1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers season

1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers
Campbell Conference champions
Patrick Division champions
Division	1st Patrick
Conference	1st Campbell
1976–77 record	48–16–16
Home record	33–6–1
Road record	15–10–15
Goals for	323 (2nd)
Goals against	213 (3rd)
Team information
President	Joe Scott
General manager	Keith Allen
Coach	Fred Shero
Captain	Bobby Clarke
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Spectrum
Average attendance	17,077
Minor league affiliate(s)	Springfield Indians Philadelphia Firebirds
Team leaders
Goals	Rick MacLeish (49)
Assists	Bobby Clarke (63)
Points	Rick MacLeish (97)
Penalty minutes	Paul Holmgren (201)
Plus/minus	André Dupont (+57)
Wins	Bernie Parent (35)
Goals against average	Wayne Stephenson (2.31)

The 1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' tenth season in the National Hockey League (NHL). They finished first in the Patrick Division with a record of 48 wins, 16 losses, and 16 ties for 112 points.

Regular season

Dethroned, the heyday of the Broad Street Bullies came to an end, as prior to the 1976–77 season, tough-guy Dave Schultz was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. Despite a slight drop-off in performance, the Flyers dominated the Patrick Division with what proved to be their 4th straight division title.

Season standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Philadelphia Flyers	80	48	16	16	323	213	112
New York Islanders	80	47	21	12	288	193	106
Atlanta Flames	80	34	34	12	264	265	80
New York Rangers	80	29	37	14	272	310	72

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.

Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Patrick Division 1976–77 NHL records Team ATL NYI NYR PHI Total Atlanta — 0–6 4–1–1 2–2–2 6–9–3 N.Y. Islanders 6–0 — 4–1–1 3–2–1 13–3–2 N.Y. Rangers 1–4–1 1–4–1 — 0–2–4 2–10–6 Philadelphia 2–2–2 2–3–1 2–0–4 — 6–5–7 Vs. Smythe Division 1976–77 NHL records Team CHI COL MIN STL VAN Total Atlanta 3–2 3–1–1 2–1–2 4–1 1–3–1 13–8–4 N.Y. Islanders 3–1–1 5–0 3–1–1 3–1–1 4–1 18–4–3 N.Y. Rangers 2–2–1 3–1–1 5–0 2–2–1 3–2 15–7–3 Philadelphia 3–0–2 5–0 3–0–2 5–0 4–0–1 20–0–5 Vs. Adams Division 1976–77 NHL records Team BOS BUF CLE TOR Total Atlanta 2–2 1–2–1 1–2–1 1–4 5–10–2 N.Y. Islanders 2–1–1 3–1–1 3–0–1 1–2–1 9–4–4 N.Y. Rangers 0–4–1 0–4 3–0–1 2–1–1 5–9–3 Philadelphia 3–1 2–2 3–1–1 2–1–1 10–5–2 Vs. Norris Division 1976–77 NHL records Team DET LAK MTL PIT WSH Total Atlanta 2–1–1 2–2 0–3–1 3–0–1 3–1 10–7–3 N.Y. Islanders 2–2 2–2 0–4 2–2 1–0–3 7–10–3 N.Y. Rangers 3–1 0–3–1 1–3 1–2–1 2–2 7–11–2 Philadelphia 3–1 4–0 0–4 3–1 2–0–2 12–6–2

