1974–75 NHL season

1974–75 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 9, 1974 – May 27, 1975
Number of games	80
Number of teams	18
TV partner(s)	CBC, CTV, SRC (Canada) NBC (United States)
Draft
Top draft pick	Greg Joly
Picked by	Washington Capitals
Regular season
Season champions	Philadelphia Flyers
Season MVP	Bobby Clarke (Flyers)
Top scorer	Bobby Orr (Bruins)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Bernie Parent (Flyers)
Stanley Cup
Champions	Philadelphia Flyers
Runners-up	Buffalo Sabres

The 1974–75 NHL season was the 58th season of the National Hockey League. Two new teams, the Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts, were added, increasing the number of teams to 18. To accommodate the new teams, the NHL re-organized its divisional structure and playoff format. The regular season was expanded to 80 games per team (which would be the case until 1992–93). The Philadelphia Flyers won the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive year.

League business

Expansion and realignment

The Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts were added as expansion teams. The 1974 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 12 to fill the rosters of the two new teams.

With the number of teams increased to 18, the NHL bumped up the number of regular season games from 78 to 80, and split the previously two-division league into two conferences with four divisions. Because the new conferences and divisions had little to do with North American geography, geographical references were removed until 1993–94. The East Division became the Prince of Wales Conference and consisted of the Adams Division and Norris Division. The West Division became the Clarence Campbell Conference and consisted of the Patrick Division and Smythe Division. The Capitals had the worst season ever recorded in the history of major professional hockey, and the third worst in the postwar era the following season, while the Scouts the following season will have the fifth worst record of the postwar era. The Clarence S. Campbell Bowl and Prince of Wales Trophy (previously awarded to the first-place finishers of the West Division and East Division respectively) now became awarded to the first-place finishers of the Campbell Conference and the Wales Conference, respectively.

Cancelled relocation

In early 1975, newspapers reported that the California Golden Seals and Pittsburgh Penguins were to be relocated to Denver and Seattle respectively, in an arrangement that would have seen the two teams sold to groups in those cities that had already been awarded "conditional" franchises for the 1976–77 season. After staunchly rejecting previous franchise relocation attempts, league president Clarence Campbell saw this as a method by which the NHL might extricate itself from two problem markets, while honoring the expansion commitments it had made. The Penguins ended up staying in Pittsburgh (and ultimately, over time, made Pittsburgh one of the NHL's stronger markets), while the Golden Seals moved to Cleveland in 1976 to become the Cleveland Barons before merging with the Minnesota North Stars in 1978. The Scouts gave up on Kansas City after two seasons and moved to Denver to become the Colorado Rockies in 1976 before moving east to East Rutherford, New Jersey, in 1982 and becoming the New Jersey Devils; Denver returned to the NHL in 1995 when the Quebec Nordiques moved there and became the Colorado Avalanche, where they remain to this day. Seattle was later awarded an expansion team, the Seattle Kraken, in 2018 that began play in 2021.

Amateur draft

The 1974 NHL Amateur Draft was held on May 28–30. For the first time, the draft was held at the NHL offices in Montreal, Quebec. Greg Joly was selected first overall by the Washington Capitals.

Arena changes

• The expansion Kansas City Scouts moved into Kemper Arena.
• The expansion Washington Capitals moved into the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland.

Regular season

For the first time ever in the National Hockey League, there was a three-way tie for first place overall. The respective divisional leaders of the Norris (Montreal Canadiens), Patrick (Philadelphia Flyers), and Adams (Buffalo Sabres) all had 113 points. By virtue of having the most wins, the Flyers were accorded the league's best record and held home-ice advantage in the playoffs, where they eventually met the Sabres in the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Vancouver Canucks, which had been playing in the original East Division since they debuted in the league, were moved over to the Campbell Conference and led the way in the Smythe Division with a meager 86 points.

Bobby Orr won the scoring title for the second time, the only defenceman in the history of the NHL to accomplish this feat.

The surprise team of the year were the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings, with their disciplined defensive style, and excellent goaltending tandem of Rogie Vachon and Gary Edwards, battled Montreal all year for first place. The Kings opened their season by beating the defending champion Philadelphia Flyers in Philadelphia and tying the Canadiens in Montreal. The Kings lost only twice in their first 26 games, and on Christmas, Montreal had only a two-point lead in the standings. When L.A. won in Montreal in mid-January, they were back in first place. The teams continued to battle, with the Canadiens finally clinching first place with three games to play.

Final 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

Prince of Wales Conference

Adams Division

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Buffalo Sabres	80	49	16	15	354	240	+114	113
2	Boston Bruins	80	40	26	14	345	245	+100	94
3	Toronto Maple Leafs	80	31	33	16	280	309	−29	78
4	California Golden Seals	80	19	48	13	212	316	−104	51

Norris Division

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Montreal Canadiens	80	47	14	19	374	225	+149	113
2	Los Angeles Kings	80	42	17	21	269	185	+84	105
3	Pittsburgh Penguins	80	37	28	15	326	289	+37	89
4	Detroit Red Wings	80	23	45	12	259	335	−76	58
5	Washington Capitals	80	8	67	5	181	446	−265	21

