1973–74 Philadelphia Flyers season



The 1973–74 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 7th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers became the first 1967 expansion team to win the Stanley Cup.

Regular Season
The Flyers would prove that the expansion teams could challenge the Original Six in 1973–74. Bernie Parent returned to the Flyers in a trade with Toronto, which ultimately proved to be the finishing piece of the championship season to come. The Broad Street Bullies would continue their rough-and-tumble ways, led by Dave Schultz's 348 penalty minutes, and they would reach the top of the West Division with a record of 50–16–12. The return of Parent proved to be of great benefit as he established himself as one of if not the best goaltender in the league by winning a record 47 games.

Playoffs
Come playoff time, the Flyers swept the Atlanta Flames in four games in the first round. In the Semi-finals, the Flyers faced the New York Rangers. The home team won ever game in the series with the Flyers prevailing 4 games to 3. In the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals, their opponent, Bobby Orr and the Boston Bruins, took Game 1 in Boston, but Bobby Clarke scored an overtime goal in Game 2 to even the series. The Flyers won Games 3 and 4 at home to take a 3–1 series lead, but Boston won Game 5 to stave off elimination. That set the stage for Game 6 at the Spectrum. The Flyers picked up the lead early when Rick MacLeish scored a first period goal. Late in the game, Orr hauled down Clarke on a breakaway; the penalty assured the Flyers of victory. Time expired as the Flyers brought the Stanley Cup to Philadelphia for the first time. Parent, having shutout Boston in Game 6, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Playoff MVP.

Skaters
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Flyers. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

‡Traded mid-season

Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Transactions
The Flyers were involved in the following transactions before/during the 1973–74 season.

Draft Picks
Philadelphia's picks at the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft in Montreal, Quebec.

Farm Teams
The Flyers were affiliated with the Richmond Robins of the AHL and the San Diego Gulls of the WHL. Rene Drolet led the Robins with 73 points and Richmond finished 4th in their division and lost in five games to the Baltimore Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. San Diego finished 3rd in the 6-team WHL's final season in existence. The Gulls also ceased operations once the New Jersey Knights of the WHA moved to San Diego and became the San Diego Mariners.

Trivia

 * Flyers who recorded a Hat trick this season include:
 * Rick MacLeish during the 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 1 of the 1975 Quarter-finals, April 13, 1975.

Video
Flyers-Flames 1974 Quarter-finals Game 4.