The 1977-78 NHL season was the 61st season of the National Hockey League. Eighteen teams each played 80 games. The Montreal Canadiens won their third Stanley Cup in a row as they beat the Boston Bruins four games to two in the finals.
League Business[]
Clarence Campbell retired as NHL President, prior to this season. John Ziegler succeeded him.
A trophy for the top defensive forward, the Frank J. Selke Trophy, made its debut this season and went to Bob Gainey, who played Left Wing for Montreal.
The Cleveland Barons franchise dissolved at the end of the season and its assets and liabilities were transferred to the Minnesota North Stars, which moved to Cleveland's slot in the Adams Division.
Regular Season[]
Final Standings[]
Prince of Wales Conference[]
GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boston Bruins | 80 | 51 | 18 | 11 | 333 | 218 | 113 |
Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 44 | 19 | 17 | 288 | 215 | 105 |
Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 41 | 29 | 10 | 271 | 237 | 92 |
Cleveland Barons | 80 | 22 | 45 | 13 | 230 | 325 | 57 |
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.
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.
Clarence Campbell Conference[]
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 |
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.
GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 32 | 29 | 19 | 230 | 220 | 83 |
Colorado Rockies | 80 | 19 | 40 | 21 | 257 | 305 | 59 |
Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 20 | 43 | 17 | 239 | 320 | 57 |
St. Louis Blues | 80 | 20 | 47 | 13 | 195 | 304 | 53 |
Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 18 | 53 | 9 | 218 | 325 | 45 |
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[]
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guy Lafleur | Montreal Canadiens | 78 | 60 | 72 | 132 | 26 |
Bryan Trottier | New York Islanders | 77 | 46 | 77 | 123 | 46 |
Darryl Sittler | Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 45 | 72 | 117 | 100 |
Jacques Lemaire | Montreal Canadiens | 76 | 36 | 61 | 97 | 14 |
Denis Potvin | New York Islanders | 80 | 30 | 64 | 94 | 81 |
Mike Bossy | New York Islanders | 73 | 53 | 38 | 91 | 6 |
Terry O'Reilly | Boston Bruins | 77 | 29 | 61 | 90 | 211 |
Gilbert Perreault | Buffalo Sabres | 79 | 41 | 48 | 89 | 20 |
Bobby Clarke | Philadelphia Flyers | 71 | 21 | 68 | 89 | 83 |
Lanny McDonald | Toronto Maple Leafs | 74 | 47 | 40 | 87 | 54 |
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 | 52 | 3071 | 105 | 2.05 | 37 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
Bernie Parent | Philadelphia Flyers | 49 | 2923 | 108 | 2.22 | 29 | 6 | 13 | 7 |
Gilles Gilbert | Boston Bruins | 25 | 1326 | 56 | 2.53 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
Chico Resch | N.Y. Islanders | 45 | 2637 | 112 | 2.55 | 28 | 9 | 7 | 3 |
Tony Esposito | Chicago Black Hawks | 64 | 3840 | 168 | 2.63 | 28 | 22 | 14 | 5 |
Don Edwards | Buffalo Sabres | 72 | 4209 | 185 | 2.64 | 38 | 16 | 17 | 5 |
Billy Smith | N.Y. Islanders | 38 | 2154 | 95 | 2.65 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 2 |
Michel Larocque | Montreal Canadiens | 30 | 1729 | 77 | 2.67 | 22 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
Mike Palmateer | Toronto Maple Leafs | 63 | 3760 | 172 | 2.74 | 34 | 19 | 9 | 5 |
Dan Bouchard | Atlanta Flames | 58 | 3340 | 153 | 2.75 | 25 | 12 | 19 | 2 |
Stanley Cup Playoffs[]
Playoff Bracket[]
Preliminary Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||||||
1 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
8 | Detroit Red Wings | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
4 | Atlanta Flames | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
5 | Detroit Red Wings | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
3 | New York Islanders | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
6 | Los Angeles Kings | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
2 | Boston Bruins | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
2 | Boston Bruins | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
7 | Chicago Black Hawks | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
2 | Boston Bruins | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
8 | Colorado Rockies | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
5 | Buffalo Sabres | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
2 | Buffalo Sabres | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
7 | New York Rangers | 1 |
Finals[]
Date | Visitors | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 13 | Boston | 1 | Montreal | 4 | |
May 16 | Boston | 2 | Montreal | 3 | OT |
May 18 | Montreal | 0 | Boston | 4 | |
May 21 | Montreal | 3 | Boston | 4 | OT |
May 23 | Boston | 1 | Montreal | 4 | |
May 25 | Montreal | 4 | Boston | 1 |
Montreal wins the series 4–2.
