1972-73_NHL_season
1972–73 NHL season
National Hockey League season
The 1972–73 NHL season was the 56th season of the National Hockey League. Sixteen teams each played 78 games. Two new teams, the New York Islanders and the Atlanta Flames, made their debuts. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup by beating the Chicago Black Hawks four games to two in the Stanley Cup Finals.
| 1972–73 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 7, 1972 – May 10, 1973 |
| Number of games | 78 |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| TV partner(s) | CBC, CTV, SRC (Canada) NBC (United States) |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Billy Harris |
| Picked by | New York Islanders |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Montreal Canadiens |
| Season MVP | Bobby Clarke (Flyers) |
| Top scorer | Phil Esposito (Bruins) |
| Playoffs | |
| Playoffs MVP | Yvan Cournoyer (Canadiens) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Montreal Canadiens |
| Runners-up | Chicago Black Hawks |
| NHL seasons | |
← 1971–72 1973–74 → | |
Prior to the start of the season, the 1972 Summit Series took place. It was the first ever meeting between Soviet Union and NHL calibre Canadian ice hockey players. 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.
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, half of which were based in cities with existing 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.
In February 1972, the Miami Screaming Eagles of the WHA signed Bernie Parent to a contract,[1] and when Bobby Hull was signed on June 27, 1972, to play with the Winnipeg Jets, the Chicago Black Hawks sued, claiming a violation of the reserve clause in NHL contracts. Others soon followed Hull to the WHA, including, 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, chafing under the unorthodox ownership of the unpopular Charlie Finley, were also a victim of the WHA, losing eight key players.
The Montreal Canadiens took over first place in the East Division and the league from the Boston Bruins while for the third consecutive season the Chicago Black Hawks dominated the West Division.
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 78 | 52 | 10 | 16 | 329 | 184 | +145 | 120 |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | 78 | 51 | 22 | 5 | 330 | 235 | +95 | 107 |
| 3 | New York Rangers | 78 | 47 | 23 | 8 | 297 | 208 | +89 | 102 |
| 4 | Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 37 | 27 | 14 | 257 | 219 | +38 | 88 |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 78 | 37 | 29 | 12 | 265 | 243 | +22 | 86 |
| 6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 78 | 27 | 41 | 10 | 247 | 279 | −32 | 64 |
| 7 | Vancouver Canucks | 78 | 22 | 47 | 9 | 233 | 339 | −106 | 53 |
| 8 | New York Islanders | 78 | 12 | 60 | 6 | 170 | 347 | −177 | 30 |
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 78 | 42 | 27 | 9 | 284 | 225 | +59 | 93 |
| 2 | Philadelphia Flyers | 78 | 37 | 30 | 11 | 296 | 256 | +40 | 85 |
| 3 | Minnesota North Stars | 78 | 37 | 30 | 11 | 254 | 230 | +24 | 85 |
| 4 | St. Louis Blues | 78 | 32 | 34 | 12 | 233 | 251 | −18 | 76 |
| 5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 78 | 32 | 37 | 9 | 257 | 265 | −8 | 73 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Kings | 78 | 31 | 36 | 11 | 232 | 245 | −13 | 73 |
| 7 | Atlanta Flames | 78 | 25 | 38 | 15 | 191 | 239 | −48 | 65 |
| 8 | California Golden Seals | 78 | 16 | 46 | 16 | 213 | 323 | −110 | 48 |
No teams in the playoffs swept their opponents, the last time this would happen until 1991, and no series went to a seventh game, the last time this has happened to date. In addition, the Chicago Black Hawks reached the Stanley Cup Finals without a captain, the last time this would happen until 2014.
