# 1973–74 Atlanta Flames season

The 1973–74 Atlanta Flames season was the second season for the franchise.

## Regular season
### Season standings

West Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 78 | 50 | 16 | 12 | 273 | 164 | +109 | 112 |
| 2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 78 | 41 | 14 | 23 | 272 | 164 | +108 | 105 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Kings | 78 | 33 | 33 | 12 | 233 | 231 | +2 | 78 |
| 4 | Atlanta Flames | 78 | 30 | 34 | 14 | 214 | 238 | −24 | 74 |
| 5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 78 | 28 | 41 | 9 | 242 | 273 | −31 | 65 |
| 6 | St. Louis Blues | 78 | 26 | 40 | 12 | 206 | 248 | −42 | 64 |
| 7 | Minnesota North Stars | 78 | 23 | 38 | 17 | 235 | 275 | −40 | 63 |
| 8 | California Golden Seals | 78 | 13 | 55 | 10 | 195 | 342 | −147 | 36 |

### Record vs. opponents
## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | T | October 10, 1973 | 1–1 | New York Islanders (1973–74) | 0–0–1 | 12,144 |
| 2 | L | October 12, 1973 | 3–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 0–1–1 | 13,287 |
| 3 | W | October 13, 1973 | 1–0 | @ St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 1–1–1 | 18,836 |
| 4 | W | October 17, 1973 | 4–3 | Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 2–1–1 | 14,498 |
| 5 | W | October 20, 1973 | 4–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 3–1–1 | 16,616 |
| 6 | L | October 23, 1973 | 0–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 3–2–1 | 15,570 |
| 7 | L | October 24, 1973 | 4–6 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 3–3–1 | 8,367 |
| 8 | W | October 26, 1973 | 3–1 | @ California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 4–3–1 | N/A |
| 9 | W | November 1, 1973 | 7–2 | California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 5–3–1 | 13,480 |
| 10 | W | November 3, 1973 | 2–1 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 6–3–1 | 17,007 |
| 11 | W | November 4, 1973 | 2–0 | Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) | 7–3–1 | 13,659 |
| 12 | T | November 7, 1973 | 2–2 | St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 7–3–2 | 14,217 |
| 13 | T | November 9, 1973 | 3–3 | New York Rangers (1973–74) | 7–3–3 | 15,141 |
| 14 | T | November 10, 1973 | 4–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 7–3–4 | 11,342 |
| 15 | L | November 14, 1973 | 1–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 7–4–4 | 13,123 |
| 16 | L | November 16, 1973 | 1–6 | Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 7–5–4 | 15,141 |
| 17 | L | November 18, 1973 | 2–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 7–6–4 | 15,003 |
| 18 | W | November 21, 1973 | 3–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 8–6–4 | 12,889 |
| 19 | W | November 23, 1973 | 4–1 | Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 9–6–4 | 15,141 |
| 20 | W | November 25, 1973 | 4–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 10–6–4 | 15,858 |
| 21 | L | November 27, 1973 | 2–4 | @ New York Islanders (1973–74) | 10–7–4 | 12,016 |
| 22 | W | November 29, 1973 | 4–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) | 11–7–4 | 13,128 |
| 23 | T | December 1, 1973 | 2–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 11–7–5 | 10,413 |
| 24 | L | December 2, 1973 | 1–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 11–8–5 | 13,892 |
| 25 | T | December 5, 1973 | 3–3 | @ California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 11–8–6 | 3,137 |
| 26 | W | December 7, 1973 | 2–0 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 12–8–6 | 15,570 |
| 27 | L | December 8, 1973 | 0–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 12–9–6 | 10,535 |
| 28 | L | December 13, 1973 | 1–6 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) | 12–10–6 | 13,220 |
| 29 | W | December 15, 1973 | 3–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 13–10–6 | 17,007 |
| 30 | L | December 16, 1973 | 1–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 13–11–6 | 12,510 |
| 31 | L | December 19, 1973 | 2–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 13–12–6 | 14,756 |
| 32 | L | December 21, 1973 | 1–2 | St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 13–13–6 | 13,454 |
| 33 | W | December 23, 1973 | 3–1 | New York Rangers (1973–74) | 14–13–6 | 13,627 |
| 34 | W | December 27, 1973 | 6–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 15–13–6 | 15,141 |
