# 1970–71 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1970–71 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' fourth season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers lost in the quarterfinals to the Chicago Black Hawks in a four-game sweep.

## Regular season

Bobby Clarke led the team in goals (27), assists (36), and points (63) in his second season.

### Season standings

West Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 78 | 49 | 20 | 9 | 277 | 184 | +93 | 107 |
| 2 | St. Louis Blues | 78 | 34 | 25 | 19 | 223 | 208 | +15 | 87 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 78 | 28 | 33 | 17 | 207 | 225 | −18 | 73 |
| 4 | Minnesota North Stars | 78 | 28 | 34 | 16 | 191 | 223 | −32 | 72 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Kings | 78 | 25 | 40 | 13 | 239 | 303 | −64 | 63 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 78 | 21 | 37 | 20 | 221 | 240 | −19 | 62 |
| 7 | California Golden Seals | 78 | 20 | 53 | 5 | 199 | 320 | −121 | 45 |

### Record vs. opponents
## Playoffs

The Flyers were swept in four games by the Chicago Black Hawks in the first round. Even though the team had improved their record in his second season behind the bench, head coach Vic Stasiuk was replaced by Fred Shero in the off-season.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1970–71 regular season :
October: 5–3–1, 11 points (home: 5–1–0; road: 0–2–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
1October 10Minnesota North Stars2–11–0–02Recap
2October 11Montreal Canadiens1–21–1–02Recap
3October 15Vancouver Canucks5–42–1–04Recap
4October 17@ Pittsburgh Penguins0–02–1–15Recap
5October 18Toronto Maple Leafs4–23–1–17Recap
6October 22Buffalo Sabres4–24–1–19Recap
7October 24@ Montreal Canadiens1–34–2–19Recap
8October 25@ Boston Bruins3–44–3–19Recap
9October 29Los Angeles Kings3–15–3–111Recap :
November: 5–6–1, 11 points (home: 4–3–1; road: 1–3–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
10November 1Pittsburgh Penguins3–26–3–113Recap
11November 5@ Detroit Red Wings1–36–4–113Recap
12November 7Chicago Black Hawks1–16–4–214Recap
13November 8@ Buffalo Sabres3–17–4–216Recap
14November 11@ Chicago Black Hawks1–77–5–216Recap
15November 15St. Louis Blues1–27–6–216Recap
16November 19California Golden Seals6–28–6–218Recap
17November 21Boston Bruins2–58–7–218Recap
18November 22Detroit Red Wings2–48–8–218Recap
19November 25New York Rangers3–19–8–220Recap
20November 28@ Chicago Black Hawks1–39–9–220Recap
21November 29Vancouver Canucks4–210–9–222Recap :
December: 2–8–3, 7 points (home: 0–2–1; road: 0–6–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
22December 1@ Vancouver Canucks4–510–10–222Recap
23December 4@ California Golden Seals4–011–10–224Recap
24December 5@ Los Angeles Kings4–411–10–325Recap
25December 9@ St. Louis Blues5–212–10–327Recap
26December 10@ Detroit Red Wings1–312–11–327Recap
27December 12Boston Bruins0–112–12–327Recap
28December 13St. Louis Blues2–212–12–428Recap
29December 15@ Vancouver Canucks2–312–13–428Recap
30December 18@ California Golden Seals0–112–14–428Recap
31December 19@ Los Angeles Kings2–212–14–529Recap
32December 26@ Toronto Maple Leafs1–912–15–529Recap
33December 27Montreal Canadiens2–412–16–529Recap
34December 30@ St. Louis Blues2–512–17–529Recap :
January: 7–5–4, 18 points (home: 5–3–2; road: 2–2–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
35January 2Chicago Black Hawks1–312–18–529Recap
36January 3Boston Bruins1–512–19–529Recap
37January 6Pittsburgh Penguins4–313–19–531Recap
38January 7Los Angeles Kings5–513–19–632Recap
39January 9California Golden Seals5–314–19–634Recap
40January 10@ Montreal Canadiens3–215–19–636Recap
41January 14Toronto Maple Leafs3–016–19–638Recap
42January 16@ Detroit Red Wings4–217–19–640Recap
43January 17Los Angeles Kings1–417–20–640Recap
44January 20@ New York Rangers3–317–20–741Recap
45January 21Montreal Canadiens5–517–20–842Recap
46January 23@ Minnesota North Stars2–217–20–943Recap
47January 24@ Buffalo Sabres4–617–21–943Recap
48January 28@ Boston Bruins2–617–22–943Recap
49January 30New York Rangers5–218–22–945Recap
50January 31Detroit Red Wings3–119–22–947Recap :
February: 5–6–1, 11 points (home: 3–1–0; road: 2–5–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
51February 4Chicago Black Hawks6–220–22–949Recap
52February 6@ Toronto Maple Leafs2–420–23–949Recap
53February 7St. Louis Blues2–620–24–949Recap
54February 10@ Pittsburgh Penguins3–520–25–949Recap
55February 13@ Minnesota North Stars2–220–25–1050Recap
56February 14@ Buffalo Sabres2–320–26–1050Recap
57February 17@ Los Angeles Kings4–021–26–1052Recap
58February 19@ Vancouver Canucks3–222–26–1054Recap
59February 20@ California Golden Seals3–522–27–1054Recap
60February 24@ New York Rangers2–422–28–1054Recap
61February 25Buffalo Sabres3–223–28–1056Recap
62February 27Vancouver Canucks8–124–28–1058Recap :
March: 3–5–5, 11 points (home: 2–0–4; road: 1–5–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
63March 4Detroit Red Wings2–224–28–1159Recap
64March 6California Golden Seals4–424–28–1260Recap
65March 7@ Minnesota North Stars1–324–29–1260Recap
66March 10@ Pittsburgh Penguins2–224–29–1361Recap
67March 12@ New York Rangers2–724–30–1361Recap
68March 13@ Toronto Maple Leafs3–225–30–1363Recap
69March 18New York Rangers2–126–30–1365Recap