Playoff bracket
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Montreal | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Buffalo | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Montreal | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Philadelphia | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Philadelphia | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Minnesota | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Montreal | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Chicago | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Chicago | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | St. Louis | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Chicago | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | NY Rangers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Boston | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | NY Rangers | 4 | ||||||||||||
Quarterfinals
(E1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (E4) Buffalo Sabres
The Montreal Canadiens finished first in the league with 120 points. The Buffalo Sabres finished fourth with 88 points. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This was the Buffalo Sabres' first playoff appearance in their third season since entering the league in the 1970–71 NHL season. Montreal won the five-game regular season series earning six of ten points.
| April 4 | Buffalo Sabres | 1–2 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Craig Ramsay (1) – 03:13 | Second period | 17:01 – Jacques Lemaire (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 04:27 – pp – Yvan Cournoyer (1) | ||||||
| Dave Dryden | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden | ||||||
| April 5 | Buffalo Sabres | 3–7 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Gilbert Perreault (1) – 01:06 Richard Martin (1) – pp – 16:48 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 04:48 – Serge Savard (1) 06:07 – Yvan Cournoyer (2) 10:39 – Marc Tardif (1) 16:21 – pp – Guy Lapointe (1) 17:29 – Jacques Lemaire (2) | ||||||
| Jim Schoenfeld (1) – 17:45 | Third period | 03:10 – Yvan Cournoyer (3) 15:31 – Yvan Cournoyer (4) | ||||||
| Dave Dryden | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden | ||||||
| April 7 | Montreal Canadiens | 5–2 | Buffalo Sabres | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | Recap | |||
| Guy Lafleur (1) – pp – 16:56 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Peter Mahovlich (1) – pp – 08:44 Murray Wilson (1) – 09:00 |
Second period | 01:13 – Larry Mickey (1) | ||||||
| Frank Mahovlich (1) – 12:15 Henri Richard (1) – 19:12 |
Third period | 00:54 – pp – Rene Robert (1) | ||||||
| Ken Dryden | Goalie stats | Roger Crozier | ||||||
| April 8 | Montreal Canadiens | 1–5 | Buffalo Sabres | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | Recap | |||
| Yvan Cournoyer (5) – 18:37 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 11:13 – Jim Schoenfeld (2) 14:29 – pp – Gilbert Perreault (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 01:28 – Rene Robert (2) 19:19 – Don Luce (1) 19:41 – Gilbert Perreault (3) | ||||||
| Ken Dryden | Goalie stats | Roger Crozier | ||||||
| April 10 | Buffalo Sabres | 3–2 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 16:22 – Frank Mahovlich (2) | ||||||
| Richard Martin (2) – 12:03 Rene Robert (3) – 13:11 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 12:46 – Guy Lapointe (2) | ||||||
| Rene Robert (4) – 09:18 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Roger Crozier | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden | ||||||
| April 12 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–2 | Buffalo Sabres | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | Recap | |||
| Serge Savard (2) – 01:32 Murray Wilson (2) – 07:33 Guy Lafleur (2) – 08:53 Guy Lapointe (3) – 16:03 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 11:41 – Rene Robert (5) 19:48 – pp – Richard Martin (3) | ||||||
| Ken Dryden | Goalie stats | Roger Crozier | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–2 | |
(E2) Boston Bruins vs. (E3) New York Rangers
The Boston Bruins finished second in the East Division with 107 points. The New York Rangers finished third in the East Division with 102 points. This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams with Boston winning six of the eight previous series. They last met in the previous year's Stanley Cup Finals which Boston won in six games. The teams split this year's six-game regular season series.
