis (1) – 01:12 Lanny McDonald (1) – 10:38 Jimmy Jones (1) – 15:29 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Darryl Sittler (1) – pp – 13:15 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Palmateer | Goalie stats | Rogie Vachon | ||||||
| Toronto won series 2–0 | |
(4) Atlanta Flames vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings
This was the first playoff series between these two teams; they would not meet again in Stanley Cup play until 2004, after the Flames had relocated to Calgary. (The Flames never won a playoff series while representing Atlanta, losing all six over an eight-year period.)
For Detroit, it was their only playoff series win in the twenty years between 1967 and 1986.
| April 11 | Detroit Red Wings | 5–3 | Atlanta Flames | Omni Coliseum | Recap | |||
| Dale McCourt (1) – pp – 04:52 Errol Thompson (1) – pp – 07:05 Vaclav Nedomansky (1) – pp – 07:32 Dennis Hextall (1) – sh – 15:18 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 05:26 – Guy Chouinard (1) | ||||||
| Andre St. Laurent (1) – 19:59 | Third period | 00:09 – Eric Vail (1) 08:07 – Dick Redmond (1) | ||||||
| Ron Low | Goalie stats | Dan Bouchard | ||||||
| April 13 | Atlanta Flames | 2–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Detroit Olympia | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tom Lysiak (1) – 06:29 | Second period | 12:09 – Vaclav Nedomansky (2) | ||||||
| Bobby Lalonde (1) | Third period | 08:58 – Bill Lochead (1) 18:26 – Bill Lochead (2) | ||||||
| Dan Bouchard | Goalie stats | Jim Rutherford | ||||||
| Detroit won series 2–0 | |
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (8) Detroit Red Wings
This was the 12th playoff series meeting between these two teams. Detroit led 7–4 in previous playoff meetings. Montreal won their most recent meeting in six games in the 1966 Stanley Cup Finals.
Game 4 was the final playoff game at the Detroit Olympia.
| April 17 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–6 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bill Lochead (3) – 07:45 Dale McCourt (2) – 18:56 |
Second period | 05:53 – Doug Jarvis (1) 06:46 – Rejean Houle (1) 14:39 – Yvan Cournoyer (1) 17:31 – Steve Shutt (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 03:25 – Yvan Cournoyer (2) 07:25 – Pierre Mondou (1) | ||||||
| Ron Low | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden | ||||||
| April 19 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–2 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dale McCourt (3) – 18:06 Dale McCourt (4) – pp – 19:22 |
Second period | 03:37 – pp – Larry Robinson (1) 15:19 – Yvan Cournoyer (3) | ||||||
| Errol Thompson (2) – 00:22 Nick Libett (1) – 19:22 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jim Rutherford | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden | ||||||
| April 21 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Detroit Olympia | Recap | |||
| Steve Shutt (2) – pp – 08:38 | First period | 07:54 – pp – Nick Libett (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 13:48 – Nick Libett (3) | ||||||
| Jacques Lemaire (1) – 00:30 Pierre Larouche (1) – 03:46 Yvan Cournoyer (4) – 12:38 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ken Dryden | Goalie stats | Ron Low | ||||||
| April 23 | Montreal Canadiens | 8–0 | Detroit Red Wings | Detroit Olympia | Recap | |||
| Doug Risebrough (1) – sh – 13:00 Bob Gainey (1) – sh – 13:24 Guy Lafleur (1) – pp – 15:51 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jacques Lemaire (2) – 01:24 Pierre Mondou (2) – pp – 05:46 Steve Shutt (3) – 07:54 Guy Lafleur (2) – 11:30 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Steve Shutt (4) – 17:37 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ken Dryden | Goalie stats | Jim Rutherford | ||||||
| April 25 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–4 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Vaclav Nedomansky (3) – 09:40 | First period | 00:20 – Rejean Houle (2) 11:09 – pp – Guy Lapointe (1) | ||||||
| Dennis Polonich (1) – 06:40 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 01:37 – pp – Doug Jarvis (2) 17:36 – Doug Jarvis (3) | ||||||
| Ron Low | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–1 | |
(2) Boston Bruins vs. (7) Chicago Black Hawks
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams. Boston won four of the previous five meetings. Chicago won their last series meeting 2–1 in the 1975 Preliminary Round.
