1972-73 NHL season

The 1972-73 NHL season was the 56th season of the National Hockey League. Sixteen teams each played 78 games. For the first time since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926, the National Hockey League had serious competition. A new professional hockey league, the World Hockey Association, made its season debut with 12 new teams, many of which were based in the same cities as NHL teams. Unlike the Western Hockey League, though, the new World Hockey Association would not challenge for the Stanley Cup. In response to the new league, the NHL hastily added two new teams in an unplanned expansion, the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames, in an attempt to exclude the WHA from newly constructed arenas in those markets. The first thing the WHA did was sign Bobby Hull, and the Chicago Black Hawks sued, claiming a violation of the reserve clause in NHL contracts. Others soon followed Hull to the WHA, including Bernie Parent, J.C. Tremblay, Ted Green, Gerry Cheevers and Johnny McKenzie. In the expansion draft, the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames made their picks and eleven Islander players skipped off to the WHA. The California Golden Seals were also a victim of the WHA, losing eight key players.

Prior to the start of the season, the 1972 Summit Series, which was the first ever meeting between Soviet Union and NHL calibre Canadian ice hockey players, took place. Canada expected to easily beat the Soviets, but were shocked to find themselves with a losing record of one win, two losses, and a tie after four games in Canada. In game four, which Canada lost 5-3, Vancouver fans echoed the rest of Canada's thoughts of Team Canada's poor performance by booing them off the ice. The final four games were played in the Soviet Union. Canada lost game five, but won the last three for a final record of four wins, three losses, and a tie.

The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup by beating the Chicago Black Hawks four games to two in the finals. No teams in the playoffs swept their opponents, the last time this would happen until 1991.

Regular Season

The Canadiens took over first place in the East Division and the league from the Boston Bruins while for the third straight season the Chicago Black Hawks dominated the West Division.

Final Standings

East Division

Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PIM	PTS
Montreal Canadiens	78	52	10	16	329	184	783	120
Boston Bruins	78	51	22	5	330	235	1097	107
New York Rangers	78	47	23	8	297	208	765	102
Buffalo Sabres	78	37	27	14	257	219	940	88
Detroit Red Wings	78	37	29	12	265	243	893	86
Toronto Maple Leafs	78	27	41	10	247	279	716	64
Vancouver Canucks	78	22	47	9	233	339	943	53
New York Islanders	78	12	60	6	170	347	881	30

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

West Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Chicago Black Hawks	78	42	27	9	284	225	93
Philadelphia Flyers	78	37	30	11	296	256	85
Minnesota North Stars	78	37	30	11	254	230	85
St. Louis Blues	78	32	34	12	233	251	76
Pittsburgh Penguins	78	32	37	9	257	265	73
Los Angeles Kings	78	31	36	11	232	245	73
Atlanta Flames	78	25	38	15	191	239	65
California Golden Seals	78	16	46	16	213	323	48

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Scoring Leaders

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Phil Esposito	Boston Bruins	78	55	75	130	87
Bobby Clarke	Philadelphia Flyers	78	37	67	104	80
Bobby Orr	Boston Bruins	63	29	72	101	99
Rick MacLeish	Philadelphia Flyers	78	50	50	100	69
Jacques Lemaire	Montreal Canadiens	77	44	51	95	16
Jean Ratelle	New York Rangers	78	41	53	94	12
Mickey Redmond	Detroit Red Wings	76	52	41	93	24
John Bucyk	Boston Bruins	78	40	53	93	12
Frank Mahovlich	Montreal Canadiens	78	38	55	93	51
Jim Pappin	Chicago Black Hawks	76	41	51	92	82

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	54	3165	119	2.26	33	7	13	6
Gilles Villemure	New York Rangers	34	2040	78	2.29	20	12	2	3
Tony Esposito	Chicago Black Hawks	56	3340	140	2.51	32	17	7	4
Roy Edwards	Detroit Red Wings	52	3012	132	2.63	27	17	7	6
Dave Dryden	Buffalo Sabres	37	2018	89	2.65	14	13	7	3
Roger Crozier	Buffalo Sabres	49	2633	121	2.76	23	13	7	3
Doug Favell	Philadelphia Flyers	44	2419	114	2.83	20	15	4	3
Rogie Vachon	L.A. Kings	53	3120	148	2.85	22	20	10	4
Cesare Maniago	Minnesota North Stars	47	2736	132	2.89	21	18	6	5
Jim Rutherford	Pittsburgh Penguins	49	2660	129	2.91	20	22	5	3

Stanley Cup Playoffs

Playoff Bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

E1

Montreal Canadiens

4

E4

Buffalo Sabres

2

E1

Montreal Canadiens

4

W2

Philadelphia Flyers

1

W2

Philadelphia Flyers

4

W3

Minnesota North Stars

2

E1

Montreal Canadiens

4

W1

Chicago Black Hawks

2

W1

Chicago Black Hawks

4

W4

St. Louis Blues

1

W1

Chicago Black Hawks

4

E3

New York Rangers

1

E2

Boston Bruins

1

E3

New York Rangers

4

New York Rangers 4, Boston Bruins 1

The teams met the year before in the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals where the Bruins prevailed in six games. Rangers coach Emile Francis had watched game films of the Bruins and noticed that Bobby Orr was favoring his knee. Instead of trying to keep the puck away from Orr when shooting the puck in Boston's zone, Francis instructed his players to put the puck in Orr's corner and then forecheck him aggressively. Although he had played well in his short time with the Bruins, goalie Jacques Plante didn't hold up in this series. He was replaced with Eddie Johnston and Ross Brooks but all were outplayed by the Rangers Eddie Giacomin.

