# 1977–78 Atlanta Flames season

The 1977–78 Atlanta Flames season was the sixth season for the franchise.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 48 | 17 | 15 | 334 | 210 | 111 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 45 | 20 | 15 | 296 | 200 | 105 |
| Atlanta Flames | 80 | 34 | 27 | 19 | 274 | 252 | 87 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 30 | 37 | 13 | 279 | 280 | 73 |
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
1977–78 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Atlanta
—1–2–36–01–4–18–6–4
N.Y. Islanders
2–1–3—4–22–1–38–4–6
N.Y. Rangers
0–62–4—0–4–22–14–2
Philadelphia
4–1–11–2–34–0–2—9–3–6
Vs. Smythe Division
1977–78 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Atlanta
1–2–22–1–24–14–0–12–1–213–5–7
N.Y. Islanders
2–1–24–0–14–14–0–15–019–2–4
N.Y. Rangers
3–1–12–2–13–0–24–0–14–116–4–5
Philadelphia
2–2–13–23–24–15–017–7–1
Vs. Adams Division
1977–78 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CLE
TOR
Total
Atlanta
1–2–11–2–12–1–13–27–7–3
N.Y. Islanders
3–12–31–1–23–19–6–2
N.Y. Rangers
1–41–2–13–11–36–10–1
Philadelphia
2–1–10–3–14–0–11–37–7–3
Vs. Norris Division
1977–78 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Atlanta
1–2–11–2–10–2–23–11–2–16–9–5
N.Y. Islanders
4–02–0–20–42–1–14–012–5–3
N.Y. Rangers
2–1–11–31–30–2–22–0–26–9–5
Philadelphia
2–1–13–0–10–2–23–0–14–012–3–5 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | T | October 13, 1977 | 2–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 0–0–1 | 9,423 |
| 2 | W | October 15, 1977 | 3–1 | St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 1–0–1 | 11,756 |
| 3 | W | October 19, 1977 | 5–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 2–0–1 | 8,559 |
| 4 | T | October 21, 1977 | 3–3 | New York Islanders (1977–78) | 2–0–2 | 11,948 |
| 5 | L | October 22, 1977 | 2–5 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 2–1–2 | 8,030 |
| 6 | T | October 25, 1977 | 2–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 2–1–3 | 9,359 |
| 7 | L | October 26, 1977 | 2–6 | Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 2–2–3 | 8,247 |
| 8 | W | October 29, 1977 | 4–3 | New York Rangers (1977–78) | 3–2–3 | 11,872 |
| 9 | L | November 1, 1977 | 0–9 | @ New York Islanders (1977–78) | 3–3–3 | 14,702 |
| 10 | T | November 2, 1977 | 2–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 3–3–4 | 15,358 |
| 11 | W | November 4, 1977 | 5–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 4–3–4 | 11,528 |
| 12 | T | November 6, 1977 | 3–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 4–3–5 | 11,224 |
| 13 | L | November 9, 1977 | 0–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 4–4–5 | 9,241 |
| 14 | L | November 12, 1977 | 3–6 | Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 4–5–5 | 13,678 |
| 15 | W | November 13, 1977 | 5–2 | @ New York Rangers (1977–78) | 5–5–5 | 17,500 |
| 16 | L | November 16, 1977 | 2–6 | Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 5–6–5 | 8,659 |
| 17 | W | November 18, 1977 | 5–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) | 6–6–5 | 10,192 |
| 18 | L | November 20, 1977 | 0–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 6–7–5 | 17,077 |
| 19 | W | November 22, 1977 | 4–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 7–7–5 | 8,147 |
| 20 | T | November 23, 1977 | 2–2 | @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 7–7–6 | 8,711 |
| 21 | T | November 26, 1977 | 4–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 7–7–7 | 13,473 |
| 22 | L | November 29, 1977 | 3–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 7–8–7 | 6,296 |
| 23 | L | December 2, 1977 | 2–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 7–9–7 | N/A |
| 24 | L | December 3, 1977 | 1–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 7–10–7 | 11,168 |
| 25 | T | December 5, 1977 | 2–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 7–10–8 | 15,109 |
| 26 | T | December 7, 1977 | 2–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 7–10–9 | 7,795 |
| 27 | W | December 10, 1977 | 5–1 | Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 8–10–9 | 7,942 |
| 28 | W | December 11, 1977 | 5–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 9–10–9 | 7,387 |
| 29 | L | December 15, 1977 | 3–6 | Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 9–11–9 | 7,829 |
| 30 | L | December 17, 1977 | 3–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 9–12–9 | 12,171 |
| 31 | L | December 18, 1977 | 0–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 9–13–9 | 8,856 |
| 32 | T | December 20, 1977 | 2–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 9–13–10 | 14,350 |
| 33 | W | December 23, 1977 | 6–2 | @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) | 10–13–10 | 5,023 |
