1975–76 Pittsburgh Penguins season

1975-76 Pittsburgh Penguins

1975–76 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	3rd Norris
Conference	6th Prince of Wales
1975–76 record	35-33-12
Goals for	339
Goals against	303
Team information
General manager	Wren Blair
Coach	Marc Boileau (fired January 17, 1976), Ken Schinkel
Captain	Ron Schock
Arena	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Pierre Larouche (53)
Assists	Syl Apps, Jr. (67)
Points	Pierre Larouche (111)
Penalty minutes	Steve Durbano (161)
Wins	Michel Plasse (24)
Goals against average	Michel Plasse (3.45)

The 1975–76 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their ninth in the National Hockey League. They finished third in the Norris Division, as they had in 1974–75. Despite strong seasons by Pierre Larouche, who set new club records in goals scored in a season (53) and points in a season (111), Jean Pronovost and Syl Apps, Jr. (who set a new club record for assists in a season with 67) the Penguins powerful offense scored a meagre three goals in three games against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the preliminary round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, ending their season.

Offseason

Amateur Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
1	3.	Gordie Laxton	Canada	New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
2	31.	Russ Anderson	United States	University of Minnesota Golden Gophers (WCHA)
3	49.	Paul Baxter	Canada	Cleveland Crusaders (WHA)
4	67.	Stu Younger	Canada	Michigan Tech Huskies (WCHA)
5	85.	Kim Clackson	Canada	Victoria Cougars (WCHL)
6	103.	Peter Morris	Canada	Victoria Cougars (WCHL)
7	121.	Mike Will	Canada	Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL)
8	139.	Tapio Levo	Finland	Assat Pori (SM-liiga)
9	155.	Byron Shutt	Canada	Bowling Green Falcons (CCHA)
10	170.	Frank Salive	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
11	185.	John Glynne	United States	University of Vermont Catamounts (ECAC)
12	196.	Lex Hudson	Canada	University of Denver Pioneers (WCHA)
13	202.	Dan Tsubouchi	Canada	Saint Louis University Billikens (CCHA)
14	206.	Bronislav Stankovsky	United States	Fargo-Moorhead Sugar Kings (MidJHL)
16	217.	Kelly Secord	Canada	New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)

Regular season

Division standings

Norris Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Montreal Canadiens	80	58	11	11	337	174	127
Los Angeles Kings	80	38	33	9	263	265	85
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	35	33	12	339	303	82
Detroit Red Wings	80	26	44	10	226	300	62
Washington Capitals	80	11	59	10	224	394	32

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.

