League National Hockey League Season champions Montreal Canadiens Champion Montreal Canadiens Number of games 80 Top scorer Guy Lafleur Finals champion Montreal Canadiens | Sport Ice hockey Champions Montreal Canadiens Start date 1975 Number of teams 18 Season MVP Bobby Clarke | |
Duration October 7, 1975 – May 16, 1976 Playoffs Playoffs MVP Reggie Leach, (Philadelphia Flyers) | ||
The 1975–76 NHL season was the 59th season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup, defeating the defending champion Philadelphia Flyers in the final.
Contents
Regular season
The Montreal Canadiens set records in wins with 58 and points with 127, beginning a four-year stretch where they would dominate the league in the regular season and win four straight Stanley Cup titles. The Philadelphia Flyers tied the record set by the 1929–30 Boston Bruins for most consecutive home ice wins, with 20.
During the regular season, between December 28 and January 10, "Super Series '76" took place as two teams from the Soviet Championship League played eight exhibitions against NHL teams. HC CSKA Moscow (the "Red Army Club"), defending Soviet champion, played against the New York Rangers, Montreal, Boston and, on January 11, the defending NHL champion, the Philadelphia Flyers, while Krylya Sovetov Moscow ("the Soviet Wings") played against Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Chicago and the New York Islanders.
The blockbuster trade of the year saw the Boston Bruins send superstar center Phil Esposito and star defenceman Carol Vadnais to the New York Rangers for star center Jean Ratelle and superstar defenceman Brad Park. Both Ratelle and Park would excel for the Bruins for years to come, while Esposito's days as the preeminent scorer in the NHL were behind him.
On February 7, 1976, Darryl Sittler set an NHL record that still stands for most points scored in one game. He recorded ten points (six goals, four assists) against the Boston Bruins.
Final standings
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
Playoff seeds
The twelve teams that qualified for the playoffs are ranked 1–12 based on regular season points.
Note: Only teams that qualified for the playoffs are listed here.
- Montreal Canadiens, Norris Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 127 points
- Philadelphia Flyers, Patrick Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 118 points
- Boston Bruins, Adams Division champions – 113 points
- Buffalo Sabres – 105 points
- New York Islanders – 101 points
- Los Angeles Kings – 85 points
- Toronto Maple Leafs – 83 points
- Pittsburgh Penguins – 82 points (35 wins, 5 points head-to-head vs. Atlanta)
- Atlanta Flames – 82 points (35 wins, 3 points head-to-head vs. Pittsburgh)
- Chicago Black Hawks, Smythe Division champions – 82 points (32 wins)
- Vancouver Canucks – 81 points
- St. Louis Blues – 72 points
Playoff bracket
Stanley Cup Finals
The two-time defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Philadelphia Flyers, once again made it to the finals, but were swept in four games by the Montreal Canadiens.
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
Source: NHL.
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
Other statistics
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1975–76 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1975–76 (listed with their last team):
NOTE: Boudrias finished his major professional career in the World Hockey Association.