1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season
NHL hockey team season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season was the franchise's ninth season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Final for the third consecutive year, but they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in a four-game sweep.
| 1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers | |
|---|---|
Campbell Conference champions | |
Patrick Division champions | |
| Division | 1st Patrick |
| Conference | 1st Campbell |
| 1975–76 record | 51–13–16 |
| Home record | 36–2–2 |
| Road record | 15–11–14 |
| Goals for | 348 (1st) |
| Goals against | 209 (3rd) |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Keith Allen |
| Coach | Fred Shero |
| Captain | Bobby Clarke |
| Alternate captains | None[a] |
| Arena | Spectrum |
| Average attendance | 17,077[1] |
| Minor league affiliates | Richmond Robins Philadelphia Firebirds |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Reggie Leach (61) |
| Assists | Bobby Clarke (89) |
| Points | Bobby Clarke (119) |
| Penalty minutes | Dave Schultz (307) |
| Plus/minus | Bobby Clarke (+83) |
| Wins | Wayne Stephenson (40) |
| Goals against average | Gary Inness (1.51) |
Regular season
The Flyers recorded the best record in team history (points wise) with a record of 51–13–16 in 1975–76. They also tied the record set by the 1929–30 Boston Bruins for most consecutive home ice wins, with 20.[b] The 1975–76 Flyers continue to hold the all-time records for most regulation wins at home[c] The LCB line, featuring Reggie Leach at right-wing, Bobby Clarke at center, and Bill Barber at left-wing, set an NHL record for goals by a single line with 141 (Leach 61, Clarke 30, Barber 50). Clarke, on his way to a third Hart Trophy, set a club record for points in one season with 119.
The highlight of the season had no bearing on the season standings. On January 11 at the Spectrum, the Flyers, as part of the Super Series '76, played a memorable exhibition game against the Soviet Union's dominant Central Red Army team. As the Bullies had put intimidation to good use the past three years, the Flyers' rugged style of play led the Soviets to leave the ice midway through the first period, protesting a hit by Ed Van Impe on Valeri Kharlamov (whom Clarke had slashed on the ankle in the famous Summit Series '72). After some delay, the Soviets returned after they were warned that they would lose their salary for the entire series. The Flyers went on to win the game rather easily, 4–1, and were the only team to defeat the Red Army outright in the series. Head coach Fred Shero would proclaim, "Yes we are world champions. If they had won, they would have been world champions. We beat the hell out of a machine."[7]
Season standings
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 51 | 13 | 16 | 348 | 209 | 118 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 42 | 21 | 17 | 297 | 190 | 101 |
| Atlanta Flames | 80 | 35 | 33 | 12 | 262 | 237 | 82 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 29 | 42 | 9 | 262 | 333 | 67 |
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
Record vs. opponents
Patrick Division record vs. opponents | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Playoffs
Heading into the playoffs, the Flyers squeaked past Toronto in seven games and defeated Boston in five games, game five featuring a five-goal outburst by Leach, the Riverton Rifle, to head to a third straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. However, the Flyers didn't come close to a third straight championship, as they ran into an up-and-coming dynasty in Montreal, and were swept in four straight games. Despite the loss, Leach was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for scoring 19 goals in 16 playoff games.
Schedule and results
Regular season
| 1975–76 regular season[10] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 7–1–2, 16 points (home: 5–0–0; road: 2–1–2)
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November: 9–2–4, 22 points (home: 8–1–2; road: 1–1–2)
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December: 6–3–2, 14 points (home: 3–1–0; road: 3–2–2)
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January: 8–4–2, 18 points (home: 4–0–0; road: 4–4–2)
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February: 10–0–4, 24 points (home: 7–0–1; road: 3–0–3)
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March: 9–2–2, 20 points (home: 7–0–0; road: 2–2–2)
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April: 2–1–0, 4 points (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–0–0)
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Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) T Tie (1 point) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playoffs
| 1976 Stanley Cup playoffs[10] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Quarterfinals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs – Flyers win 4–3
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Semifinals vs. Boston Bruins – Flyers win 4–1
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Stanley Cup Final vs. Montreal Canadiens – Canadiens win 4–0
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Legend: W Win L Loss |
Player statistics
Scoring
- Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
- † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
- ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | |||
| 16 | Bobby Clarke | C | 76 | 30 | 89 | 119 | 83 | 136 | 16 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 11 | 28 |
| 7 | Bill Barber | LW | 80 | 50 | 62 | 112 | 74 | 104 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 9 | 18 |