| April 17 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–6 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Grant Mulvey (1) – pp – 15:29 | First period | 00:24 – Brad Park (1) 06:04 – pp – Wayne Cashman (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 00:21 – Peter McNab (1) 06:12 – Peter McNab (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 06:11 – pp – Bobby Schmautz (1) 17:58 – Terry O'Reilly (1) | ||||||
| Tony Esposito 35 saves / 41 shots | Goalie stats | Ron Grahame 24 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| April 19 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3–4 | OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | ||
| Doug Hicks (1) – pp – 05:41 Stan Mikita (1) – 18:48 |
First period | 12:03 – Don Marcotte (1) | ||||||
| Bob Murray (1) – 19:13 | Second period | 16:59 – pp – Wayne Cashman (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:17 – Rick Middleton (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 01:50 – Terry O'Reilly (2) | ||||||
| Tony Esposito 20 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Ron Grahame 9 saves / 12 shots | ||||||
| April 21 | Boston Bruins | 4–3 | OT | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | ||
| John Wensink (1) – 13:01 John Wensink (2) – 15:49 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 15:43 – pp – Stan Mikita (2) | ||||||
| Terry O'Reilly (3) – 01:14 | Third period | 13:04 – Grant Mulvey (2) 19:33 – Cliff Koroll (1) | ||||||
| Peter McNab (3) – 10:17 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gerry Cheevers 26 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Tony Esposito 26 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Boston Bruins | 5–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Peter McNab (4) – 00:51 Terry O'Reilly (4) – pp – 06:14 Peter McNab (5) – 08:15 Brad Park (2) – 11:40 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brad Park (3) – 19:39 | Second period | 09:59 – pp – Stan Mikita (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 17:55 – Ted Bulley (1) | ||||||
| Gerry Cheevers 12 saves / 14 shots | Goalie stats | Tony Esposito 17 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| Boston won series 4–0 | |
(3) New York Islanders vs. (6) Toronto Maple Leafs
This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.
| April 17 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–4 | New York Islanders | Nassau Coliseum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 07:58 – Mike Kaszycki (1) 14:09 – Bobby Nystrom (1) 16:39 – Mike Bossy (1) | ||||||
| Darryl Sittler (2) – pp – 12:48 | Second period | 14:06 – Wayne Merrick (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Palmateer 23 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Glenn Resch 29 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| April 19 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–3 | OT | New York Islanders | Nassau Coliseum | Recap | ||
| Ian Turnbull (1) – pp – 13:03 | First period | 16:28 – pp – Clark Gillies (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| George Ferguson (4) – 09:41 | Third period | 03:24 – Bob Bourne (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 02:50 – Mike Bossy (2) | ||||||
| Mike Palmateer 37 saves / 40 shots | Goalie stats | Glenn Resch 28 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| April 21 | New York Islanders | 0–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:37 – Ron Ellis (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:37 – Ian Turnbull (2) | ||||||
| Glenn Resch 21 saves / 23 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Palmateer 19 saves / 19 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | New York Islanders | 1–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bobby Nystrom (2) – pp – 10:54 | Second period | 03:53 – Borje Salming (2) 04:09 – Stan Weir (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 04:49 – Pat Boutette (1) | ||||||
| Glenn Resch 25 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Palmateer 31 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–2 | OT | New York Islanders | Nassau Coliseum | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ian Turnbull (3) – 01:10 | Second period | 13:39 – Denis Potvin (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 08:02 – Bobby Nystrom (3) | ||||||
| Mike Palmateer 38 saves / 40 shots | Goalie stats | Glenn Resch 29 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| April 27 | New York Islanders | 2–5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 02:49 – Darryl Sittler (3) 03:40 – pp – Jack Valiquette (1) 11:03 – pp – Lanny McDonald (2) 12:53 – Stan Weir (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 04:36 – Pat Boutette (2) | ||||||
| Clark Gillies (2) – 04:51 Bob Bourne (2) – pp – 17:53 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Billy Smith 16 saves / 17 shots Glenn Resch 3 saves / 7 shots |
Goalie stats | Mike Palmateer 35 saves / 37 shots | ||||||
| April 29 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–1 | OT | New York Islanders | Nassau Coliseum | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 05:18 – Denis Potvin (2) | ||||||
| Ian Turnbull (4) – 03:42 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Lanny McDonald (3) – 04:13 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Palmateer 22 saves / 23 shots | Goalie stats | Glenn Resch 25 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| Toronto won series 4–3 | |
(4) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (5) Buffalo Sabres
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. Philadelphia won the only previous meeting in six games in the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals.
