# 1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers season

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
—0–64–1–12–2–26–9–3
N.Y. Islanders
6–0—4–1–13–2–113–3–2
N.Y. Rangers
1–4–11–4–1—0–2–42–10–6
Philadelphia
2–2–22–3–12–0–4—6–5–7
Vs. Smythe Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Atlanta
3–23–1–12–1–24–11–3–113–8–4
N.Y. Islanders
3–1–15–03–1–13–1–14–118–4–3
N.Y. Rangers
2–2–13–1–15–02–2–13–215–7–3
Philadelphia
3–0–25–03–0–25–04–0–120–0–5
Vs. Adams Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CLE
TOR
Total
Atlanta
2–21–2–11–2–11–45–10–2
N.Y. Islanders
2–1–13–1–13–0–11–2–19–4–4
N.Y. Rangers
0–4–10–43–0–12–1–15–9–3
Philadelphia
3–12–23–1–12–1–110–5–2
Vs. Norris Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Atlanta
2–1–12–20–3–13–0–13–110–7–3
N.Y. Islanders
2–22–20–42–21–0–37–10–3
N.Y. Rangers
3–10–3–11–31–2–12–27–11–2
Philadelphia
3–14–00–43–12–0–212–6–2 :

## 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)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
1October 7New York Islanders0–30–1–00Recap
2October 9@ Atlanta Flames3–40–2–00Recap
3October 10Los Angeles Kings1–01–2–02Recap
4October 14Montreal Canadiens1–71–3–02Recap
5October 16@ Toronto Maple Leafs5–51–3–13Recap
6October 17Detroit Red Wings7–42–3–15Recap
7October 21Chicago Black Hawks5–13–3–17Recap
8October 23Buffalo Sabres3–24–3–19Recap
9October 24Colorado Rockies5–35–3–111Recap
10October 28Pittsburgh Penguins3–06–3–113Recap
11October 30@ New York Islanders3–36–3–214Recap
12October 31Minnesota North Stars9–17–3–216Recap :
November: 5–4–2, 12 points (home: 4–0–1; road: 1–4–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
13November 4@ Detroit Red Wings2–37–4–216Recap
14November 5@ Cleveland Barons4–67–5–216Recap
15November 7@ Buffalo Sabres3–57–6–216Recap
16November 10@ Chicago Black Hawks2–27–6–317Recap
17November 11Vancouver Canucks6–48–6–319Recap
18November 13@ Pittsburgh Penguins0–18–7–319Recap
19November 16Detroit Red Wings2–09–7–321Recap
20November 21Atlanta Flames6–510–7–323Recap
21November 24New York Rangers2–210–7–424Recap
22November 26@ Colorado Rockies4–211–7–426Recap
23November 28New York Islanders5–312–7–428Recap :
December: 10–0–4, 24 points (home: 6–0–0; road: 4–0–4)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
24December 1@ Minnesota North Stars2–212–7–529Recap
25December 3@ Washington Capitals4–412–7–630Recap
26December 5Cleveland Barons6–213–7–632Recap
27December 9@ Boston Bruins3–114–7–634Recap
28December 11Boston Bruins4–315–7–636Recap
29December 12Toronto Maple Leafs7–416–7–638Recap
30December 14@ Minnesota North Stars3–316–7–739Recap
31December 16Chicago Black Hawks4–117–7–741Recap
32December 18@ St. Louis Blues2–018–7–743Recap
33December 19Colorado Rockies4–319–7–745Recap
34December 22@ New York Rangers3–319–7–846Recap
35December 23Washington Capitals5–220–7–848Recap
36December 27@ Vancouver Canucks5–121–7–850Recap
37December 30@ Los Angeles Kings2–022–7–852Recap :
January: 7–3–4, 18 points (home: 4–1–0; road: 3–2–4)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
38January 1@ Cleveland Barons7–223–7–854Recap
39January 3@ Montreal Canadiens4–623–8–854Recap
40January 5@ New York Rangers4–423–8–955Recap
41January 6St. Louis Blues7–124–8–957Recap
42January 8Los Angeles Kings6–125–8–959Recap
43January 10@ New York Islanders3–825–9–959Recap
44January 15Colorado Rockies5–226–9–961Recap
45January 16Minnesota North Stars4–227–9–963Recap
46January 20Montreal Canadiens2–627–10–963Recap
47January 22@ Atlanta Flames4–427–10–1064Recap
48January 23@ Chicago Black Hawks2–227–10–1165Recap
49January 27@ St. Louis Blues2–028–10–1167Recap
50January 29@ Pittsburgh Penguins5–229–10–1169Recap
51January 30@ Washington Capitals5–529–10–1270Recap :
February: 9–3–0, 18 points (home: 6–0–0; road: 3–3–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
52February 3Chicago Black Hawks6–030–10–1272Recap
53February 5@ Toronto Maple Leafs7–531–10–1274Recap
54February 7Atlanta Flames7–432–10–1276Recap
55February 10Washington Capitals9–233–10–1278Recap
56February 12@ New York Islanders1–233–11–1278Recap
57February 14St. Louis Blues6–434–11–1280Recap
58February 17New York Rangers7–135–11–1282Recap
59February 19@ Montreal Canadiens2–535–12–1282Recap
60February 20Buffalo Sabres4–236–12–1284Recap
61February 24@ Buffalo Sabres0–236–13–1284Recap
62February 26@ St. Louis Blues5–137–13–1286Recap
63February 27@ Colorado Rockies4–338–13–1288Recap :
March: 9–3–3, 21 points (home: 5–3–0; road: 4–0–3)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
64March 1@ Minnesota North Stars5–239–13–1290Recap
65March 3Vancouver Canucks5–240–13–1292Recap
66March 5@ Detroit Red Wings4–141–13–1294Recap
67March 7Toronto Maple Leafs2–441–14–1294Recap
68March 10Cleveland Barons7–242–14–1296Recap
69March 12Boston Bruins1–342–15–1296Recap
70March 13Pittsburgh Penguins4–043–15–1298Recap
71March 16@ New York Rangers4–443–15–1399Recap
72March 17Atlanta Flames1–443–16–1399Recap
73March 19@ Los Angeles Kings5–344–16–13101Recap
74March 22@ Vancouver Canucks4–444–16–14102Recap
75March 24@ Boston Bruins6–245–16–14104Recap
76March 26Vancouver Canucks9–346–16–14106Recap
77March 29New York Islanders3–147–16–14108Recap
78March 30@ Cleveland Barons3–347–16–15109Recap :
April: 1–0–1, 3 points (home: 1–0–0; road: 0–0–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
79April 2New York Rangers4–148–16–15111Recap
80April 3@ Atlanta Flames3–348–16–16112Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1977 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Quarterfinals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs – Flyers win 4–2
GameDateOpponentScoreSeriesRecap
1April 11Toronto Maple Leafs2–3Maple Leafs lead 1–0Recap
2April 13Toronto Maple Leafs1–4Maple Leafs lead 2–0Recap
3April 15@ Toronto Maple Leafs4–3 OTMaple Leafs lead 2–1Recap
4April 17@ Toronto Maple Leafs6–5 OTSeries tied 2–2Recap
5April 19Toronto Maple Leafs2–0Flyers lead 3–2Recap
6April 21@ Toronto Maple Leafs4–3Flyers win 4–2Recap :
Semifinals vs. Boston Bruins – Bruins win 4–0
GameDateOpponentScoreSeriesRecap
1April 24Boston Bruins3–4 OTBruins lead 1–0Recap
2April 26Boston Bruins4–5 2OTBruins lead 2–0Recap
3April 28@ Boston Bruins1–2Bruins lead 3–0Recap
4May 1@ Boston Bruins0–3Bruins 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 |
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 23 | Norm Barnes | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Terry Crisp | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | John Paddock | RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Bernie Parent | G | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 31 | Bob Ritchie‡ | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Wayne Stephenson | G | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 |

