1977–78 Pittsburgh Penguins season

1977–78 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	4th Norris
Conference	7th Prince of Wales
1977–78 record	25-37-18
Goals for	254
Goals against	321
Team information
General manager	Baz Bastien
Coach	Johnny Wilson
Captain	Jean Pronovost
Arena	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Jean Pronovost (40)
Assists	Greg Malone (43)
Points	Jean Pronovost (65)
Penalty minutes	Dave Schultz (378)
Wins	Denis Herron (20)
Goals against average	Denis Herron (3.57)

The 1977–78 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their 11th in the National Hockey League. The Penguins finished 4th in the Norris Division, their worst performance in four years and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Off-season

In the off-season head coach Ken Schinkel was replaced by former Kings, Red Wings and Rockies head coach Johnny Wilson. Veterans Vic Hadfield and Ed Van Impe retired. Defensive forward Bob Kelly's contract ended and he took his services to Chicago, while Captain Ron Schock was traded to the Sabres (Jean Pronovost was named captain in his place).

Regular Season

In an attempt to replace Kelly, general manager Baz Bastien acquired former Flyer enforcer Dave Schultz early in the season, but the price was high: Syl Apps, Jr., one of the team's all-time leading scorers. Schultz was traded the following season.

Frustrated with the performance of talented winger Pierre Larouche, Bastien dealt the 22 year-old to the Montreal Canadiens for veteran Pete Mahovlich and prospect Peter Lee on November 29, 1977. Larouche would go on to win two Stanley Cup championships with the Canadiens, while Mahovlich was traded to the Red Wings less than two years later. Lee would fail to live up to his promise, scoring an average of only 0.57 points per game over the course of six seasons with the Penguins.

Final Standings

Norris Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Montreal Canadiens	80	59	10	11	359	183	129
Detroit Red Wings	80	32	34	14	252	266	78
Los Angeles Kings	80	31	34	15	243	245	77
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	25	37	18	254	321	68
Washington Capitals	80	17	49	14	195	321	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.