| 35 | T | December 29, 1973 | 3–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) | 15–13–7 | 16,485 |
| 36 | L | December 30, 1973 | 2–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) | 15–14–7 | 14,518 |
| 37 | W | January 3, 1974 | 3–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 16–14–7 | 14,002 |
| 38 | L | January 6, 1974 | 2–5 | @ New York Rangers (1973–74) | 16–15–7 | 17,500 |
| 39 | L | January 7, 1974 | 2–6 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) | 16–16–7 | 16,485 |
| 40 | W | January 9, 1974 | 3–0 | Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 17–16–7 | 12,522 |
| 41 | L | January 11, 1974 | 6–7 | Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 17–17–7 | 15,141 |
| 42 | L | January 13, 1974 | 0–1 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 17–18–7 | 17,007 |
| 43 | L | January 15, 1974 | 3–4 | @ New York Islanders (1973–74) | 17–19–7 | 12,524 |
| 44 | W | January 18, 1974 | 6–2 | California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 18–19–7 | 14,118 |
| 45 | L | January 20, 1974 | 1–3 | St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 18–20–7 | 14,247 |
| 46 | L | January 23, 1974 | 1–4 | @ New York Rangers (1973–74) | 18–21–7 | 17,500 |
| 47 | T | January 25, 1974 | 2–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) | 18–21–8 | 14,568 |
| 48 | L | January 27, 1974 | 2–5 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) | 18–22–8 | 13,192 |
| 49 | L | January 31, 1974 | 2–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 18–23–8 | 15,003 |
| 50 | W | February 1, 1974 | 5–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 19–23–8 | 15,141 |
| 51 | T | February 3, 1974 | 2–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 19–23–9 | 14,123 |
| 52 | T | February 6, 1974 | 1–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 19–23–10 | N/A |
| 53 | L | February 8, 1974 | 0–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 19–24–10 | 15,141 |
| 54 | L | February 10, 1974 | 3–6 | Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 19–25–10 | 13,652 |
| 55 | W | February 12, 1974 | 4–1 | @ New York Islanders (1973–74) | 20–25–10 | 13,376 |
| 56 | W | February 13, 1974 | 3–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 21–25–10 | 16,581 |
| 57 | L | February 16, 1974 | 2–7 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74) | 21–26–10 | 16,485 |
| 58 | L | February 19, 1974 | 1–7 | @ St. Louis Blues (1973–74) | 21–27–10 | 18,249 |
| 59 | T | February 21, 1974 | 4–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74) | 21–27–11 | 15,858 |
| 60 | W | February 23, 1974 | 5–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 22–27–11 | 15,570 |
| 61 | L | February 26, 1974 | 5–6 | Montreal Canadiens (1973–74) | 22–28–11 | 14,598 |
| 62 | L | February 28, 1974 | 1–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 22–29–11 | 14,064 |
| 63 | W | March 3, 1974 | 5–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 23–29–11 | 13,126 |
| 64 | W | March 5, 1974 | 4–1 | Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 24–29–11 | 15,141 |
| 65 | W | March 8, 1974 | 3–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 25–29–11 | 15,141 |
| 66 | W | March 10, 1974 | 4–0 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74) | 26–29–11 | 12,193 |
| 67 | L | March 13, 1974 | 1–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 26–30–11 | 14,886 |
| 68 | L | March 15, 1974 | 0–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74) | 26–31–11 | 15,570 |
| 69 | T | March 17, 1974 | 3–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74) | 26–31–12 | N/A |
| 70 | T | March 21, 1974 | 5–5 | New York Rangers (1973–74) | 26–31–13 | 15,141 |
| 71 | W | March 23, 1974 | 4–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1973–74) | 27–31–13 | 15,003 |
| 72 | L | March 24, 1974 | 4–6 | New York Islanders (1973–74) | 27–32–13 | 15,141 |
| 73 | T | March 28, 1974 | 3–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74) | 27–32–14 | 15,141 |
| 74 | W | March 30, 1974 | 4–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1973–74) | 28–32–14 | 15,141 |
| 75 | L | March 31, 1974 | 2–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 28–33–14 | 10,518 |
| 76 | L | April 3, 1974 | 2–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74) | 28–34–14 | 11,519 |
| 77 | W | April 5, 1974 | 4–2 | @ California Golden Seals (1973–74) | 29–34–14 | 4,867 |
| 78 | W | April 7, 1974 | 6–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74) | 30–34–14 | 15,141 |