| 27 | Reggie Leach | RW | 80 | 61 | 30 | 91 | 73 | 41 | 16 | 19 | 5 | 24 | 14 | 8 |
| 26 | Orest Kindrachuk | C | 76 | 26 | 49 | 75 | 32 | 101 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 4 |
| 12 | Gary Dornhoefer | RW | 74 | 28 | 35 | 63 | 14 | 128 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 43 |
| 10 | Mel Bridgman | C | 80 | 23 | 27 | 50 | 22 | 86 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 1 | 31 |
| 11 | Don Saleski | RW | 78 | 21 | 26 | 47 | 33 | 68 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 8 | 47 |
| 18 | Ross Lonsberry | LW | 80 | 19 | 28 | 47 | 29 | 87 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 7 | −3 | 2 |
| 19 | Rick MacLeish | C | 51 | 22 | 23 | 45 | 6 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | Larry Goodenough | D | 77 | 8 | 34 | 42 | 45 | 83 | 16 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 8 | 6 |
| 3 | Tom Bladon | D | 80 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 45 | 68 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 14 |
| 6 | Andre Dupont | D | 75 | 9 | 27 | 36 | 40 | 214 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 46 |
| 20 | Jimmy Watson | D | 79 | 2 | 34 | 36 | 65 | 66 | 16 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 6 |
| 8 | Dave Schultz | LW | 71 | 13 | 19 | 32 | 24 | 307 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 90 |
| 14 | Joe Watson | D | 78 | 2 | 22 | 24 | 56 | 28 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 10 |
| 9 | Bob Kelly | LW | 79 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 3 | 125 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 44 |
| 15 | Terry Crisp | C | 38 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 28 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| 2 | Ed Van Impe‡ | D | 40 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Jack McIlhargey | D | 57 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 205 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 41 |
| 21 | Larry Wright | C | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | Paul Holmgren | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Gary Inness† | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 33 | Jerome Mrazek | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 25 | Terry Murray | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1 | Bernie Parent | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 21 | Bob Sirois‡ | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Wayne Stephenson | G | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 30 | Bobby Taylor‡ | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Goaltending
- † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
- ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | GS | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | ||
| 35 | Wayne Stephenson | 66 | 64 | 40 | 10 | 14 | 1774 | 164 | 2.58 | .908 | 1 | 3,811 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 228 | 22 | 2.69 | .904 | 0 | 491 |
| 1 | Bernie Parent | 11 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 259 | 24 | 2.35 | .907 | 0 | 614 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 250 | 27 | 3.40 | .892 | 0 | 477 |
| 30 | Bobby Taylor‡ | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 125 | 15 | 3.75 | .880 | 0 | 240 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Gary Inness† | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 3 | 1.51 | .950 | 0 | 120 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Jerome Mrazek | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9.55 | .500 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Awards and records
Awards
| Type | Award/honor | Recipient | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| League (annual) |
Conn Smythe Trophy | Reggie Leach | [12] |
| Hart Memorial Trophy | Bobby Clarke | [13] | |
| NHL first All-Star team | Bill Barber (Left wing) | [14] | |
| Bobby Clarke (Center) | |||
| NHL second All-Star team | Reggie Leach (Right wing) | [14] | |
| League (in-season) |
NHL All-Star Game selection | Bill Barber | [15][16] |
| Bobby Clarke[d] | |||
| André Dupont | |||
| Reggie Leach | |||
| Rick MacLeish[d] | |||
| Fred Shero (coach) | |||
| Wayne Stephenson | |||
| Jim Watson | |||
| Team | Barry Ashbee Trophy | Jim Watson | [17] |
| Miscellaneous | Lionel Conacher Award | Bobby Clarke | [18] |
| Lou Marsh Trophy | Bobby Clarke | [19] |
Records
The LCB line of Reggie Leach, Bobby Clarke, and Bill Barber set a number of franchise records during the 1975–76 season. The trios combined totals of 141 goals and 322 points is the most by one Flyers line.[20] Leach became the first Flyer to score 60 goals in a season, setting the high mark of 61.[21] Clarke's 89 assists on the season tied his franchise record from the previous season and his 1.17 assists per game average is a franchise high.[22][23] Clarke was one of two Flyers to set a record franchise streak, going twelve consecutive games with an assist from March 11 to April 3.[24] The other was goaltender Wayne Stephenson's 14-game home winning streak from January 4 to March 18.[25] Barber's 380 shots on goal set a franchise single season high.[23] The team as a whole set the single season franchise records for most home wins (36, tied for the NHL record), fewest home losses (2), most points (118), and best points percentage (.738).[26][27][28] Their 20 consecutive home wins from January 4 to April 3 is also a franchise record.[29] During their April 1 game against the Washington Capitals, the Flyers recorded a franchise single game high 62 shots on goal.[30]
