The 1975–76 NHL season was the 59th season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup, defeating the defending champion Philadelphia Flyers in the final.
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 Philadelphia Flyers tied the record set by the 1929-30 Boston Bruins for most consecutive home ice wins, with 20.
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.
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
Prince of Wales Conference
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Clarence Campbell Conference
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Playoffs
Playoff bracket
Semifinals
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (5) New York Islanders
(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (3) Boston Bruins
| Philadelphia won series 4-1 |
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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.
| May 9 |
Philadelphia Flyers |
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3-4 |
|
Montreal Canadiens |
Montreal Forum |
Recap |
|
Reggie Leach 16 (Bobby Clarke, Jack McIlhargey) - 0:21
Ross Lonsberry 4 (Mel Bridgman, Tom Bladon) - 13:22 |
First period |
No Scoring |
| No Scoring |
Second period |
4:04 - Roberts 3 (Gainey, Risenbrough)
6:30 - Larry Robinson 3 (Mahovlich, Lafleur) |
| Larry Goodenough 3 (Gary Dornhoefer) - 5:17 |
Third period |
10:02 - Lemaire 2 (Nyrop)
Lapointe 3 (Shutt) - 18:38 |
| Wayne Stephenson ( 32 saves / 36 shots ) |
Goalie stats |
Ken Dryden ( 17 saves / 20 shots ) |
| May 11 |
Philadelphia Flyers |
|
1-2 |
|
Montreal Canadiens |
Montreal Forum |
Recap |
|
| No Scoring |
First period |
No Scoring |
| No Scoring |
Second period |
15:19 - sh - Lemaire 3 |
| Dave Schultz 2 (Tom Bladon) - 17:35 |
Third period |
2:41 - Guy Lafleur 6 |
| Wayne Stephenson ( 17 saves / 19 shots ) |
Goalie stats |
Ken Dryden ( 25 saves / 26 shots ) |
| May 13 |
Montreal Canadiens |
|
3-2 |
|
Philadelphia Flyers |
Philadelphia Spectrum |
Recap |
|
| Shutt 5 (Lafleur) - pp - 3:17 |
First period |
8:40 - pp - Reggie Leach 17 (Bobby Clarke, Larry Goodenough)
18:14 - Reggie Leach 18 |
| Shutt 6 (Lafleur, Mahovlich) - pp - 1:09 |
Second period |
No Scoring |
| Bouchard 1 (Wilson) - 9:16 |
Third period |
No Scoring |
| Ken Dryden ( 20 saves / 22 shots ) |
Goalie stats |
Wayne Stephenson ( 22 saves / 25 shots ) |
| May 16 |
Montreal Canadiens |
|
5-3 |
|
Philadelphia Flyers |
Philadelphia Spectrum |
Recap |
|
Shutt 7 (Cournoyer, Mahvolich) - pp - 5:35
Bouchard 2 (Risebrough) - pp - 11:48 |
First period |
0:41 - Reggie Leach 19 (Mel Bridgman)
18:20 - pp - Bill Barber 6 (Tom Bladon, Andre Dupont) |
| Cournoyer 3 (Robinson, Lafleur) - pp - 19:49 |
Second period |
13:59 - pp - Andre Dupont 2 (Bill Barber, Bobby Clarke) |
Lafleur 7 (Mahovlich, Shutt) - 14:18
Mahovlich 4 (Lafleur, Shutt) - 15:16 |
Third period |
No Scoring |
| Ken Dryden ( 21 saves / 24 shots ) |
Goalie stats |
Wayne Stephenson ( 25 saves / 30 shots ) |
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 |
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 |
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
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
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):
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):
NOTE: Boudrias and Williams 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
- ^ a b c d Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
External links
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1975–76 NHL season by team
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| Adams |
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| Norris |
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| Smythe |
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