1977–78 New York Rangers season
NHL hockey team season
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The 1977–78 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 52nd season. The Rangers slipped to last in the Patrick but qualified for the playoffs by having one of the top twelve records in the league. The Rangers lost in the first round of the playoffs.
| 1977–78 New York Rangers | |
|---|---|
| Division | 4th Patrick |
| Conference | 5th Campbell |
| 1977–78 record | 30–37–13 |
| Home record | 18–15–7 |
| Road record | 12–22–6 |
| Goals for | 279 |
| Goals against | 280 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | John Ferguson |
| Coach | Jean-Guy Talbot |
| Captain | Phil Esposito |
| Alternate captains | None |
| Arena | Madison Square Garden |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Pat Hickey (40) |
| Assists | Ron Greschner (48) |
| Points | Phil Esposito (81) |
| Penalty minutes | Carol Vadnais (115) |
| Wins | John Davidson (14) |
| Goals against average | John Davidson (3.18) |
Offseason
The Rangers hired Jean-Guy Talbot as their new head coach. It would be his only season as head coach of the Rangers.
Regular season
Season standings
| 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 |
[1]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
Record vs. opponents
Patrick Division record vs. opponents | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule and results
| 1977–78 regular season[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 4–5–1 (home: 3–2–1; road: 1–3–0)
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November: 5–7–1 (home: 3–2–0; road: 2–5–1)
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December: 3–4–7 (home: 2–2–4; road: 1–2–3)
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January: 4–8–0 (home: 0–3–0; road: 4–5–0)
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February: 5–6–2 (home: 4–3–1; road: 1–3–1)
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March: 8–2–2 (home: 5–2–1; road: 3–0–1)
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April: 1–5–0 (home: 1–1–0; road: 0–4–0)
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Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point) |
Playoffs
| 1978 Stanley Cup playoffs[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preliminary round vs. (5) Buffalo Sabres – Sabres win 2–1
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Legend: Win Loss |
Player statistics
- Skaters
- Goaltenders
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Thomas | 41 | 2352 | 12 | 20 | 7 | 141 | 3.60 | 4 |
| John Davidson | 34 | 1848 | 14 | 13 | 4 | 98 | 3.18 | 1 |
| Doug Soetaert | 6 | 360 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 3.33 | 0 |
| Hardy Astrom | 4 | 240 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 3.50 | 0 |
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Davidson | 2 | 122 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3.44 | 0 |
| Wayne Thomas | 1 | 60 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4.00 | 0 |
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
- Pos = Position;GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
- Pos = Position;GP = Games played; Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved;SV% = Save percentage;
Awards and records
- Phil Esposito, Lester Patrick Trophy[5]
Draft picks
New York's picks at the 1977 NHL amateur draft in Montreal, Canada.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Lucien DeBlois | RW | Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL) | |
| 1 | 13 | Ron Duguay | C | Sudbury Wolves (OHA) | |
| 2 | 26 | Mike Keating | LW | St. Catharines Fincups (OHA) | |
| 3 | 44 | Steve Baker | G | Union College (NCAA) | |
| 4 | 62 | Mario Marois | D | Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) | |
| 5 | 80 | Benoit Gosselin | LW | Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL) | |
| 6 | 98 | John Bethel | LW | Boston University (NCAA) | |
| 7 | 116 | Bob Sullivan | LW | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) | |
| 8 | 131 | Lance Nethery | C | Cornell University (NCAA) | |
| 9 | 146 | Alex Jeans | C | University of Toronto (CIAU) | |
| 10 | 157 | Pete Raps | LW | Western Michigan University (NCAA) | |
| 11 | 164 | Mike Brown | RW | Western Michigan University (NCAA) | |
| 12 | 171 | Mark Miller | LW | University of Michigan (NCAA) |