Playoffs

After disposing of Toronto—after which series Toronto coach Red Kelly claimed "I don't think I'd call [Bobby] Clarke dirty—mean is a better word"—in six games, the Flyers found themselves in the semifinals for the fifth consecutive season. Pitted against Boston, the Flyers lost Games 1 and 2 at home in overtime and would not return home as they were swept in four straight games.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1976–77 regular season
October: 7–3–2, 16 points (home: 7–2–0; road: 0–1–2) Game Date Opponent Score Record Points Recap 1 October 7 New York Islanders 0–3 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 October 9 @ Atlanta Flames 3–4 0–2–0 0 Recap 3 October 10 Los Angeles Kings 1–0 1–2–0 2 Recap 4 October 14 Montreal Canadiens 1–7 1–3–0 2 Recap 5 October 16 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 5–5 1–3–1 3 Recap 6 October 17 Detroit Red Wings 7–4 2–3–1 5 Recap 7 October 21 Chicago Black Hawks 5–1 3–3–1 7 Recap 8 October 23 Buffalo Sabres 3–2 4–3–1 9 Recap 9 October 24 Colorado Rockies 5–3 5–3–1 11 Recap 10 October 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–0 6–3–1 13 Recap 11 October 30 @ New York Islanders 3–3 6–3–2 14 Recap 12 October 31 Minnesota North Stars 9–1 7–3–2 16 Recap
November: 5–4–2, 12 points (home: 4–0–1; road: 1–4–1) Game Date Opponent Score Record Points Recap 13 November 4 @ Detroit Red Wings 2–3 7–4–2 16 Recap 14 November 5 @ Cleveland Barons 4–6 7–5–2 16 Recap 15 November 7 @ Buffalo Sabres 3–5 7–6–2 16 Recap 16 November 10 @ Chicago Black Hawks 2–2 7–6–3 17 Recap 17 November 11 Vancouver Canucks 6–4 8–6–3 19 Recap 18 November 13 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 0–1 8–7–3 19 Recap 19 November 16 Detroit Red Wings 2–0 9–7–3 21 Recap 20 November 21 Atlanta Flames 6–5 10–7–3 23 Recap 21 November 24 New York Rangers 2–2 10–7–4 24 Recap 22 November 26 @ Colorado Rockies 4–2 11–7–4 26 Recap 23 November 28 New York Islanders 5–3 12–7–4 28 Recap
December: 10–0–4, 24 points (home: 6–0–0; road: 4–0–4) Game Date Opponent Score Record Points Recap 24 December 1 @ Minnesota North Stars 2–2 12–7–5 29 Recap 25 December 3 @ Washington Capitals 4–4 12–7–6 30 Recap 26 December 5 Cleveland Barons 6–2 13–7–6 32 Recap 27 December 9 @ Boston Bruins 3–1 14–7–6 34 Recap 28 December 11 Boston Bruins 4–3 15–7–6 36 Recap 29 December 12 Toronto Maple Leafs 7–4 16–7–6 38 Recap 30 December 14 @ Minnesota North Stars 3–3 16–7–7 39 Recap 31 December 16 Chicago Black Hawks 4–1 17–7–7 41 Recap 32 December 18 @ St. Louis Blues 2–0 18–7–7 43 Recap 33 December 19 Colorado Rockies 4–3 19–7–7 45 Recap 34 December 22 @ New York Rangers 3–3 19–7–8 46 Recap 35 December 23 Washington Capitals 5–2 20–7–8 48 Recap 36 December 27 @ Vancouver Canucks 5–1 21–7–8 50 Recap 37 December 30 @ Los Angeles Kings 2–0 22–7–8 52 Recap
January: 7–3–4, 18 points (home: 4–1–0; road: 3–2–4) Game Date Opponent Score Record Points Recap 38 January 1 @ Cleveland Barons 7–2 23–7–8 54 Recap 39 January 3 @ Montreal Canadiens 4–6 23–8–8 54 Recap 40 January 5 @ New York Rangers 4–4 23–8–9 55 Recap 41 January 6 St. Louis Blues 7–1 24–8–9 57 Recap 42 January 8 Los Angeles Kings 6–1 25–8–9 59 Recap 43 January 10 @ New York Islanders 3–8 25–9–9 59 Recap 44 January 15 Colorado Rockies 5–2 26–9–9 61 Recap 45 January 16 Minnesota North Stars 4–2 27–9–9 63 Recap 46 January 20 Montreal Canadiens 2–6 27–10–9 63 Recap 47 January 22 @ Atlanta Flames 4–4 27–10–10 64 Recap 48 January 23 @ Chicago Black Hawks 2–2 27–10–11 65 Recap 49 January 27 @ St. Louis Blues 2–0 28–10–11 67 Recap 50 January 29 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 5–2 29–10–11 69 Recap 51 January 30 @ Washington Capitals 5–5 29–10–12 70 Recap
February: 9–3–0, 18 points (home: 6–0–0; road: 3–3–0) Game Date Opponent Score Record Points Recap 52 February 3 Chicago Black Hawks 6–0 30–10–12 72 Recap 53 February 5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 7–5 31–10–12 74 Recap 54 February 7 Atlanta Flames 7–4 32–10–12 76 Recap 55 February 10 Washington Capitals 9–2 33–10–12 78 Recap 56 February 12 @ New York Islanders 1–2 33–11–12 78 Recap 57 February 14 St. Louis Blues 6–4 34–11–12 80 Recap 58 February 17 New York Rangers 7–1 35–11–12 82 Recap 59 February 19 @ Montreal Canadiens 2–5 35–12–12 82 Recap 60 February 20 Buffalo Sabres 4–2 36–12–12 84 Recap 61 February 24 @ Buffalo Sabres 0–2 36–13–12 84 Recap 62 February 26 @ St. Louis Blues 5–1 37–13–12 86 Recap 63 February 27 @ Colorado Rockies 4–3 38–13–12 88 Recap
March: 9–3–3, 21 points (home: 5–3–0; road: 4–0–3) Game Date Opponent Score Record Points Recap 64 March 1 @ Minnesota North Stars 5–2 39–13–12 90 Recap 65 March 3 Vancouver Canucks 5–2 40–13–12 92 Recap 66 March 5 @ Detroit Red Wings 4–1 41–13–12 94 Recap 67 March 7 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–4 41–14–12 94 Recap 68 March 10 Cleveland Barons 7–2 42–14–12 96 Recap 69 March 12 Boston Bruins 1–3 42–15–12 96 Recap 70 March 13 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–0 43–15–12 98 Recap 71 March 16 @ New York Rangers 4–4 43–15–13 99 Recap 72 March 17 Atlanta Flames 1–4 43–16–13 99 Recap 73 March 19 @ Los Angeles Kings 5–3 44–16–13 101 Recap 74 March 22 @ Vancouver Canucks 4–4 44–16–14 102 Recap 75 March 24 @ Boston Bruins 6–2 45–16–14 104 Recap 76 March 26 Vancouver Canucks 9–3 46–16–14 106 Recap 77 March 29 New York Islanders 3–1 47–16–14 108 Recap 78 March 30 @ Cleveland Barons 3–3 47–16–15 109 Recap
April: 1–0–1, 3 points (home: 1–0–0; road: 0–0–1) Game Date Opponent Score Record Points Recap 79 April 2 New York Rangers 4–1 48–16–15 111 Recap 80 April 3 @ Atlanta Flames 3–3 48–16–16 112 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1977 Stanley Cup playoffs
Quarterfinals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs – Flyers win 4–2 Game Date Opponent Score Series Recap 1 April 11 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–3 Maple Leafs lead 1–0 Recap 2 April 13 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–4 Maple Leafs lead 2–0 Recap 3 April 15 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 OT Maple Leafs lead 2–1 Recap 4 April 17 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 6–5 OT Series tied 2–2 Recap 5 April 19 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–0 Flyers lead 3–2 Recap 6 April 21 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 Flyers win 4–2 Recap
Semifinals vs. Boston Bruins – Bruins win 4–0 Game Date Opponent Score Series Recap 1 April 24 Boston Bruins 3–4 OT Bruins lead 1–0 Recap 2 April 26 Boston Bruins 4–5 2OT Bruins lead 2–0 Recap 3 April 28 @ Boston Bruins 1–2 Bruins lead 3–0 Recap 4 May 1 @ Boston Bruins 0–3 Bruins win 4–0 Recap
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