| April 17 | Buffalo Sabres | 1–4 | Philadelphia Flyers | Spectrum | Recap | |||
| Terry Martin (1) – 06:34 | First period | 06:19 – pp – Rick MacLeish (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:08 – Bob Kelly (2) 06:13 – Rick MacLeish (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 01:28 – Bill Barber (1) | ||||||
| Don Edwards 24 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Bernie Parent 24 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| April 19 | Buffalo Sabres | 2–3 | Philadelphia Flyers | Spectrum | Recap | |||
| Richard Martin (2) – pp – 11:58 | First period | 07:16 – pp – Bill Barber (2) | ||||||
| Danny Gare (3) – pp – 14:20 | Second period | 04:09 – Andre Dupont (1) 10:31 – Rick MacLeish (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Don Edwards 31 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Bernie Parent 20 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1–4 | Buffalo Sabres | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | Recap | |||
| Rick MacLeish (5) – pp – 08:36 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 09:18 – Gary McAdam (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 00:43 – Gilbert Perreault (3) 03:17 – Derek Smith (2) 12:25 – Danny Gare (4) | ||||||
| Bernie Parent 29 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Don Edwards 20 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–2 | Buffalo Sabres | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | Recap | |||
| Bob Kelly (3) – 05:56 Ross Lonsberry (1) – pp – 08:02 Rick MacLeish (6) – 14:13 |
First period | 15:13 – Craig Ramsay (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bill Barber (3) – 14:59 | Third period | 16:57 – Craig Ramsay (3) | ||||||
| Bernie Parent 31 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Don Edwards 23 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | Buffalo Sabres | 2–4 | Philadelphia Flyers | Spectrum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 13:43 – pp – Bobby Clarke (2) | ||||||
| Terry Martin (2) – 10:53 | Second period | 11:07 – Paul Holmgren (1) 14:34 – Ross Lonsberry (2) | ||||||
| Derek Smith (3) – 13:04 | Third period | 06:59 – Don Saleski (2) | ||||||
| Don Edwards 22 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Bernie Parent 26 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| Philadelphia won series 4–1 | |
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) Toronto Maple Leafs
This was the 14th playoff series meeting between these two teams. Toronto lead 7–6 in previous meetings. Toronto won the most recent meeting in six games in the 1967 Stanley Cup Finals.
| May 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–5 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Ron Ellis (3) – 02:25 | First period | 00:23 – Serge Savard (1) 17:06 – Yvan Cournoyer (5) 19:13 – Jacques Lemaire (3) | ||||||
| Ian Turnbull (5) – 08:27 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Pat Boutette (3) – 14:32 | Third period | 03:14 – Yvan Cournoyer (6) 08:54 – Guy Lafleur (3) | ||||||
| Mike Palmateer 31 saves / 36 shots | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden 12 saves / 15 shots | ||||||
| May 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 04:01 – pp – Larry Robinson (2) 06:46 – Guy Lafleur (4) | ||||||
| Ian Turnbull (6) – 05:47 Dan Maloney (1) – pp – 08:35 |
Second period | 15:32 – pp – Guy Lafleur (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Palmateer 23 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden 21 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| May 6 | Montreal Canadiens | 6–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Steve Shutt (5) – pp – 01:34 Rick Chartraw (1) – 13:09 Yvon Lambert (1) – 17:00 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Guy Lafleur (6) – 11:02 Jacques Lemaire (4) – 12:26 |
Second period | 08:50 – George Ferguson (5) | ||||||
| Guy Lafleur (7) – 05:08 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ken Dryden 23 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Palmateer 33 saves / 39 shots | ||||||
| May 9 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Jacques Lemaire (5) – 07:21 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Steve Shutt (6) – pp – 02:15 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ken Dryden 23 saves / 23 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Palmateer 27 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–0 | |
(2) Boston Bruins vs. (3) Philadelphia Flyers
This was the fourth playoff series meeting between these two teams. Philadelphia won two of the previous three meetings. This was the third straight semifinal meeting following Philadelphia's win in five games in 1976 and Boston's four-game sweep last season.
