1978–79 Atlanta Flames season

1978–79 Atlanta Flames
Division	4th Patrick
Conference	Campbell
1978–79 record	41–31–8
Goals for	327
Goals against	280
Team information
General manager	Cliff Fletcher
Coach	Fred Creighton
Captain	Tom Lysiak Jean Pronovost
Arena	Omni Coliseum
Team leaders
Goals	Guy Chouinard (50)
Assists	Bob MacMillan (71)
Points	Bob MacMillan (108)
Penalty minutes	Willi Plett (213)
Wins	Dan Bouchard (32)
Goals against average	Reggie Lemelin (3.32)

The 1978–79 Atlanta Flames season was the 7th season for the franchise. The Flames finished 4th in the Patrick Division and lost in the Preliminary round to the Toronto Maple Leafs 2 games to 0.

Regular Season

Final Standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
New York Islanders	80	51	15	14	358	214	116
Philadelphia Flyers	80	40	25	15	281	248	95
New York Rangers	80	40	29	11	316	292	91
Atlanta Flames	80	41	31	8	327	280	90

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	T	October 11, 1978	4–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	0–0–1
2	T	October 13, 1978	3–3	Washington Capitals (1978–79)	0–0–2
3	W	October 14, 1978	6–3	@ Washington Capitals (1978–79)	1–0–2
4	W	October 17, 1978	8–2	Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	2–0–2
5	W	October 20, 1978	7–5	Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	3–0–2
6	W	October 22, 1978	5–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	4–0–2
7	W	October 24, 1978	7–2	Los Angeles Kings (1978–79)	5–0–2
8	W	October 27, 1978	8–5	New York Islanders (1978–79)	6–0–2
9	W	October 28, 1978	4–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	7–0–2
10	W	October 31, 1978	5–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	8–0–2
11	W	November 1, 1978	3–0	Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	9–0–2
12	W	November 3, 1978	2–0	Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	10–0–2
13	L	November 4, 1978	2–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	10–1–2
14	W	November 7, 1978	4–2	Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	11–1–2
15	W	November 10, 1978	5–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	12–1–2
16	L	November 11, 1978	2–4	@ New York Islanders (1978–79)	12–2–2
17	L	November 14, 1978	7–8	@ Washington Capitals (1978–79)	12–3–2
18	W	November 15, 1978	5–3	Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	13–3–2
19	L	November 17, 1978	2–6	Boston Bruins (1978–79)	13–4–2
20	W	November 19, 1978	3–1	@ New York Rangers (1978–79)	14–4–2
21	L	November 21, 1978	3–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	14–5–2
22	W	November 24, 1978	4–1	St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	15–5–2
23	L	November 26, 1978	2–4	@ Boston Bruins (1978–79)	15–6–2
24	L	November 29, 1978	3–5	New York Rangers (1978–79)	15–7–2
25	L	December 1, 1978	3–4	Minnesota North Stars (1978–79)	15–8–2
26	L	December 2, 1978	3–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79)	15–9–2
27	L	December 5, 1978	0–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	15–10–2
28	W	December 8, 1978	4–3	@ Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	16–10–2
29	L	December 9, 1978	1–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79)	16–11–2
30	T	December 13, 1978	5–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	16–11–3
31	W	December 14, 1978	5–3	Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	17–11–3
32	W	December 16, 1978	7–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	18–11–3
33	L	December 19, 1978	4–7	@ St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	18–12–3
34	L	December 21, 1978	4–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	18–13–3
