# 1976–77 Atlanta Flames season

The 1976–77 Atlanta Flames season was the fifth season for the franchise.

## Regular season

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 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | L | October 5, 1976 | 5–6 | @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 0–1–0 | 13,152 |
| 2 | W | October 7, 1976 | 4–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 1–1–0 | 9,140 |
| 3 | W | October 9, 1976 | 4–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 2–1–0 | 13,091 |
| 4 | L | October 12, 1976 | 0–7 | @ New York Islanders (1976–77) | 2–2–0 | 12,331 |
| 5 | W | October 13, 1976 | 4–2 | @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 3–2–0 | 3,812 |
| 6 | W | October 15, 1976 | 2–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 4–2–0 | 9,336 |
| 7 | W | October 17, 1976 | 6–5 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 5–2–0 | 16,433 |
| 8 | L | October 20, 1976 | 3–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 5–3–0 | 7,130 |
| 9 | L | October 22, 1976 | 3–5 | Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 5–4–0 | 9,702 |
| 10 | T | October 24, 1976 | 3–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 5–4–1 | 7,787 |
| 11 | L | October 27, 1976 | 2–4 | @ Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 5–5–1 | 3,763 |
| 12 | L | October 28, 1976 | 1–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 5–6–1 | 9,104 |
| 13 | T | October 30, 1976 | 3–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 5–6–2 | 15,610 |
| 14 | W | November 3, 1976 | 7–0 | Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 6–6–2 | 8,146 |
| 15 | L | November 5, 1976 | 2–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 6–7–2 | 10,259 |
| 16 | T | November 7, 1976 | 0–0 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 6–7–3 | 8,810 |
| 17 | T | November 10, 1976 | 2–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 6–7–4 | 11,235 |
| 18 | T | November 12, 1976 | 3–3 | Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 6–7–5 | 9,431 |
| 19 | W | November 13, 1976 | 5–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 7–7–5 | 15,128 |
| 20 | W | November 17, 1976 | 6–3 | Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 8–7–5 | 8,337 |
| 21 | W | November 19, 1976 | 5–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 9–7–5 | 12,444 |
| 22 | L | November 21, 1976 | 5–6 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 9–8–5 | 17,077 |
| 23 | W | November 24, 1976 | 6–2 | Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 10–8–5 | 9,287 |
| 24 | W | November 26, 1976 | 5–2 | St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 11–8–5 | 12,193 |
| 25 | T | November 30, 1976 | 2–2 | New York Rangers (1976–77) | 11–8–6 | 9,262 |
| 26 | W | December 3, 1976 | 3–1 | Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 12–8–6 | 12,325 |
| 27 | W | December 4, 1976 | 1–0 | @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 13–8–6 | 14,344 |
| 28 | W | December 8, 1976 | 5–0 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 14–8–6 | 6,085 |
| 29 | T | December 10, 1976 | 3–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 14–8–7 | 10,101 |
| 30 | W | December 11, 1976 | 3–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 15–8–7 | 11,711 |
| 31 | L | December 15, 1976 | 1–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 15–9–7 | 11,264 |
| 32 | L | December 17, 1976 | 2–4 | New York Islanders (1976–77) | 15–10–7 | 9,467 |
| 33 | L | December 18, 1976 | 3–6 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 15–11–7 | 8,742 |
| 34 | L | December 20, 1976 | 2–6 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 15–12–7 | 16,485 |
| 35 | W | December 22, 1976 | 2–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 16–12–7 | 14,244 |
| 36 | W | December 27, 1976 | 6–2 | Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 17–12–7 | 12,613 |
| 37 | L | December 29, 1976 | 3–6 | Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 17–13–7 | 14,727 |
| 38 | W | December 31, 1976 | 4–2 | @ New York Rangers (1976–77) | 18–13–7 | 17,500 |
| 39 | L | January 2, 1977 | 0–7 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 18–14–7 | 15,782 |
| 40 | W | January 5, 1977 | 4–1 | Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 19–14–7 | 11,319 |
| 41 | L | January 7, 1977 | 4–5 | New York Islanders (1976–77) | 19–15–7 | 14,280 |
| 42 | L | January 8, 1977 | 3–6 | @ New York Islanders (1976–77) | 19–16–7 | 15,149 |
| 43 | W | January 12, 1977 | 6–1 | New York Rangers (1976–77) | 20–16–7 | 11,241 |
| 44 | W | January 14, 1977 | 3–2 | St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 21–16–7 | 12,436 |
| 45 | W | January 16, 1977 | 6–5 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 22–16–7 | 10,138 |
| 46 | T | January 20, 1977 | 4–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 22–16–8 | 7,479 |
| 47 | T | January 22, 1977 | 4–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 22–16–9 | 15,155 |
| 48 | L | January 23, 1977 | 0–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 22–17–9 | 11,391 |
| 49 | T | January 27, 1977 | 1–1 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 22–17–10 | 16,433 |
| 50 | T | January 28, 1977 | 3–3 | Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 22–17–11 | 13,941 |
| 51 | W | January 31, 1977 | 7–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 23–17–11 | 14,126 |
| 52 | L | February 2, 1977 | 2–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 23–18–11 | N/A |
| 53 | W | February 4, 1977 | 6–3 | Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 24–18–11 | 15,151 |
| 54 | L | February 7, 1977 | 4–7 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 24–19–11 | 17,077 |
| 55 | L | February 9, 1977 | 1–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 24–20–11 | 16,416 |
| 56 | L | February 12, 1977 | 1–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 24–21–11 | 14,856 |
| 57 | L | February 13, 1977 | 2–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 24–22–11 | N/A |
| 58 | W | February 17, 1977 | 4–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 25–22–11 | 11,059 |
| 59 | L | February 19, 1977 | 1–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 25–23–11 | N/A |
| 60 | L | February 21, 1977 | 2–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 25–24–11 | 16,583 |
| 61 | L | February 23, 1977 | 2–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 25–25–11 | 14,705 |
| 62 | W | February 25, 1977 | 6–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 26–25–11 | 15,087 |
| 63 | L | February 26, 1977 | 2–8 | @ New York Islanders (1976–77) | 26–26–11 | 15,317 |
| 64 | L | March 2, 1977 | 1–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 26–27–11 | 11,609 |
| 65 | L | March 5, 1977 | 1–2 | Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 26–28–11 | 13,341 |
| 66 | W | March 6, 1977 | 4–2 | @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 27–28–11 | 10,098 |
| 67 | L | March 8, 1977 | 2–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 27–29–11 | 10,771 |
| 68 | L | March 9, 1977 | 2–6 | New York Islanders (1976–77) | 27–30–11 | 11,230 |
| 69 | W | March 12, 1977 | 6–3 | New York Rangers (1976–77) | 28–30–11 | 15,155 |
| 70 | W | March 13, 1977 | 5–3 | @ New York Rangers (1976–77) | 29–30–11 | 17,500 |
| 71 | W | March 15, 1977 | 7–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 30–30–11 | 13,161 |
| 72 | W | March 17, 1977 | 4–1 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 31–30–11 | 17,077 |
| 73 | L | March 19, 1977 | 4–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 31–31–11 | 16,485 |
| 74 | L | March 20, 1977 | 4–5 | @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 31–32–11 | 10,829 |
| 75 | L | March 22, 1977 | 3–6 | Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 31–33–11 | 12,034 |
| 76 | W | March 24, 1977 | 3–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 32–33–11 | 14,783 |
| 77 | W | March 26, 1977 | 2–1 | @ Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 33–33–11 | 7,338 |
| 78 | L | March 30, 1977 | 3–4 | @ New York Rangers (1976–77) | 33–34–11 | 17,500 |
| 79 | W | April 1, 1977 | 6–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 34–34–11 | 13,931 |
| 80 | T | April 3, 1977 | 3–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 34–34–12 | 15,110 |