Clarence Campbell Conference

Patrick Division

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Philadelphia Flyers	80	51	18	11	293	181	+112	113
2	New York Rangers	80	37	29	14	319	276	+43	88
3	New York Islanders	80	33	25	22	264	221	+43	88
4	Atlanta Flames	80	34	31	15	243	233	+10	83

Smythe Division

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Vancouver Canucks	80	38	32	10	271	254	+17	86
2	St. Louis Blues	80	35	31	14	269	267	+2	84
3	Chicago Blackhawks	80	37	35	8	268	241	+27	82
4	Minnesota North Stars	80	23	50	7	221	341	−120	53
5	Kansas City Scouts	80	15	54	11	184	328	−144	41

Playoffs

With the new conference and division structure, the 1975 playoffs used a new format. The playoffs were expanded from eight to twelve teams with the top three teams in each division qualifying for the playoffs. The first place teams in each division earned a first round bye, while the second and third place teams were seeded 1–8 based on their regular season record and played a best-of-three series. The four preliminary series winners joined the four division winners in the quarterfinals, and they were again re-seeded 1–8 based on regular season record. The teams that advanced to the semifinals were reseeded 1–4. Proponents of this re-seeding state that it makes the regular season more important by rewarding teams with better records with potentially easier matchups. In addition, it avoids the potential issue of two lower seeded teams (who may have pulled early round upsets) playing each other in the next round while two higher seeded teams are playing each other (as is possible in a "bracketed" playoff format like in the NBA). The biggest beneficiary of this format was the Vancouver Canucks, who were ninth overall in the regular season but received a first-round bye for winning the relatively weak Smythe Division. Unfortunately for Vancouver, the fact that the Quarterfinals was re-seeded regardless to their first place divisional finish meant they had to face another division champion in the second round, the Norris-winning Montreal Canadiens, who defeated Vancouver 4–1. The team that suffered the most from the new format, the Los Angeles Kings, had the fourth best overall record but had to play in the risky mini series where they were upset by the twelfth-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs 2–1.

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.

1. Philadelphia Flyers, Patrick Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 113 points (51 wins)
2. Buffalo Sabres, Adams Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 113 points (49 wins)
3. Montreal Canadiens, Norris Division champions – 113 points (47 wins)
4. Los Angeles Kings – 105 points
5. Boston Bruins – 94 points
6. Pittsburgh Penguins – 89 points
7. New York Rangers – 88 points (37 wins)
8. New York Islanders – 88 points (33 wins)
9. Vancouver Canucks, Smythe Division champions – 86 points
10. St. Louis Blues – 84 points
11. Chicago Black Hawks – 82 points
12. Toronto Maple Leafs – 78 points

Playoff bracket

	Preliminary round					Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Stanley Cup Finals
						1	Philadelphia	4
						8	Toronto	0
	1	Los Angeles	1
	8	Toronto	2
											1	Philadelphia	4
											4	NY Islanders	3
	3	Pittsburgh	2
	6	St. Louis	0
						4	Pittsburgh	3
						5	NY Islanders	4
	4	NY Rangers	1
	5	NY Islanders	2
																1	Philadelphia	4
																2	Buffalo	2
						2	Buffalo	4
						7	Chicago	1
	2	Boston	1
	7	Chicago	2
											2	Buffalo	4
											3	Montreal	2
						3	Montreal	4
						6	Vancouver	1

• Division winners earned a bye to the Quarterfinals
• Teams were re-seeded based on regular season record after the Preliminary and Quarterfinal rounds

Preliminary round

(1) Los Angeles Kings vs. (8) Toronto Maple Leafs

The Los Angeles Kings entered the preliminary round as the top seed (and fourth seed overall) earning 105 points during the regular season. The Toronto Maple Leafs earned 78 points during the regular season and entered the preliminary round as the eighth seed (and twelfth seed overall). This was the first playoff series between these two teams. Los Angeles won this year's season series earning 9 of 10 points during the regular season.

April 8	Toronto Maple Leafs		2–3	OT	Los Angeles Kings	The Forum	Recap
Blaine Stoughton (1) – 15:40		First period			14:31 – Bob Berry (1)
No scoring		Second period			16:25 – Gene Carr (1)
Ron Ellis (1) – 18:30		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			08:53 – Mike Murphy (1)
Gord McRae		Goalie stats			Rogie Vachon

April 10	Los Angeles Kings		2–3	OT	Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
No scoring		First period			10:25 – Darryl Sittler (1)
Mike Murphy (2) – pp – 10:45		Second period			No scoring
Mike Murphy (3) – pp – 04:05		Third period			08:45 – Dave Dunn (1)
No scoring		First overtime period			10:19 – Blaine Stoughton (2)
Rogie Vachon		Goalie stats			Gord McRae

April 11	Toronto Maple Leafs		2–1		Los Angeles Kings	The Forum	Recap
George Ferguson (1) – 04:55		First period			No scoring
Inge Hammarstrom (1) – 14:34		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			13:09 – Don Kozak (1)
Gord McRae		Goalie stats			Rogie Vachon

Toronto won series 2–1

(2) Boston Bruins vs. (7) Chicago Black Hawks

The Boston Bruins entered the preliminary round as the second seed (and fifth seed overall) earning 94 points during the regular season. The Chicago Black Hawks earned 82 points during the regular season and entered the preliminary round as the seventh seed (and eleventh seed overall). This was the fifth playoff series between these two teams, with Boston winning all four previous meetings. Thus was a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Semifinals where Boston won in six games. The teams split this year's regular season series.