35	W	December 22, 1978	3–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	19–13–3
36	L	December 26, 1978	3–5	New York Rangers (1978–79)	19–14–3
37	L	December 28, 1978	4–10	New York Islanders (1978–79)	19–15–3
38	L	December 30, 1978	2–4	@ New York Islanders (1978–79)	19–16–3
39	W	December 31, 1978	6–5	@ New York Rangers (1978–79)	20–16–3
40	W	January 3, 1979	4–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	21–16–3
41	T	January 5, 1979	3–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	21–16–4
42	W	January 9, 1979	5–3	Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	22–16–4
43	L	January 12, 1979	1–4	New York Islanders (1978–79)	22–17–4
44	L	January 14, 1979	4–6	New York Rangers (1978–79)	22–18–4
45	W	January 16, 1979	5–0	Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	23–18–4
46	W	January 19, 1979	6–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	24–18–4
47	W	January 20, 1979	4–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	25–18–4
48	L	January 22, 1979	1–3	@ Boston Bruins (1978–79)	25–19–4
49	L	January 25, 1979	0–6	@ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	25–20–4
50	W	January 26, 1979	4–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	26–20–4
51	W	January 28, 1979	7–2	Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	27–20–4
52	W	January 31, 1979	5–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	28–20–4
53	W	February 1, 1979	4–1	Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	29–20–4
54	L	February 3, 1979	2–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	29–21–4
55	L	February 4, 1979	4–7	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	29–22–4
56	T	February 14, 1979	4–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	29–22–5
57	W	February 17, 1979	5–1	@ Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	30–22–5
58	W	February 18, 1979	6–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	31–22–5
59	W	February 20, 1979	5–3	Washington Capitals (1978–79)	32–22–5
60	T	February 23, 1979	2–2	Minnesota North Stars (1978–79)	32–22–6
61	W	February 24, 1979	6–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79)	33–22–6
62	W	February 28, 1979	6–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	34–22–6
63	W	March 2, 1979	3–2	New York Islanders (1978–79)	35–22–6
64	L	March 3, 1979	2–4	@ New York Islanders (1978–79)	35–23–6
65	W	March 8, 1979	7–5	Boston Bruins (1978–79)	36–23–6
66	T	March 10, 1979	5–5	Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	36–23–7
67	L	March 11, 1979	4–9	@ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	36–24–7
68	W	March 14, 1979	6–4	@ New York Rangers (1978–79)	37–24–7
69	L	March 15, 1979	4–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	37–25–7
70	L	March 18, 1979	1–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	37–26–7
71	L	March 20, 1979	3–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79)	37–27–7
72	L	March 23, 1979	1–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	37–28–7
73	W	March 25, 1979	8–2	St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	38–28–7
74	L	March 27, 1979	4–6	Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	38–29–7
75	W	March 30, 1979	5–3	Los Angeles Kings (1978–79)	39–29–7
76	W	April 1, 1979	7–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	40–29–7
77	L	April 3, 1979	2–3	@ New York Islanders (1978–79)	40–30–7
78	T	April 4, 1979	3–3	@ New York Rangers (1978–79)	40–30–8
79	W	April 6, 1979	9–2	New York Rangers (1978–79)	41–30–8
80	L	April 8, 1979	2–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	41–31–8