#8 Steve Vickers, Jacques Plante and Bobby Orr, 1973 Quarter-finals Game 1, April 4, 1973.

Game 1 at the Boston Garden saw Plante and Giacomin start in goal. The Bruins Doug Roberts and the Rangers Brad Park traded first period goals before Bruce MacGregor put New York up 2-1 at 7:25. The next shift, Ted Irvine targeted Orr and the two fought, both receiving seven penalty minutes. With Orr off, the Rangers scored three goals, Park with his second of the game and two goals from Walt Tkaczuk. With New York leading 5-1 heading into the third period, Pete Stemkowski and Derek Sanderson traded goals. Orr was held pointless as was Phil Esposito's line, which was badly outplayed by Tkaczuk's line, as the Rangers stunned the Bruins 6-2.

Phil Esposito suffers torn right knee ligaments and is lost for the playoffs, 1973 Quarter-finals Game 2, April 5, 1973.

Game 2 at Boston again saw Plante and Giacomin start in goal. The teams traded goals in the first period with Wayne Cashman and Steve Vickers scoring. Phil Esposito assisted on Cashman's goal which would be his only point of the series. In the second period, disaster struck the Bruins after the Rangers Ron Harris caught Esposito with a hip check, tearing Esposito's right knee ligaments and putting him out of the series. The Bruins then took two penalties in quick succession which the Rangers Ted Irvine and Pete Stemkowski scored on. Doug Roberts scored his second of the series to cut the Rangers lead to 3-2 heading into the third period. With Roberts in the penalty box, Walt Tkaczuk scored his third of the series. Orr was again held scoreless as the Rangers won 4-2 and took a two games to none lead with the series heading to New York.

Gregg Sheppard scores the game winner, 1973 Quarter-finals Game 3, April 7, 1973.

Game 3 at Madison Square Garden saw Plante replaced by Eddie Johnston in net for the Bruins. Reaching the end of his brilliant career, Plante played his last NHL match in Game 2. Derek Sanderson took Phil Esposito's place centering Wayne Cashman and Ken Hodge. The changes sparked the Bruins, who took a 1-0 lead on a shorthanded goal by Gregg Sheppard. Pete Stemkowski tied it up just before the first period ended. Boston's second line scored its first goal of the series as Fred Stanfield put the Bruins up 2-1 at 3:13 of the second period. Jean Ratelle tied it up at 6:12 of the third period, deflecting in a Dale Rolfe shot. Just past the halfway mark, Sheppard intercepted a Steve Vickers pass and scored his second of the game on a breakaway which proved to be the winner. Mike Walton scored an empty net goal as the Bruins won 4-2 behind a stellar performance by Johnston, despite New York out shooting Boston 37-27. Bobby Orr didn't have a point for the third straight game.

Steve Vickers makes it 4-0, 1973 Quarter-finals Game 4, April 8, 1973.

Game 4 at New York saw Johnston start again for Boston while Giacomin remained in the net for the Rangers. New York scored early as Brad Park led a 3 on 1 which ended with a tap-in by Rod Gilbert at 2:35 of the first period. At 16:30, after the Bruins twice failed to clear the puck from their zone, a Bruce MacGregor shot caromed off the boards to Pete Stemkowski who knocked it in the short side on Johnston for a 2-0 Rangers lead. In the second period, Bobby Rousseau beat Johnston with a slapshot while on a partial breakaway before Don Marcotte overskated the puck which resulted in Steve Vickers gaining the puck alone in front of Johnston. He fired a low shot past Johnston for a 4-0 Rangers lead. The third period was scoreless, even though Boston twice had a two man advantage. Despite being outshot 33-25, a brilliant defensive effort saw the Rangers take a three games to one stranglehold on the series. Giacomin earned the shutout, the first by a Ranger goalie in the playoffs since Chuck Rayner had one in the 1950 Semi-finals.

Bobby Orr scores, Game 5 of the 1973 Stanley Cup Quarter-finals, April 10, 1973.

Game 5 at Boston saw the desperate Bruins start Ross Brooks in goal for his only career playoff game while Giacomin started his fifth straight game. Steve Vickers scored on the first shift of the game but a little over a minute later, Bobby Orr evened the score with his only goal of the series. Ken Hodge gave Boston a 2-1 lead at 12:45 on the power play before Vickers and Bruce MacGregor scored two quick goals. Ed Johnston went in for Brooks to start the second period and held the Rangers at bay until the last minute when Walt Tkaczuk potted his fourth of the series. Rod Gilbert put New York up 5-2 at 4:10 of the third period until three minutes later, Don Marcotte cut the lead to 5-3. However, it was all the offense the Bruins could muster. Vickers completed his first career playoff hat trick as the Rangers won 6-3 and took the series.