### Goaltending

| 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 | Bernie Parent | 61 | 61 | 35 | 13 | 12 | 1582 | 159 | 2.71 | .899 | 5 | 3,520 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 43 | 8 | 3.95 | .814 | 0 | 122 |
| 35 | Wayne Stephenson | 21 | 17 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 472 | 41 | 2.31 | .913 | 3 | 1,064 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 238 | 23 | 2.61 | .903 | 1 | 530 |
| 30 | Gary Inness | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 89 | 9 | 2.57 | .899 | 0 | 210 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

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

### 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.

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Bob Ritchie | February 5, 1977 |
| First game | Drew Callander | February 7, 1977 |
| First game | Al Hill | February 14, 1977 |
| First game | Mark Suzor | March 10, 1977 |
| First game | Norm Barnes | March 12, 1977 |

## 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 | Details |
| September 29, 1976 (1976-09-29) | To Philadelphia Flyers Future considerations | To Los Angeles Kings Dave Schultz |
| November 24, 1976 (1976-11-24) | To Philadelphia Flyers Harvey Bennett | To Washington Capitals cash |
| December 4, 1976 (1976-12-04) | To Philadelphia Flyers cash | To Washington Capitals Bill Collins |
| January 20, 1977 (1977-01-20) | To Philadelphia Flyers Bob Dailey | To Vancouver Canucks Larry GoodenoughJack McIlhargey |
| February 17, 1977 (1977-02-17) | To Philadelphia Flyers Mike KorneyRick Lapointe | To Detroit Red Wings Steve CoatesDave KellyTerry MurrayBob 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 |
| N/A | Serge Lajeunesse | | Retirement |
| N/A | Larry Wright | Dusseldorfer EG (Bundesliga) | Free agency |
| October 1976 (1976-10) | Terry Crisp | | Retirement |
| November 16, 1976 (1976-11-16) | Wayne Stephenson | | Retirement |

### Signings

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

## 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.