| 1974–75 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 9, 1974 – May 27, 1975 |
| Games | 80 |
| 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 |
| SeasonMVP | Bobby Clarke (Flyers) |
| Top scorer | Bobby Orr (Bruins) |
| Playoffs | |
| PlayoffsMVP | Bernie Parent (Flyers) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Runners-up | Buffalo Sabres |
| NHL seasons | |
← 1973–74 1975–76 → | |
The1974–75 NHL season was the58thseason of theNational Hockey League. Two new teams, theWashington Capitals andKansas 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 until1992–93). ThePhiladelphia Flyers won theStanley Cup for the second consecutive year.
TheWashington Capitals andKansas City Scouts were added as expansion teams. The1974 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 until1993–94. The East Division became thePrince of Wales Conference and consisted of theAdams Division andNorris Division. The West Division became theClarence Campbell Conference and consisted of thePatrick Division andSmythe 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. TheClarence S. Campbell Bowl andPrince of Wales Trophy (previously awarded to the first-place finishers of theWest Division andEast Division respectively) now became awarded to the first-place finishers of the Campbell Conference and the Wales Conference, respectively.
In early 1975, newspapers reported that theCalifornia Golden Seals andPittsburgh Penguins were to be relocated toDenver andSeattle 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 presidentClarence 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 inPittsburgh (and ultimately, over time, made Pittsburgh one of the NHL's stronger markets),[1][2] while the Golden Seals moved toCleveland in 1976 to become theCleveland Barons before merging with theMinnesota North Stars in 1978. The Scouts gave up onKansas City after two seasons and moved to Denver to become theColorado Rockies in 1976 before moving east toEast Rutherford, New Jersey, in 1982 and becoming theNew Jersey Devils; Denver returned to the NHL in 1995 when theQuebec Nordiques moved there and became theColorado Avalanche, where they remain to this day. Seattle was later awarded an expansion team, theSeattle Kraken, in 2018 that began play in 2021.
The1974 NHL amateur draft was held on May 28–30. For the first time, the draft was held at the NHL offices inMontreal,Quebec.Greg Joly was selected first overall by theWashington Capitals.
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 theStanley Cup Finals.
TheVancouver 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 theLos Angeles Kings. The Kings, with their disciplined defensive style, and excellent goaltending tandem ofRogie Vachon andGary Edwards, battled Montreal all year for first place. The Kings opened their season by beating the defending championPhiladelphia 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.
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
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
With the new conference and division structure, a new postseason format was also introduced. The top three teams in each division made the playoffs. All 12 clubs then wereseeded 1–12 based on regular season points, regardless of conference or division.
Note: Only teams that qualified for the playoffs are listed here.
Under the new postseason format, the NHL began using "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system: in each round, the highest remaining seed was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth.
Regardless of playoff seed, all four division winners received abye to the Quarterfinals, including this season's 9th overall seeded Smythe Division champion Vancouver Canucks.
Each series in the Preliminary Round was played in abest-of-three format while each series in the other three rounds were played in abest-of-seven format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each series).
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||
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 | |
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 oflast 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 | |
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 the1970 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 | |
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. J.P Parise scored the game-winning goal just 11 seconds into overtime of game 3 as the Islanders won their first playoff series ever.
| 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 | |
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 | |
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 | |
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 theVancouver Maroons who lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the1924 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 | |
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 the1942 Toronto Maple Leafs) to accomplish such afeat. Ed Westfall scored the game-winning goal with 5:18 left in the third period of game seven to complete the comeback.
| 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 | |
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 the2010 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 | |
This was the second playoff series between these two teams, with Montreal winning the only previous meeting in six games in the1973 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 | |
The defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers' appeared in their second consecutive Stanley Cup Finals and second overall. In theprevious 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, thePhiladelphia Flyers beat theBuffalo Sabres four games to two for their second consecutiveStanley 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 | |
| 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 |
Source: NHL.[4]
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.[5]
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 |
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1974–75 (listed with their first team):
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):
NOTE: Ullman would finish his major professional career in theWorld Hockey Association.
Hockey Night in Canada onCBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games.HNIC also produced Wednesday night regular season game telecasts forCTV.
This was the third and final season under the U.S. rights agreement withNBC, 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 abroadcast syndication package called theNHL Network to have games aired on variousindependent stations.