# 1977–78 Colorado Rockies season

The 1977–78 Colorado Rockies season was the fourth season of the franchise, and second as the Rockies. Despite winning only 19 games and finishing 21 games below .500, they finished runners-up in the weak Smythe Division and secured a playoff berth under the format in effect at the time. It was their first playoff appearance in franchise history, and the only one they would make while in Denver.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Smythe Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 32 | 29 | 19 | 230 | 220 | 83 |
| Colorado Rockies | 80 | 19 | 40 | 21 | 257 | 305 | 59 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 20 | 43 | 17 | 239 | 320 | 57 |
| St. Louis Blues | 80 | 20 | 47 | 13 | 195 | 304 | 53 |
| Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 18 | 53 | 9 | 218 | 325 | 45 |
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

Smythe Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Smythe Division
1977–78 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Chicago
—1–1–45–0–13–1–22–3–111–5–8
Colorado
1–1–4—3–1–21–4–13–0–38–6–10
Minnesota
0–5–11–3–2—1–4–13–35–15–4
St. Louis
1–3–24–1–14–1–1—3–312–8–4
Vancouver
3–2–10–3–33–33–3—9–11–4
Vs. Patrick Division
1977–78 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Chicago
2–1–21–2–21–3–12–2–16–8–6
Colorado
1–2–20–4–12–2–12–35–11–4
Minnesota
1–41–40–3–22–34–14–2
St. Louis
0–4–10–4–10–4–11–41–16–3
Vancouver
1–2–20–51–40–52–16–2
Vs. Adams Division
1977–78 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CLE
TOR
Total
Chicago
1–31–2–13–11–2–16–8–2
Colorado
0–3–11–31–1–20–42–11–3
Minnesota
1–31–30–3–10–42–13–1
St. Louis
0–40–42–1–10–2–22–11–3
Vancouver
0–2–20–1–31–2–10–3–11–8–7
Vs. Norris Division
1977–78 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Chicago
3–12–20–3–11–2–13–0–19–8–3
Colorado
1–2–11–2–10–41–2–11–2–14–12–4
Minnesota
0–41–2–12–22–22–1–17–11–2
St. Louis
1–32–20–41–2–11–1–25–12–3
Vancouver
1–2–11–2–10–3–12–1–14–08–8–4 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | T | October 14, 1977 | 4–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | T | October 15, 1977 | 3–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 0–0–2 |
| 3 | L | October 19, 1977 | 4–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 0–1–2 |
| 4 | L | October 20, 1977 | 5–7 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 0–2–2 |
| 5 | W | October 22, 1977 | 3–0 | Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 1–2–2 |
| 6 | T | October 25, 1977 | 4–4 | Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 1–2–3 |
| 7 | W | October 28, 1977 | 8–1 | Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 2–2–3 |
| 8 | W | October 29, 1977 | 6–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 3–2–3 |
| 9 | W | November 2, 1977 | 6–2 | New York Rangers (1977–78) | 4–2–3 |
| 10 | L | November 5, 1977 | 2–5 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 4–3–3 |
| 11 | W | November 8, 1977 | 6–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 5–3–3 |
| 12 | L | November 11, 1977 | 1–2 | St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 5–4–3 |
| 13 | L | November 12, 1977 | 1–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 5–5–3 |
| 14 | L | November 16, 1977 | 1–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 5–6–3 |
| 15 | W | November 19, 1977 | 7–2 | Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 6–6–3 |
| 16 | L | November 22, 1977 | 2–4 | @ New York Islanders (1977–78) | 6–7–3 |
| 17 | L | November 23, 1977 | 3–6 | @ New York Rangers (1977–78) | 6–8–3 |
| 18 | L | November 25, 1977 | 1–5 | Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 6–9–3 |
| 19 | T | November 26, 1977 | 4–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 6–9–4 |
| 20 | T | November 30, 1977 | 3–3 | New York Islanders (1977–78) | 6–9–5 |
| 21 | L | December 3, 1977 | 3–6 | Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 6–10–5 |
| 22 | T | December 6, 1977 | 3–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 6–10–6 |
| 23 | L | December 9, 1977 | 2–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 6–11–6 |
| 24 | L | December 10, 1977 | 4–6 | @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 6–12–6 |
| 25 | W | December 13, 1977 | 4–1 | Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 7–12–6 |
| 26 | W | December 17, 1977 | 5–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 8–12–6 |
| 27 | L | December 20, 1977 | 1–9 | @ New York Islanders (1977–78) | 8–13–6 |
| 28 | L | December 21, 1977 | 3–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 8–14–6 |
| 29 | L | December 23, 1977 | 2–6 | Atlanta Flames (1977–78) | 8–15–6 |
| 30 | L | December 27, 1977 | 2–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) | 8–16–6 |
