# 1971–72 Los Angeles Kings season

The 1971–72 Los Angeles Kings season was the Kings' fifth season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Kings finished in last place in the West Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.

## Regular season
### Final standings

West Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 78 | 46 | 17 | 15 | 256 | 166 | +90 | 107 |
| 2 | Minnesota North Stars | 78 | 37 | 29 | 12 | 212 | 191 | +21 | 86 |
| 3 | St. Louis Blues | 78 | 28 | 39 | 11 | 208 | 247 | −39 | 67 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 78 | 26 | 38 | 14 | 220 | 258 | −38 | 66 |
| 5 | Philadelphia Flyers | 78 | 26 | 38 | 14 | 200 | 236 | −36 | 66 |
| 6 | California Golden Seals | 78 | 21 | 39 | 18 | 216 | 288 | −72 | 60 |
| 7 | Los Angeles Kings | 78 | 20 | 49 | 9 | 206 | 305 | −99 | 49 |

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

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | T | October 8, 1971 | 4–4 | @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | W | October 10, 1971 | 4–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 1–0–1 |
| 3 | L | October 13, 1971 | 1–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 1–1–1 |
| 4 | L | October 16, 1971 | 0–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 1–2–1 |
| 5 | L | October 17, 1971 | 0–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 1–3–1 |
| 6 | L | October 20, 1971 | 1–8 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 1–4–1 |
| 7 | W | October 21, 1971 | 7–0 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 2–4–1 |
| 8 | L | October 23, 1971 | 1–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 2–5–1 |
| 9 | L | October 24, 1971 | 3–6 | Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 2–6–1 |
| 10 | L | October 27, 1971 | 2–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) | 2–7–1 |
| 11 | L | October 30, 1971 | 1–5 | Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 2–8–1 |
| 12 | L | November 3, 1971 | 1–7 | New York Rangers (1971–72) | 2–9–1 |
| 13 | L | November 6, 1971 | 2–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 2–10–1 |
| 14 | L | November 10, 1971 | 1–7 | @ New York Rangers (1971–72) | 2–11–1 |
| 15 | W | November 11, 1971 | 4–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) | 3–11–1 |
| 16 | L | November 13, 1971 | 4–6 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 3–12–1 |
| 17 | L | November 14, 1971 | 2–11 | @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 3–13–1 |
| 18 | L | November 17, 1971 | 1–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 3–14–1 |
| 19 | L | November 18, 1971 | 0–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 3–15–1 |
| 20 | W | November 20, 1971 | 3–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 4–15–1 |
| 21 | L | November 23, 1971 | 1–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) | 4–16–1 |
| 22 | W | November 24, 1971 | 5–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) | 5–16–1 |
| 23 | L | November 27, 1971 | 1–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 5–17–1 |
| 24 | L | December 1, 1971 | 3–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 5–18–1 |
| 25 | L | December 2, 1971 | 0–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) | 5–19–1 |
| 26 | L | December 4, 1971 | 1–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 5–20–1 |
| 27 | L | December 5, 1971 | 0–7 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 5–21–1 |
| 28 | L | December 8, 1971 | 3–5 | Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 5–22–1 |
| 29 | W | December 11, 1971 | 4–1 | St. Louis Blues (1971–72) | 6–22–1 |
| 30 | L | December 15, 1971 | 1–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 6–23–1 |
| 31 | W | December 18, 1971 | 4–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 7–23–1 |
| 32 | L | December 21, 1971 | 2–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 7–24–1 |
| 33 | W | December 22, 1971 | 2–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) | 8–24–1 |
| 34 | L | December 25, 1971 | 1–3 | California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 8–25–1 |