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | # | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Tom Lysiak | 12 | 79 | 30 | 51 | 81 | 52 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| Eric Vail | 27 | 78 | 32 | 39 | 71 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Willi Plett | 25 | 64 | 33 | 23 | 56 | 123 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19 |
| Guy Chouinard | 16 | 80 | 17 | 33 | 50 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Curt Bennett | 5 | 76 | 22 | 25 | 47 | 36 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| Ken Houston | 6 | 78 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 35 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Richard Mulhern | 4 | 79 | 12 | 32 | 44 | 80 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Bill Clement | 10 | 67 | 17 | 26 | 43 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Rey Comeau | 18 | 80 | 15 | 18 | 33 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Randy Manery | 7 | 73 | 5 | 24 | 29 | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Ecclestone | 14 | 78 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Ed Kea | 19 | 72 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 63 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Bobby Simpson | 11 | 72 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 45 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| John Gould$^†$ | 21 | 54 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Barry Gibbs | 2 | 66 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 63 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Dave Shand | 8 | 55 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 62 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 |
| Hilliard Graves$^‡$ | 17 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 17 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Pat Quinn | 3 | 59 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 58 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Romanchych | 21/9 | 25 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Flett$^‡$ | 9 | 24 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Larry Carriere$^‡$ | 23 | 25 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 16 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Pat Ribble | 23 | 23 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Rick Bowness | 15 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 29 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Phil Myre | 1 | 43 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Bouchard | 30 | 42 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Atlanta. Stats reflect time with the Flames only. $^‡$Traded mid-season

### Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
| | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | # | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | SO | GAA | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | GAA |
| Phil Myre | 1 | 43 | 2422 | 17 | 17 | 7 | 124 | 3 | 3.07 | 2 | 120 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Dan Bouchard | 30 | 42 | 2378 | 17 | 17 | 5 | 139 | 1 | 3.51 | 1 | 60 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5.00 |

## Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1976–77 season.

### Trades

| December 1, 1976 | To Atlanta Flames ----Cash | To Edmonton Oilers (WHA) ----Bill Flett |
| December 2, 1976 | To Atlanta Flames ----John Gould Kings' 2nd round pick in 1977 (Brian Hill) | To Vancouver Canucks ----Larry Carriere Hilliard Graves |

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 1 | 8. | Dave Shand (D) | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHA) |
| 1 | 10. | Harold Phillipoff (LW) | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 2 | 28. | Bobby Simpson (LW) | Canada | Sherbrooke Beavers (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 46. | Rick Hodgson (D) | Canada | Calgary Centennials (WCHL) |
| 4 | 64. | Kent Nilsson (C) | Sweden | Djurgårdens IF (Elitserien) |
| 5 | 82. | Mark Earp (G) | Canada | Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL) |