| April 4 | New York Rangers | 6–2 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Brad Park (1) – pp – 15:59 | First period | 14:21 – Doug Roberts (1) | ||||||
| Bruce MacGregor (1) – 07:25 Brad Park (2) – 08:53 Walt Tkaczuk (1) – 11:48 Walt Tkaczuk (2) – 15:55 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| 03:11 – Pete Stemkowski (1) | Third period | Derek Sanderson (1) – 11:17 | ||||||
| Ed Giacomin | Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| April 5 | New York Rangers | 4–2 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Steve Vickers (1) – 13:20 | First period | 07:55 – Wayne Cashman (1) | ||||||
| Ted Irvine (1) – pp – 09:47 Pete Stemkowski (2) – pp – 13:29 |
Second period | 16:34 – Doug Roberts (2) | ||||||
| Walt Tkaczuk (3) – pp – 05:37 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ed Giacomin Gilles Villemure |
Goalie stats | Jacques Plante | ||||||
| April 7 | Boston Bruins | 4–2 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| Gregg Sheppard (1) – sh – 06:53 | First period | 18:35 – Pete Stemkowski (3) | ||||||
| Fred Stanfield (1) – 03:13 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gregg Sheppard (2) – 10:39 Mike Walton (1) – 19:08 |
Third period | 06:12 – Jean Ratelle (1) | ||||||
| Ed Johnston | Goalie stats | Ed Giacomin | ||||||
| April 8 | Boston Bruins | 0–4 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 02:35 – Rod Gilbert (1) 16:30 – Pete Stemkowski (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 11:22 – Bobby Rousseau (1) 19:15 – Steve Vickers (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ed Johnston | Goalie stats | Ed Giacomin | ||||||
| April 10 | New York Rangers | 6–3 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Steve Vickers (3) – 00:38 Steve Vickers (4) – 14:34 Bruce MacGregor (2) – 16:33 |
First period | 01:54 – Bobby Orr (1) 12:45 – pp – Ken Hodge (1) | ||||||
| Walt Tkaczuk (4) – 18:59 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Rod Gilbert (2) – 04:10 Steve Vickers (5) – 17:51 |
Third period | 07:10 – Don Marcotte (1) | ||||||
| Ed Giacomin | Goalie stats | Ross Brooks Ed Johnston | ||||||
| New York won series 4–1 | |
(W1) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (W4) St. Louis Blues
The Chicago Black Hawks finished first in the West Division with 93 points. The St. Louis Blues finished fourth in the West Division with 76 points. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. The teams split this year's six-game regular season series.
| April 4 | St. Louis Blues | 1–7 | Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 15:02 – Dick Redmond (1) 15:20 – Dick Redmond (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:13 – Dick Redmond (3) 09:38 – Jim Pappin (1) 10:32 – Pit Martin (1) | ||||||
| Phil Roberto (1) – 19:07 | Third period | 12:33 – pp – Pit Martin (2) 16:24 – pp – Pit Martin (3) | ||||||
| Wayne Stephenson | Goalie stats | Tony Esposito | ||||||
| April 5 | St. Louis Blues | 0–1 | Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 14:06 – Lou Angotti (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jacques Caron | Goalie stats | Tony Esposito | ||||||
| April 7 | Chicago Blackhawks | 5–2 | St. Louis Blues | St. Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| Dennis Hull (1) – pp – 02:29 Ralph Backstrom (1) – 11:26 Jim Pappin (2) – 13:51 |
First period | 05:52 – pp – Ab DeMarco Jr. (1) 10:26 – Pierre Plante (1) | ||||||
| Ralph Backstrom (2) – 03:10 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jim Pappin (3) – pp – 07:31 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tony Esposito | Goalie stats | Jacques Caron | ||||||
| April 8 | Chicago Blackhawks | 3–5 | St. Louis Blues | St. Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| Ralph Backstrom (3) – 06:33 Cliff Koroll (1) – 11:11 |
First period | 16:48 – Pierre Plante (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:03 – Phil Roberto (2) 15:31 – Fran Huck (1) 18:29 – Gary Sabourin (1) | ||||||
| Chico Maki (1) – 14:21 | Third period | 16:56 – Garry Unger (1) | ||||||
| Gary Smith | Goalie stats | Wayne Stephenson | ||||||
| April 10 | St. Louis Blues | 1–6 | Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 01:14 – Jim Pappin (4) 14:52 – Stan Mikita (1) | ||||||
| Fran Huck (2) – pp – 04:20 | Second period | 00:30 – Cliff Koroll (2) 11:37 – Chico Maki (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 15:32 – sh – Ralph Backstrom (4) 17:41 – Lou Angotti (2) | ||||||
| Wayne Stephenson Jacques Caron |
Goalie stats | Tony Esposito | ||||||
| Chicago won series 4–1 | |
(W2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (W3) Minnesota North Stars
The Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota North Stars finished tied for second in the West Division each with 85 points (Philadelphia won the tiebreaker in season series 3–2). This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Philadelphia won three of the five games in this year's regular season series.