| 35 | L | December 26, 1971 | 3–6 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 8–26–1 |
| 36 | W | December 29, 1971 | 3–1 | Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 9–26–1 |
| 37 | L | January 1, 1972 | 2–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 9–27–1 |
| 38 | W | January 2, 1972 | 6–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 10–27–1 |
| 39 | W | January 4, 1972 | 4–1 | California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 11–27–1 |
| 40 | L | January 5, 1972 | 2–6 | @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 11–28–1 |
| 41 | L | January 8, 1972 | 2–10 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 11–29–1 |
| 42 | L | January 9, 1972 | 0–8 | @ New York Rangers (1971–72) | 11–30–1 |
| 43 | T | January 12, 1972 | 1–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 11–30–2 |
| 44 | T | January 13, 1972 | 1–1 | @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 11–30–3 |
| 45 | L | January 15, 1972 | 4–7 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 11–31–3 |
| 46 | T | January 16, 1972 | 3–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 11–31–4 |
| 47 | L | January 19, 1972 | 1–5 | New York Rangers (1971–72) | 11–32–4 |
| 48 | W | January 22, 1972 | 4–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 12–32–4 |
| 49 | L | January 23, 1972 | 3–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 12–33–4 |
| 50 | W | January 26, 1972 | 5–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 13–33–4 |
| 51 | T | January 29, 1972 | 4–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 13–33–5 |
| 52 | T | January 30, 1972 | 2–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) | 13–33–6 |
| 53 | W | February 1, 1972 | 7–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 14–33–6 |
| 54 | T | February 3, 1972 | 1–1 | Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 14–33–7 |
| 55 | W | February 5, 1972 | 8–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 15–33–7 |
| 56 | L | February 9, 1972 | 1–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 15–34–7 |
| 57 | L | February 10, 1972 | 1–6 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 15–35–7 |
| 58 | L | February 12, 1972 | 5–6 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 15–36–7 |
| 59 | L | February 13, 1972 | 2–4 | @ New York Rangers (1971–72) | 15–37–7 |
| 60 | L | February 16, 1972 | 1–3 | St. Louis Blues (1971–72) | 15–38–7 |
| 61 | L | February 17, 1972 | 4–6 | New York Rangers (1971–72) | 15–39–7 |
| 62 | W | February 19, 1972 | 5–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 16–39–7 |
| 63 | L | February 23, 1972 | 0–2 | St. Louis Blues (1971–72) | 16–40–7 |
| 64 | L | February 26, 1972 | 4–5 | Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 16–41–7 |
| 65 | L | March 1, 1972 | 4–6 | Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 16–42–7 |
| 66 | L | March 4, 1972 | 2–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 16–43–7 |
| 67 | W | March 5, 1972 | 2–0 | @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 17–43–7 |
| 68 | L | March 7, 1972 | 2–4 | @ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) | 17–44–7 |
| 69 | L | March 9, 1972 | 3–5 | Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 17–45–7 |
| 70 | W | March 11, 1972 | 5–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) | 18–45–7 |
| 71 | L | March 15, 1972 | 2–5 | @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 18–46–7 |
| 72 | L | March 16, 1972 | 3–8 | Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 18–47–7 |
| 73 | T | March 18, 1972 | 4–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 18–47–8 |
| 74 | L | March 22, 1972 | 3–6 | Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 18–48–8 |
| 75 | L | March 25, 1972 | 0–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 18–49–8 |
| 76 | W | March 29, 1972 | 4–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 19–49–8 |
| 77 | T | March 31, 1972 | 4–4 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 19–49–9 |
| 78 | W | April 1, 1972 | 9–4 | California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 20–49–9 |