April 8	Chicago Blackhawks		2–8		Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period			08:38 – Johnny Bucyk (1) 15:03 – Carol Vadnais (1) 15:12 – Andre Savard (1)
No scoring		Second period			10:39 – Phil Esposito (1) 16:01 – Gregg Sheppard (1) 16:50 – Gregg Sheppard (2)
Dick Redmond (1) – pp – 04:20 John Marks (1) – 19:59		Third period			01:29 – pp – Phil Esposito (2) 11:03 – Phil Esposito (3)
Tony Esposito, Michel Dumas		Goalie stats			Gilles Gilbert

April 10	Boston Bruins		3–4	OT	Chicago Blackhawks	Chicago Stadium	Recap
No scoring		First period			03:15 – Ivan Boldirev (1) 14:37 – pp – Stan Mikita (1)
Don Marcotte (1) – 04:35 Ken Hodge (1) – pp – 13:32		Second period			15:39 – Dale Tallon (1)
Bobby Orr (1) – sh – 01:31		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			07:33 – Ivan Boldirev (2)
Gilles Gilbert		Goalie stats			Tony Esposito

April 11	Chicago Blackhawks		6–4		Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
Keith Magnuson (1) – 01:26 Cliff Koroll (1) – pp – 19:13		First period			No scoring
J.P. Bordeleau (1) – 02:27 Cliff Koroll (2) – pp – 15:34 John Marks (2) – 18:24		Second period			07:16 – Bobby Schmautz (1) 09:32 – Hank Nowak (1) 18:58 – Gregg Sheppard (3)
J.P. Bordeleau (2) – 11:27		Third period			15:55 – Phil Esposito (4)
Tony Esposito		Goalie stats			Gilles Gilbert

Chicago won series 2–1

(3) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (6) St. Louis Blues

The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the preliminary round as the third seed (and sixth seed overall) earning 89 points during the regular season. The St. Louis Blues earned 84 points during the regular season and entered the preliminary round as the sixth seed (and tenth seed overall). This was the second playoff series between these two teams, with St. Louis winning the only previous meeting in six games in the 1970 Stanley Cup Semifinals. The teams split this year's regular season series.

April 8	St. Louis Blues		3–4		Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena	Recap
Claude Larose (1) – 12:21 Wayne Merrick (1) – pp – 17:19		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			19:45 – Bob Kelly (1)
Garry Unger (1) – 00:54		Third period			03:45 – Chuck Arnason (1) 09:57 – pp – Chuck Arnason (2) 17:29 – Pierre Larouche (1)
John Davidson		Goalie stats			Gary Inness

April 10	Pittsburgh Penguins		5–3		St. Louis Blues	St. Louis Arena	Recap
Jean Pronovost (1) – 05:16 Ron Stackhouse (1) – pp – 17:56		First period			03:12 – pp – Red Berenson (1) 09:57 – Bill Collins (1)
Syl Apps Jr. (1) – pp – 14:47		Second period			11:26 – Larry Sacharuk (1)
Colin Campbell (1) – sh – 04:33 Vic Hadfield (1) – 16:12		Third period			No scoring
Gary Inness		Goalie stats			Ed Johnston

Pittsburgh won series 2–0

(4) New York Rangers vs. (5) New York Islanders

Both the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders entered the preliminary round with 88 points earned during the regular season. However, the Rangers entered as the fourth seed (and seventh seed overall) by winning the tie-breaker with the New York Islanders in wins (37 to 33) while the Islanders entered the preliminary round as the fifth seed (and eighth seed overall). This was the first playoff series between these two teams. The Rangers won this year's season series earning 7 of 12 points during the regular season.

April 8	New York Islanders		3–2		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			08:11 – Brad Park (1) 19:25 – Pete Stemkowski (1)
Billy Harris (1) – pp – 05:00 Jean Potvin (1) – 11:51 Clark Gillies (1) – 13:30		Third period			No scoring
Chico Resch		Goalie stats			Ed Giacomin

April 10	New York Rangers		8–3		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
Jean Ratelle (1) – pp – 03:29 Bill Fairbairn (1) – pp – 06:10 Bill Fairbairn (2) – sh – 07:01 Ron Harris (1) – 10:56		First period			08:29 – pp – J.P. Parise (1)
Steve Vickers (1) – 02:20 Jerry Butler (1) – 09:58 Walt Tkaczuk (1) – 17:51		Second period			17:15 – Bert Marshall (1)
Rod Gilbert (1) – 02:37		Third period			05:34 – Jean Potvin (2)
Gilles Villemure		Goalie stats			Chico Resch, Billy Smith

April 11	New York Islanders		4–3	OT	New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
Clark Gillies (2) – 16:00		First period			No scoring
Denis Potvin (1) – pp – 08:26 Denis Potvin (2) – sh – 12:51		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			04:44 – Bill Fairbairn (3) 13:27 – pp – Bill Fairbairn (4) 13:42 – Steve Vickers (2)
J.P. Parise (2) – 00:11		First overtime period			No scoring
Billy Smith		Goalie stats			Gilles Villemure, Ed Giacomin

New York Islanders won series 2–1

Quarterfinals

(1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (8) Toronto Maple Leafs

The Philadelphia Flyers entered the playoffs as the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Patrick Division champions, the Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions, and the first seed overall earning 113 points during the regular season, winning the tie-breaker over both Buffalo and Montreal in total wins. The Toronto Maple Leafs were seeded eighth in the Quarterfinals as the lowest remaining seed in the playoffs and qualified for the Quarterfinals by defeating the Los Angeles Kings in the preliminary round. This was the first playoff series between these two teams. Philadelphia won this year's season series earning 7 of 8 points during the regular season.