| April 4 | Minnesota North Stars | 3–0 | Philadelphia Flyers | The Spectrum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dennis Hextall (1) – 09:21 Dennis O'Brien (1) – 19:45 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jude Drouin (1) – 09:17 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cesare Maniago | Goalie stats | Doug Favell | ||||||
| April 5 | Minnesota North Stars | 1–4 | Philadelphia Flyers | The Spectrum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 05:48 – Don Saleski (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:08 – sh – Bill Flett (1) 08:37 – Bill Barber (1) 18:46 – Terry Crisp (1) | ||||||
| Dean Prentice (1) – pp – 04:14 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gilles Gilbert | Goalie stats | Doug Favell | ||||||
| April 7 | Philadelphia Flyers | 0–5 | Minnesota North Stars | Met Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 09:35 – Dennis Hextall (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 00:54 – pp – Barry Gibbs (1) 09:36 – Lou Nanne (1) 09:54 – Danny Grant (1) 15:27 – Danny Grant (2) | ||||||
| Doug Favell Michel Belhumeur |
Goalie stats | Cesare Maniago | ||||||
| April 8 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3–0 | Minnesota North Stars | Met Center | Recap | |||
| Bobby Clarke (1) – pp – 18:57 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bill Barber (2) – 14:16 Ross Lonsberry (1) – 16:00 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Doug Favell | Goalie stats | Cesare Maniago | ||||||
| April 10 | Minnesota North Stars | 2–3 | OT | Philadelphia Flyers | The Spectrum | Recap | ||
| Danny Grant (3) – 10:48 | First period | 11:24 – pp – Rick MacLeish (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:17 – pp – Rick MacLeish (2) | ||||||
| Bill Goldsworthy (1) – 13:00 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 08:35 – Gary Dornhoefer (1) | ||||||
| Cesare Maniago | Goalie stats | Doug Favell | ||||||
| April 12 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–1 | Minnesota North Stars | Met Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 13:40 – pp – Bill Goldsworthy (2) | ||||||
| Terry Crisp (2) – pp – 04:10 Ross Lonsberry (2) – 16:42 Dave Schultz (1) – 18:01 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ross Lonsberry (3) – 19:48 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Doug Favell | Goalie stats | Cesare Maniago | ||||||
| Philadelphia won series 4–2 | |
Semifinals
(E1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (W3) Philadelphia Flyers
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. The teams split this year's five-game regular season series.
| April 14 | Philadelphia Flyers | 5–4 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | ||
| Bill Barber (3) – 14:20 | First period | 04:48 – Yvan Cournoyer (6) | ||||||
| Simon Nolet (1) – 03:16 | Second period | 17:28 – pp – Guy Lapointe (4) | ||||||
| Simon Nolet (2) – 10:18 Gary Dornhoefer (2) – 12:04 |
Third period | 08:58 – Guy Lapointe (5) 15:25 – Jacques Lemaire (3) | ||||||
| Rick MacLeish (3) – 02:56 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Doug Favell | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden | ||||||
| April 17 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3–4 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | ||
| Andre Dupont (1) – 05:50 Gary Dornhoefer (3) – pp – 08:12 |
First period | 19:13 – pp – Guy Lafleur (3) | ||||||
| Bill Flett (2) – 00:36 | Second period | 00:25 – Henri Richard (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 11:50 – Yvan Cournoyer (7) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 06:45 – Larry Robinson (1) | ||||||
| Doug Favell | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden | ||||||
| April 19 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–1 | Philadelphia Flyers | The Spectrum | Recap | |||
| Rejean Houle (1) – 06:34 Henri Richard (3) – 18:19 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 10:09 – Terry Crisp (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ken Dryden | Goalie stats | Doug Favell | ||||||
| April 22 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–1 | Philadelphia Flyers | The Spectrum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 04:08 – pp – Bobby Clarke (2) | ||||||
| Rejean Houle (2) – 07:38 Marc Tardif (2) – pp – 14:07 Yvan Cournoyer (8) – pp – 16:01 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Frank Mahovlich (3) – 19:27 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ken Dryden | Goalie stats | Doug Favell | ||||||
| April 24 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3–5 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Ross Lonsberry (4) – 08:57 | First period | 15:29 – Marc Tardif (3) | ||||||
| Simon Nolet (3) – 06:18 | Second period | 00:23 – pp – Jacques Lemaire (4) | ||||||
| Bill Flett (3) – 05:30 | Third period | 05:44 – Frank Mahovlich (4) 12:07 – Henri Richard (4) 13:42 – Yvan Cournoyer (9) | ||||||
| Doug Favell | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–1 | |
(W1) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (E3) New York Rangers
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams with Chicago winning three of the four previous series. They last met in the previous year's Stanley Cup Semifinals which New York won in a four-game sweep. The teams split this year's five-game regular season series.