70March 20@ Boston Bruins3–526–31–1365Recap
71March 21Toronto Maple Leafs1–126–31–1466Recap
72March 24@ Montreal Canadiens3–526–32–1466Recap
73March 25Minnesota North Stars2–226–32–1567Recap
74March 27@ Chicago Black Hawks1–326–33–1567Recap
75March 28Pittsburgh Penguins3–127–33–1569Recap :
April: 1–0–2, 4 points (home: 1–0–1; road: 0–0–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
76April 1@ St. Louis Blues1–127–33–1670Recap
77April 3Minnesota North Stars3–228–33–1672Recap
78April 4Buffalo Sabres3–328–33–1773Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1971 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Quarterfinals vs. Chicago Black Hawks – Black Hawks win 4–0
GameDateOpponentScoreSeriesRecap
1April 7@ Chicago Black Hawks2–5Black Hawks lead 1–0Recap
2April 8@ Chicago Black Hawks2–6Black Hawks lead 2–0Recap
3April 10Chicago Black Hawks2–3Black Hawks lead 3–0Recap
4April 11Chicago Black Hawks2–6Black Hawks win 4–0Recap :
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.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 16 | Bobby Clarke | C | 77 | 27 | 36 | 63 | 9 | 78 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 2 |
| 21 | Serge Bernier | RW | 77 | 23 | 28 | 51 | −7 | 77 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −4 | 0 |
| 20 | Jim Johnson | C | 66 | 16 | 29 | 45 | −10 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 0 |
| 7 | Andre Lacroix | C | 78 | 20 | 22 | 42 | −9 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 0 |
| 12 | Gary Dornhoefer | RW | 57 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 3 | 93 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |
| 11 | Jean-Guy Gendron | LW | 76 | 20 | 16 | 36 | −9 | 46 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 0 |
| 18 | Bill Lesuk | LW | 78 | 17 | 19 | 36 | −5 | 81 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 8 |
| 9 | Bob Kelly | LW | 76 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 7 | 70 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 | Simon Nolet | RW | 74 | 9 | 19 | 28 | −1 | 42 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −4 | 0 |
| 4 | Barry Ashbee | D | 64 | 4 | 23 | 27 | 3 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | Cliff Schmautz† | RW | 30 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 3 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | Larry Hillman | D | 73 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 9 | 39 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 2 |
| 15 | Garry Peters | C | 73 | 6 | 7 | 13 | −14 | 69 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 15 |
| 6 | Wayne Hillman | D | 69 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | Lew Morrison | RW | 78 | 5 | 7 | 12 | −12 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| 23 | Larry Hale | D | 70 | 1 | 11 | 12 | −18 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 2 |
| 5 | Brent Hughes | D | 30 | 1 | 10 | 11 | −6 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 6 |
| 2 | Ed Van Impe | D | 77 | 0 | 11 | 11 | −13 | 80 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 8 |
| 14 | Joe Watson | D | 57 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 50 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Rick MacLeish† | LW | 26 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −4 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 0 |
| 19 | Earl Heiskala | LW | 41 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −9 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 22 | Danny Schock† | LW | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Bernie Parent‡ | G | 30 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Doug Favell | G | 44 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 25 | Willie Brossart | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Bruce Gamble† | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 25 | Jim Mair | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −2 | 4 |
| 10 | Bill Sutherland‡ | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 22 | George Swarbrick | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | Ralph MacSweyn | D | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |

### Goaltending

* † = 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.
| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | 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 | Doug Favell | 44 | 41 | 16 | 15 | 9 | 1275 | 108 | 2.67 | .915 | 2 | 2,428 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 60 | 8 | 4.02 | .867 | 0 | 119 |
| 30 | Bernie Parent‡ | 30 | 26 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 825 | 73 | 2.77 | .912 | 2 | 1,581 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Bruce Gamble† | 11 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 373 | 37 | 3.37 | .901 | 0 | 658 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 67 | 12 | 6.01 | .821 | 0 | 120 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient | Ref |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Bobby Clarke | |

### Records

The Flyers were swept in their first round series with the Chicago Black Hawks, going winless in the playoffs for the second time, which matched the 1968–69 season and was later matched during the 1982–83 and 1983–84 seasons.