April 13	Toronto Maple Leafs		3–6		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
No scoring		First period			05:50 – pp – Rick MacLeish (1) 10:21 – Rick MacLeish (2)
Tiger Williams (1) – pp – 11:40 Blaine Stoughton (3) – pp – 18:56 Darryl Sittler (2) – pp – 19:31		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			09:25 – Bill Barber (1) 11:46 – Reggie Leach (1) 12:02 – Jimmy Watson (1) 19:53 – Rick MacLeish (3)
Gord McRae		Goalie stats			Bernie Parent

April 15	Toronto Maple Leafs		0–3		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			03:35 – pp – Andre Dupont (1) 04:36 – Terry Crisp (1)
No scoring		Third period			05:12 – Terry Crisp (2)
Gord McRae		Goalie stats			Bernie Parent

April 17	Philadelphia Flyers		2–0		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
Gary Dornhoefer (1) – 03:08		First period			No scoring
Rick MacLeish (4) – 01:59		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Bernie Parent		Goalie stats			Gord McRae

April 19	Philadelphia Flyers		4–3	OT	Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
Reggie Leach (2) – 03:38 Reggie Leach (3) – pp – 15:48		First period			02:47 – Blaine Stoughton (4) 11:17 – pp – Ron Ellis (2)
Bill Barber (2) – 08:22		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			13:23 – Ron Ellis (3)
Andre Dupont (2) – 01:45		First overtime period			No scoring
Bernie Parent		Goalie stats			Gord McRae

Philadelphia won series 4–0

(2) Buffalo Sabres vs. (7) Chicago Black Hawks

The Buffalo Sabres entered the playoffs as the Adams Division champions, the Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions, and the second seed overall earning 113 points during the regular season, losing the most wins tie-breaker to Philadelphia while winning the same tie-breaker over Montreal. The Chicago Black Hawks were seeded seventh in the Quarterfinals as the second lowest remaining seed in the playoffs and qualified for the Quarterfinals by defeating the Boston Bruins in the preliminary round. This was the first playoff series between these two teams. Buffalo won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.

April 13	Chicago Blackhawks		1–4		Buffalo Sabres	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium	Recap
No scoring		First period			02:11 – Danny Gare (1) 14:35 – Gilbert Perrault (1) 17:25 – Fred Stanfield (1)
Ivan Boldirev (3) – 14:22		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			18:30 – pp – Rick Martin (1)
Tony Esposito		Goalie stats			Gerry Desjardins

April 15	Chicago Blackhawks		1–3		Buffalo Sabres	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium	Recap
Stan Mikita (2) – 00:51		First period			01:35 – Danny Gare (2) 09:59 – Rick Dudley (1) 15:09 – pp – Rick Dudley (2)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Tony Esposito		Goalie stats			Gerry Desjardins

April 17	Buffalo Sabres		4–5	OT	Chicago Blackhawks	Chicago Stadium	Recap
Rick Martin (2) – pp – 05:00 Gilbert Perreault (2) – pp – 11:57		First period			01:26 – Grant Mulvey (1) 05:20 – pp – Ivan Boldirev (4) 14:43 – Dick Redmond (2)
Don Luce (1) – 08:37		Second period			15:38 – Cliff Koroll (3)
Jim Schoenfeld (1) – pp – 08:23		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			02:31 – Stan Mikita (3)
Gerry Desjardins		Goalie stats			Tony Esposito

April 20	Buffalo Sabres		6–2		Chicago Blackhawks	Chicago Stadium	Recap
No scoring		First period			14:17 – Grant Mulvey (2)
Peter McNab (1) – 00:30		Second period			No scoring
Jim Lorentz (1) – 00:17 Rick Martin (3) – pp – 01:47 Rene Robert (1) – 05:42 Danny Gare (3) – 10:51 Gilbert Perreault (3) – pp – 14:59		Third period			08:35 – Phil Russell (1)
Gerry Desjardins		Goalie stats			Tony Esposito

April 22	Chicago Blackhawks		1–3		Buffalo Sabres	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium	Recap
Pit Martin (1) – 18:51		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			18:48 – Craig Ramsay (1)
No scoring		Third period			01:16 – Rene Robert (2) 15:54 – Jim Lorentz (2)
Tony Esposito		Goalie stats			Gerry Desjardins

Buffalo won series 4–1

(3) Montreal Canadiens vs. (6) Vancouver Canucks

The Montreal Canadiens entered the playoffs as the Norris Division champions, and the third seed overall earning 113 points during the regular season, losing the tie-breaker to both Philadelphia and Buffalo in total wins. The Vancouver Canucks entered the playoffs as the Smythe Division champions and the sixth seed in the quarterfinals as the third lowest remaining seed in the playoffs, earning 86 points during the regular season. This was the first playoff series between these two teams. Montreal swept all four games in this year's regular season series. This series also marked the first appearance of a team representing Vancouver in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 51 years. The most recent team to represent Vancouver before this was the Vancouver Maroons who lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the 1924 Stanley Cup Semifinals.