## Playoffs

The Flames made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 1973–74, as they finished in fourth place in the West Division, setting up a first round playoff matchup against the first place Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers finished the season with a 50–16–12 record, earning 112 points, which was 38 more points than Atlanta.
The best of seven series opened up at the Spectrum in Philadelphia in front of a sellout crowd of 17,007, and the Flyers opened the scoring with four seconds remaining in the first period, when Gary Dornhoefer scored a shorthanded goal. The Flyers extended their lead to 2–0 in the second period after Tom Bladon scored on the powerplay. In the third period, Orest Kindrachuk gave Philadelphia a 3–0 lead, however, thirty seconds later, Bob Murray scored the first ever playoff goal for Atlanta, cutting the lead to 3–1. Orest Kindrachuk added a second goal later in the third to give the Flyers a 4–1 opening game victory. Bernie Parent made 31 saves for the victory, while Phil Myre took the loss for Atlanta.
In the second game of the series, the Flyers took an early 1–0 lead on a goal by Terry Crisp. In the second period, Rick MacLeish scored a natural hat-trick, scoring three goals in a row, to give the Flyers a 4–0 lead. Rey Comeau broke the Flyers shutout bid in the third period, however, Jimmy Watson scored for Philadelphia, as the Flyers won the second game 5–1, taking a 2–0 series lead.
The series shifted to the Omni Coliseum for the third game, as the arena was sold out with 15,141 fans for the first ever playoff game in Atlanta. The Flyers opened the scoring with two quick goals in the first period, as Don Saleski and Bobby Clarke scored in the first 5:02 of the game to give Philadelphia a 2–0 lead. In the second period, Larry Romanchych responded for the Flames, cutting the lead to 2–1, however, the Flyers regained their two-goal lead when Rick MacLeish scored his fourth goal of the series. In the third period, Bill Barber scored for the Flyers, as they took the third game 4–1, and now had a 3–0 series lead.
In the fourth game, facing elimination, and in front of another sold out crowd, the Flames opened the scoring 3:28 into the game, when Larry Romanchych beat Bernie Parent to give Atlanta a 1–0 lead, their first lead of the series. In the second period, the Flames took a 3–0 lead, after goals by Jean Lemieux and Rey Comeau, however, the Flyers Andre Dupont scored a late period goal to cut the Flames lead to 3–1. Early in the third period, the Flyers Gary Dornhoefer scored on the powerplay to make the score 3–2. On another powerplay, Tom Bladon scored for Philadelphia, tying the game at 3–3. The game went into overtime, and the Flyers completed the comeback, when Dave Schultz beat Phil Myre, as the Flyers won the game 4–3, and eliminated the Flames from the post-season

### Philadelphia Flyers 4, Atlanta Flames 0

| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | April 9 | Atlanta Flames | 1–4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 0–1 | 17,007 |
| 2 | April 11 | Atlanta Flames | 1–5 | Philadelphia Flyers | 0–2 | 17,007 |
| 3 | April 12 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–1 | Atlanta Flames | 0–3 | 15,141 |
| 4 | April 14 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–3 | Atlanta Flames | 0–4 | 15,141 |