The Flyers set a number of franchise records during their quarterfinal series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. During game three on April 15, the team recorded 30 penalties and 107 penalty minutes, including 17 penalties during the second period, all franchise playoffs highs.[31][32][33] In game six on April 22, enforcer Dave Schultz set an NHL record with 42 penalty minutes in a single playoff game.[34] Tom Bladon and Leach also combined to score the two fastest goals in only eight seconds during the second period.[35] During the second period of game seven three days later, the Flyers scored five goals and set the team playoff records for the fastest three goals (1:21) and four goals (3:16), as well as the fastest two goals from the start of any period for one player (Mel Bridgman in 6:04).[36][37][38][39] The Flyers recorded a franchise single series high 33 goals scored and 295 penalty minutes while Schultz set the NHL record with 116 penalty minutes during the series.[40][41][42]
Conn Smythe Trophy winner Reggie Leach set or tied three NHL playoff records. His 19 goals scored during the playoffs is tied for the NHL record with Jari Kurri.[43] He scored the first and only five-goal game in team history during the fifth and final game against the Boston Bruins on May 6, which is also tied for the NHL record with four other players.[44] Leach's 10-game goal scoring streak from April 17 to May 9 is an NHL record and his 11-game point streak from April 15 to May 9 is a franchise record.[45][46]
Milestones
| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| First game | Mel Bridgman | October 9, 1975 | [47] |
| Jerome Mrazek | February 7, 1976 |
Franchise firsts
| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60-goal season | Reggie Leach | April 1, 1976 | [48] |
| 5-goal game, playoffs | Reggie Leach | May 6, 1976 | [49] |
Transactions
The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 28, 1975, the day after the deciding game of the 1975 Stanley Cup Final, through May 16, 1976, the day of the deciding game of the 1976 Stanley Cup Final.[50]
Trades
| Date | Details | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 3, 1975 | To Philadelphia Flyers
|
To Washington Capitals
|
[51] |
| December 15, 1975 | To Philadelphia Flyers
|
To Washington Capitals |
[53] |
| March 9, 1976 | To Philadelphia Flyers
|
To Pittsburgh Penguins |
[54] |
Players acquired
| Date | Player | Former team | Via | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 6, 1975 | Dave Kelly | Providence College (HE) | Free agency | [55] |
| September 10, 1975 | Larry Wright | California Golden Seals | Free agency | [56] |
| Wayne Schaab | Omaha Knights (CHL) | Free agency | [56] | |
| September 12, 1975 | Terry Murray | California Golden Seals | Free agency | [57] |
Players lost
| Date | Player | New team | Via | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2, 1975 | Ted Harris | Retirement | [58] |
Signings
| Date | Player | Term | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 6, 1975 | Mel Bridgman | 5-year | [59] |
| August 6, 1975 | Bob Ritchie | [55] | |
| September 5, 1975 | Dave Schultz | 5-year | [60] |
| September 16, 1975 | Orest Kindrachuk | multi-year | [61] |
| March 7, 1976 | Paul Holmgren | multi-year | [62] |
Draft picks
Philadelphia's picks at the 1975 NHL amateur draft, which was held at the NHL's office in Montreal, on June 3, 1975.[63] The Flyers traded their second-round pick, 36th overall, along with the rights to Randy Andreachuk to the St. Louis Blues for Wayne Stephenson on September 16, 1974.[64]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team (league) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Mel Bridgman | Center | Victoria Cougars (WCHL) | [g] | |
| 3 | 54 | Bob Ritchie | Left wing | Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL) | ||
| 4 | 72 | Rick St. Croix | Goaltender | Oshawa Generals (OHL) | ||
| 5 | 90 | Gary Morrison | Forward | University of Michigan (CCHA) | ||
| 6 | 108 | Paul Holmgren | Forward | University of Minnesota (WCHA) | ||
| 7 | 126 | Dana Decker | Left wing | Michigan Tech University (WCHA) | ||
| 9 | 160 | Viktor Khatulev | Defense | Dynamo Riga (USSR) | ||
| 10 | 175 | Duffy Smith | Defense | Bowling Green State University (CCHA) |
Farm teams
The Flyers were affiliated with the Richmond Robins of the AHL[65][66] and the Philadelphia Firebirds of the NAHL.[67]
Cultural references
In The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror IV segment, The Devil and Homer Simpson, the starting lineup of the 1976 Philadelphia Flyers are included as members of the Devil's Jury of the Damned.[68]
Notes
- The alternate captain position was abolished from the 1975–76 season through the 1984–85 season.
- Whereas the 1975–76 Flyers won all 20 at home in regulation, in the early days, teams have to win in regulation or overtime for it to count in the winning streak. Notably, 1929–30 Boston Bruins won 20 at home (18 in regulation). Now, current rules state a winning streak is wins in any manner. Most notably, the 2011–12 Detroit Red Wings, who are the current NHL record holders with 23 consecutive home wins, won only 19 in regulation (one in overtime and three in shootouts).[2][3][4][5][6]
- Prior to the 2011–12 Red Wings, one other team won at least 20 home games, this being the 1929–30 Boston Bruins (20 home wins, 18 in regulation).
- Clarke did not play and was replaced by MacLeish.
- The Capitals sent John Paddock to the Flyers on September 1, 1976, to complete trade.[52]
- The Flyers acquired the 1st overall pick from the Washington Capitals for Bill Clement, Don McLean and the Flyers' first-round pick, 18th overall, on June 3, 1975.[64]