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.[4]
| May 2 | Philadelphia Flyers | 2–3 | OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | ||
| Reggie Leach (2) – pp – 15:24 | First period | 07:45 – Jean Ratelle (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 15:28 – Don Marcotte (2) | ||||||
| Bobby Clarke (3) – 05:02 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 01:43 – Rick Middleton (2) | ||||||
| Bernie Parent 22 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Gerry Cheevers 21 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| May 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 5–7 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Orest Kindrachuk (1) – pp – 17:48 | First period | 06:01 – pp – Bobby Schmautz (2) 08:55 – Rick Middleton (3) 12:31 – pp – Wayne Cashman (3) 19:51 – Jean Ratelle (2) | ||||||
| Bill Barber (4) – 05:22 Rick MacLeish (7) – 08:06 Bob Dailey (1) – 19:20 |
Second period | 02:36 – Bobby Schmautz (3) | ||||||
| Bobby Clarke (4) – 01:41 | Third period | 14:24 – Rick Middleton (4) 16:39 – Gregg Sheppard (1) | ||||||
| Bernie Parent 26 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Gerry Cheevers 20 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| May 7 | Boston Bruins | 1–3 | Philadelphia Flyers | Spectrum | Recap | |||
| Brad Park (4) – pp – 13:42 | First period | 10:36 – Andre Dupont (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 11:56 – Orest Kindrachuk (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 03:32 – Bill Barber (5) | ||||||
| Ron Grahame 21 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Bernie Parent 24 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| May 9 | Boston Bruins | 4–2 | Philadelphia Flyers | Spectrum | Recap | |||
| Bobby Schmautz (4) – 06:20 Don Marcotte (3) – 15:43 |
First period | No Scoring | ||||||
| Wayne Cashman (4) – 13:57 | Second period | 16:26 – Jimmy Watson (1) | ||||||
| Bobby Schmautz (5) – en – 19:25 | Third period | 06:34 – pp – Orest Kindrachuk (3) | ||||||
| Gerry Cheevers 28 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Bernie Parent 12 saves / 15 shots | ||||||
| May 11 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3–6 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No Scoring | First period | 17:04 – Mike Milbury (1) | ||||||
| Bill Barber (6) – 02:56 Orest Kindrachuk (4) – 13:40 Orest Kindrachuk (5) – 13:51 |
Second period | 04:29 – pp – Brad Park (5) 17:58 – Bobby Schmautz (6) | ||||||
| No Scoring | Third period | 06:18 – Don Marcotte (4) 12:22 – Peter McNab (6) 18:56 – en – Jean Ratelle (3) | ||||||
| Bernie Parent 27 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Gerry Cheevers 21 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| Boston won series 4–1 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
This was the 17th playoff series (and the last Finals) meeting between these two teams. Montreal led 14–2 in previous meetings. This was a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Finals, in which Montreal won in a four-game sweep.
| May 13 | Boston Bruins | 1–4 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Brad Park (6) – pp – 02:31 | First period | 04:31 – pp – Guy Lafleur (8) 09:53 – pp – Yvon Lambert (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 13:54 – Steve Shutt (7) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 03:55 – Yvan Cournoyer (7) | ||||||
| Gerry Cheevers 23 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden 15 saves / 16 shots | ||||||
| May 16 | Boston Bruins | 2–3 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brad Park (7) – 03:57 | Second period | 07:00 – Steve Shutt (8) | ||||||
| Rick Smith (1) – 15:48 | Third period | 12:12 – Bob Gainey (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 13:09 – Guy Lafleur (9) | ||||||
| Gerry Cheevers 32 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden 30 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| May 18 | Montreal Canadiens | 0–4 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 00:59 – Gary Doak (1) 05:11 – Rick Middleton (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 02:54 – Peter McNab (7) 15:39 – Terry O'Reilly (5) | ||||||
| Ken Dryden 32 saves / 36 shots | Goalie stats | Gerry Cheevers 16 saves / 16 shots | ||||||
| May 21 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–4 | OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | ||
| Doug Risebrough (2) – 03:26 | First period | 00:25 – Gregg Sheppard (2) | ||||||