## 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 | 77 | 19 | 45 | 64 | 54 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Bob Leiter | 16 | 78 | 26 | 26 | 52 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Larry Romanchych | 21 | 73 | 22 | 29 | 51 | 33 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Jacques Richard | 15 | 78 | 27 | 16 | 43 | 45 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Curt Bennett | 5 | 71 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 34 |
| Keith McCreary | 9 | 76 | 18 | 19 | 37 | 62 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Manery | 7 | 78 | 8 | 29 | 37 | 75 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Rey Comeau | 18 | 78 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| John Stewart | 17 | 74 | 18 | 15 | 33 | 41 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Pat Quinn | 3 | 77 | 5 | 27 | 32 | 94 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Leon Rochefort | 11 | 56 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 13 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Al McDonough$^†$ | 14 | 35 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Chuck Arnason$^‡$ | 14 | 33 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 13 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Noel Price | 4 | 62 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 38 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Eric Vail | 25 | 23 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jean Lemieux | 6 | 32 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Arnie Brown | 19 | 48 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 29 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Butch Deadmarsh | 10 | 42 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 89 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Bryan Hextall Jr.$^†$ | 20 | 40 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 55 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| Lew Morrison | 8 | 52 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Doug Mohns | 2 | 28 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Bob Murray | 23 | 62 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 34 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Ed Kea | 24 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Bob Paradise$^‡$ | 6 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Don Martineau | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Dwight Bialowas | 22 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Phil Myre | 1 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | | | | |
| Dan Bouchard | 30 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | | | | 10 |
$^†$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 |
| Dan Bouchard | 30 | 46 | 2660 | 19 | 18 | 8 | 123 | 5 | 2.77 | 1 | 60 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4.00 |
| Phil Myre | 1 | 36 | 2020 | 11 | 16 | 6 | 112 | 0 | 3.33 | 3 | 186 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 4.19 |

## Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1973–74 season.

### Trades

| May 29, 1973 | To Atlanta Flames Chuck Arnason | To Montreal Canadiens 1st round pick in 1974 amateur draft (Rick Chartraw) |
| May 29, 1973 | To Atlanta Flames Bob Murray | To Montreal Canadiens 3rd round pick in 1977 amateur draft (Pierre Lagace) |
| June 10, 1973 | To Atlanta Flames cash | To California Golden Seals Ted Tucker |
| January 4, 1974 | To Atlanta Flames Al McDonough | To Pittsburgh Penguins Chuck Arnason Bob Paradise |

### Free agents

| Player | Former team |
| Player | New team |

### Claimed off waivers

| Player | Former team |
| C Bryan Hextall Jr. | Pittsburgh Penguins |

### Intra-league Draft

| Player | Former team |
| D Doug Mohns | Minnesota North Stars |
| Player | New team |
| D Bill Plager | Minnesota North Stars |

## NHL amateur draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 1 | 2. | Tom Lysiak | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL) |
| 1 | 16. | Vic Mercredi | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 2 | 21. | Eric Vail | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OHA) |
| 4 | 53. | Dean Talafous | United States | Wisconsin (NCAA) |
| 5 | 69. | John Flesch | Canada | Lake Superior (NCAA) |
| 6 | 85. | Ken Houston | Canada | Chatham Maroons (SOJHL) |
| 7 | 101. | Tom Machowski | United States | Wisconsin (NCAA) |
| 8 | 117. | Bob Law | Canada | North Dakota (NCAA) |
| 9 | 130. | Bob Bilodeau | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 10 | 148. | Glen Surbey | Canada | Loyola College (CIAU) |
| 10 | 149. | Guy Ross | Canada | Sherbrooke Beavers (QMJHL) |
| 11 | 162. | Greg Fox | Canada | University of Michigan (NCAA) |