| 34 | L | December 27, 1977 | 2–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 10–14–10 | 10,857 |
| 35 | W | December 29, 1977 | 5–4 | St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 11–14–10 | 10,701 |
| 36 | W | December 31, 1977 | 3–0 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 12–14–10 | 16,485 |
| 37 | T | January 1, 1978 | 2–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 12–14–11 | 16,433 |
| 38 | L | January 4, 1978 | 1–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 12–15–11 | 10,287 |
| 39 | W | January 6, 1978 | 5–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 13–15–11 | 13,051 |
| 40 | W | January 9, 1978 | 5–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 14–15–11 | 16,485 |
| 41 | W | January 11, 1978 | 4–2 | Colorado Rockies (1977–78) | 15–15–11 | 7,264 |
| 42 | L | January 14, 1978 | 4–8 | Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 15–16–11 | 11,114 |
| 43 | L | January 16, 1978 | 3–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 15–17–11 | 17,077 |
| 44 | W | January 18, 1978 | 1–0 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 16–17–11 | 7,942 |
| 45 | W | January 20, 1978 | 5–3 | New York Rangers (1977–78) | 17–17–11 | 14,097 |
| 46 | W | January 22, 1978 | 4–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 18–17–11 | 7,744 |
| 47 | L | January 26, 1978 | 2–5 | Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 18–18–11 | 10,954 |
| 48 | L | January 28, 1978 | 5–7 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 18–19–11 | 12,982 |
| 49 | W | January 29, 1978 | 6–2 | @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 19–19–11 | 3,321 |
| 50 | W | January 31, 1978 | 7–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 20–19–11 | 7,163 |
| 51 | L | February 2, 1978 | 2–5 | New York Islanders (1977–78) | 20–20–11 | 9,079 |
| 52 | T | February 4, 1978 | 2–2 | Colorado Rockies (1977–78) | 20–20–12 | 10,377 |
| 53 | W | February 7, 1978 | 4–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 21–20–12 | N/A |
| 54 | W | February 9, 1978 | 4–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 22–20–12 | 10,045 |
| 55 | L | February 10, 1978 | 2–3 | @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) | 22–21–12 | 8,852 |
| 56 | T | February 12, 1978 | 2–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 22–21–13 | 13,582 |
| 57 | T | February 15, 1978 | 5–5 | @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 22–21–14 | 2,696 |
| 58 | L | February 16, 1978 | 3–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) | 22–22–14 | 12,215 |
| 59 | T | February 18, 1978 | 3–3 | @ New York Islanders (1977–78) | 22–22–15 | 15,317 |
| 60 | T | February 22, 1978 | 3–3 | New York Islanders (1977–78) | 22–22–16 | 11,106 |
| 61 | T | February 25, 1978 | 2–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) | 22–22–17 | 13,124 |
| 62 | W | February 27, 1978 | 5–3 | @ New York Rangers (1977–78) | 23–22–17 | 17,500 |
| 63 | L | March 1, 1978 | 3–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 23–23–17 | 8,294 |
| 64 | L | March 2, 1978 | 3–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 23–24–17 | 11,544 |
| 65 | W | March 4, 1978 | 9–3 | Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 24–24–17 | 10,014 |
| 66 | L | March 7, 1978 | 3–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 24–25–17 | 17,077 |
| 67 | W | March 8, 1978 | 8–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 25–25–17 | 7,224 |
| 68 | W | March 11, 1978 | 4–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 26–25–17 | 13,174 |
| 69 | T | March 14, 1978 | 4–4 | @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) | 26–25–18 | 5,522 |
| 70 | W | March 15, 1978 | 6–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 27–25–18 | 9,950 |
| 71 | W | March 18, 1978 | 5–2 | @ New York Islanders (1977–78) | 28–25–18 | 15,317 |
| 72 | L | March 22, 1978 | 1–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) | 28–26–18 | 13,874 |
| 73 | W | March 23, 1978 | 5–3 | St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 29–26–18 | 9,228 |
| 74 | W | March 25, 1978 | 6–3 | Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 30–26–18 | 14,883 |
| 75 | W | March 29, 1978 | 7–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 31–26–18 | 11,485 |
| 76 | W | April 1, 1978 | 6–0 | New York Rangers (1977–78) | 32–26–18 | 8,242 |
| 77 | W | April 2, 1978 | 4–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 33–26–18 | 16,433 |
| 78 | W | April 5, 1978 | 4–2 | @ New York Rangers (1977–78) | 34–26–18 | 17,500 |
| 79 | T | April 8, 1978 | 1–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 34–26–19 | 15,155 |
| 80 | L | April 9, 1978 | 2–4 | @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 34–27–19 | 12,563 |