April 13	Vancouver Canucks		2–6		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
Paulin Bordeleau (1) – 15:40 Gerry O'Flaherty (1) – 17:24		First period			09:02 – Guy Lapointe (1) 12:17 – pp – Guy Lapointe (2)
No scoring		Second period			09:29 – Guy Lafleur (1) 13:34 – pp – Yvan Cournoyer (1)
No scoring		Third period			11:04 – Guy Lafleur (2) 17:21 – Steve Shutt (1)
Ken Lockett		Goalie stats			Ken Dryden

April 15	Vancouver Canucks		2–1		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Gerry O'Flaherty (2) – 15:08		Second period			12:39 – Doug Risebrough (1)
Garry Monahan (1) – 13:46		Third period			No scoring
Gary Smith		Goalie stats			Ken Dryden

April 17	Montreal Canadiens		4–1		Vancouver Canucks	Pacific Coliseum	Recap
No scoring		First period			03:15 – John Gould (1)
Jimmy Roberts (1) – 03:56 Bob Gainey (1) – 15:06 Jacques Lemaire (1) – 19:28		Second period			No scoring
Guy Lafleur (3) – pp – 06:34		Third period			No scoring
Ken Dryden		Goalie stats			Gary Smith

April 19	Montreal Canadiens		4–0		Vancouver Canucks	Pacific Coliseum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Guy Lafleur (4) – 04:06 Yvan Cournoyer (2) – 16:38		Second period			No scoring
Peter Mahovlich (1) – 07:35 Serge Savard (1) – 14:17		Third period			No scoring
Ken Dryden		Goalie stats			Gary Smith

April 22	Vancouver Canucks		4–5	OT	Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
John Gould (2) – pp – 05:32		First period			No scoring
Paulin Bordeleau (2) – pp – 05:45 Andre Boudrias (1) – 10:38		Second period			01:40 – Peter Mahovlich (2) 04:21 – Yvan Cournoyer (3)
Bob Dailey (1) – 05:36		Third period			08:09 – Peter Mahovlich (3) 10:54 – Guy Lapointe (3)
No scoring		First overtime period			17:06 – Guy Lafleur (5)
Gary Smith		Goalie stats			Ken Dryden

Montreal won series 4–1

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) New York Islanders

The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the Quarterfinals as the fourth seed and they qualified for this round by defeating the St. Louis Blues in the preliminary round. The New York Islanders were seeded fifth in the Quarterfinals and qualified for this round by defeating the New York Rangers in the preliminary round. This was the first playoff series between these two teams. The teams split this year's regular season series. After trailing the series 3–0, the Islanders rallied to win four straight games and take the series. They became the second North American professional sports team (after the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs) to accomplish such a feat.

April 13	New York Islanders		4–5		Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena	Recap
Andre St. Laurent (1) – 16:05		First period			02:05 – sh – Vic Hadfield (2) 10:59 – Ron Stackhouse (2) 14:52 – Pete Laframboise (1)
Bob Bourne (1) – pp – 12:10		Second period			No scoring
J.P. Parise (3) – pp – 06:52 J.P. Parise (4) – 17:47		Third period			00:36 – Bob Kelly (2) 04:44 – Dave Burrows (1)
Billy Smith		Goalie stats			Gary Inness

April 15	New York Islanders		1–3		Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			00:24 – Jean Pronovost (2) 09:30 – Lowell MacDonald (1)
Clark Gillies (3) – 15:34		Third period			14:51 – Lowell MacDonald (2)
Billy Smith		Goalie stats			Gary Inness

April 17	Pittsburgh Penguins		6–4		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
Jean Pronovost (3) – 04:12 Bob Kelly (3) – 07:26		First period			No scoring
Bob Kelly (4) – 03:25		Second period			07:26 – sh – Ed Westfall (1)
Vic Hadfield (3) – 10:31 Syl Apps Jr. (2) – 18:15 Lowell MacDonald (3) – 19:48		Third period			01:17 – Jude Drouin (1) 17:41 – Bert Marshall (2) 19:08 – Jude Drouin (2)
Gary Inness		Goalie stats			Billy Smith

April 20	Pittsburgh Penguins		1–3		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
No scoring		First period			03:48 – pp – Andre St. Laurent (2)
Bob Kelly (5) – pp – 08:18		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			06:16 – Clark Gillies (4) 06:55 – J.P. Parise (5)
Gary Inness		Goalie stats			Chico Resch

April 22	New York Islanders		4–2		Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena	Recap
Billy Harris (2) – pp – 02:11 Ralph Stewart (1) – 05:24		First period			No scoring
Ed Westfall (2) – pp – 11:47		Second period			08:14 – Vic Hadfield (4)
Jude Drouin (3) – 19:30		Third period			17:06 – Lowell MacDonald (4)
Chico Resch		Goalie stats			Gary Inness

April 24	Pittsburgh Penguins		1–4		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Pierre Larouche (2) – 04:56		Second period			04:07 – Ralph Stewart (2) 15:16 – Garry Howatt (1)
No scoring		Third period			19:34 – Ed Westfall (3) 19:59 – Garry Howatt (2)
Gary Inness		Goalie stats			Chico Resch