• 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.

			Regular season						Playoffs
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
19	Rick MacLeish	C	80	49	48	97	46	42	10	4	9	13	1	2
16	Bobby Clarke	C	80	27	63	90	39	71	10	5	5	10	0	8
12	Gary Dornhoefer	RW	79	25	34	59	47	85	9	1	0	1	1	22
10	Mel Bridgman	C	70	19	38	57	35	120	7	1	0	1	0	8
18	Ross Lonsberry	LW	75	23	32	55	42	43	10	1	2	3	−2	29
7	Bill Barber	LW	73	20	35	55	32	62	10	1	4	5	−1	2
3	Tom Bladon	D	80	10	43	53	34	39	10	1	3	4	−4	4
26	Orest Kindrachuk	C	78	15	36	51	22	79	10	2	1	3	1	0
27	Reggie Leach	RW	77	32	14	46	6	23	10	4	5	9	2	0
9	Bob Kelly	LW	73	22	24	46	27	117	10	0	1	1	−2	18
11	Don Saleski	RW	74	22	16	38	24	33	10	0	0	0	−3	12
14	Joe Watson	D	77	4	26	30	29	39	10	0	0	0	−5	2
6	Andre Dupont	D	59	10	19	29	57	168	10	1	1	2	−4	35
17	Paul Holmgren	RW	59	14	12	26	10	201	10	1	1	2	−2	25
20	Jimmy Watson	D	71	3	23	26	34	35	10	1	2	3	6	2
22	Harvey Bennett†	C	51	12	8	20	−9	60	4	0	0	0	0	2
2	Bob Dailey†	D	32	5	14	19	16	38	10	4	9	13	11	15
5	Larry Goodenough‡	D	32	4	13	17	15	21	—	—	—	—	—	—
25	Terry Murray‡	D	36	0	13	13	21	14	—	—	—	—	—	—
5	Rick Lapointe†	D	22	1	8	9	20	39	10	0	0	0	−5	7
37	Al Hill†	LW	9	2	4	6	6	27	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	Jack McIlhargey‡	D	40	2	1	3	6	164	—	—	—	—	—	—
23	Bill Collins‡	RW	9	1	1	2	−1	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
28	Drew Callander	C	2	1	0	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
30	Gary Inness	G	6	0	1	1		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
4	Mark Suzor	D	4	0	1	1	2	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
1	Bernie Parent	G	61	0	0	0		0	3	0	0	0		0
35	Wayne Stephenson	G	21	0	0	0		4	9	0	0	0		2
21	John Paddock	RW	5	0	0	0	0	9	—	—	—	—	—	—
15	Terry Crisp	C	2	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
23	Norm Barnes	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Bob Ritchie‡	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