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Bob Kelly | October 10, 1970 |
| First game | Rick MacLeish | February 4, 1971 |
| First game | Willie Brossart | March 12, 1971 |
| First game | Jim Mair | March 21, 1971 |

### Franchise firsts

| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
| Natural hat-trick | Gary Dornhoefer | March 6, 1971 | |

## Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 11, 1970, the day after the deciding game of the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 18, 1971, the day of the deciding game of the 1971 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| May 20, 1970 (1970-05-20) | To Philadelphia Flyers Brent Hughes | To Los Angeles Kings Mike Byers |
| May 29, 1970 (1970-05-29) | To Philadelphia Flyers Barry Ashbee | To Hershey Bears (AHL) Larry McKillopPlayer to be named later |
| June 12, 1970 (1970-06-12) | To Philadelphia Flyers George Swarbrick | To Pittsburgh Penguins Terry Ball |
| July 2, 1970 (1970-07-02) | To Philadelphia Flyers cash | To San Diego Gulls (WHL) Bob Courcy |
| August 1970 (1970-08) | To Philadelphia Flyers cash | To Denver Spurs (WHL) Claude LaForge |
| August 10, 1970 (1970-08-10) | To Philadelphia Flyers | To Phoenix Roadrunners (WHL) Loan of Guy Dufour |
| January 31, 1971 (1971-01-31) | To Philadelphia Flyers Bruce GambleMike Walton1st-round pick in 1971 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Bernie Parent2nd-round pick in 1971 |
| January 31, 1971 (1971-01-31) | To Philadelphia Flyers Rick MacLeishDanny Schock | To Boston Bruins Mike Walton |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Via |
| June 1970 (1970-06) | Hugh Harvey | Kingston Aces (OHA) | Free agency |
| June 9, 1970 (1970-06-09) | Bill Lesuk | Boston Bruins | Intra-league draft |
| June 11, 1970 (1970-06-11) | Alain Caron | Montreal Canadiens | Reverse draft |
| December 28, 1970 (1970-12-28) | Cliff Schmautz | Buffalo Sabres | Waivers |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| June 9, 1970 (1970-06-09) | Dick Cherry | Boston Bruins | Intra-league draft |
| June 10, 1970 (1970-06-10) | Reg Fleming | Buffalo Sabres | Expansion draft |
| June 10, 1970 (1970-06-10) | Gerry Meehan | Buffalo Sabres | Expansion draft |
| June 10, 1970 (1970-06-10) | Rosaire Paiement | Vancouver Canucks | Expansion draft |
| June 10, 1970 (1970-06-10) | Dunc Wilson | Vancouver Canucks | Expansion draft |
| June 11, 1970 (1970-06-11) | Hugh Harvey | Hershey Bears (AHL) | Reverse draft |
| October 19, 1970 (1970-10-19) | Bill Sutherland | Buffalo Sabres | Waivers |

### Signings

| Date | Player |
| August 13, 1970 (1970-08-13) | Bill Lesuk |
| September 7, 1970 (1970-09-07) | Earl Heiskala |
| September 7, 1970 (1970-09-07) | Jim Johnson |
| September 7, 1970 (1970-09-07) | Lew Morrison |
| September 9, 1970 (1970-09-09) | Larry Hale |
| September 9, 1970 (1970-09-09) | Joe Watson |
| October 5, 1970 (1970-10-05) | Doug Favell |
| October 5, 1970 (1970-10-05) | Larry Hillman |
| October 5, 1970 (1970-10-05) | Wayne Hillman |

## Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1970 NHL amateur draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal on June 11, 1970. The Flyers were without a first-round draft pick due to having traded it three years previously to the Boston Bruins for Rosaire Paiement. The Bruins used the pick, fourth overall, to select Rick MacLeish, who the Flyers would acquire seven months later in a trade with the Bruins.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team (league) |
| 2 | 18 | Bill Clement | Center | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHA) |
| 3 | 32 | Bob Kelly | Left wing | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHA) |
| 4 | 46 | Jacques Lapierre | Defense | Canada | Shawinigan Bruins (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 60 | Doug Kerslake | Right wing | Canada | Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL) |
| 6 | 74 | Dennis Giannini | Left wing | Canada | London Knights (OHA) |
| 7 | 87 | Hank Nowak | Left wing | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHA) |
| 8 | 99 | Gary Cunningham | Defense | Canada | St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA) |
| 9 | 109 | Jean Daigle | Left wing | Canada | Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL) |

## Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Quebec Aces of the AHL, the Flint Generals of the IHL, and the Jersey Devils of the EHL.