Game log

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 7, 1975	4–2	@ Washington Capitals (1975–76)	1–0–0
2	W	October 11, 1975	7–5	Washington Capitals (1975–76)	2–0–0
3	W	October 15, 1975	8–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76)	3–0–0
4	W	October 18, 1975	6–1	Detroit Red Wings (1975–76)	4–0–0
5	L	October 21, 1975	1–7	Montreal Canadiens (1975–76)	4–1–0
6	T	October 25, 1975	4–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76)	4–1–1
7	L	October 30, 1975	0–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76)	4–2–1
8	L	November 1, 1975	3–7	@ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76)	4–3–1
9	L	November 2, 1975	2–7	@ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76)	4–4–1
10	W	November 5, 1975	7–6	New York Islanders (1975–76)	5–4–1
11	W	November 6, 1975	5–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1975–76)	6–4–1
12	L	November 8, 1975	5–7	Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76)	6–5–1
13	L	November 9, 1975	4–6	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76)	6–6–1
14	T	November 12, 1975	6–6	@ Washington Capitals (1975–76)	6–6–2
15	L	November 13, 1975	4–5	Montreal Canadiens (1975–76)	6–7–2
16	L	November 15, 1975	2–5	Buffalo Sabres (1975–76)	6–8–2
17	L	November 18, 1975	3–5	California Golden Seals (1975–76)	6–9–2
18	W	November 21, 1975	4–1	@ Atlanta Flames (1975–76)	7–9–2
19	W	November 22, 1975	6–3	Los Angeles Kings (1975–76)	8–9–2
20	W	November 26, 1975	5–2	Detroit Red Wings (1975–76)	9–9–2
21	W	November 29, 1975	8–3	New York Rangers (1975–76)	10–9–2
22	L	November 30, 1975	2–4	@ Boston Bruins (1975–76)	10–10–2
23	T	December 3, 1975	3–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76)	10–10–3
24	L	December 4, 1975	1–6	@ New York Islanders (1975–76)	10–11–3
25	W	December 7, 1975	6–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76)	11–11–3
26	L	December 9, 1975	2–3	@ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76)	11–12–3
27	L	December 10, 1975	2–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76)	11–13–3
28	T	December 13, 1975	4–4	Boston Bruins (1975–76)	11–13–4
29	L	December 14, 1975	4–7	@ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76)	11–14–4
30	W	December 17, 1975	9–2	@ California Golden Seals (1975–76)	12–14–4
31	L	December 19, 1975	1–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76)	12–15–4
32	W	December 20, 1975	5–1	@ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76)	13–15–4
33	L	December 23, 1975	3–4	@ New York Rangers (1975–76)	13–16–4
34	L	December 26, 1975	3–4	@ Atlanta Flames (1975–76)	13–17–4
35	W	December 27, 1975	3–2	Atlanta Flames (1975–76)	14–17–4
36	W	December 31, 1975	5–1	Los Angeles Kings (1975–76)	15–17–4
37	L	January 3, 1976	4–8	Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76)	15–18–4
38	L	January 4, 1976	3–5	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76)	15–19–4
39	L	January 7, 1976	1–4	@ California Golden Seals (1975–76)	15–20–4
40	T	January 10, 1976	3–3	Vancouver Canucks (1975–76)	15–20–5
41	L	January 11, 1976	0–6	@ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76)	15–21–5
42	L	January 13, 1976	2–6	@ Boston Bruins (1975–76)	15–22–5
43	L	January 15, 1976	1–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76)	15–23–5
44	W	January 17, 1976	3–2	Buffalo Sabres (1975–76)	16–23–5
45	W	January 18, 1976	8–3	New York Rangers (1975–76)	17–23–5
46	L	January 22, 1976	3–4	Montreal Canadiens (1975–76)	17–24–5
47	W	January 24, 1976	8–2	Washington Capitals (1975–76)	18–24–5
48	T	January 25, 1976	1–1	Minnesota North Stars (1975–76)	18–24–6
49	W	January 29, 1976	6–2	Kansas City Scouts (1975–76)	19–24–6
50	T	January 31, 1976	4–4	@ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76)	19–24–7
51	W	February 1, 1976	7–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76)	20–24–7
52	L	February 5, 1976	1–5	@ Boston Bruins (1975–76)	20–25–7
53	W	February 7, 1976	7–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76)	21–25–7
54	W	February 8, 1976	7–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76)	22–25–7
55	T	February 11, 1976	4–4	@ California Golden Seals (1975–76)	22–25–8
56	T	February 14, 1976	4–4	@ New York Islanders (1975–76)	22–25–9
57	W	February 15, 1976	6–4	Los Angeles Kings (1975–76)	23–25–9
58	W	February 17, 1976	6–1	Kansas City Scouts (1975–76)	24–25–9
59	W	February 19, 1976	7–5	Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76)	25–25–9
60	W	February 21, 1976	10–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76)	26–25–9
61	T	February 22, 1976	2–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76)	26–25–10
62	T	February 25, 1976	3–3	Atlanta Flames (1975–76)	26–25–11
63	W	February 28, 1976	5–4	Vancouver Canucks (1975–76)	27–25–11
64	L	February 29, 1976	3–5	St. Louis Blues (1975–76)	27–26–11
65	W	March 2, 1976	6–2	@ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76)	28–26–11
66	W	March 6, 1976	5–0	Minnesota North Stars (1975–76)	29–26–11
67	L	March 7, 1976	3–5	New York Islanders (1975–76)	29–27–11
68	L	March 10, 1976	6–7	Buffalo Sabres (1975–76)	29–28–11
69	W	March 13, 1976	4–2	California Golden Seals (1975–76)	30–28–11
70	W	March 14, 1976	7–1	St. Louis Blues (1975–76)	31–28–11
71	L	March 16, 1976	4–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76)	31–29–11
72	W	March 19, 1976	7–3	@ Washington Capitals (1975–76)	32–29–11
73	W	March 21, 1976	4–2	@ New York Rangers (1975–76)	33–29–11
74	T	March 24, 1976	5–5	Boston Bruins (1975–76)	33–29–12
75	L	March 25, 1976	2–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1975–76)	33–30–12
76	W	March 28, 1976	3–0	Detroit Red Wings (1975–76)	34–30–12
77	L	March 29, 1976	4–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76)	34–31–12
78	L	March 31, 1976	3–7	@ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76)	34–32–12
79	L	April 3, 1976	4–5	Washington Capitals (1975–76)	34–33–12
80	W	April 4, 1976	6–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76)	35–33–12