April 26	New York Islanders		1–0		Pittsburgh Penguins	Civic Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Ed Westfall (4) – 14:42		Third period			No scoring
Chico Resch		Goalie stats			Gary Inness

New York won series 4–3

Semifinals

(1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (4) New York Islanders

This was the first playoff series between these two teams. The Flyers won this year's season series earning eight of twelve points during the regular season. After becoming the second North American professional sports team to win a best-of-seven series after trailing 3–0 in the previous round against the Penguins, the Islanders almost accomplished the same feat in this round. However, the Flyers firmly defeated them in game seven to preserve the series win. In doing so, the Islanders set a record for most consecutive playoff wins (8) when facing elimination. This would mark the last time an NHL team forced a seventh game of a best-of-seven series after trailing 3–0 until the Flyers themselves did so against Boston in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals.

April 29	New York Islanders		0–4		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
No scoring		First period			06:04 – Don Saleski (1)
No scoring		Second period			02:39 – Bill Barber (3) 18:19 – sh – Bobby Clarke (1)
No scoring		Third period			01:34 – pp – Rick MacLeish (5)
Chico Resch		Goalie stats			Wayne Stephenson

May 1	New York Islanders		4–5	OT	Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
Denis Potvin (3) – pp – 05:34		First period			03:13 – Gary Dornhoefer (2) 07:38 – Reggie Leach (4) 09:50 – pp – Tom Bladon (1)
J.P. Parise (6) – pp – 12:22		Second period			00:58 – Bill Barber (4)
J.P. Parise (7) – 13:46 Denis Potvin (4) – 14:00		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			02:56 – Bobby Clarke (2)
Billy Smith		Goalie stats			Wayne Stephenson

May 4	Philadelphia Flyers		1–0		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Reggie Leach (5) – 00:30		Third period			No scoring
Bernie Parent		Goalie stats			Chico Resch

May 7	Philadelphia Flyers		3–4	OT	New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
No scoring		First period			04:58 – pp – Ed Westfall (5)
Ross Lonsberry (1) – 17:24 Rick MacLeish (6) – 19:21		Second period			05:29 – Gerry Hart (1) 12:49 – pp – Ralph Stewart (3)
Rick MacLeish (7) – 04:48		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			01:53 – Jude Drouin (4)
Bernie Parent		Goalie stats			Chico Resch

May 8	New York Islanders		5–1		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
J.P. Parise (8) – pp – 14:19		First period			No scoring
Billy Harris (3) – 14:23 Jude Drouin (5) – 17:35		Second period			No scoring
Bobby Nystrom (1) – 10:51 Garry Howatt (3) – 18:23		Third period			15:10 – Bob Kelly (1)
Chico Resch		Goalie stats			Bernie Parent

May 11	Philadelphia Flyers		1–2		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
Ross Lonsberry (2) – 01:42		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			16:15 – pp – Denis Potvin (5)
No scoring		Third period			03:42 – Gerry Hart (2)
Bernie Parent		Goalie stats			Chico Resch

May 13	New York Islanders		1–4		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
Jude Drouin (6) – pp – 05:02		First period			00:19 – Gary Dornhoefer (3) 02:27 – pp – Rick MacLeish (8) 07:11 – pp – Rick MacLeish (9)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			18:52 – Rick MacLeish (10)
Chico Resch		Goalie stats			Bernie Parent

Philadelphia won series 4–3

(2) Buffalo Sabres vs. (3) Montreal Canadiens

This was the second playoff series between these two teams, with Montreal winning the only previous meeting in six games in the 1973 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals. Buffalo won this year's season series earning nine of ten points during the regular season.

April 27	Montreal Canadiens		5–6	OT	Buffalo Sabres	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium	Recap
Guy Lapointe (4) – pp – 00:32 Guy Lafleur (6) – 18:29		First period			05:12 – pp – Rick Martin (4) 11:22 – Rene Robert (3) 18:07 – Rick Dudley (3)
Guy Lapointe (5) – sh – 06:44 Yvan Cournoyer (4) – pp – 10:57		Second period			18:15 – Gilbert Perreault (4)
Jacques Lemaire (2) – 19:36		Third period			04:20 – Jim Lorentz (3)
No scoring		First overtime period			04:42 – Danny Gare (4)
Ken Dryden		Goalie stats			Gerry Desjardins, Roger Crozier

April 29	Montreal Canadiens		2–4		Buffalo Sabres	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium	Recap
No scoring		First period			17:20 – Don Luce (2)
Yvon Lambert (1) – pp – 11:22		Second period			09:53 – Jim Lorentz (4)
Henri Richard (1) – 09:00		Third period			01:27 – Craig Ramsay (2) 19:50 – Danny Gare (5)
Ken Dryden		Goalie stats			Roger Crozier

May 1	Buffalo Sabres		0–7		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			01:38 – pp – Peter Mahovlich (4) 18:56 – Guy Lafleur (7)
No scoring		Second period			17:33 – Jacques Lemaire (3)
No scoring		Third period			01:24 – Yvon Lambert (2) 08:51 – Doug Risebrough (2) 14:55 – pp – Guy Lafleur (8) 15:22 – Guy Lafleur (9)
Gerry Desjardins, Roger Crozier		Goalie stats			Ken Dryden