| Larry Robinson (3) – 07:00 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Guy Lafleur (10) – 19:27 | Third period | 09:19 – Peter McNab (8) 13:20 – Brad Park (8) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 06:22 – Bobby Schmautz (7) | ||||||
| Ken Dryden 20 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | Gerry Cheevers 27 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| May 23 | Boston Bruins | 1–4 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 07:46 – Larry Robinson (4) 11:10 – pp – Pierre Mondou (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 13:04 – pp Pierre Larouche (2) 18:42 – Jacques Lemaire (6) | ||||||
| Don Marcotte (5) – pp – 11:22 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gerry Cheevers 21 saves / 25 shots Ron Grahame 5 saves / 5 shots |
Goalie stats | Ken Dryden 29 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| May 25 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–1 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Steve Shutt (9) – 07:01 Mario Tremblay (1) – 09:20 |
First period | 04:05 – pp – Brad Park (9) | ||||||
| Mario Tremblay (2) – 13:37 Rejean Houle (3) – 17:46 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ken Dryden 15 saves / 16 shots | Goalie stats | Gerry Cheevers 20 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–2 | |
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 | |
|---|---|
| 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
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guy Lafleur | Montreal Canadiens | 78 | 60 | 72 | 132 | 26 |
| Bryan Trottier | New York Islanders | 77 | 46 | 77 | 123 | 46 |
| Darryl Sittler | Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 45 | 72 | 117 | 100 |
| Jacques Lemaire | Montreal Canadiens | 76 | 36 | 61 | 97 | 14 |
| Denis Potvin | New York Islanders | 80 | 30 | 64 | 94 | 81 |
| Mike Bossy | New York Islanders | 73 | 53 | 38 | 91 | 6 |
| Terry O'Reilly | Boston Bruins | 77 | 29 | 61 | 90 | 211 |
| Gilbert Perreault | Buffalo Sabres | 79 | 41 | 48 | 89 | 20 |
| Bobby Clarke | Philadelphia Flyers | 71 | 21 | 68 | 89 | 83 |
| Lanny McDonald | Toronto Maple Leafs | 74 | 47 | 40 | 87 | 54 |
| Wilf Paiement | Colorado Rockies | 80 | 31 | 56 | 87 | 114 |
Source: NHL.[5]
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 | 52 | 3071 | 105 | 2.05 | 37 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| Bernie Parent | Philadelphia Flyers | 49 | 2923 | 108 | 2.22 | 29 | 6 | 13 | 7 |
| Gilles Gilbert | Boston Bruins | 25 | 1326 | 56 | 2.53 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| Chico Resch | N.Y. Islanders | 45 | 2637 | 112 | 2.55 | 28 | 9 | 7 | 3 |
| Tony Esposito | Chicago Black Hawks | 64 | 3840 | 168 | 2.63 | 28 | 22 | 14 | 5 |
| Don Edwards | Buffalo Sabres | 72 | 4209 | 185 | 2.64 | 38 | 16 | 17 | 5 |
| Billy Smith | N.Y. Islanders | 38 | 2154 | 95 | 2.65 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 2 |
| Michel Larocque | Montreal Canadiens | 30 | 1729 | 77 | 2.67 | 22 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Mike Palmateer | Toronto Maple Leafs | 63 | 3760 | 172 | 2.74 | 34 | 19 | 9 | 5 |
| Dan Bouchard | Atlanta Flames | 58 | 3340 | 153 | 2.75 | 25 | 12 | 19 | 2 |
Coaches
Patrick Division
- Atlanta Flames: Fred Creighton
- New York Islanders: Al Arbour
- New York Rangers: Jean-Guy Talbot
- Philadelphia Flyers: Fred Shero and Bob McCammon
Adams Division
- Boston Bruins: Don Cherry
- Buffalo Sabres: Marcel Pronovost
- Cleveland Barons: Jack Evans
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Roger Neilson
Norris Division
- Detroit Red Wings: Bobby Kromm
- Los Angeles Kings: Ron Stewart
- Montreal Canadiens: Scotty Bowman
- Pittsburgh Penguins: Johnny Wilson
- Washington Capitals: Tom McVie
Smythe Division
- Chicago Black Hawks: Bob Pulford
- Colorado Rockies: Patrick Kelly
- Minnesota North Stars: Andre Beaulieu and Lou Nanne
- St. Louis Blues: Leo Boivin and Barclay Plager
- Vancouver Canucks: Orland Kurtenbach
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.
Broadcasting
Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games.
In the U.S., this was the third season that NHL games aired in national broadcast syndication under the NHL Network package. Starting in the 1978 playoffs, the NHL Network began simulcasting most games with HNIC/CBC.
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
- DeLaere, Matt (August 17, 2017). "What's in a Number?". Impressions. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- Hockey's Book of Firsts, p.27, James Duplacey, JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9
- Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
- "DropYourGloves.com". Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2010.
- Dinger 2011, p. 150.