## 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 | 80 | 27 | 42 | 69 | 54 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Guy Chouinard | 16 | 73 | 28 | 30 | 58 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Eric Vail | 27 | 79 | 22 | 36 | 58 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Harold Phillipoff | 24 | 67 | 17 | 36 | 53 | 128 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Bob MacMillan$^†$ | 11 | 52 | 31 | 21 | 52 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Bill Clement | 10 | 70 | 20 | 30 | 50 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| John Gould | 21 | 79 | 19 | 28 | 47 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Willi Plett | 25 | 78 | 22 | 21 | 43 | 171 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Ken Houston | 6 | 74 | 22 | 16 | 38 | 51 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Lalonde | 7 | 73 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Rey Comeau | 18 | 79 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Richard Mulhern | 4 | 79 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 47 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Ed Kea | 19 | 60 | 3 | 23 | 26 | 40 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Shand | 8 | 80 | 2 | 23 | 25 | 94 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Miles Zaharko | 23 | 71 | 1 | 19 | 20 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Simpson | 22 | 55 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 49 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Dick Redmond$^†$ | 5 | 42 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Pat Ribble | 3 | 80 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 68 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Curt Bennett$^‡$ | 5 | 25 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 10 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Barry Gibbs$^‡$ | 2 | 27 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 24 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Greg Fox | 2 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Dan Bouchard | 30 | 58 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | | | | |
| Tim Ecclestone | 14 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yves Belanger$^†$ | 31 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Phil Myre$^‡$ | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | - |
$^†$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 | 58 | 3340 | 25 | 12 | 19 | 153 | 2 | 2.75 | 2 | 120 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3.50 |
| Yves Belanger | 31 | 17 | 937 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 55 | 1 | 3.52 | – | – | – | – | – | – | -.-- |
| Phil Myre | 1 | 9 | 523 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 4.93 | – | – | – | – | – | – | -.-- |

## Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1977–78 season.

### Trades

| May 23, 1977 | To Atlanta Flames Ab DeMarco Jr. | To Los Angeles Kings Randy Manery |
| August 18, 1977 | To Atlanta Flames Cash | To Detroit Red Wings Rick Bowness |
| December 12, 1977 | To Atlanta Flames Yves Belanger Bob MacMillan Dick Redmond 2nd round pick in 1979 (Mike Perovich) | To St. Louis Blues Curt Bennett Barry Gibbs Phil Myre |

### Free agents

| Player | Former team |
| C Bobby Lalonde | Vancouver Canucks |
| Player | New team |

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 2 | 20. | Miles Zaharko (D) | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 2 | 28. | Don Laurence (C) | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHA) |
| 2 | 31. | Brian Hill (RW) | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL) |
| 4 | 72. | Jim Craig (G) | United States | Boston University (NCAA) |
| 5 | 82. | Curtis Christopherson (D) | United States | Colorado College (NCAA) |
| 6 | 100. | Bernie Harbec (C) | Canada | Laval National (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 118. | Bobby Gould (RW) | Canada | University of New Hampshire (NCAA) |
| 8 | 133. | Jim Bennett (RW) | United States | Brown University (NCAA) |
| 9 | 148. | Tim Harrer (RW) | United States | University of Minnesota (NCAA) |