Game Log

Regular Season Results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 12, 1977	4–2	St. Louis Blues (1977–78)	1–0–0
2	L	October 14, 1977	1–2	@ Washington Capitals (1977–78)	1–1–0
3	L	October 15, 1977	2–8	Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78)	1–2–0
4	T	October 19, 1977	3–3	@ New York Rangers (1977–78)	1–2–1
5	L	October 20, 1977	0–11	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78)	1–3–1
6	W	October 22, 1977	5–2	Atlanta Flames (1977–78)	2–3–1
7	W	October 23, 1977	3–2	@ Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	3–3–1
8	L	October 26, 1977	3–4	Detroit Red Wings (1977–78)	3–4–1
9	L	October 29, 1977	3–5	Boston Bruins (1977–78)	3–5–1
10	L	November 2, 1977	1–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78)	3–6–1
11	L	November 4, 1977	2–5	@ Atlanta Flames (1977–78)	3–7–1
12	L	November 5, 1977	3–4	@ New York Islanders (1977–78)	3–8–1
13	W	November 9, 1977	5–3	Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	4–8–1
14	W	November 12, 1977	7–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78)	5–8–1
15	T	November 13, 1977	3–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	5–8–2
16	L	November 16, 1977	4–7	@ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78)	5–9–2
17	T	November 19, 1977	5–5	New York Rangers (1977–78)	5–9–3
18	T	November 22, 1977	3–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78)	5–9–4
19	L	November 24, 1977	3–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78)	5–10–4
20	W	November 26, 1977	5–2	New York Islanders (1977–78)	6–10–4
21	L	November 29, 1977	1–9	@ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78)	6–11–4
22	W	November 30, 1977	6–4	Detroit Red Wings (1977–78)	7–11–4
23	T	December 3, 1977	4–4	Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	7–11–5
24	W	December 4, 1977	4–2	@ Washington Capitals (1977–78)	8–11–5
25	T	December 6, 1977	3–3	@ Colorado Rockies (1977–78)	8–11–6
26	L	December 8, 1977	3–5	Los Angeles Kings (1977–78)	8–12–6
27	L	December 10, 1977	2–6	@ Boston Bruins (1977–78)	8–13–6
28	L	December 11, 1977	1–5	Atlanta Flames (1977–78)	8–14–6
29	L	December 14, 1977	2–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1977–78)	8–15–6
30	W	December 17, 1977	5–3	Montreal Canadiens (1977–78)	9–15–6
31	T	December 22, 1977	3–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	9–15–7
32	L	December 23, 1977	2–6	Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78)	9–16–7
33	W	December 26, 1977	5–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78)	10–16–7
34	T	December 28, 1977	2–2	Washington Capitals (1977–78)	10–16–8
35	L	December 29, 1977	3–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78)	10–17–8
36	W	December 31, 1977	6–3	Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	11–17–8
37	L	January 2, 1978	2–3	@ Washington Capitals (1977–78)	11–18–8
38	W	January 4, 1978	8–3	Vancouver Canucks (1977–78)	12–18–8
39	T	January 7, 1978	3–3	Los Angeles Kings (1977–78)	12–18–9
40	W	January 9, 1978	5–3	@ New York Rangers (1977–78)	13–18–9
41	L	January 11, 1978	6–8	Montreal Canadiens (1977–78)	13–19–9
42	T	January 12, 1978	4–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78)	13–19–10
43	W	January 14, 1978	4–2	Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	14–19–10
44	L	January 18, 1978	0–1	@ Atlanta Flames (1977–78)	14–20–10
45	L	January 21, 1978	2–5	Washington Capitals (1977–78)	14–21–10
46	W	January 22, 1978	3–1	New York Rangers (1977–78)	15–21–10
47	T	January 28, 1978	3–3	Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	15–21–11
48	L	January 29, 1978	2–8	@ Boston Bruins (1977–78)	15–22–11
49	W	January 31, 1978	5–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78)	16–22–11
50	W	February 1, 1978	6–1	Minnesota North Stars (1977–78)	17–22–11
51	L	February 4, 1978	1–8	Boston Bruins (1977–78)	17–23–11
52	W	February 7, 1978	4–2	@ Colorado Rockies (1977–78)	18–23–11
53	T	February 11, 1978	3–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78)	18–23–12
54	W	February 14, 1978	2–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78)	19–23–12
55	T	February 18, 1978	1–1	Los Angeles Kings (1977–78)	19–23–13
56	T	February 19, 1978	2–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78)	19–23–14
57	W	February 21, 1978	5–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1977–78)	20–23–14
58	T	February 22, 1978	2–2	St. Louis Blues (1977–78)	20–23–15
59	L	February 25, 1978	1–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78)	20–24–15
60	T	February 26, 1978	4–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	20–24–16
61	L	March 1, 1978	2–5	Montreal Canadiens (1977–78)	20–25–16
62	L	March 4, 1978	3–6	@ New York Islanders (1977–78)	20–26–16
63	T	March 5, 1978	3–3	New York Islanders (1977–78)	20–26–17
64	W	March 8, 1978	5–3	Colorado Rockies (1977–78)	21–26–17
65	L	March 11, 1978	1–3	Vancouver Canucks (1977–78)	21–27–17
66	L	March 12, 1978	1–7	Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78)	21–28–17
67	L	March 14, 1978	2–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78)	21–29–17
68	L	March 15, 1978	4–7	@ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78)	21–30–17
69	W	March 18, 1978	3–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78)	22–30–17
70	L	March 19, 1978	1–9	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78)	22–31–17
71	L	March 21, 1978	1–7	@ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78)	22–32–17
72	L	March 22, 1978	2–5	Colorado Rockies (1977–78)	22–33–17
73	T	March 25, 1978	2–2	Detroit Red Wings (1977–78)	22–33–18
74	L	March 29, 1978	2–6	@ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78)	22–34–18
75	L	March 30, 1978	3–6	@ Boston Bruins (1977–78)	22–35–18
76	W	April 2, 1978	6–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78)	23–35–18
77	W	April 5, 1978	7–2	Minnesota North Stars (1977–78)	24–35–18
78	L	April 6, 1978	4–6	@ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78)	24–36–18
79	L	April 8, 1978	4–6	Washington Capitals (1977–78)	24–37–18
80	W	April 9, 1978	3–2	@ Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	25–37–18

Playoffs

• The Penguins did not qualify for the post season.