			Regular season											Playoffs
No.	Player	GP	GS	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	GS	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
1	Bernie Parent	61	61	35	13	12	1582	159	2.71	.899	5	3,519:36	3	2	0	3	43	8	3.95	.814	0	121:39
35	Wayne Stephenson	21	17	12	3	2	472	41	2.31	.916	3	1,063:55	9	8	4	3	238	23	2.61	.903	1	529:36
30	Gary Inness	6	2	1	0	2	89	9	2.57	.899	0	210:28	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Tom Bladon
		Bobby Clarke
		Gary Dornhoefer
		Rick MacLeish
		Bernie Parent
		Fred Shero (Coach)
		Jim Watson
		Joe Watson
Team	Barry Ashbee Trophy	André Dupont
	Class Guy Award	Gary Dornhoefer

Records

See also: List of Philadelphia Flyers records

Among the records set during the 1976–77 season was rookie Al Hill setting the league record for most points by a player in his NHL debut, scoring two goals and three assists on February 14 against the St. Louis Blues. The Flyers set a league record for most road ties in a season (15) and a team record for fewest home ties (1). During the playoffs, Rick MacLeish tied a team record for most assists during a single period (3) on April 24. Two days later the Flyers played the longest home game in team history (90 minutes and 7 seconds), losing 5–4 to the Boston Bruins midway through the second overtime period.

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 17, 1976, the day after the deciding game of the 1976 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 14, 1977, the day of the deciding game of the 1977 Stanley Cup Finals.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
September 29, 1976	To Philadelphia Flyers Future considerations	To Los Angeles Kings Dave Schultz
November 24, 1976	To Philadelphia Flyers Harvey Bennett	To Washington Capitals Cash
December 4, 1976	To Philadelphia Flyers Cash	To Washington Capitals Bill Collins
January 20, 1977	To Philadelphia Flyers Bob Dailey	To Vancouver Canucks Larry Goodenough Jack McIlhargey
February 17, 1977	To Philadelphia Flyers Mike Korney Rick Lapointe	To Detroit Red Wings Steve Coates Dave Kelly Terry Murray Bob Ritchie

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Via	Ref
October 20, 1976 (1976-10-20)	Bill Collins	New York Rangers	Free agency
October 22, 1976 (1976-10-22)	Al Hill	Victoria Cougars (WCHL)	Free agency

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via	Ref
N/A	Serge Lajeunesse		Retirement
	Larry Wright	Düsseldorfer EG (Bundesliga)	Free agency
October 1976 (1976-10)	Terry Crisp		Retirement
November 16, 1976 (1976-11-16)	Wayne Stephenson		Retirement

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Ref
June 16, 1976 (1976-06-16)	Drew Callander	multi-year
	Craig Hanmer	multi-year
	Dave Hynek	multi-year
	Mark Suzor	multi-year

Draft picks

See also: List of Philadelphia Flyers draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft, which was held at the NHL's office in Montreal, on June 1, 1976.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)
1	17	Mark Suzor	Defense	Canada	Kingston Canadians (OHA)
2	35	Drew Callander	Center	Canada	Regina Pats (WCHL)
3	53	Craig Hanmer	Defense	United States	Mohawk Valley Comets (NAHL)
4	71	Dave Hynek	Defense	Canada	Kingston Canadians (OHA)
5	89	Robin Lang	Defense	Canada	Cornell University (ECAC)
6	107	Paul Klasinski	Left wing	United States	St. Paul Vulcans (MJHL)
7	117	Ray Kurpis	Right wing	United States	Austin Mavericks (MJHL)

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Springfield Indians of the AHL and the Philadelphia Firebirds of the NAHL.

References

General

• "Philadelphia Flyers 1976–77 roster and statistics". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
• "1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
• "Flyers History - Season Overview : 1976–77". Flyers History. FlyersAlumni.net. Retrieved February 10, 2022.

Specific