Player Stats

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty ,inutes

			Regular Season						Playoffs
Player	#		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Bob MacMillan	11		79	37	71	108	14		2	0	1	1	0
Guy Chouinard	16		80	50	57	107	14		2	1	2	3	0
Eric Vail	27		80	35	48	83	53		2	0	1	1	2
Jean Pronovost	9		75	28	39	67	30		2	2	0	2	0
Tom Lysiak‡	12		52	23	35	58	36		-	-	-	-	-
Bobby Lalonde	7		78	24	32	56	36		2	1	0	1	0
Ken Houston	6		80	21	31	52	135		1	0	0	0	16
Willi Plett	25		74	23	20	43	213		2	1	0	1	29
Bill Clement	10		65	12	23	35	14		2	0	0	0	0
Red Laurence	17		59	14	20	34	6		-	-	-	-	-
Harold Phillipoff‡	24		51	9	17	26	113		-	-	-	-	-
Dave Shand	8		79	4	22	26	64		2	0	0	0	20
Ed Kea	19		53	6	18	24	40		2	0	0	0	0
Pat Ribble‡	3		66	5	16	21	69		-	-	-	-	-
Brad Marsh	5		80	0	19	19	101		2	0	0	0	17
Bob Murdoch†	20		35	5	11	16	24		2	0	0	0	4
John Gould	21		61	8	7	15	18		2	0	0	0	0
Richard Mulhern‡	4		37	3	12	15	22		-	-	-	-	-
Darcy Rota†	18		13	9	5	14	21		2	0	1	1	26
Ivan Boldirev†	12		13	6	8	14	6		2	0	2	2	2
Greg Fox ‡	2		64	0	12	12	70		-	-	-	-	-
Gene Carr	14		30	3	8	11	6		1	0	0	0
Phil Russell †	2		13	1	6	7	28		2	0	0	0	9
Rod Seiling†	15		36	0	4	4	12		2	0	0	0	0
Dan Bouchard	30		64	0	3	3	17		2	0	0	0	4
Gerry O'Flaherty	18		1	1	0	1	2		-	-	-	-	-
Yves Belanger	31		5	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Reggie Lemelin	1		18	0	0	0	4		1	0	1	1	0

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

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; 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
Reggie Lemelin	1		18	994	8	8	1	55	0	3.32		1	20	0	0	0	0	0.00
Dan Bouchard	30		64	3624	32	21	7	201	3	3.33		2	100	0	2	9	0	5.40
Yves Belanger	31		5	182	1	2	0	21	0	6.92		-	-	-	-	-	-	-.--

Awards and Records

• Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Bob MacMillan

Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1978–79 season.

Trades

September 6, 1978	To Atlanta Flames Gregg Sheppard	To Boston Bruins Dick Redmond
September 6, 1978	To Atlanta Flames Jean Pronovost	To Pittsburgh Penguins Gregg Sheppard
October 10, 1978	To Atlanta Flames Gerry O'Flaherty	To Minnesota North Stars Cash
November 4, 1978	To Atlanta Flames Rod Seiling	To St. Louis Blues Cash
January 16, 1979	To Atlanta Flames Bob Murdoch 2nd round pick in 1980 (Tony Curtale)	To Los Angeles Kings Richard Mulhern 2nd round pick in 1980 (Dave Morrison)
March 13, 1979	To Atlanta Flames Ivan Boldirev Darcy Rota Phil Russell	To Chicago Black Hawks Greg Fox Tom Lysiak Harold Phillipoff Pat Ribble Miles Zaharko

Free Agents

Player Former team C Gene Carr Pittsburgh Penguins G Reggie Lemelin Philadelphia Flyers

Player New team C Rey Comeau Colorado Rockies D Ab DeMarco, Jr. Boston Bruins

Draft Picks

Bernhardt Engelbrecht was the first German player selected in the NHL Draft. The Flames selected him in the 12th round.

See also: 1978 NHL Amateur Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/junior/club team
1	11.	Brad Marsh (D)	Canada	London Knights (OHA)
3	47.	Tim Bernhardt (G)	Canada	Cornwall Royals (OHA)
4	64.	Jim MacRae (F)	Canada	London Knights (OHA)
5	80.	Gord Wappel (D)	Canada	Regina Pats (WCHL)
6	97.	Greg Meredith (D)	Canada	University of Notre Dame (NCAA)
7	114.	Dave Hindmarch (C)	Canada	University of Alberta (CIAU)
8	131.	Dave Morrison (RW)	Canada	Calgary Wranglers (WCHL)
9	148.	Doug Todd (RW)	Canada	University of Michigan (NCAA)
10	165.	Mark Green (C)	United States	Sherbrooke Beavers (QMJHL)
11	180.	Bob Sullivan (LW)	Canada	Toledo Goaldiggers (IHL)
12	196.	Bernhardt Engelbrecht (G)	West Germany	Landshut EV (Bundesliga)

References

• Flames on Hockey Database