## Player statistics

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/− | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Juha Widing | C | 78 | 27 | 28 | 55 | 26 | −36 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Ralph Backstrom | C | 76 | 23 | 29 | 52 | 22 | −22 | 7 | 1 | 4 |
| Butch Goring | C | 74 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 2 | −10 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Bob Berry | LW | 78 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 44 | −23 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Real Lemieux | LW | 78 | 13 | 25 | 38 | 28 | −40 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Pulford | LW | 73 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 48 | −25 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Mike Corrigan | LW | 56 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 95 | −7 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Gilles Marotte | D | 72 | 10 | 24 | 34 | 83 | −33 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Ross Lonsberry | LW | 50 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 39 | −18 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Serge Bernier | RW | 26 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bill Flett | RW | 45 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 18 | −30 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Harry Howell | D | 77 | 1 | 17 | 18 | 53 | −34 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Johnson | C | 28 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 6 | −1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Doug Barrie | D | 48 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 47 | −10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Joyal | C | 44 | 11 | 3 | 14 | 17 | −30 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Bill Lesuk | LW | 27 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Paul Curtis | D | 64 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 57 | −32 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Byers | RW | 28 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 11 | −13 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lucien Grenier | RW | 60 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | −6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Al McDonough | RW | 31 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean Potvin | D | 39 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 35 | −39 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Woytowich | D | 36 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | −8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Hillman | D | 22 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | −7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale Hoganson | D | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Carlin | LW | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Mikkelson | D | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | −11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Stanfield | C/RW | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Denis DeJordy | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Edwards | G | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Smith | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rogie Vachon | G | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gary Edwards | 2503 | 44 | 13 | 23 | 5 | 150 | 3.60 | 2 |
| Rogie Vachon | 1586 | 28 | 6 | 18 | 3 | 107 | 4.05 | 0 |
| Billy Smith | 300 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 4.60 | 0 |
| Denis DeJordy | 291 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 23 | 4.74 | 0 |
| Team: | 4680 | 78 | 20 | 49 | 9 | 303 | 3.88 | 2 |
    Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
    Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Transactions

The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1971–72 season.

### Trades

| May 1, 1971 | To Los Angeles KingsWayne Rivers | To New York RangersMike McMahon Jr. |
| June 8, 1971 | To Los Angeles KingsClaude Provost | To Montreal CanadiensCash |
| June 13, 1971 | To Los Angeles KingsLarry Hillman | To Philadelphia FlyersLarry Mickey |
| November 4, 1971 | To Los Angeles KingsRogie Vachon 1st round pick in 1975 – Tim Young | To Montreal CanadiensDenis DeJordy Dale Hoganson Noel Price Doug Robinson 1st round pick in 1975 – Pierre Mondou |
| December 16, 1971 | To Los Angeles KingsDoug Barrie Mike Keeler | To Buffalo SabresMike Byers Larry Hillman |
| January 11, 1972 | To Los Angeles KingsBob Woytowich | To Pittsburgh PenguinsAl McDonough |
| January 28, 1972 | To Los Angeles KingsJim Johnson Bill Lesuk Serge Bernier Larry Brown | To Philadelphia FlyersBill Flett Eddie Joyal Jean Potvin Ross Lonsberry |

### Free agent signings

| June 1, 1971 | From University of Minnesota Duluth (NCAA)Phil Hoene |

### Waivers

| November 3, 1971 | To Boston BruinsMatt Ravlich |
| November 22, 1971 | From Vancouver CanucksMike Corrigan |

### Intra-league Draft

| June 8, 1971 | From Buffalo SabresGary Edwards |

### Reverse Draft

| June 8, 1971 | To Seattle Totems (WHL)Jack Norris |
| June 8, 1971 | To Baltimore Clippers (AHL)Norm Armstrong |
| June 8, 1971 | To Salt Lake Golden Eagles (WHL)Wayne Rutledge |

## Draft picks

Los Angeles's draft picks at the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 3 | 34 | Vic Venasky | Canada | University of Denver (WCHA) |
| 4 | 48 | Neil Komadoski | Canada | Winnipeg Jets (WCHL) |
| 5 | 62 | Gary Crosby | Canada | Michigan Tech University (WCHA) |
| 6 | 76 | Camille LaPierre | Canada | Montreal Junior Canadiens (OHA) |
| 7 | 89 | Peter Harasym | Canada | Clarkson University (ECAC) |
| 7 | 90 | Norm Dube | Canada | Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL) |
| 8 | 103 | Lorne Stamler | Canada | Michigan Tech University (WCHA) |