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
Jean Pronovost	19		79	40	25	65	50		-	-	-	-	-
Peter Mahovlich†	26		57	25	36	61	37		-	-	-	-	-
Greg Malone	12		78	18	43	61	80		-	-	-	-	-
Gene Carr†	28		70	17	37	54	76		-	-	-	-	-
Rick Kehoe	17		70	29	21	50	10		-	-	-	-	-
Blair Chapman	9		75	24	20	44	37		-	-	-	-	-
Tom Edur†	2		58	5	38	43	18		-	-	-	-	-
Dave Schultz†	8		66	9	25	34	378		-	-	-	-	-
Wayne Bianchin	14		61	20	13	33	40		-	-	-	-	-
Brian Spencer	22		79	9	11	20	81		-	-	-	-	-
Mike Corrigan	27		25	8	12	20	10		-	-	-	-	-
Ron Stackhouse	3		50	5	15	20	36		-	-	-	-	-
Dave Burrows	4		67	4	15	19	24		-	-	-	-	-
Peter Lee	10		60	5	13	18	19		-	-	-	-	-
Russ Anderson	7		74	2	16	18	150		-	-	-	-	-
Lowell MacDonald	18		19	5	8	13	2		-	-	-	-	-
John Flesch	11		29	7	5	12	19		-	-	-	-	-
Bob Paradise	24		64	2	10	12	53		-	-	-	-	-
Pierre Larouche‡	10		20	6	5	11	0		-	-	-	-	-
Dennis Owchar‡	25		22	2	8	10	23		-	-	-	-	-
Colin Campbell	6		55	1	9	10	103		-	-	-	-	-
Tom Cassidy	11		26	3	4	7	15		-	-	-	-	-
Syl Apps, Jr.‡	26		9	0	7	7	0		-	-	-	-	-
Jim Hamilton	23		25	2	4	6	2		-	-	-	-	-
Mario Faubert	5		18	0	6	6	11		-	-	-	-	-
Derek Sanderson	16		13	3	1	4	0		-	-	-	-	-
Jacques Cossette	20		19	1	2	3	4		-	-	-	-	-
Hartland Monahan	8		7	2	0	2	2		-	-	-	-	-
Lew Morrison	16		8	0	2	2	0		-	-	-	-	-
Dunc Wilson	29		21	0	1	1	0		-	-	-	-	-
Denis Herron	1		60	0	1	1	6		-	-	-	-	-
Greg Redquest	25		1	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Kim Davis	16		1	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Gordie Laxton	30		2	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Tom Price	25		10	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-

^†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
Denis Herron	1		60	3534	20	25	15	210	0	3.57		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dunc Wilson	29		21	1180	5	11	3	95	0	4.83		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Gordie Laxton	30		2	73	0	1	0	9	0	7.40		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Greg Redquest	25		1	13	0	0	0	3	0	13.85		-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Awards and Records

• The Penguins did not receive any awards this season.

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1977–78 season:

Trades

September 20, 1977	To Pittsburgh Penguins Brian Spencer	To Buffalo Sabres Ron Schock
October 1, 1977	To Pittsburgh Penguins Bob Paradise	To Washington Capitals rights to Don Awrey
October 17, 1977	To Pittsburgh Penguins Hartland Monahan	To Washington Capitals 1st round pick in 1979 Draft (later traded to North Stars—Tom McCarthy)
November 2, 1977	To Pittsburgh Penguins Gene Carr Dave Schultz 4th round pick in 1978 Draft (Shane Pearsall)	To Los Angeles Kings Syl Apps, Jr. Hartland Monahan
November 29, 1977	To Pittsburgh Penguins Peter Lee Peter Mahovlich	To Montreal Canadiens Pierre Larouche future considerations (Peter Marsh, December 15, 1977)
December 2, 1977	To Pittsburgh Penguins Tom Edur	To Colorado Rockies Dennis Owchar

Additions and Subtractions

Additions Player Former team Via Tom Cassidy Boston Bruins free agency (1977-10-11) John Flesch Minnesota North Stars free agency (1978-02-04) Derek Sanderson Vancouver Canucks free agency (1978-03-14)

Subtractions Player New team Via Bob Kelly Chicago Black Hawks free agency (1977-08-17) Peter Marsh Montreal Canadiens to complete trade that sent Pierre Larouche to Canadiens (1977-12-15)

Draft Picks

Amateur Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
2	30.	Jim Hamilton	Canada	London Knights (OMJHL)
3	48.	Kim Davis	Canada	Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
4	66.	Mark Johnson	United States	University of Wisconsin Badgers (WCHA)
6	102.	Greg Millen	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)

Video

Over 30 minutes of the October 23, 1977 Pittsburgh-Cleveland game.

Penguins at Cleveland Barons Oct 1977

References

• Penguins on Hockey Database