| April 12 | New York Rangers | 4–1 | Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Bobby Rousseau (2) – 14:09 | First period | 12:37 – Pit Martin (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Vic Hadfield (1) – 04:04 Walt Tkaczuk (5) – 17:45 Walt Tkaczuk (6) – 19:35 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ed Giacomin | Goalie stats | Tony Esposito | ||||||
| April 15 | New York Rangers | 4–5 | Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Rod Gilbert (3) – 18:54 | First period | 05:32 – Pat Stapleton (1) 07:55 – pp – Pat Stapleton (2) 11:20 – Dennis Hull (2) | ||||||
| Jean Ratelle (2) – pp – 05:31 Bill Fairbairn (1) – 08:22 Rod Gilbert (4) – 17:26 |
Second period | 12:02 – pp – Dennis Hull (3) 14:40 – Dick Redmond (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ed Giacomin Gilles Villemure |
Goalie stats | Tony Esposito | ||||||
| April 17 | Chicago Blackhawks | 2–1 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| Jim Pappin (5) – 08:20 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 14:51 – Walt Tkaczuk (7) | ||||||
| Stan Mikita (2) – 06:16 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tony Esposito | Goalie stats | Ed Giacomin | ||||||
| April 19 | Chicago Blackhawks | 3–1 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dennis Hull (4) – pp – 11:20 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Pit Martin (5) – 14:11 Dennis Hull (5) – 16:56 |
Third period | 02:16 – Vic Hadfield (2) | ||||||
| Tony Esposito | Goalie stats | Ed Giacomin | ||||||
| April 24 | New York Rangers | 1–4 | Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 19:20 – pp – Stan Mikita (3) | ||||||
| Rod Gilbert (5) – 19:19 | Second period | 14:07 – Dennis Hull (6) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 04:47 – Stan Mikita 08:15 – Cliff Koroll (3) | ||||||
| Ed Giacomin | Goalie stats | Tony Esposito | ||||||
| Chicago won series 4–1 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
It was the 16th playoff meeting between these two teams. Montreal lead 10–5 in their previous meetings. This was a rematch of the 1971 Stanley Cup Finals, which Montreal won in seven games. Chicago won three of the five games in this year's regular season series.
| April 29 | Chicago Blackhawks | 3–8 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Pit Martin (6) – 00:35 Ralph Backstrom (5) – 01:02 Pit Martin (7) – 12:07 |
First period | 02:28 – Jacques Laperriere (1) 08:07 – Marc Tardif (7) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 03:01 – Chuck Lefley (1) 16:23 – pp – Jacques Lemaire (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 08:38 – pp – Jacques Lemaire (6) 12:36 – sh Peter Mahovlich (2) 13:34 – Frank Mahovlich (5) 14:35 – Chuck Lefley (2) | ||||||
| Tony Esposito Gary Smith |
Goalie stats | Ken Dryden | ||||||
| May 1 | Chicago Blackhawks | 1–4 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 05:36 – Pierre Bouchard (1) | ||||||
| Cliff Koroll (4) – 07:28 | Second period | 12:08 – Yvan Cournoyer (10) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:01 – pp Yvan Cournoyer (11) 19:26 – Frank Mahovlich (6) | ||||||
| Tony Esposito | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden | ||||||
| May 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–7 | Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 01:59 – pp – Dennis Hull (7) 11:44 – pp – J.P. Bordeleau (1) 13:20 – sh – Bill White (1) 14:20 – sh – Stan Mikita (5) | ||||||
| Frank Mahovlich (7) – 10:25 | Second period | 02:08 – pp – John Marks (1) | ||||||
| Yvan Cournoyer (12) – 01:20 Guy Lapointe (6) – 07:15 Jacques Lemaire (7) – 08:01 |
Third period | 19:29 – Dennis Hull (8) 19:49 – Jim Pappin (6) | ||||||
| Ken Dryden | Goalie stats | Tony Esposito | ||||||
| May 6 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–0 | Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Marc Tardif (5) – 01:08 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Yvan Cournoyer (13) – 14:13 Chuck Lefley (3) – 15:43 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Claude Larose (1) – 03:45 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ken Dryden | Goalie stats | Tony Esposito | ||||||
| May 8 | Chicago Blackhawks | 8–7 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap | |||
| Dennis Hull (9) – 09:34 Stan Mikita (6) – 11:24 |
First period | 02:47 – Frank Mahovlich (8) 14:52 – pp – Peter Mahovlich (3) | ||||||