Player stats

Skaters

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

			Regular season						Playoffs
Player	#		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Pierre Larouche	10		76	53	58	111	33		3	0	1	1	0
Jean Pronovost	19		80	52	52	104	24		3	0	0	0	2
Syl Apps, Jr.	26		80	32	67	99	24		3	0	1	1	0
Rick Kehoe	8		71	29	47	76	6		3	0	0	0	0
Lowell MacDonald	18		69	30	43	73	12		3	1	0	1	0
Ron Stackhouse	3		80	11	60	71	76		3	0	0	0	0
Vic Hadfield	11		76	30	35	65	46		3	1	0	1	11
Ron Schock	17		80	18	44	62	28		3	0	1	1	0
Bob Kelly	22		77	25	30	55	149		3	0	0	0	2
Dave Burrows	4		80	7	22	29	51		3	0	0	0	0
Barry Wilkins	5		75	0	27	27	106		3	0	1	1	4
Stan Gilbertson†	15		48	13	8	21	6		3	1	1	2	2
Simon Nolet†	9		39	9	8	17	2		3	0	0	0	0
Colin Campbell	6		64	7	10	17	105		3	0	0	0	0
Dennis Owchar	25		54	5	12	17	19		2	0	0	0	2
Chuck Arnason‡	9		30	7	3	10	14		-	-	-	-	-
Lew Morrison	16		78	4	5	9	8		3	0	0	0	0
Mario Faubert	24		21	1	8	9	10		-	-	-	-	-
Steve Durbano‡	7		32	0	8	8	161		-	-	-	-	-
Harvey Bennett, Jr.‡	28		25	3	3	6	53		-	-	-	-	-
Wayne Bianchin	14		14	1	5	6	4		-	-	-	-	-
Ed Van Impe†	2		12	0	5	5	16		3	0	1	1	2
Bob McManama‡	15		12	1	2	3	4		-	-	-	-	-
Ed Gilbert†	23		38	1	2	3	4		-	-	-	-	-
Jacques Cossette	27		7	0	2	2	9		-	-	-	-	-
Michel Plasse	31		55	0	2	2	18		3
Bobby Taylor†	30		2	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Gordie Laxton	1		8	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Bob Paradise‡	2		9	0	0	0	4		-	-	-	-	-
Gary Inness‡	30		23	0	0	0	2		-	-	-	-	-

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only. ^‡Traded mid-season

Goaltenders

Note: GP= Games played; TOI= Time on ice (minutes); W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against Average

			Regular season									Playoffs
Player	#		GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA		GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA
Michel Plasse	31		55	3096	24	19	10	178	2	3.45		3	180	1	2	8	1	2.67
Gary Inness	30		23	1212	8	9	2	82	0	4.06		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Gordie Laxton	1		8	414	3	4	0	31	0	4.49		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bobby Taylor	30		2	78	0	1	0	7	0	5.38		-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1975–76 season:

Trades

August 28, 1975	To Pittsburgh Penguins cash	To Hershey Bears (AHL) Kelly Pratt
November 26, 1975	To Pittsburgh Penguins 2nd round pick in 1976 Draft (Greg Malone)	To Washington Capitals Bob Paradise
December 16, 1975	To Pittsburgh Penguins Stan Gilbertson	To Washington Capitals Harvey Bennett, Jr.
January 8, 1976	To Pittsburgh Penguins Ed Gilbert Simon Nolet 1st round pick in 1976 Draft (Blair Chapman)	To Kansas City Scouts Chuck Arnason Steve Durbano 1st round pick in 1976 Draft (Greg Carroll)
March 8, 1976	To Pittsburgh Penguins Bobby Taylor Ed Van Impe	To Philadelphia Flyers Gary Inness Future considerations

Additions and subtractions

Additions Player Former team Via — — —

Subtractions Player New team Via Larry Bignell Denver Spurs (WHA) free agency Bob Johnson Denver Spurs (WHA) free agency (1975-09) Bob McNamara New England Whalers (WHA) free agency

Game Ads

Pre-season

Home Opener

Playoffs

References

• Penguins on Hockey Database
• 1975–76 Pittsburgh Penguins Games. Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-06.