May 3	Buffalo Sabres		2–8		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
Don Luce (3) – sh – 06:42		First period			07:59 – Bob Gainey (2) 19:21 – pp – Jacques Lemaire (4)
No scoring		Second period			12:51 – pp – Guy Lafleur (10) 15:30 – Yvon Lambert (3)
Jerry Korab (1) – 10:28		Third period			03:08 – pp – Guy Lafleur (11) 06:34 – pp – Yvon Lambert (4) 08:48 – pp – Guy Lapointe (6) 17:52 – Glen Sather (1)
Gerry Desjardins		Goalie stats			Ken Dryden

May 6	Montreal Canadiens		4–5	OT	Buffalo Sabres	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium	Recap
Jacques Lemaire (5) – 02:51 Yvan Cournoyer (5) – 19:53		First period			02:18 – Craig Ramsay (3) 08:37 – Fred Stanfield (2) 17:03 – pp – Gilbert Perreault (5)
Doug Risebrough (3) – 08:40		Second period			No scoring
Jimmy Roberts (2) – 03:10		Third period			14:35 – pp – Craig Ramsay (4)
No scoring		First overtime period			05:56 – Rene Robert (4)
Ken Dryden		Goalie stats			Gerry Desjardins

May 8	Buffalo Sabres		4–3		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
Craig Ramsay (5) – sh – 02:05 Rick Martin (5) – 08:51 Peter McNab (2) – 12:48		First period			09:48 – Peter Mahovlich (5)
Jim Lorentz (5) – 09:33		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			08:05 – Guy Lafleur (12) 18:55 – Peter Mahovlich (6)
Gerry Desjardins		Goalie stats			Ken Dryden

Buffalo won series 4–2

Stanley Cup Finals

Main article: 1975 Stanley Cup Finals

The defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers' appeared in their second consecutive Stanley Cup Finals and second overall. In the previous year's Stanley Cup Finals, the Flyers defeated the Boston Bruins in six games. This was the Buffalo Sabres' first Stanley Cup Finals appearance in their fifth season. This was the first playoff series (and only Finals) meeting between these two teams. The Philadelphia Flyers won this year's regular season series earning seven of eight points.

In the first Stanley Cup Finals matchup between two expansion teams, The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres four games to two for their second consecutive Stanley Cup.

May 15	Buffalo Sabres		1–4		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Rick Martin (6) – pp – 11:07		Third period			03:42 – Bill Barber (5) 07:29 – pp – Ross Lonsberry (3) 11:41 – pp – Bobby Clarke (3) 19:02 – Bill Barber (6)
Gerry Desjardins		Goalie stats			Bernie Parent

May 18	Buffalo Sabres		1–2		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			08:24 – Reggie Leach (6)
Jerry Korab (2) – 02:18		Third period			06:43 – pp – Bobby Clarke (4)
Gerry Desjardins		Goalie stats			Bernie Parent

May 20	Philadelphia Flyers		4–5	OT	Buffalo Sabres	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium	Recap
Gary Dornhoefer (4) – 00:39 Don Saleski (2) – 03:09 Rick MacLeish (11) – 14:13		First period			11:46 – Danny Gare (6) 12:03 – Rick Martin (7)
Reggie Leach (7) – 14:30		Second period			00:29 – Don Luce (4)
No scoring		Third period			09:56 – Bill Hajt (1)
No scoring		First overtime period			18:29 – Rene Robert (5)
Bernie Parent		Goalie stats			Gerry Desjardins, Roger Crozier

May 22	Philadelphia Flyers		2–4		Buffalo Sabres	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium	Recap
Andre Dupont (3) – 11:28		First period			No scoring
Ross Lonsberry (4) – 04:20		Second period			03:46 – pp – Jerry Korab (3) 10:07 – pp – Gilbert Perreault (6) 15:07 – Jim Lorentz (6)
No scoring		Third period			19:28 – Danny Gare (7)
Bernie Parent		Goalie stats			Gerry Desjardins

May 25	Buffalo Sabres		1–5		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
No scoring		First period			03:12 – Dave Schultz (1) 12:31 – Gary Dornhoefer (5) 12:50 – Bob Kelly (2)
No scoring		Second period			01:55 – pp – Reggie Leach (8) 09:56 – Dave Schultz (2)
Don Luce (5) – 14:02		Third period			No scoring
Gerry Desjardins		Goalie stats			Bernie Parent

May 27	Philadelphia Flyers		2–0		Buffalo Sabres	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Bob Kelly (3) – 00:11 Bill Clement (1) – 17:13		Third period			No scoring
Bernie Parent		Goalie stats			Roger Crozier

Philadelphia won series 4–2

Awards

1975 NHL awards
Prince of Wales Trophy: (Wales Conference regular season champion)	Buffalo Sabres
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: (Campbell Conference regular season champion)	Philadelphia Flyers
Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer, regular season)	Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: (Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication)	Don Luce, Buffalo Sabres
Calder Memorial Trophy: (Top first-year player)	Eric Vail, Atlanta Flames
Conn Smythe Trophy: (Most valuable player, playoffs)	Bernie Parent, Philadelphia Flyers
Hart Memorial Trophy: (Most valuable player, regular season)	Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers
Jack Adams Award: (Best coach)	Bob Pulford, Los Angeles Kings
James Norris Memorial Trophy: (Best defenceman)	Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship)	Marcel Dionne, Detroit Red Wings
Lester B. Pearson Award: (Outstanding player, regular season)	Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
Vezina Trophy: (Goaltender(s) of team(s) with best goaltending record)	Bernie Parent, Philadelphia Flyers

All-Star teams

First Team	Position	Second Team
Bernie Parent, Philadelphia Flyers	G	Rogie Vachon, Los Angeles Kings
Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins	D	Guy Lapointe, Montreal Canadiens
Denis Potvin, New York Islanders	D	Börje Salming, Toronto Maple Leafs
Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers	C	Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens	RW	Rene Robert, Buffalo Sabres
Rick Martin, Buffalo Sabres	LW	Steve Vickers, New York Rangers

Source: NHL.