Larry Robinson won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
NHL Awards[]
Prince of Wales Trophy: | Montreal Canadiens |
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: | New York Islanders |
Art Ross Memorial Trophy: | Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens |
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: | Butch Goring, Los Angeles Kings |
Calder Memorial Trophy: | Mike Bossy, New York Islanders |
Conn Smythe Trophy: | Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens |
Frank J. Selke Trophy: | Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens |
Hart Memorial Trophy: | Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens |
Jack Adams Award: | Bobby Kromm, Detroit Red Wings |
James Norris Memorial Trophy: | Denis Potvin, New York Islanders |
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: | Butch Goring, Los Angeles Kings |
Lester B. Pearson Award: | Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens |
NHL Plus/Minus Award: | Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens |
Vezina Trophy: | Ken Dryden & Michel Larocque, Montreal Canadiens |
Lester Patrick Trophy: | Phil Esposito, Tom Fitzgerald, William T. Tutt, William W. Wirtz |
All-Star Teams[]
First Team | Position | Second Team |
---|---|---|
Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens | G | Don Edwards, Buffalo Sabres |
Denis Potvin, New York Islanders | D | Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens |
Brad Park, Boston Bruins | D | Borje Salming, Toronto Maple Leafs |
Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders | C | Darryl Sittler, Toronto Maple Leafs |
Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens | RW | Mike Bossy, New York Islanders |
Clark Gillies, New York Islanders | LW | Steve Shutt, Montreal Canadiens |
Debuts[]
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1977-78 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Doug Wilson, Chicago Black Hawks
- Barry Beck, Colorado Rockies
- Dale McCourt, Detroit Red Wings
- Vaclav Nedomansky, Detroit Red Wings
- Dave Taylor, Los Angeles Kings
- Mike Bossy, New York Islanders
- Ron Duguay, New York Rangers
- Glen Hanlon, Vancouver Canucks
- Murray Bannerman, Vancouver Canucks
- Robert Picard, Washington Capitals
Last Games[]
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1977-78 (listed with their last team):
- Johnny Bucyk, Boston Bruins
- Eddie Johnston, Chicago Black Hawks
- Jim Neilson, Cleveland Barons
- Dennis Hull, Detroit Red Wings
- Ed Giacomin, Detroit Red Wings
- Bill Goldsworthy, New York Rangers
- Dallas Smith, New York Rangers
- Ken Hodge, New York Rangers
- Rod Gilbert, New York Rangers
- Gary Dornhoefer, Philadelphia Flyers
- Derek Sanderson, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Claude Larose, St. Louis Blues
- Jimmy Roberts, St. Louis Blues
- Red Berenson, St. Louis Blues
- Cesare Maniago, Vancouver Canucks
Gallery[]
Video[]
Over 30 minutes of the October 23, 1977 Pittsburgh-Cleveland game.
See Also[]
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- 1977 NHL Amateur Draft
- 31st National Hockey League All-Star Game
- National Hockey League All-Star Game
- 1977-78 WHA season
References[]
NHL Seasons |
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1973-74 | 1974-75 | 1975-76 | 1976-77 | 1977-78 | 1978-79 | 1979-80 | 1980-81 | 1981-82 |
National Hockey League | |||||||||
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|
Structure | Playoffs (Streaks • Droughts • All-time playoff series) • Conference Finals • Finals |
---|---|
Annual events | Seasons • Stanley Cup (Champions • Winning players • Traditions and anecdotes) • Presidents' Trophy • All-Star Game • Draft • Awards • All-Star Teams |
Players | List of players • Association • Retired jersey numbers • Captains |
History | Lore • Organizational changes :: • Defunct teams • NHA • Original Six • 1967 Expansion • WHA Merger • Lockouts |
Others | Outdoor games (Winter Classic • Heritage Classic • Stadium Series) • Potential expansion • Hall of Fame (Members) • Rivalries • Arenas • Rules • Fighting • Violence : International games • Kraft Hockeyville • Collective bargaining agreement • Television and radio coverage |
Category • 2022–23 Season • 2023–24 Season • 2024–25 Season |
1977–78 NHL season by team | |
---|---|
Patrick | Atlanta · NY Islanders · NY Rangers · Philadelphia |
Adams | Boston · Buffalo · Cleveland · Toronto |
Norris | Detroit · Los Angeles · Montreal · Pittsburgh · Washington |
Smythe | Chicago · Colorado · Minnesota · St. Louis · Vancouver |
See also | 1977 NHL Amateur Draft · All-Star Game · 1978 Stanley Cup Finals |