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 4	New York Rangers	6-2	Boston Bruins	1-0
2	April 5	New York Rangers	4-2	Boston Bruins	2-0
3	April 7	Boston Bruins	4-2	New York Rangers	1-2
4	April 8	Boston Bruins	0-4	New York Rangers	1-3
5	April 10	New York Rangers	6-3	Boston Bruins	4-1

NHL Awards

Prince of Wales Trophy:	Montreal Canadiens
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:	Chicago Black Hawks
Art Ross Memorial Trophy:	Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	Lowell MacDonald, Pittsburgh Penguins
Calder Memorial Trophy:	Steve Vickers, New York Rangers
Conn Smythe Trophy:	Yvan Cournoyer, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy:	Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers
James Norris Memorial Trophy:	Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:	Gilbert Perreault, Buffalo Sabres
Lester B. Pearson Award:	Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
NHL Plus/Minus Award:	Jacques Laperriere, Montreal Canadiens
Vezina Trophy:	Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens
Lester Patrick Trophy:	Walter L. Bush, Jr.

All-Star Teams

First Team	Position	Second Team
Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens	G	Tony Esposito, Chicago Black Hawks
Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins	D	Brad Park, New York Rangers
Guy Lapointe, Montreal Canadiens	D	Bill White, Chicago Black Hawks
Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins	C	Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers
Mickey Redmond, Detroit Red Wings	RW	Yvan Cournoyer, Montreal Canadiens
Frank Mahovlich, Montreal Canadiens	LW	Dennis Hull, Chicago Black Hawks

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1972-73 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Dan Bouchard, Atlanta Flames
• Jacques Richard, Atlanta Flames
• Jim Schoenfeld, Buffalo Sabres
• Phil Russell, Chicago Black Hawks
• Robbie Ftorek, Detroit Red Wings
• Steve Shutt, Montreal Canadiens
• Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens
• Bob Nystrom, New York Islanders
• Billy Harris, New York Islanders
• Steve Vickers, New York Rangers
• Bill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers
• Jimmy Watson, Philadelphia Flyers
• Tom Bladon, Philadelphia Flyers
• Denis Herron, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Don Lever, Vancouver Canucks

Last Games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1972-73 (listed with their last team):

• Jacques Plante, Boston Bruins
• Pat Stapleton, Chicago Black Hawks
• Ralph Backstrom, Chicago Black Hawks
• Harry Howell, Los Angeles Kings
• Ron Stewart, New York Islanders
• Ken Schinkel, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Bob Baun, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Dave Balon, Vancouver Canucks

Gallery

Terry O'Reilly played his rookie season in 1972-73.

Bobby Orr returned to the line-up and assisted on a goal by Ken Hodge, October 21, 1972.

John Bucyk scores on Billy Smith, October 29, 1972.

Bobby Orr scores on his second return to the line-up, November 18, 1972.

Wayne Cashman is checked through the Zamboni doors by Jim Schoenfeld, December 13, 1972.

Bobby Orr scores the winner from Phil Esposito, December 29, 1972.

Bobby Orr scores on Jacques Caron, January 4, 1973.

John Bucyk had a four goal game, January 18, 1973.

Phil Esposito scores on frustrated brother Tony, January 27, 1973.

Wayne Cashman had a hat trick, January 28, 1973.

Phil Esposito had a hat trick, February 1, 1973.

Bruins-Rangers brawl, February 3, 1973.

Bobby Orr from Phil Esposito, February 15, 1973.

Bobby Orr scores against the Flames, March 9, 1973.

Bobby Orr scores a 200 foot goal, March 15, 1973.

Bobby Orr's incredible assist to John Bucyk, March 22, 1973.

Gregg Sheppard scores the winner from Bobby Orr, March 24, 1973.

Bobby Orr scores his third goal, March 31, 1973.

Phil Esposito suffers torn right knee ligaments and is lost for the playoffs, 1973 Quarter-finals Game 2, April 5, 1973.

Video

Eight minutes of the second period of the Atlanta Flames first ever game on October 8, 1972 versus the Buffalo Sabres.

1972 73 Atlanta Flames vs Buffalo Sabres hi-lites of 2nd period

Highlights of the Bruins-Islanders game on January 18, 1973.

Hapless '73 Islanders Shock the Big, Bad Bruins

Over eight minutes of highlights of the January 18, 1973 Canadiens-Penguins game.

NHL Films - Canadiens vs Penguins - Jan.18,1973

Six minutes of highlights of the Buffalo Sabres last regular season game of the 1972-73 season in which they earn their first playoff berth with a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.

Buffalo Sabres First Trip to the Playoffs (1972-73 )

See Also

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1972 NHL Amateur Draft
• 1972 NHL Expansion Draft
• 26th National Hockey League All-Star Game
• National Hockey League All-Star Game
• 1972 Summit Series
• World Hockey Association
• List of WHA seasons

References

• Hockey Database
• NHL.com