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1984–85 Philadelphia Flyers season

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Division
  
1st Patrick

1984–85 record
  
53–20–7

Road record
  
21–16–3

Conference
  
1st Wales

Home record
  
32–4–4

Goals for
  
348 (4th)

The 1984–85 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 18th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Finals but lost in five games to the Edmonton Oilers.

Contents

Off-season

Bob Clarke's first move as general manager was hiring Mike Keenan as head coach. Second-year player Dave Poulin was named team captain.

Regular season

On October 18 they tied a franchise record for most goals in one game, after a 13–2 rout of the Vancouver Canucks at the Spectrum. They recorded another 10-plus goal contest on March 10 against Pittsburgh, crushing the Penguins 11–4. In addition, the team snapped the Edmonton Oilers' then NHL record 12–0–3 unbeaten streak to start the year with a 7–5 win on November 11. Four days later, they paid tribute to the recently retired Bobby Clarke on Bobby Clarke Night with a 6–1 win over the Hartford Whalers.

Although the club got off to a hot 16–4–4 start, they faltered in December, losing four straight games and five of six prior to Christmas. With the team's slate of games thin throughout January, the Washington Capitals surged to the top of the Patrick Division although the Flyers kept winning consistently.

After trailing the division-leading Capitals by 11 points in early February, the Flyers clinched the division title on March 28 and finished 12 points ahead of Washington, reeling off an incredible 24–4–0 record after February 9. The game that kicked off the stretch, on February 9 at the Capital Centre, saw Tim Kerr score four goals but Brian Propp won it, 5-4, with two seconds remaining in regulation. The club set a franchise record with 11 straight wins from March 5–24.

One season before the President's Trophy was created to reward the NHL club with the most points, the Flyers finished the season with 113, four ahead of eventual Cup champion Edmonton. They also recorded their second-highest single-season goal total (tied with 1975–76, and two fewer than the previous season) and allowed the third-fewest goals behind Washington and Buffalo.

Twice during the season two players recorded hat tricks in the same game. Propp and Ilkka Sinisalo turned the trick in the Vancouver rout, while Poulin and Kerr teamed up for six goals in a wild 9–6 win over Washington on March 7.

Goaltender Pelle Lindbergh, who led the league with 40 wins, won the Vezina Trophy.

Season standings

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Playoffs

The Flyers rolled through the playoffs by sweeping the New York Rangers in three games, defeating the New York Islanders in five, and beating the Quebec Nordiques in six to return to the Stanley Cup Finals. Though they defeated the defending champion Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 by a score of 4–1 at home, Edmonton won the next four games and the series.

Skaters

  • Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
  • = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
  • = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

    • Transactions

    The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 20, 1984, the day after the deciding game of the 1984 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 30, 1985, the day of the deciding game of the 1985 Stanley Cup Finals.

    Free agency

    The following players were signed by the Flyers via free agency.

    Re-signed

    The following players were re-signed by the Flyers.

    NHL Waiver Draft

    The 1984 NHL Waiver Draft was held on October 9, 1984. Each NHL team placed 16 skaters and 2 goaltenders on a protected list from which the other teams could not select. First-year professional players were exempt. The Flyers were not involved in any selections during the draft.

    The Flyers left the following players unprotected: goaltender Gil Hudon and skaters Don Nachbaur and Brian Tutt.

    Departures

    The following players left the team via free agency, release, or retirement. Players who were under contract and left the team during the season are marked with an asterisk (*).

    Draft picks

    Philadelphia's picks at the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, on June 9, 1984.

    Draft notes
  • a The Flyers first-round pick, 16th overall, was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Andy Brickley, Ron Flockhart, Mark Taylor, and the Flyers' third-round pick for Rich Sutter and the Penguins' 1984 second and third-round picks on October 23, 1983.
  • b The Flyers traded Behn Wilson to the Chicago Black Hawks for Doug Crossman and the Black Hawks' second-round pick, 27th overall, on June 8, 1983.
  • c The Flyers received the Hartford Whalers' third-round pick, 47th overall, as compensation for earlier trade involving Fred Arthur, who retired before his contract expired.
  • The Flyers selection of Petr Rucka in the eleventh-round was voided since Rucka had already been selected by the Calgary Flames in the tenth-round.

    • Farm teams

    The Flyers were affiliated with the Hershey Bears of the AHL and the Kalamazoo Wings of the IHL.

    References

    1984–85 Philadelphia Flyers season Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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