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Bobby Orr	Boston Bruins	80	46	89	135	101
Phil Esposito	Boston Bruins	79	61	66	127	62
Marcel Dionne	Detroit Red Wings	80	47	74	121	14
Guy Lafleur	Montreal Canadiens	70	53	66	119	37
Peter Mahovlich	Montreal Canadiens	80	35	82	117	64
Bobby Clarke	Philadelphia Flyers	80	27	89	116	125
Rene Robert	Buffalo Sabres	74	40	60	100	75
Rod Gilbert	New York Rangers	76	36	61	97	22
Gilbert Perreault	Buffalo Sabres	68	39	57	96	36
Rick Martin	Buffalo Sabres	68	52	43	95	72

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

Player	Team	GP	MIN	GA	GAA	W	L	T	SO
Bernie Parent	Philadelphia Flyers	68	4041	137	2.03	44	14	10	12
Rogatien Vachon	L.A. Kings	54	3239	121	2.24	27	14	13	6
Gary Edwards	L.A. Kings	27	1561	61	2.34	15	3	8	3
Chico Resch	N.Y. Islanders	25	1432	59	2.47	12	7	5	3
Roger Crozier	Buffalo Sabres	23	1260	55	2.62	17	2	1	3
Ken Dryden	Montreal Canadiens	56	3320	149	2.69	30	9	16	4
Tony Esposito	Chicago Black Hawks	71	4219	193	2.74	34	30	7	6
Billy Smith	N.Y. Islanders	58	3368	156	2.78	21	18	17	3
Dan Bouchard	Atlanta Flames	40	2400	111	2.78	20	15	5	3
Phil Myre	Atlanta Flames	40	2400	114	2.85	14	16	10	5

Other statistics

• Plus-minus: Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
• All Time NHL record for most Penalty Minutes in a season: 472, Dave Schultz, Philadelphia Flyers

Coaches

Patrick Division

• Atlanta Flames: Bernie Geoffrion
• New York Islanders: Al Arbour
• New York Rangers: Emile Francis
• Philadelphia Flyers: Fred Shero

Adams Division

• Boston Bruins: Don Cherry
• Buffalo Sabres: Floyd Smith
• California Golden Seals: Marshall Johnston and Bill McCreary Sr.
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Red Kelly

Norris Division

• Detroit Red Wings: Alex Delvecchio
• Los Angeles Kings: Bob Pulford
• Montreal Canadiens: Scotty Bowman
• Pittsburgh Penguins: Marc Boileau
• Washington Capitals: Jim Anderson and Milt Schmidt

Smythe Division

• Chicago Black Hawks: Billy Reay
• Kansas City Scouts: Bep Guidolin
• Minnesota North Stars: Jack Gordon and Charlie Burns
• St. Louis Blues: Lou Angotti, Lynn Patrick and Garry Young
• Vancouver Canucks: Phil Maloney

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1974–75 (listed with their first team):

• Guy Chouinard, Atlanta Flames
• Danny Gare, Buffalo Sabres
• Charlie Simmer, California Golden Seals
• Wilf Paiement, Kansas City Scouts
• Dave Hutchison, Los Angeles Kings
• Clark Gillies, New York Islanders
• Bob Bourne, New York Islanders
• Rick Middleton, New York Rangers
• Ron Greschner, New York Rangers
• Bob MacMillan, New York Rangers
• Pierre Larouche, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Mario Tremblay, Montreal Canadiens
• Tiger Williams, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Harold Snepsts, Vancouver Canucks

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1974–75 (listed with their last team):

• Murray Oliver, Minnesota North Stars
• Henri Richard, Montreal Canadiens
• Bobby Rousseau, New York Rangers
• Ted Harris, Philadelphia Flyers
• Eddie Shack, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Norm Ullman, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Doug Mohns, Washington Capitals

NOTE: Ullman would finish his major professional career in the World Hockey Association.

Broadcasting

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 third and final season under the U.S. rights agreement with NBC, airing weekend afternoon regular season games and playoff games. This would be the last season until the 1990s that NHL games would air on American network television. Unable to sign a U.S. national television contract for the 1975–76 season, the league put together a broadcast syndication package called the NHL Network to have games aired on various independent stations.

See also

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1974 NHL amateur draft
• 1974 NHL Expansion Draft
• 1974–75 NHL transactions
• 28th National Hockey League All-Star Game
• National Hockey League All-Star Game
• List of WHA seasons
• Lester Patrick Trophy
• 1974 in sports
• 1975 in sports

References

• 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

External links

• Hockey Database
• NHL.com