| 31 | T | December 29, 1977 | 2–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 8–16–7 |
| 32 | T | December 30, 1977 | 2–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 8–16–8 |
| 33 | L | January 1, 1978 | 1–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 8–17–8 |
| 34 | L | January 4, 1978 | 0–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 8–18–8 |
| 35 | L | January 5, 1978 | 3–5 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 8–19–8 |
| 36 | W | January 7, 1978 | 3–1 | New York Rangers (1977–78) | 9–19–8 |
| 37 | L | January 10, 1978 | 4–7 | @ New York Islanders (1977–78) | 9–20–8 |
| 38 | L | January 11, 1978 | 2–4 | @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) | 9–21–8 |
| 39 | L | January 13, 1978 | 1–2 | St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 9–22–8 |
| 40 | T | January 14, 1978 | 3–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 9–22–9 |
| 41 | T | January 18, 1978 | 4–4 | Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) | 9–22–10 |
| 42 | W | January 20, 1978 | 5–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 10–22–10 |
| 43 | L | January 21, 1978 | 4–9 | @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 10–23–10 |
| 44 | T | January 25, 1978 | 3–3 | @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 10–23–11 |
| 45 | L | January 26, 1978 | 3–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 10–24–11 |
| 46 | W | January 28, 1978 | 6–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 11–24–11 |
| 47 | L | January 31, 1978 | 3–5 | Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 11–25–11 |
| 48 | L | February 2, 1978 | 0–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 11–26–11 |
| 49 | T | February 4, 1978 | 2–2 | @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) | 11–26–12 |
| 50 | L | February 5, 1978 | 3–6 | @ New York Rangers (1977–78) | 11–27–12 |
| 51 | L | February 7, 1978 | 2–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 11–28–12 |
| 52 | W | February 10, 1978 | 3–2 | Atlanta Flames (1977–78) | 12–28–12 |
| 53 | T | February 12, 1978 | 3–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 12–28–13 |
| 54 | T | February 15, 1978 | 2–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 12–28–14 |
| 55 | L | February 16, 1978 | 4–5 | New York Islanders (1977–78) | 12–29–14 |
| 56 | L | February 18, 1978 | 4–9 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 12–30–14 |
| 57 | T | February 19, 1978 | 4–4 | @ New York Rangers (1977–78) | 12–30–15 |
| 58 | L | February 21, 1978 | 2–3 | Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 12–31–15 |
| 59 | W | February 24, 1978 | 3–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 13–31–15 |
| 60 | T | February 25, 1978 | 5–5 | @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 13–31–16 |
| 61 | L | February 28, 1978 | 4–7 | @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 13–32–16 |
| 62 | L | March 2, 1978 | 2–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 13–33–16 |
| 63 | T | March 3, 1978 | 2–2 | Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 13–33–17 |
| 64 | T | March 5, 1978 | 2–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 13–33–18 |
| 65 | L | March 8, 1978 | 3–5 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 13–34–18 |
| 66 | L | March 11, 1978 | 4–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) | 13–35–18 |
| 67 | L | March 12, 1978 | 2–6 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 13–36–18 |
| 68 | T | March 14, 1978 | 4–4 | Atlanta Flames (1977–78) | 13–36–19 |
| 69 | T | March 15, 1978 | 2–2 | @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 13–36–20 |
| 70 | W | March 17, 1978 | 3–1 | Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 14–36–20 |
| 71 | W | March 19, 1978 | 6–4 | Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) | 15–36–20 |
| 72 | W | March 22, 1978 | 5–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 16–36–20 |
| 73 | L | March 23, 1978 | 3–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 16–37–20 |
| 74 | L | March 25, 1978 | 3–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 16–38–20 |
| 75 | W | March 28, 1978 | 4–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 17–38–20 |
| 76 | L | March 30, 1978 | 3–4 | Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 17–39–20 |
| 77 | W | April 1, 1978 | 4–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 18–39–20 |
| 78 | L | April 4, 1978 | 3–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 18–40–20 |
| 79 | T | April 5, 1978 | 4–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 18–40–21 |
| 80 | W | April 8, 1978 | 5–2 | St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 19–40–21 |