| Dave Kryskow (1) – 03:10 Stan Mikita (7) – 06:21 Jim Pappin (7) – 11:24 Len Frig (1) – pp – 16:21 Jim Pappin (8) – 19:03 |
Second period | 00:37 – Claude Larose (2) 04:23 – Claude Larose (3) 07:09 – Yvan Cournoyer (14) | ||||||
| Lou Angotti (3) – 04:06 | Third period | 01:15 – Serge Savard (3) 11:43 – Henri Richard (5) | ||||||
| Tony Esposito | Goalie stats | Ken Dryden | ||||||
| May 10 | Montreal Canadiens | 6–4 | Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago Stadium | Recap | |||
| Henri Richard (6) – 19:48 | First period | 10:35 – Pit Martin (8) 11:31 – pp – Pit Martin (9) | ||||||
| Peter Mahovlich (4) – 05:05 Rejean Houle (3) – 06:37 Frank Mahovlich (9) – pp – 10:54 |
Second period | 08:32 – Dave Kryskow (2) 17:05 – pp – Pit Martin (10) | ||||||
| Yvan Cournoyer (15) – 08:13 Marc Tardif (6) – pp – 12:42 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ken Dryden | Goalie stats | Tony Esposito | ||||||
| Montreal won series 4–2 | |
| 1973 NHL awards | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (East Division champion, regular season) | Montreal Canadiens |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: (West Division champion, regular season) | Chicago Black Hawks |
| Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer, regular season) | Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: (Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) | Lowell MacDonald, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: (Top first-year player) | Steve Vickers, New York Rangers |
| Conn Smythe Trophy: (Most valuable player, playoffs) | Yvan Cournoyer, Montreal Canadiens |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: (Most valuable player, regular season) | Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: (Best defenceman) | Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Gilbert Perreault, Buffalo Sabres |
| Lester B. Pearson Award: (Outstanding player, regular season) | Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers |
| Vezina Trophy: (Goaltender(s) of team with best goaltending record) | Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens |
| Lester Patrick Trophy: (Service to hockey in the U.S.) | 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 |
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 |
| Johnny 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 |
Source: NHL.[3]
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 | Los Angeles 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 |
Other statistics
- Plus-minus leader: Jacques Laperriere, Montreal Canadiens
East
- Boston Bruins: Tom Johnson and Bep Guidolin
- Buffalo Sabres: Joe Crozier
- Detroit Red Wings: Johnny Wilson
- Montreal Canadiens: Scotty Bowman
- New York Islanders: Phil Goyette and Earl Ingarfield
- New York Rangers: Emile Francis
- Toronto Maple Leafs: John McLellan
- Vancouver Canucks: Vic Stasiuk
West
- Atlanta Flames: Bernie Geoffrion
- California Golden Seals: Garry Young and Fred Glover
- Chicago Black Hawks: Billy Reay
- Los Angeles Kings: Bob Pulford
- Minnesota North Stars: Jack Gordon
- Philadelphia Flyers: Fred Shero
- Pittsburgh Penguins: Red Kelly
- St. Louis Blues: Al Arbour and Jean-Guy Talbot
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
- Connie Madigan, St. Louis Blues
- Don Lever, Vancouver Canucks
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
- Connie Madigan, St. Louis BLues
- Bob Baun, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Dave Balon, Vancouver Canucks
NOTE: Plante, Stapleton, Backstrom, Howell and Balon would finish their major professional careers in the World Hockey Association.
Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. HNIC also produced Wednesday night regular season game telecasts for CTV.
This was the first season under the U.S. rights agreement with NBC, airing weekend afternoon regular season games and playoff games.
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, New York: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
- Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
- Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
- Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
- Notes
- Dunell, Milt (February 22, 1972). "Hockey's first 'Super Series' will be played in the courtrooms". Montreal Gazette. p. 31. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
- "1972–1973 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
- Dinger 2011, p. 150.