## Playoffs

The Rockies played a best-of-three preliminary round series against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers would sweep the series in two-straight games.

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Wilf Paiement | RW | 80 | 31 | 56 | 87 | 114 | −14 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| Barry Beck | D | 75 | 22 | 38 | 60 | 89 | −14 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| John Van Boxmeer | D | 80 | 12 | 42 | 54 | 87 | −12 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Gardner | C | 46 | 30 | 22 | 52 | 29 | −17 | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| Andy Spruce | LW | 74 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 43 | −7 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Gary Croteau | LW | 62 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 24 | −15 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Andruff | C | 78 | 15 | 18 | 33 | 31 | −16 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave Hudson | C | 60 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 12 | −5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Owchar | D | 60 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 25 | −49 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Denis Dupere | LW | 54 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Joe Contini | C | 37 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 28 | −2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Delorme | C | 68 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 47 | −20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nelson Pyatt | C | 71 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 8 | −23 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Pierce | RW | 35 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Mark Suzor | D | 60 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 56 | −35 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Kitchen | D | 61 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 45 | −12 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Fred Ahern | RW | 38 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 19 | −16 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Lefley | D/LW | 71 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 12 | −4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ralph Klassen | C | 44 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 8 | −19 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Edur | D | 20 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Chuck Arnason | RW | 29 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 10 | −3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Christie | D | 35 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 28 | −6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Neely | LW | 22 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 2 | −10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Skinner | C | 14 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Jodzio | LW | 32 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 28 | −5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Favell | G | 47 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis O'Brien | D | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roger Lemelin | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John McCahill | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim McElmury | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill McKenzie | G | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lou Nistico | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Oleschuk | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michel Plasse | G | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Doug Favell | 2663 | 47 | 13 | 20 | 11 | 159 | 3.58 | 1 |
| Bill McKenzie | 654 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 42 | 3.85 | 0 |
| Michel Plasse | 1383 | 25 | 3 | 12 | 8 | 90 | 3.90 | 0 |
| Bill Oleschuk | 100 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 5.40 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 19 | 40 | 21 | 300 | 3.75 | 1 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Dave Hudson | C | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andy Spruce | LW | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Denis Dupere | LW | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Owchar | D | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fred Ahern | RW | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barry Beck | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Van Boxmeer | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Andruff | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Christie | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Contini | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Delorme | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Favell | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Kitchen | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ralph Klassen | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Lefley | D/LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wilf Paiement | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Pierce | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Skinner | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Doug Favell | 120 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 120 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3.00 | 0 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals  MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts;

## Draft picks

Colorado's draft picks at the 1977 NHL amateur draft held at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 2 | Barry Beck | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 3 | 38 | Doug Berry | Canada | University of Denver (WCHA) |
| 3 | 47 | Randy Pierce | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL) |
| 5 | 74 | Mike Dwyer | Canada | Niagara Falls Flyers (OMJHL) |
| 6 | 92 | Dan Lempe | United States | University of Minnesota Duluth (WCHA) |
| 7 | 110 | Rick Doyle | Canada | London Knights (OMJHL) |
| 8 | 126 | Joe Contini | Canada | St. Catharines Fincups (OMJHL) |
| 9 | 142 | Jack Hughes | United States | Harvard University (ECAC) |